"Of course. Oh, goddess, but that's a beautiful song." Aggie swayed when Ray hummed some more. "One of my favorites."
"We've got to get this deal with you wrapped up before the Grammys or my career's in the toilet. You know that, don't you?"
"So wrap it up." Aggie gave me a dirty look. "What's the hold up, Glory?"
"I'm working on it. But if I have to worry about my friends"
"A little worry is incentive, chickie. Hop to it. Ray, get your adorable butt out of here before the sun hits you. Don't give William another thought. Except for a few rug burns on his backside because I miss my Charlie and I need someone to help me get my, um, exercise, he'll be fine."
"Oh, my God!" Will's cries core at my heart.
"Don't hurt him, Aggie." I tried to tune out Will's whimpers. "He's a fabulous cook. You want something better than Twinkles to eat, don't you?"
"Are you kidding me?" Aggie wrinkled her snout. "I don't believe you."
"It's true!" Will was about to crawl through the bars. "I've studied with master chefs from all over the world." He glanced at me.
"I'm a better at cooking than anything I do horizontally. Ask my old girlfriends." Ray and I looked at each other. Who knew? And if Will got out of this, I'm sure he'd deny he ever said it. Hey, I knew a desperate man when I saw one.
Aggie licked cream off her claw. "Well now, seems I caught myself a real prize. There's a vacant house on the other side of the lake. I could" She looked at Ray. "Didn't I tell you to leave? If you vanish in a puff of smoke, I'll never forgive you. Run along. Go! Both of you!"
I stared at Will and sent him a mental message. "Why don't you shape-shift and crawl or slither out of there?"
"Give it up, Glory. William has no powers when he's under my control." Aggie gave me a stern look. "He can't shift. He can't even hear your little messages. Now move out before my darling Israel becomes a crispy critter." She flapped her flippers.
"We're going, Aggie!" Ray grabbed my hand and jerked me away from the cave entrance.
"I hate to leave him like that," I said after we'd climbed back into the boat.
"No choice, babe. Will's a desperate man. I think he'll talk his way out of exercising Aggie, but it's up to us to bring in a substitute for him." Ray started the boat, then pulled a blanket from his storage locker and threw it over my shoulders.
"I know." I shuddered and clutched the blanket. "Damned Siren. It's a good thing vamps don't dream, because what we just saw tonight would be giving me nightmares for sure."
"Me too." Ray looked at me and grimaced. "Kind of funny though. Exercising Aggie? Sex with a sea monster like that would burn more than a few calories."
I punched his arm. "Funny until it's you on the bottom of that pile."
When we pulled up at the dock, Brittany was waiting for us and grabbed the rope Ray tossed to her. They both tied the boat to the dock, then Ray helped me climb onto dry land.
"Wet again?" Brittany wasn't smiling. "Have you seen Will? Last night he was supposed to be off. But tonight he was a no show. I'm starting to get worried."
Ray glanced at me. "Sorry, Brittany. Should have told you. He's helping out in town. Glory and I had a problem in the park earlier tonight. I called him to stay near the apartment in case that fan came back. The woman was a real psycho."
"Oh, wow. Leaves us shorthanded out here, though." Brittany shook her head. "You'd both better get out of those wet clothes. That Siren still giving you hell?"
"Of course. We're heading upstairs to change right now." I glanced at the sky. "Guess I'm staying here tonight, Ray. No way we can make it back to my place."
"Fine with me. We've still got some unfinished business, anyway." Ray slung an arm around me. "Brittany, why don't you do a last swing around the grounds? And don't worry about staff. You've got plenty of mortal guards. You should be okay."
"I was afraid Will" Brittany looked out over the water. "That Siren's not interested in shifters?"
"Will's fine. And you'll be fine too. The Siren's only after vampires this trip." Ray really was an excellent liar. A handy talent unless you needed to trust him. I shoved that thought aside.
"That's a relief. See you tomorrow night then." Brittany headed off into the night. Ray and I stepped into the elevator and headed up. Once we were in the kitchen, I glanced at the refrigerator. "You want a last bottle of synthetic? You never did feed."
"No way." Ray grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs. "You were about to let me drink from you when Aggie called. Come on, lady, we're going to finish what we started."
"You'd better take what you can get, Romeo. It's almost dawn, Ray. I'm sure you can feel it. I know I can. I'm really dragging." We headed up to his bedroom. "We don't have to share a bed."
