Real Vampires Know Hips Happen (33 page)

“Go back. Goddess of youth. What does that mean?” I leaned forward, itching to jerk the hairbrush out of her hand. Finally she put it away.

“It means I can make someone young again. A tired soldier. A woman who feels her beauty is fading.” She smiled at me. “Would you like to look eighteen instead of twenty-two? I could make it so.”

“No! I have enough problems blending with mortals as it is.” I tried to picture how this worked.

Her face fell. “There is a downside to this gift, Gloriana. You have two brothers, my precious twins. Alex and Ani guard Olympus. I am very proud of them. But they are forever young boys. They will never become men.” She dabbed at sudden tears with a linen hanky. “Their father, Heracles, hates me for this. We do not have a happy marriage. Fortunately he is frequently gone on his quests, as he calls them. He doesn’t mind if I enjoy other men. I am told he has dozens of mistresses.”

“I’m sorry, Mother.” And I was. Brothers stuck before puberty? I couldn’t imagine anything worse for them. And a husband who cared more about quests than his wife…Well, no wonder she had an edge.

“I’d like you to know them. Your brothers. They would love you. But they cannot leave their duties on Olympus. Perhaps someday you will come.” She put away the hanky. “I hope you understand why I was so eager to know you. You are my only adult child. A woman who I could talk to, shop with.” She smiled. “I loved you the moment I saw you.”

I stood. “Then isn’t it a shame you forgot about me all those years?” It was too much. A brother, a stepfather. Zeus as a grandfather. My mind was spinning. And I was in Ian’s house, a place where I’d never felt comfortable. Through the open glass doors I could see his guard patrolling the grounds. I wondered briefly where Melanie was, then figured Ian must have sent her off somewhere so she wouldn’t witness what had happened tonight.

“You don’t understand how it works there. In Olympus time is nothing. And I am pulled this way and that constantly with the politics. My powers are important. Everyone is always wanting me for something. I have so many
responsibilities.” She was on her feet too. “Don’t be angry, Gloriana. I wish to make it all up to you. Please, think about it. I won’t pressure you. But someday, I hope you will come with me. Just for a little visit.”

“Right. And time means nothing up there. A little visit could last centuries.” I grabbed Jerry’s hand. “Let’s get out of here, Jer. The rain’s stopped and I need some air.”

“Gloriana!” I turned on my heel and stared at her. My mother. She looked beautiful but actually distressed at my rejection.

“Thank you for tonight. You did a good thing, saving Aggie. I don’t particularly like her, but no woman should be the property of a man the way the Sirens belong to Achelous. I just hope Ian keeps his word so she doesn’t regret this decision.” I sighed. “Good night.”

I heard her call, “Good night,” but didn’t look back as I tugged Jerry out of the house. We shifted, flying out the back door and to our car. The night was clear now and it didn’t take any time at all.

This time Jerry drove. Neither of us mentioned that promise of hot sex in the car. The mood had definitely changed. We were both silent. Jerry must have realized I had a lot on my mind. I just stared out at the scenery going by, my thoughts chaotic. I couldn’t be some goddess’s accident. This was crazy. I didn’t feel magical or godlike. I was plain Gloriana St. Clair and wanted to stay that way. By the time Jerry pulled into the parking lot, I felt drained.

We headed upstairs and I was thinking of crawling into a hot tub and soaking away my worries. Then I saw the man leaning against my apartment door. Israel Caine. Of course. I hadn’t had enough drama yet tonight.

Fifteen

“Glory,
Blade. What’s up?” Ray smiled but I could tell he was on edge. Hey, so was I.

“Not a good night, Caine. Gloriana’s had a bad one.” Jerry unlocked the door and helped me inside. Seriously, my legs were wobbly. The reality of being around the Storm God had finally hit me in the car. Flashback I guess. I had been in that creep’s harem myself for a thousand years and change. Working as a killer.

“What’s wrong, babe? Anything I can do?” He followed us inside. Ray never felt like he needed an invitation.

“Aggie, the Storm God. Do you need to hear more?” I collapsed on the couch.

