Real Vampires Live Large

“Where the hell do you think you’re going? It’s almost dawn.” Richard grabbed my arm, jerking me to a halt.

“Nowhere. I’m exhausted and I’m going to bed. But first”—I dragged a phone out of my purse—“I’m going to make a call.”

“Not Westwood.” Richard grabbed for the phone, but I used a vamp move to dodge him.

“Nope. This isn’t my phone, it’s Greg Kaplan’s. And I just bet . . .” I scrolled through his address book. Lots of women. A guy named Lucky and, oh, yes, Simon. I punched the button and heard the phone start ringing.

“Hello.”

“Flo?”

“Yes.” I heard a big sigh. “I’m okay, Glory. Simon saw this number on the caller ID and made me answer.”

“Made you answer. Are you sure you’re all right?” I shoved at Richard who tried to grab the phone again. Of course he was practically breathing down my neck, listening too.

“I’m fine. I just decided I had to come back here. I left my new Calvin Klein stretch suede boots. So foolish of me. I shifted into my favorite bird and flew right out here.” She laughed and I heard a male voice in the background. “I know, I know. It’s too close to dawn for me to leave now. So I stay. You go to sleep and quit worrying about me. Tell Richard too. Simon is taking good care of me. I’m fine.”

“Flo—”

She’d hung up.

"What do you think?” I snapped the phone shut and looked at Richard.

“I’d say she’s in no danger yet. Obviously Simon is enjoying her company and she’s no worse for wear if she had enough power left to shape-shift.” He gestured and I gave him Greg’s phone. “Let me look at this. I’ll see what I can find out from these numbers.” Richard was looking as exhausted as I felt. Valdez and Will had settled on either side of the door, Will obviously out like a light.

“Tomorrow.” I took the phone and set it on the coffee table. “You want to crash on Flo’s bed?”

“I’d rather crash on yours.” Richard ran his hand across my cheek to my ear. “Just sleep. Too close to dawn for anything else.”

I knew it wasn’t a good idea to sleep in the same bed with him. And I sure wasn’t in the mood for sex with anyone, not even Richard who was looking really good to me. Kind of like Spike on Buffy good. Have you seen his calendar?

“Fine. But you’re sleeping in your clothes.” Silly. We’d both be dead to the world as soon as the sun hit the horizon which, according to my body clock, was about three minutes from now. Hey, we both needed to lighten up after all this angst. Richard played along, though he was obviously still worried. “And what are you sleeping in?”

“You’ll see.” I strutted to my bedroom and slammed the door. Sexless or sexy? I rummaged in a drawer until I found the perfect thing. By the time I opened the door again, I could hardly keep my eyes open.

“Come to bed, Richard.”

He laughed, a full-throated belly laugh that made me smile. Who knew this intense, complicated man could laugh until he cried. I liked him even more, especially when he brushed past me, just close enough for me to feel his interest. The man was obviously insane. He’d have to be to make a pass at a woman in Smurfs footie pajamas. Sixteen

I was hot, stifling, and I couldn’t wiggle my toes. My arms were weighed down, pinned to the bed. Not fair. Not with Johnny Depp just inches away and snoring softly. I wanted to wake him with a surprise. Me, wrapped in nothing but my birthday suit. I pushed and finally managed to get an arm free. If I could just touch him . . .

“Watch where you put that hand, Glory.”

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 parttimer. “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. ns class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">