Forget her. Bachelorette party coming up. Such a big space. How would we fill it? And did I give a rat’s ass? I had to, for Flo’s sake. She’d called me back while I’d been waiting for Rafe, and I’d told her about Simon’s threat. So she and Richard were alerted. But I figured they could paint targets on their backs now and Simon wouldn’t aim, not with the ammunition he’d loaded in the gun he held against my heart.
“Isn’t this a great venue?”
I jumped a foot. Fantastic. Now my vamp skills totally blew. “Nate!” I hugged him and smiled. “Sorry. Daydreaming. Flo’s bachelorette party is coming up. I’m looking for a male dancer. You want to throw on a G-string? Strut your stuff?” I winked at him. I’d seen his “stuff,” and he was hot chocolate on a cold night. “You could earn big tips.”
“There you go. Get him to strip off now and audition.”
“Tempting. But Ray’s got rhythm. Me? Not so much.” Nate grinned.
“You have other talents. Ray’s lucky you’ve put up with him and his new lifestyle.” I’d already checked out the crew here. Except for an occasional delivery guy, everyone was either a shifter or a vampire. Nathan Burke, Ray’s manager and still a mortal, was in danger of being on someone’s menu.
“I’ve known since grade school that Ray was special, but a vampire? Hell, we both thought they were comic book fiction till he woke up as one.” Nate looked over his shoulder. “Speaking of . . . I’m not making this up. That guy by the amp is giving me thirsty looks. I’m beginning to recognize the signs, not to mention his fangs are showing. See what I mean?”
“Hard to miss.” I sent the guy a serious mental threat to his future sex life, and he turned away. “That AB negative running through your veins is like fine champagne to us fanged ones.” I linked my arm through his. “The guy’s going to leave you alone for now, but just to be safe, don’t come here again unless Ray’s with you. Most of this crew is on a liquid diet.” I fought my own fangs. AB negative was my personal favorite.
“So who are you with these days, Glory? The way you left Hollywood after the Grammys, I figured you were finally on your own.” Nate pulled me close. “You want to sip some of my wine? Come back to my hotel room. We can get comfortable, then you can have all you want.”
“Why not?” I grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door. From the look on his face, I’d shocked him.
“There you go. Now you’re acting like one of us.” Alesa was proud.
“Where are you going?” Rafe was suddenly right in front of us and looking dangerous, even with a smile on his face.
“Nate invited me back to his hotel for a late night snack.” I smiled and leaned against him. “You know what I am, Rafe.”
“Yes, I do.” He touched his throat, and there were snickers from a few of the vamps working. He turned to glare at them, and laughter was quickly drowned out by the buzz of power tools.
“You trying to stop her?” Nate didn’t let me go, which made me respect him and pity him. He didn’t have a clue how far in over his head he was.
“Ooo. Are they going to fight over you? Bloodshed. I love it.”
“No need.” What had I been thinking? I didn’t drink from mortals. I had to get a grip on this demon inside me. I shoved my fangs and my urges back where they belonged and kissed Nate’s cheek. “Thanks for the offer, Nathan, but better not. Now head out and be careful.”
“You sure, Glory?” Nate glared at Rafe. “This guy’s not forcing you—”
“I’m my own woman, Nate.” I said this to Rafe too. I shoved Nate toward the door. “Good night.”
Nathan grabbed a suit jacket and briefcase, and practically sprinted for the door. I’d like nothing better than to take a hike myself. I actually took a step toward freedom.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Rafe grabbed my arm. “So you’re your own woman. Not mine, obviously. Does that mean you’re going back to Blade when he hits town?”
I looked down to where he gripped my arm. He was strong, and his fingers would leave a mark. He let me go with a curse.“Give me a break.” A wave of heat hit me. What was that about? “We hooked up. Does that mean I’m yours now? I don’t think so. And if I don’t want to hurt Jerry any more than necessary, that’s my choice.” I glared at him.
“You tell him, girlfriend.” Alesa approved.
“Yeah, well, it drives me crazy when other men come on to you.” Rafe glared back. “What am I supposed to do? Act like it means nothing to me? You know—” He put his hand on my shoulder. “Damn it, Glory. You know it meant everything to me.”
I couldn’t stay mad. I slid my arms around Rafe’s waist. “I get that, Rafe. But I saw what our news did to Ray, and he and I were just friends. Jerry and I . . .”
