Real Vampires Live Large (25 page)

I pushed and finally managed to get an arm free. If I could just touch him . . .

I sprang out of bed like I'd been shot from a cannon. “Valdez?”

“The one and only.”
My dog lay on top of the covers in the center of the bed. The other pillow, where I could have sworn I'd left Richard when I'd closed my eyes, was empty.

“Where's Richard?”

Valdez jumped off the bed and stretched.
“On the phone.”
He trotted across the room and nosed open the door.
“Check it out.”

I looked down at what had to be the world's ugliest pajamas and shook my head. “In a minute.” I headed for the bathroom, taking my makeup bag and a robe with me. I could see Richard, his back to me as he paced the living room, a cell phone to his ear. I wasn't about to let him see me again until I'd gotten rid of these awful pj's.

Five minutes later I strolled into the living room, the empty living room. I sniffed. Bacon? Had Richard cooked?

“Richard?”

“He's gone.” Will came out of the kitchen. Human Will, not dog Will. Naked except for a frilly pink apron tied around his lean middle. Flo had bought the apron for me as a joke after I'd filled the apartment with smoke trying to cook for Valdez. I'd never worn it. And Will . . . Let's just say it was simply not covering all that it should.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?”

“It was an emergency.” Will grinned, way too charming with his red hair, tanned face and, oh, yeah, bare chest and washboard abs. “The doodle and I were starving and Mainwaring sure wasn't going to feed us.”

“Will's a decent cook, Glory. What could it hurt to let him shift some while he's here?”
Valdez emerged from the kitchen smacking his lips.

I looked past Will to the pile of dirty dishes in the sink. I
would not
look at his bare bum as I headed for the fridge and a Fangtastic.

“What happened to Blade's rules? He's going to flip when he hears about this.”

“Does he have to know?” Will slung his arm around me. “Come on, Glory, lass. Where's the harm?” He glanced at the bottle I'd just opened and wrinkled his nose. “You could at least spring for a better quality hooch. There's a new brew out of Czechoslovakia that'll knock your cute little socks off.”

“Save the charm for Blade when he hears about this.” I took a swallow. A Czechoslovakian synthetic? Hmm. “And I
will
tell him unless you leave this kitchen spotless then shift back pronto.” I put some space between us. “And don't touch me.” I flashed back to the whole tit-grabbing incident. I'd knocked Will on his ass then. But I'd had the element of surprise. Who knew an
actress
wouldn't have welcomed the Kilpatrick's son's attentions?

“Glory, lass, now don't be hasty.” Will was still smiling. I knew that because I simply was not going to look at him below the neck.

“Why are you naked?”

“I'm stuck in dog body for weeks at a time and you expect me to wear
clothes
?” Will turned on the faucet and squirted dish washing liquid into the sink.

I gave his toned butt a five second, okay, a ten second, appraisal then turned my back to him.

“Ask Valdez. I'll bet he's naked under that fur coat. Am I right?”

“Too much information.” Dogs. I had dog bodyguards. Not hunky men who looked like extras in a gladiator movie. “Clean up.” Oh, what the hell. “Do the bathroom too, then shift back. And stay that way unless I ask you to change.”

“Fine. Whatever. You're the boss.” I heard more grumbling as I headed to the bedroom to get dressed for the night.

“Don't let him shift too often, Glory.”
Valdez was right on my heels.
“Shifting takes a lot of power. He needs to save it for defense.”

I paused and studied Valdez's soft brown eyes. What did he look like in human form? Dark haired, with the Latin look the name suggested? But he was the latest in a long line of Valdezes. So the name didn't have that kind of significance. His eyes gleamed and I knew he was reading my mind.

“You want me to shift, Glory? Blade forbids it, but I'm willing to keep it our secret.”
He wagged his tail and I swear he grinned.
“Got to warn you, though, that Will's right. I
am
naked.”