“That’s enough. What’s the bitch been up to now? You know I hate her guts.” He settled next to me, ignoring Jerry, who handed me a glass of synthetic then sat across from us.

“She’s at Ian’s and she’s mortal now. I don’t think we have to worry about her for a while.” I took a deep swallow. It tasted good. Jerry must have ordered in some of the premium that he liked and I couldn’t afford.

“No shit? Bet that’s quite a story.” Ray laid a hand on my thigh. “Quit growling at me, Blade. I get that Glory has you
back. You’re here, aren’t you?” He rubbed a circle on my leg, just above my knee. I was sure it was just to bug Jerry. “I came by to let you know I got the message. You dodged my calls. It doesn’t take a neon sign to tell Israel Caine to back off.” He stood. “One last hug?”

“I’m sorry, Ray. I wasn’t dodging but we’ve been really busy since we got back. I wanted to get together with you. To talk. Tell you about my trip. We can still do that.” I let him pull me to my feet. When Jerry started to say something, I stared at him until he subsided. “Tomorrow night. Meet me at N-V? I owe you that much.”

“You don’t owe me a damned thing, babe, but I
would
like to see you. Without the buzzkill here. If that’s possible.” He nodded at Jerry then pulled me into his arms. “Hmm. No bra, just the way I like it.” He laughed when Jerry lunged to his feet. “Nine o’clock. See you then.” And he was out the door.

“You just had to do that, didn’t you? Hug him, arrange a date right in front of me. You know how I hate that guy.” Jerry slammed the door and locked it.

“You’re so cute when you’re jealous.” I patted his cheek then danced toward the bathroom suddenly reenergized. Guess having two men wanting me had done it. I tore off my sweater and tossed it behind me. “I’m going to sing in the bathtub. Try out my Siren’s song. Want to see if you can resist it?” I laughed when he grabbed me from behind and swung me up into his arms.

“You know you don’t need a song to bewitch me, Gloriana.” He buried his face in my hair. “Skip the bath and come to bed. I’ll show you what jealousy does to me. Caine had a look in his eyes I don’t like. He loves you, Gloriana. But I’ll be damned if I’ll let him have you.” He carried me to the bed and tossed me onto the mattress. Then he ripped off his shirt, buttons flying everywhere. “Deal with it. You’re mine, woman. And I’ll fight any man who tries to take you away from me.” Then he fell on top of me, ravenous.

I can’t say I minded his declaration. What I did mind was a sense of impending doom. If he didn’t like the look in Ray’s eyes now, what would he think when he heard the whole story? I should go ahead and tell him. Could I make it sound meaningless? A minor bump in the long road Jerry and I had traveled and hopefully would still travel together? It wouldn’t be easy because I’d be lying and Jerry would see right through it. Nothing with Ray had ever been trivial or meaningless to me. And hopefully Jerry knew by now that I didn’t just use people and then cast them aside.

As I pulled Jerry into me one more time, I tried to shelve my worries. It would only make this night less than I wanted it to be. But I knew all this sex was a cop-out. Sooner or later Jerry and I needed to sit down and have a conversation without touching each other.

•  •  •

The
next night Jerry went home. To his house where Lily waited and he had plenty of business to take care of. So did I for that matter. I had put off the big talk. First, I would meet with Ray and get things settled with him. Yes, he knew we weren’t going to have a future, but I wanted a face-to-face. To clear the air. I felt bad for dodging his calls.

I walked into N-V wearing that black and red dress my mother had given me. I knew I looked good. Rafe caught me before I reached the bar.

“He’s waiting for you at a table upstairs. I’ve tried to keep the groupies away from him. It’s not easy.” Rafe gave me the once over. “Nice outfit. New?”

“Yes, my mother gave it to me. There are some perks to having a mother from Olympus.” I grinned at him. Rafe knew my wardrobe well after five years as my bodyguard. Not that I had that many clothes. I had sold a lot of them when I’d started my vintage clothing business.

“She’s got great taste. How’s it going with your mother?” Rafe walked with me toward the stairs. I’d managed to call
him and explain about my mother and what had happened in Scotland while Jerry had been in the shower. Rafe was still one of my best friends and a good listener.

