Real Vampires Have More to Love (31 page)

“Yes, we’re going inside. Careful now. Don’t look at the crosses. Look past them at the sanctuary. Focus on all the happy people singing. There’s Pastor John, smiling and welcoming the congregation. His arms are open wide, and he wants you to join him.” Richard eased me down the sidewalk. When I got next to those crosses, I fought a sudden horrifying urge to spit on them and jerked against his strong grip on my arm.

“Stop! This is wrong!”
Alesa gave one last jab at my forehead, and I went blind. I held on to Richard and kept going.

“Steady. Straight ahead. Feel all that positive energy.” Richard pulled me past the crosses and down the aisle.

Gradually the warm atmosphere of the place worked its magic. Alesa finally whimpered, and I felt her give up. Hallelujah! My vision cleared, the sickness eased, and I concentrated on the music, the joyful sound lifting the rock lodged against my heart. I found my place between Flo and Sarah, and a hymnal was thrust into my hands. When I’d come to church before, I’d enjoyed the music so much that I’d sing along. I’m not a great singer, and my habit of levitating with certain songs was pretty embarrassing. As the evening progressed, I hoped I’d rise again. Sarah watched me, expecting it to happen. But my feet stayed planted firmly on the carpet. No heavenly pull for me.

By the time we piled back into Flo’s car for the ride home, I was completely depressed. I did manage to get Richard aside when he helped me out of the car in front of the shop and ask him to keep the demon thing our secret. He glanced at Flo, who sat at the wheel with the motor running. He obviously hated to keep anything from his bride, but finally agreed.

“We’ve got to find a way to get rid of this bitch.” I held on to Richard’s arm, feeling desperate.

“Watch your mouth, you pious pinhead.”
Alesa was back.

Richard patted my hand. “I’ll do research. Relax, Glory. You’re not alone. You have lots of friends you can count on.”

“Yeah, right.” I realized that sounded ungrateful. “I mean, thanks, Richard.” I saw that Flo had gotten out of the car after all and hummed “Here Comes the Bride.”

Flo grabbed Richard’s arm. “Come,
amante
, I want to hear about all these seductresses your mother said you’ve known. Every detail.” She smiled at me. “Thank you for the bachelorette party, Glory. It will be great fun. Can’t wait.”

I waved them off, laughing when Richard looked like he was being dragged off to the guillotine. I knew the feeling as I trudged upstairs to change for my video shoot.

“Glory, if you don’t want to do this video, say so. We’ll ditch it and figure out a way to get Simon off our backs.” Rafe came out of his room, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Jeez, Rafe. I don’t know why I didn’t sense you were here.” I kicked off my heels. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Stress.” He walked up and turned me around, gently massaging my knotted neck muscles. “How was church?”

“A disaster. Alesa freaked.” I told him about my reaction. “Didn’t I take you to church with me before?”

“Sure. But I was a dog. I stayed outside. Remember?” Rafe turned me around. “Good thing because, since I’ve got demon blood, crosses give me a bad case of ‘No way.’”

“Seriously? I got inside, but it took some help from Richard. Alesa’s making me pay for it.” I winced when she stabbed me between the eyes for the fourth time in five minutes.

“I’ll bet.” Rafe pulled me down to the couch. “If she makes you do things you don’t like, fight her.”

“I’m trying.” I sighed. “I never suspected you had any demon in you. How do you control that side of yourself?”

“You forget that I’ve had a lifetime to learn to cope.” Rafe slid his hand under my hair to trace my ear with a fingertip, his thumb on my jugular.

“I’d think a demon bodyguard might be cool in some cases.” I eased away from the distracting fingertip. “Did Blade know about your demon part when he hired you?”

“Yes.” Rafe put his feet on the coffee table. He wore leather boots with his jeans and a vintage Harley T-shirt that molded to his chest.

“You’re kidding.” I sat up straight. “That didn’t bother him?”

“He saw it as an asset. Which it can be.” Rafe stared at his boots. “We met during a dustup with some rough characters in Europe. Blade and I ended up on the same side. He saw me take out the bad guys with my dark powers and was impressed. He wanted that kind of thing on his own payroll.”

