"I'll take you home." Of course he'd followed me. "You're not walking. Too far and you'll get lost. You don't know Austin yet. And it's dangerous out there."
"Dangerous? I'm a blood-sucking freaking vampire, Damian." But I would take a ride. I had no idea how to get home from here. I didn't say anything. No point since Damian was reading my mind anyway. I stomped out to the car and got in. He wasn't completely stupid with lust because he started the car and drove me back to the shop in silence. He parked and put his hand on mine when I reached for the door handle.
"Don't be mad at me, cara. I act the beast because you're such a desirable woman." He pulled my hand to his mouth. I swear, if he'd dragged a fang across it, I would have punched him right in his Roman nose. He raised his head.
"A man would have to be made of stone or like Frederick to not make a move on you."
"So this was my fault?" I jerked my hand from his and opened the car door. "Fine. I'm irresistible so you make a move. But biting when I said no, that's a violation of the vamp code, Damian. Unforgivable."
"You said no, but you whispered yes, in your mind."
"Stay the hell away from me and my mind." I slammed the car door. Oh, great. The sign now said Open and I could see movement inside. Lacy wasn't supposed to come in until six-thirty but maybe she'd come in early. I breathed and tried to calm down.
My insides were still quivering because, SOB or not, Damian knew how to rev me up. His car still idled at the curb and I could feel him watching me. He knew better than to speak in my mind, but he was probably reading it. If I didn't go inside in exactly three seconds, he'd probably take another shot. No. I hated him. Hated Blade. Hated men in general. Let him read that. The bells tinkled as I stepped inside.
Chapter Seven
"Enjoy your night, Gloriana?" CiCi was counting out change to a customer in front of the register. The woman had a bulging bag and glanced at me, then did a double take.
"I'd say she did." The woman stuffed her change into her Louis Vuitton bag and winked before heading toward the door.
"Whisker burn and love bites. And that was a good-looking man in that convertible."
"He's gay. Tonight he was experimenting with hetero-sexuality. The experiment failed." Take that, Damian! He gunned the vamp-mobile's motor, tires squealing as he drove away.
"I don't think so." The woman laughed. "But you're obviously pissed at him. Naughty boy?"
"Nasty, not naughty." I ran a hand over my hair and pulled up my collar. Of course Damian hadn't erased the bites. He'd been proud of them. Jerk.
"This is a great shop, by the way. Austin needed a quality vintage-clothing store. And open all night. I'm an ER doctor and just got off duty. Too wired to sleep, so this is prime shopping time for me." The woman waved and headed out the door.
"This great shop was closed when I dropped by earlier, Gloriana. That woman just spent three hundred dollars and we almost missed the sale. Thank God she didn't want to use her credit card. I have no idea how to do those, you know." CiCi slammed the register shut. "I thought we were to be open twenty-four hours."
We'd almost missed the sale? Obviously CiCi had decided she was my partner and maybe she deserved to be, the way she'd helped me set up. But while I was grateful to her, I was sole proprietor here. It said so on the papers Freddy's lawyer had filed for me.
"I had an emergency. I had to leave." I looked down a little late to make sure I was zipped high enough for decency.
"An emergency." CiCi plucked a red rose from the vase and waved it toward the door. "I would say so. If nasty, naughty Damian Sabatini crooked his, um, finger at me, I'd certainly never look back."
Wow. I sat down in the nearest chair. This was an interesting development. CiCi had the hots for Damian. Well, who didn't?
Not Glory St. Clair, not after the past hour.
"You want Damian? He's all yours."
"No. Obviously he wants you whether you want him or not. But I'm thinking it's been a while since I've taken a lover." CiCi held the rose to her nose and sighed. "Too long. I will remedy that immediately." A horn honked. "Freddy's here. To pick me up. You'll be all right until Lacy gets here?" I jumped up and hugged CiCi. "Thanks for skipping the lecture and reopening the shop. I really did have an emergency. A man came in with fang marks babbling about a white-haired vamp who said prayers the entire time he was feeding. The vamp didn't even bother to erase the marks, much less the man's memory. Damian helped me take him home."
"A white-haired vampire. Yes, I know such a one. A very handsome one, in fact. But in Austin? This is news to me." CiCi walked to the door and waved at Freddy. "I'll tell Frederick about this. We must find this vampire and educate him on how we do things here. We've been able to enjoy our life because we don't call attention to ourselves." CiCi smiled and patted my cheek. "A lesson you learned long ago."