“Better. I think she’s finally figured out that I’m not going to Olympus with her. And I’m staying vampire. She isn’t happy about either but it’s the only way I’ll agree to any kind of relationship with her.” I put my hand on his arm. “She says I’m bossy. Which I realize I am. I’ll try to work on that. How are you doing? Any new girlfriends?”

“I’m seeing someone. You know her.” He frowned. “That’s the problem. Any woman who knows my history soon figures out I’m still hung up on you.”

“Who are you seeing? And you know you’ve got to stop being hung up on me.” I realized I was being bossy again. I shook my head. “Okay, easier said than done. I get it. Who, Rafe?”

“Lacy. I’ve been hanging around your shop, keeping an eye on it while you were gone. The cat and I hit it off.” He shook his head. “Probably was a bad idea. She wants more than casual and I’m not ready.”

“Well, I have nothing to say. Except thanks for watching the shop.” I kissed his cheek. “And good luck, I guess.” I knew Lacy was thinking about dumping him. “Try, Rafe. She’s a nice girl. Worth the effort.”

“Yeah. And you’re obviously sticking with Blade this time. So what’s up with Caine? Why’s he waiting for you?” He nodded toward the balcony.

“We’re friends. I thought we needed to catch up. In a public place.” I sighed. “Remember how hung up on
him
I was?”

“The Israel Caine shrine. No kidding. For a long time it was all fantasy. But then you two finally hooked up before you left here. Did you tell Blade about that?”

“Not yet. But I will.” I grabbed Rafe’s arm. “Don’t you dare mention it.”

“It’s your secret, not mine. But I can tell you from experience, these things tend to leak out. Don’t stall, Glory. If Blade
hears it from somebody else first, he’ll think it meant more to you than it obviously does if this meet is a kiss-off.” Rafe rubbed my shoulder. “And that’s what it looks like to me.”

“Yeah, that’s it. Better go. You know he saw me come in.” I ran up the stairs, quite a trick in high heels.

“Glory girl, sit down.” Ray jumped to his feet. He had two glasses in front of him. “Have a drink. You’ll be happy to know I’m off the sauce. Have even been going to some meetings. AA. Nate insisted. We’ve started work on a new album and the record company wouldn’t ink the deal until they knew I was sober.” He settled me into a chair.

“I’m glad, Ray. Not that they were playing hardball with you, but that you wised up and sobered up.” I grabbed my drink. “To your next hit record. And another Grammy.”

“I’ll drink to that.” He took a swallow. “Blade won, I saw that.”

“It wasn’t a contest.” I set down the glass. “But we’re together. I’m sorry if that bothers you.”

“Of course it bothers me. I love you, Glory. You knew that when you left here.” He picked up my hand. “Shit, babe, I laid it all out for you. I don’t do that for any woman.”

“I know.” Tears filled my eyes. “And it was wonderful. Our time together. Rafe called it. He said you were my fantasy.”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. But my reality isn’t such hot stuff, is it? I drink, drug, can be an asshole when I’m under the influence, which has been most of the time you’ve known me. Not the steady soldier Blade is.”

“And I’m not the kind of woman you’re used to, Ray. I introduced you to our world. You think you love me, but mixed up in that is a whole lot of gratitude, reliance, whatever you want to call it, because I helped you figure out how to be a vampire.” I leaned forward to whisper that last word, aware that Israel Caine, rock star, was always being watched when he was in a public place. The mortals at the next table had been trying to get a good angle with their cell phone cameras the whole time we’d sat here, probably video too.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Glory. You’re more than a mentor to me. Always have been. And the women I’d always hung out with before, used me. You never did.” He drained his glass then frowned at it. “Shit. Being sober bites. I really want to get out of here. Notice the yahoos behind us? What do you bet they sell those pics to the tabloids and we are either back together or having a baby this time next week?” He grinned when I dropped his hand which I’d been holding across the table to try to make my words more palatable.

“I could take those phones and flush them down the N-V toilets. Then wipe their memories so that they had no idea Israel Caine even existed.” I glared at the people and they quickly hid their phones.