“You’re being very vague.” I needed to know more.

“That’s all you get, Glory.” Rafe looked at me. “Blade and I agree. I won’t tell his secrets, he won’t tell mine.”

“I know almost everything about Jerry.” I crossed my arms under my breasts.

Rafe smiled, a knowing smile that made me instantly uneasy. “You want to bet?”

I jumped up and glared at him. “What are you hinting at? Trying to drive a wedge between Jerry and me? You think I don’t know he’s had other women besides me? We take breaks, you know. When we’re on a break, we can do who or what we please. Big freakin’ deal. So I wouldn’t suggest you go there.”

That wiped the smile off his face. Too bad. I loved that smile and those dimples.

“It was worth a shot. All’s fair ...” He was up now too. “You have Blade on a pedestal, Glory. He’s just a man. A warrior. Like I am. We do what we’ve got to do. And blow off steam any way we can.” Rafe watched my face.

I sat again. “I can relate. Right now I’m so stressed, I could use a way to release it.” I sighed. “But Blade and I didn’t exactly take a break when he left. Sure I’ve had other lovers too when Blade and I have been apart. But this time . . .” I shook my head. “There’s no way I can rationalize what we’ve done, Rafe. It’s cheating, and I feel—”

Rafe put his fingers over my lips. “Stop with the guilt trip. You didn’t plan this. It just happened.” He sank down next to me. “You wouldn’t be the woman I care about if this didn’t bother you. But, Glory, what we did wasn’t some casual lay and you know it.” He pulled me close. “You ask me, this thing between us was long overdue.”

I should get out of here. Stop things before they got even more complicated. But this was Rafe, and I knew he was right about one thing: What had happened had been building for a long time. I threaded my fingers through Rafe’s silky hair and looked into his gleaming eyes. Desire. Is there anything sexier?

“Finally. Forget that religious kick. This is what I’m talkin’ about.”
Alesa slithered around in my midsection. It was almost enough to make me back off.

“What do I have to do to convince you that you’ve wasted a lot of time on the wrong man?” Rafe didn’t rush me, just waited for me to make up my mind.

I couldn’t ignore that look in Rafe’s eyes. If Jerry was the wrong man, could Rafe be the right one?

“Convince me, Rafe.” I brushed my lips across his, just a tease, but that’s all it took. He crushed me to him. I fell back on the sofa with him on top. That damned tight pencil skirt ripped when he pushed it up to slip his hand along my thigh.

I ran my hands under his T-shirt to touch his hot skin. He stopped kissing me long enough to pull off my sweaters, then helped me tug his cotton shirt up and off. His bare chest was beautiful, well muscled from a long lifetime of work.

“Sorry about the skirt,” he murmured as he opened my bra and tossed it aside.

“It’s okay. I hated it.” I moaned when he took my nipple into his mouth and gently bit it. “Rafe.”

“Mmm.” He finished the job on that poor skirt and threw the pieces of fabric on the floor, then drove one hand inside my bikini panties. I was damp for him and arched against his fingers as they slid inside me. I moved in time to his stroking and cried out as a quick orgasm shuddered through me.

“You’re so good.” I pulled his hair, then kissed him again.

“Just wait.” He grinned and picked me up, carrying me to the bed. He laid me down gently on top of the chenille bedspread and looked me over, his dark eyes gleaming. Overhead light on. Too bad. But he had the same excellent night vision I had so it didn’t matter. I wished I had something pretty and filmy to wear. My pink bikini panties did me no favors. Wide hips and thighs. They haven’t been popular since way, way back in the day. I pulled at the spread, desperate to hide.

“Quit looking like that. I told you once I love a woman with curves. You’re just what I want, Glory. Don’t cover a thing.” He stripped off his boots and jeans, then stood in front of me, beautiful in a totally masculine way. “I’ve got scars. War wounds. Hell, look at my back.”

He turned, I guess to show me some old injury, but all I saw was a perfect ass that begged to be touched. I sat up and gave it an open-mouthed kiss, making him sigh with pleasure.