"Sure we do. You think the housekeeper who cleans the rest of the house while we sleep doesn't report to those paparazzi outside? I'm betting she supplements her income with whatever she can find out."
"Fire her then."
"Now, Glory, you know it doesn't matter where we sleep. It's the next few minutes you're trying to avoid." Ray threw open his bedroom door. "I'm feeling weak. You got yours tonight, now it's my turn."
"I'm changing out of these wet clothes. I suggest you do the same." I charged into the closet I was coming to know way too well. I stripped off and hung up my jeans, sweater and underwear. Hopefully they'd dry without shrinking by the time I woke up tonight. I slipped into a black T-shirt and then realized the boxers were in a drawer in the bedroom. Oh, well. If Ray thought he was going to get more than a quick drink at the Glory fountain, he was doomed to disappointment. I opened the closet door. Ray was lying in the middle of the king-size bed. He had on a pair of red silk boxers. Poser. And, damn, did he look good.
"Come here, Glory." He grinned and patted the bed beside him.
"Fine." I flopped down next to him and held out my wrist. "Take what you need. Just get it over with."
"Are you kidding me?" Ray sat up. "What is this? The vampire version of 'Not tonight dear, I've got a headache'?"
"Now that you mention it" I hid my smile. "I'm not refusing you, Ray. This is more like offering you a five minute" Ray put his hand over my mouth.
"Don't say it." Ray pulled my wrist to his lips then swept his tongue across my vein. "At least you didn't send me to the bathroom with porn. That's what one girlfriend did."
"Oh, that's what happened in the kitchen. I guess you missed it. I forgot to mention I'd flash my fangs while you drank your synthetic if it made you feel better about it."
Ray nipped the inside of my elbow. "Do I feel a chill? Or is that the usual vampire body temp?" He kissed his way down to my wrist again. "I'll take your pity offer and enjoy it. Because your taste does more for me than my Jack ever did. If I try to take too much, yank on my hair." Ray settled on top of me, a lover about to make me his, only it was my wrist he was putting to his mouth.
I felt the slide of his fangs as he took me and the pressure of his hips against mine. Oh, God, but this shouldn't be such a rush, yet it was a sweet, sweet feeling as I gave and he accepted. Ray was so much more than the plastic rock star I'd worshipped from afar every time I heard him sing. The man behind the hype was funny and really good at making me feel good. I tugged on his hair. "That's enough, big guy. I'd say we've got just enough time to get under the covers before the sun comes up."
Ray shuddered and licked the wounds closed, then laid his head on my breast. "That was damned good, Glory girl. I think I would marry you. We could do this every night." He looked up, then propped himself up on his elbows. "Well, not this. A hell of a lot more than this." He rolled us over and slid his hands under my T-shirt. "Umm. You're going commando. Now that's my kind of woman."
" 'Night, Ray." I could feel the sun coming up in every cell of my body. Somewhere I found the strength to crawl off of him.
" 'Night, Glo"
woke up to pounding. Ray staggered to the bedroom door and it didn't take vampire hearing to get the message that Sienna was ready to rehearse.
Ray headed to the bathroom where I could hear him brushing his teeth. When he came out, he was wearing a towel, his hair wet, and I realized I must have dozed off.
"I've got to get downstairs." He sat on the edge of the bed and pushed my hair out of my eyes. "Come down when you're ready and we'll make an excuse to get out of here."
"More rehearsals?" I dragged the sheet up to my chin.
"Sienna's freaking out about the Grammys. I get it. She's young. This is her first time." Ray took my hand and pulled it to his lips.
"Oh, no wonder she's so obsessive about rehearsing."
"She was that way before we cut the track for the album too. But this is even worse. I'm trying to be patient, but if she doesn't back off soon" Ray nibbled my fingers.
I smiled and sat up. "Now, Ray, cut the girl some slack. Go rehearse, but you know we've got to be out of here in a few hours. Sienna's just going to have to deal with it. You've gotten pretty good with the whammy. If you have to, use it."
"I hate to. Especially with someone I know." Ray stood and dropped his towel. "Frankly, though, this Grammy thing is pretty far down on my priority list right now. With Will in Aggie's hands"
"I know. I can't forget how he looked behind those bars." I was proud that I managed to choke out that sentence with Ray walking around naked in front of me. He turned to dig out a pair of boxers from the drawer and I sighed. Oh, wow. The way the muscles flexed in his perfect butt made me want to slide my hands down his back then around his front and He glanced over his shoulder and winked. "See something you want, Glory?"