“Yeah, I get it. He made you. You two have been off and on for centuries. Blah, blah, blah. I’ve heard all this before.” Rafe stayed rigid, not even relaxing when I ran my hands up and down his back. “You forget that when I was at your feet, wearing a fur overcoat, I heard all your excuses, all your reasons why you couldn’t give up on old Jer.” He backed away, throwing my hands off of him. “Guess nothing’s changed. Except that I got to enjoy your bed and your body for a change.” He looked me up and down, like he was wondering if it had been worth the wait.
I smacked him right across his handsome face, then stared at my hand like it was an alien being. Inside, Alesa laughed like a wild thing. Damn her.
“You really shouldn’t have done that.” Rafe grabbed my hand and pulled me to him, the look in his eyes warning me that I had started something dangerous.
“Rafe.” I slipped a button free on my blouse. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. Things have changed. I swear it. I’m confused, that’s all. I can’t just throw away those centuries with Jerry if this isn’t ...”
“What? The real deal?” Rafe shook his head. “What’s real and what’s not? I sure as hell don’t know. I’ve heard you lie to people and never blink. I can do the same. It’s how we survive. Damn it, every time you block your thoughts”—he gave me a hard look—“like you’re doing now, I figure you’re lying about something, and it’s killing me.”
“Back at you, Rafael.” I understood. I eased closer. I sent him a mental message about what I wasn’t wearing under my skirt. That hard look heated up. Progress.
“Quit trying to play me, Glory. I thought I meant more to you than that.” He pulled me closer. “I won’t sneak around with you and then watch you go hit it with Blade when he gets back. I did that for too damn long, and it hurt too damn bad.”
“Rafe, I’m not going to treat you like that. You do mean more to me ...” But I didn’t want to hurt Jerry either. I looked around and realized this was a hell of a place for this kind of conversation “Can you leave? Can we go back to our place?”
“Not till Nadia gets back. There’s too much to do before the opening.” Rafe dropped my hand and whistled to a man behind the bar. “Jimmy, take Ms. St. Clair home. Make sure she’s inside her apartment with the door locked before you leave.”
“Got it, boss.” Jimmy nodded. He was a shifter I’d met in here once before, when Rafe had first rented the place.
“I don’t want—”
“Just go, Glory. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rafe waved me away, then strode over to talk to the men with the sound equipment.
I watched him, so strong and confident and so damned right. I guess I was a coward, afraid to make a choice. Afraid to come clean with Jerry. Modern women managed more than one man well enough, or seemed to on the TV shows I’d seen. Problem was, I couldn’t seem to get the hang of modern ways. I dressed modern, talked modern, but I was obviously still stuck back in the 1600s in some ways. Stupid. Because that was the very thing that bugged me about Jerry. He always treated me like that ancient female he’d met back in the day, helpless and in need of a keeper. Damn, I’d hate to think he’d been right about me all along.
No. Ancient males were possessive and wouldn’t change. Unfortunate it was the ancient ones that attracted me—Jerry and Rafe. Ray wasn’t ancient, but I’d like to have a go at him too. Why couldn’t I have them all?
“You can, you should. The more men, the merrier.” Alesa was all for it. But I knew better than to think that would work. Who did I want? Rafe or Blade? Both of them meant so much to me. And I didn’t have to choose yet. Rafe was here. Blade wasn’t.
I locked the apartment door and waited until Jimmy clomped down the stairs. Did Rafe really think he could just send me to my room? No freakin’ way. Sure he had work to do, but I was going back to that night club and talking to him. I had a point to make and knew just how I’d do it. I changed clothes, then unlocked the door, stuffing my cell phone in one pocket of my jeans and my keys in the other.
I was going to try a different approach, a surprise attack that would catch Rafe off guard and hopefully make him listen to reason. I slipped down the stairs and out the front door. I looked both ways, hugging the shadows next to the building. I didn’t want anyone to see what I did next.
It was really late, almost four in the morning now, and the street was deserted. Fine. I shifted and headed toward Rafe’s club. It wasn’t far, just a few blocks. Even if Simon had surveillance on the front of my apartment building, I doubt he’d have noticed my change. I picked up the pace. Rafe was going to be so amazed, he was bound to soften toward me. I was counting on it.
The back door of the club was locked of course, but I waited until a delivery truck pulled up at the loading dock and the driver got out. I hid in the shadows as he rang a bell. Nadia must have paid a premium to get tables delivered this late.