“Oh, yeah.” I sighed, struggling to come back to earth. For a few moments it had been great just to dance and forget everyone but Jerry. I squeezed his hand. Ray and Sienna jumped up to sing together again. They put their arms around each other, bumping hips as they danced, and sang a rock song this time, Ray’s band backing them up. It was high energy and fun.
“You okay?” Jerry said softly into my ear.
“Sure.” I turned and ran my hand over his jaw. “Flo’s right. That song put me in the mood to make love to you. What do you think?”
“I could handle that.” He grinned and pulled me toward the door. “We’re out of here.” He nodded to Richard.
“Right behind you.” Richard hauled a giggling Flo up into his arms and followed us. “Caine has a hit on his hands.”
“Ricardo, put me down.” She hit his shoulder. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“These kids think it’s funny. Look at them.” He grinned and nodded. Sure enough, his stunt helped clear a path for us to the front door. Once I thought I caught a whiff of that sweet, nasty smell again but I never saw anyone fitting Mel’s description. Then we were outside, the fresh October air a welcome relief after the crowd inside.
“See you later.” Richard set Flo on her feet then hurried her toward his car, ignoring her protests about manners. He had a look that promised a passionate night for them both.
“Well, now what?” I grinned at Jerry. “You know I have a roommate.” And she was a terror. No way was I dragging my man home to that.
“Come home with me. They don’t need you in the shop again tonight, do they?” He pulled me toward his car parked down the street.
“Not unless Mel unleashes another invasion. Roaches maybe?” I shuddered then patted my pocket. “I’ve got my cell.”
“Let’s go.” He glanced around. “If that woman knows what’s good for her, she’ll leave you alone. This isn’t the way to win my heart.” He helped me into his convertible, then settled in, hitting a button to let the top down before steering into traffic. The cool air felt good and I let the wind blow my worries away.
“I still don’t understand how you ever got involved with a woman like Melisandra Du Monde.” My comment made Jerry’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. We were stopped at a red light.
“She’s a strong woman and there is something about her . . .” He punched a button and the CD player came on. Trying to distract me? I punched it back off.
“Come on, Jerry, try to explain. This is important to me.” I twisted under my seat belt to face him.
“Right. So can you explain why Israel Caine has your panties in a twist every time you see him?” He gave me a knowing nod, like he’d made a point, before he stepped on the gas.
“I guess so. He has musical talent and I’m a sucker for that. He’s handsome, tall, has those piercing blue eyes that make a woman feel—”
“Enough. I really don’t want to hear a catalog of Caine’s fine qualities. Mel got to me. She has a way of looking at a man that makes him feel powerful. Like he’s a sex god.”
“I swear you’re blushing.” And I swear I was getting pissed. Well, I’d asked for it.
“You make me feel that way too, Gloriana.” He reached out and snagged my hand. “I’ve always wanted to protect you because you make me feel like I’m invincible. It’s something a man needs—to be wanted, looked up to.” He kissed my knuckles. “You and Mel have more in common than you know. But you’re two sides of a coin. You’re the good side. I discovered too late that she’s the bad one.”
“Oh, gosh, Jer.” I glanced around and realized we were in his neighborhood, almost to his house. “This is bizarre and yet I understand what you’re saying. It’s like when a man makes me feel that I’m the most desirable woman in the world.” I pulled our joined hands to my lips and ran my tongue across his knuckles. “You always do that to me.”
“But I don’t just see you as a sex object. I hope you know that.” He pulled the car up in front of the garage and hit a button on the remote. He turned to face me as we waited for the door to open. “You are much more to me than a way to get my rocks off.”
“Back at you.” I smiled and popped off my seat belt, leaning over to kiss him. I crawled right over the console to make sure I could reach his mouth and give it my full attention. The steering wheel cut into my back but I didn’t care.
“Let’s put the car away and go upstairs.” He gently lifted me off of him and drove the car into the garage.
I let him pull me out of the car and then followed him to the house. The garage door came down and we stepped into the kitchen. The house was quiet and smelled faintly of the cleaning supplies his housekeeper used. It was reassuring. At least Mel hadn’t managed to come inside his home yet.
Jerry lifted me into his arms and was about to carry me upstairs to his bedroom when my cell phone buzzed in my pocket.
“Oh, no!”
“Ignore it.” He leaned down to kiss me then strode toward the staircase.