“Damn, woman. If you tell me to take a hike when Blade gets back, I may just have to kill both of you.”

Seventeen

I froze, my lips just inches from his warm skin. I did not just hear him threaten me. He’d been kidding of course. A bad joke. I eased back onto the bed and glanced at the clock. We had an hour before we needed to head to the lake and the video shoot.

Rafe crawled onto the bed to lie beside me. He tugged on my hair, using a curl to tease one of my nipples, and I stared into his dark eyes, relieved that there was no trace of that evil red.

“Tell me what you want, Glory.” His voice was low, his smile offering me everything.

I shivered and stretched out my arms, my inhibitions floating away on a rising tide of lust. Had any man asked me that question and truly meant it? I swear if Alesa said one word now, I was going to drink holy water until she drowned. She got the message and stayed blessedly silent.

Rafe waited, clearly ready to satisfy my every desire even if he never got his. I savored the power, the absolutely delicious possibilities holding me still for a breathless moment.

“Read my mind, Rafael, and I’ll give you a play-by-play.” I licked my lips. “Kiss me first. One of your ‘I’m your man and don’t you forget it’ kisses.”

He grinned. “News flash. Now that you’re on demon turf, no one can read your mind except another demon. A nice perk. Me? No problem. Send me that playbook.” He leaned in, his mouth easing over my mouth while he threaded his fingers through mine. Our arms were wide, our bare chests just brushing each other, the slight friction an erotic tease lifting me off the bed to seek more. That kiss did claim me and left no doubt that Rafe meant business.

I sent my first mental message, and he pushed one knee between my legs, starting a rhythm that he’d match with his tongue and his cock before we were done. But not yet. First he’d do clever things to every other part of my body, front to back and then front again. And let me drink from him. Then more of those soul kisses that made my body weep for him. Finally, I’d let him come inside and take me hard and fast.

Of course I should have known Glory as tough bitch in charge wasn’t going to fly for long. Because Rafe was too good. Before I got through half my erotic wish list, I fell apart.

“Now, Rafe. I need you inside me now.” I straddled him, sighing as he filled me. “That is
so
good.” I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the moment. “Now move.”

“I thought you wanted this to last.” Rafe smiled up at me.

“It’s lasted. Now get on with it.” I sat up and felt the hard heat of him inside me. Mmm.

“You sure? I’ve got more pleasure in store for you, Glory. Much more.” He lifted me off of him. “Lie back. Close your eyes. I think you’ll like this.”

“Rafe, please.” More pleasure? I couldn’t imagine it. Of course my brain had left the building somewhere between orgasms number two and five. I’d been kissed, nibbled and licked in spots that even Jerry hadn’t discovered. But I wasn’t about to wimp out now. I closed my eyes.

“I’ll be right back.” The bed dipped. What was he doing? Getting a toy? I wouldn’t mind that, though I wasn’t into pain. Or at least the old Glory hadn’t been. Alesa whispered that whips and chains and all sorts of erotic tortures were worth trying. I ignored her. The bed sagged again.

“Keep your eyes closed. Now open your legs. No matter what you feel, don’t look.”

“You trying to scare me? Not easy anymore, my friend.” I smiled and opened my legs, excited and, okay, scared. I gasped when something cold slid inside me, followed immediately by the warmth of his flicking tongue. The thrill startled a shriek out of me, and I jerked against Rafe’s steadying hands on my hips.

“Hands. Whew. For a minute there I thought you’d shifted into a snake or something.” I shut up when I felt another jolt of cold. Ice? Soft, not hard. Whatever, it was crazy exciting. I quivered, and his clever tongue went to work again. Oh. My. God. So incredibly, um, good. Tremors shook my hips. One of Rafe’s warm hands pressed on my tummy to keep me from bucking like a bronco. His mouth, so insanely talented. Chill, heat and I lost it, tossing my head and keening as I came.

“Keep your eyes closed and open your mouth,” Rafe ordered, sliding up my body and wrapping my legs around his waist so that his hard cock teased my unbelievably sensitive cleft.