I slammed the door in his furry face. Not thinking about Valdez. Definitely not thinking about Valdez as naked man. I concentrated on the contents of my closet. What to wear to a vamp meeting? A form-fitting, black, seventies jump suit. Loved the bell-bottoms and it had a cute chain belt I could whack Will with if he dared shift in public. Will was a loose cannon and now he'd given Valdez ideas.

Should I call Blade and tell him my canines were going cowboy on me? But Blade was busy following Westwood and he really didn't need to hear me whine about how I couldn't control my own dogs. Besides, I could always threaten to get Blade to dock Will's pay. And Will could cook, take on more housework. I should bring a pair of jeans up from the shop for him to wear. He looked like he took a thirty-four long.

By the time the three of us trooped downstairs, a sulky Will was safely back in dog form and complaining that scrubbing the shower had ruined his hands. I'd convinced myself that having him shift on command might not be a bad thing. He bumped against my leg, dotting the black gabardine with white dog hair. I had visions of Will on his knees with a lint roller. Not a bad thing at all.

"You see? I'm fine. Nothing to worry about.” Flo had zipped into the shop a few minutes after I'd taken over from my mortal part-timer. “I finally checked my voice mail. Where are those shoes?”

So far no customers had mentioned that we'd made the TV news but the weekend roundup was still a possibility. Melanie, the part-timer, had let me know an art student was interested in the mural and wanted permission to photograph it. Something about a dissertation. I wasn't sure it was a good idea, but had agreed to meet with the man later. Now I told Flo about the TV interview and the art student right after we made a deal on the suede pumps. She'd loved them and, even after giving her the family discount, I'd made a tidy profit.

Flo cradled the shoe box to her chest and grinned. “So my mural will be famous. Edvard would be pleased.”

“It's not exactly the Sistine Chapel. You really think decorating the wall of a vintage clothing shop would please Edvard? ” I smiled, though, because Flo did seem like her old self, complete with fresh outfit and matching Stuart Weitzman pumps. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, showing off her high cheekbones and porcelain skin.

One male customer was lingering by the suits just to watch her breathe. I gave him a questioning look and he left. I almost called him back. I didn't mean to run off a potential customer, but I also didn't need someone eavesdropping on my conversation with Flo either.

“Edvard wouldn't mind.” Flo trailed a finger across the wall just where the man's neck met the vampire's lips. “He didn't mind anything I did.”

“Speaking of things you do . . .” I checked out another pair of customers flipping through a dress rack. Okay, I had my limits. “Forget it. I've arranged for Lacy to take over at midnight. Will you meet me at the apartment then?”

Flo glanced at her watch. “I guess I could watch a DVD for a while, but don't keep me waiting. I have a date later.”

“With Simon?” I wished Flo would move on like she usually did. If she stayed with her normal pattern, Simon probably had only another week or two at the most anyway. But would he let her go? And now there was this whole Brad Pitt thing going on. I kept up a block so Flo couldn't read my mind and start an argument I didn't feel like finishing.

“Yes, with Simon.” Flo picked up a pearl necklace, ran it across her teeth, then put it back. “Fake. Simon has promised me a special gift. Remember, I told you I wanted a man who would give me good jewelry.” She sighed. “I think I finally found him.”

“Swell.” This was the pits. Of course Simon could afford real pearls, diamonds, whatever. He was a damned drug dealer. I glanced at the women again and was relieved to see them head for the dressing rooms. I grabbed Flo's arm and pulled her toward the back.

“Honey, do you remember what happened last night?”

Flo looked down at where I gripped her arm. “Careful, Glory, this is my favorite cashmere sweater. Don't you love the color? Apple green.” She smoothed the soft knit. “Simon says it makes my eyes sparkle like emeralds. He is always saying things like that. Sweet compliments. He'll be sure to notice how these brown suede jeans fit me.” She turned to show me. “What do you think? Does my butt look too big?”

“Flo, a size six butt is not considered big by anyone's standards other than someone size zero and you know how we feel about
those
people.” I bet Beyoncé had a size zero butt and I really didn't want to think about that now. “Please concentrate, Flo. You were zonked last night. You acted . . . drugged.”