"Yes. It's a basic survival skill."
"But what is the point of surviving if you are lonely and miserable?" CiCi gave me a searching look. "Give Damian a chance to make you happy."
"I make myself happy. I'm not lonely or miserable. I have this shop and my friends." I grabbed the vase full of roses. "You want these? Otherwise they're going in the Dumpster out back."
"Oh, my. You have had a busy evening. Of course I read the card that came with these." CiCi sniffed, then picked up the vase.
"Mmm. These are divine. But obviously Jeremiah is also on your 'I hate men' list." She headed to the door. "These will look wonderful on my dining room table."
I held open the door and waved at Freddy. "Did you see how much we sold tonight?" CiCi laughed. "Yes, indeed. That's why I couldn't be too mad at you for leaving. You've sold clothes, my sideboard, and the customer that just left bought a piece of Sabino glass I'd consigned. We're rich!" As if CiCi hadn't already been rolling in dough. But I agreed that it was pretty special to know you've made it yourself. Lacy bounded down the stairs and out the entrance of the apartment part of the building just as CiCi got into the car. We both watched Freddy drive off. Lacy nodded toward the building.
"You'd better get upstairs. That mutt of yours is going nuts worrying about you. He barked for hours. Ruined my beauty sleep." She ran a hand over her hair.
"You look great, as usual." She was sticking with a vintage look. A seventies tie-dyed T-shirt and bell-bottom pants today.
"Thanks. But, much as I hate to say it, I think we're going to have to let fur face come down to the shop with you from now on." Fur face had used his Glory radar, ratting me out to Blade when I left the shop. Blade would never have hunted me down at Damian's otherwise. Damn it. This was intolerable. I hadn't bothered to listen to my voice mail and wasn't sure I ever would. The sky was getting lighter, I felt like the living dead and I still had to walk Valdez.
"Flo walked him." Lacy made a face. "Oops. Sorry. I don't want to read your mind, it just happens. Now go up to bed. You look exhausted. And I think you're getting a rash." Lacy patted my shoulder.
I rubbed my cheeks, still tender from Damian's kisses. My breasts had the same "rash." I'd kept my collar up so at least Lacy hadn't spotted those marks. But I was a mess, from wild hair to aching toes.
"I am tired. But the register…"
Lacy pushed me toward the resident entrance. "I'll count the receipts for the night and lock them in the safe. We should start each morning with just a small amount of cash on hand."
"Thank you." I hugged her. "You did great last night. I'm thinking of adding a commission to your pay. If I don't have to fire you, that is."
"You won't. I promise. A commission would be fantastic." Lacy punched in the code on the keypad next to the door. "I know I persuaded you to lock up the mutt last night, but I'm serious. Flo was carrying on about something bad that happened tonight. Maybe Valdez should be here with you."
Something bad. I hurried up the stairs, making a mental list of vampires I'd met. Flo was all right, upstairs with Valdez. I'd just seen Freddy, CiCi and Damian. Damian had infuriated me, but vamps stick together. If bad things were happening, we needed to protect ourselves and figure out how to stop them.
Flo flung open our door before I got down the hallway.
"Where have you been? When I came home and saw the store was closed, I worried."
"A little emergency. I'll tell you about it later. I'm fine." I sat on the love seat and kicked off my shoes. Valdez just stared at me, his head on his paws. He was pouting next to the television which was off for a change. Flo must really be upset.
"I'm sorry I worried you. What's this trouble Lacy mentioned?"
Flo shuddered and sat across from me in one of the club chairs she'd added to the decor. My own furnishings were pretty sparse, especially after I'd decided to sell most of them.
"I was with my lover." She held up her hand when Valdez growled. "None of your business, signor." She kicked off her highheeled pumps. "I broke it off with him. I'm sick of sneaking around. I don't know why he doesn't want anyone to know he's in town. Everyone would welcome him." She looked at me for confirmation.
"Right. I'm sorry. Is that all?"
Flo sat up straight. "You think that is my trouble?" She snapped her fingers. "Lovers are nothing to me. One goes, mother appears. He did not break my heart, Glory."
"Fine. So what's your trouble?"
"Tell her, green eyes. Maybe she'll get the message that I ain't stayin' locked up in this apartment another night." Green eyes nodded. "I saw the hunter. Westwood."
"Here? In Austin? Does Blade know?" I remembered my cell phone in my pocket. Of course Blade knew. Maybe he'd actually had a reason to call me, besides to ruin my sex life.