The buzzing was insistent before the call went to voice mail. I gently shoved at Jerry’s chest when he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Let me check the message. I told them not to call unless it was an emergency in the shop.”
“Go ahead.” He set me on my feet. “I’ll be upstairs in my office checking e-mail. Come and get me when you’re done.”
“Count on it.” I jerked my phone out of my pocket. The voice mail was from a number I didn’t recognize. I hit play and pulled the phone to my ear.
“If you want our lover to live, you will meet me tonight. Be in the alley behind your shop in thirty minutes. Believe me, I would rather put a stake through his heart than see him with you forevermore.”
I recognized the voice instantly, smooth yet determined. So I’d finally get a face-to-face with Melisandra. If I was lucky, I could finish this once and for all. Either she saw the light, realized he was never going to be hers, or she was going down. Permanently. One problem. What was I going to tell Jerry? He’d never let me meet her alone if he knew about it. I looked up the stairs toward his office. Damn. I really wanted to forget this woman’s demands and enjoy an evening in Jerry’s arms. But she was just crazy enough to kill him rather than let me have him.
Did I really believe my man couldn’t handle her? I leaned against the banister, suddenly weak in the knees. Maybe he could, but I wasn’t willing to take that chance. I’d almost lost Jerry recently and it had been the worst time of my life. No way was I going to risk that again. Who knew what kind of tricks a voodoo priestess could pull?
So I put on my game face and headed up. I hadn’t told Jerry, but in the nights before the voodoo doll had arrived I’d had strange pains in my body in the exact spots where those pins had been in it. He’d still been in Miami then and I hadn’t known about Mel yet. Only hindsight made me realize the pains and the pins went together. Obviously this woman was more powerful than we realized.
Lying to Jerry was nothing new, even though I hated it. I invented a problem in the shop then kissed him good-bye until he was ready to carry me to bed anyway. Laughing, I promised him a date later. I just hoped that wasn’t another lie.
• • •
I was on high alert when I flew into the alley behind my shop. The smell hit me immediately. It was bad enough that Mugs and Muffins was baking at this time of night, but added to the sugary muffin scent was that overpowering reek of evil. Melisandra was waiting for me.
“You must be Gloriana St. Clair.” The husky voice came out of the darkness near my parked car. I heard the click of high heels as a woman strolled into the light. A breeze brought the unmistakable evidence that she was mortal. She trailed her hand over the trunk, the smile on her face making me shiver.
“I don’t have to ask who you are, skulking here in the dark.” I’d hoped Jerry had been exaggerating, but she was beautiful, her dusky skin the color of milk chocolate. Her long black hair tumbled to her shoulders, and her unusual gray green eyes, framed by long lashes, examined me like she could see right down to my soul. I straightened my own shoulders when all I wanted to do was shift again and head back to Jerry’s arms.
“Yes, I am Melisandra Du Monde. I’ve been wanting to meet you for a long time, Gloriana. Gloriana. Ah, yes, the most interesting Gloriana.” My name had become a chant. She gestured with her right hand, her scarlet nails gathering air around her.
I stepped back before I could stop myself when that air swirled and darkened around her. Magic. I recognized it and quit breathing, sure inhaling it would sear my lungs and either muddle my senses or make me pass out. I glanced around, almost expecting some familiar demons to leap out from behind the cars to sing backup for her.
Hey, I was no ordinary vampire. I could take her. Malicious tricks or not, she could die. I couldn’t. I smiled.
“I’ve seen your handiwork in my shop, Mel. Do you really think those stunts are going to help your cause with Jerry? So far you’ve just pissed him off on my behalf.” I couldn’t help noticing her voluptuous figure under a sharp black business suit that came from a well-known designer. She would have fit right in at a conference table in any Fortune 500 company. She was just Jerry’s type with full breasts and generous hips. Only her eyes betrayed the crazy beneath her professional demeanor. “He really doesn’t like to see me upset.”
“Ah. Were you? Upset?” She blew on her palm and dust peppered my face, making my eyes burn. “That makes me very happy.”
“Didn’t you hear me?” I blinked to clear my vision, refusing to rub my eyes which stung like a son of a bitch. “Your dirty tricks are alienating Jerry.”
“He’ll get over it.” She smiled. “When we’re back together, Jeremiah will forget all about you. I have ways to ensure it. I know what he likes, you see.”