Flo just waved her hand. “Nonsense. It was near dawn. I was exhausted from a night of very intense lovemaking.” She glanced toward the dressing rooms. “Simon is a stallion. My God. And his tongue . . .” She shivered and I fought back a gag.

“Did you take any of that Vampire Viagra?”

“Of course. Why not? Simon passes it out like it's candy.” She ran her hand down the pearl buttons on her cardigan, “I surpassed myself.” She leaned closer. “I had him weeping, Glory. The king of the EVs. Simon Destiny. Kissing my feet and declaring that I was the best lover he had ever had.” She had a dreamy look that gave me chills. “Isn't that incredible? You should try it.”

“Try what?”

“The VV of course.” Flo laughed merrily and patted my cheek. “Not Simon. He's mine.”

As if I wanted to go within a mile of the reptilian creep. “About Simon.” I poked my roommate in the general location of her navel. “You've been giving him your power, haven't you? To make the VV.”

“Don't be ridiculous. I don't give my power to anyone.”

I reached out and pulled up Flo's sweater. Flat tummy, damn her, but no telltale marks. Obviously the evidence faded with the healing vampire sleep.

“What are you looking for, Glory? I'm not giving him my power. Simon has drones for that. Stupid vampires who are hooked on his drugs. He's a businessman, Glory. He sells things, just like you do.” Flo jerked down her sweater, careful to smooth it.

“You're comparing me to a drug dealer?” I didn't appreciate that comparison one damned bit and let her see how much in my eyes.

“Now, Glory. You know what I meant. We're best friends. Right?” Flo backed away from me and smoothed her sweater again. “I think your customers need you. I'll see you later. I think I'll watch
Ocean's Eleven
.” She turned on her heel and waved from the door, the bells tinkling as the door closed behind her.

I just stared. Simon was just like me? I wanted to run after my “best friend” and drag her back by her cute little ponytail. But she'd disappeared, probably already upstairs using her vamp speed. The fact that at least one pedestrian might have seen her apparently hadn't slowed her down. Had to get to that Brad Pitt movie.

Damn it, she
was
out of control. Valdez and Will gave me a look, but didn't speak since the mortals were out of the dressing room and whipping out their charge cards.

After the women left, I seethed. So that was my excuse when I overreacted just a bit at the sight of the art student. Young, academic type, complete with tinted glasses and a stake in his pocket.

“Holy crap, Glory.” Will stood on one side of the body, Valdez on the other.

Valdez nudged the glasses lying on the floor beside the unconscious man.
“I hate to tell you this, but these are regular tinted reading glasses. I read the guy's mind. Nothing in there but artsie-fartsie stuff. The guy's really deep into his dissertation on paranormal figures in art.”

Will bit the wooden handle poking out of the man's pocket and pulled, dropping the thing at my feet. “Here's his stake. Disguised as a paint brush.” He grinned. “Check out the traces of red on the bristles. Might be the blood of all the vampires he's killed with it.”

I didn't waste time with a clever comeback. Instead, I ran to the door and locked it, about a minute later than I should have. At least no customers had witnessed me going completely insane. I dragged the man to the back room. He didn't wake up. I pulled a cold bottle of water from the fridge and dumped some on a paper towel, then knelt down to press it on the man's closed eyes.

“Hello? Are you okay?” What had Melanie said his name was? Larry. Larry LeFevre. “Come on, Larry. Open your eyes.” The man's pale blond lashes fluttered. “That's it. Wake up, Larry.” I picked up his head and held the water bottle to his trembling lips. “I'm
so
sorry.”

“Wha . . . What happened?” Larry took the bottle and held it against his forehead where a lump the size of a dime was rapidly swelling to quarter size.

“Freak accident.” I helped him to his feet and watched him sway for a minute. Right. Glory the impulsive freak had accidentally bopped art boy with an art nouveau bronze titled
Reclining Nude
.

“Accident?” Oh, great, he was looking green like maybe he'd puke. I slid a trash can near him, just in case. “I don't remember.” Larry groped his face and I remembered to hand him his glasses.

“There you go. Not broken, thank goodness.”