One
“Would you quit walking around here naked?” I’d tolerated the smell of coffee and—much, much worse—baking cinnamon rolls, but I’d be damned if I’d watch my new roommate eat and drink wearing nothing more than a damp towel.
“Why, Glory? Is the sight of my bare chest getting to you?” Rafael Valdez licked white icing off one fingertip, and my fangs stabbed through my gums.
“Listen. I’ve put up with your marathon showers until there’s no hot water left for mine. And your cooking smells.” Oh, great. Tears. But was it fair? Rafe’s a shape-shifter with a shifter’s insatiable appetite. He’d spent nearly five years stuck in dog body acting as my bodyguard. Now he was staying in hunky human form and was no longer at my mercy for his menu. Who knew he was a gourmet cook? Maybe popping open a can of sweet rolls wasn’t gourmet in some books, but I knew nirvana when I smelled it.
He polished off roll number six—yes, I’d been counting—then stood. I would not notice the towel flapping open. He strolled over—flap, flap—to lay a gentle hand on my shoulder. Someone in this apartment was making a trip to the nearest discount store to get jumbo beach towels tonight. Since Rafe obviously didn’t care who ogled his family jewels, that someone would have to be me. Serve him right if I bought hot pink Hello Kitty. Let him strut his stuff in that.
“I’m sorry, Glory.” He smiled, his dimples showing.
It was still a shock to see Valdez as a human hottie. He’d been a cute dog, usually a Labradoodle with wavy black hair. Still had the thick curly locks, with dark eyes to match, but now there was a whole Latin-lover thing going on, complete with those teasing dimples that were an absolute killer where the ladies were concerned.
Not me, of course. We were friends. That’s it. V knew way too much about me. He’d been an up close and personal witness to my love life, a tangled mess at the moment. And he’d listened to me wail ad nauseam about my issues. Which were numerous. I’m even afraid he knows my deepest, darkest secret—the number when I step on a bathroom scale. I’d been through a weight-loss experiment recently and had a feeling he’d peeked. I mean, wouldn’t you if your best friend weighed in mere feet away?
“Forget it, V. I’m a mess. Doesn’t take much to set me off these days.” My voice cracked. Oops. Was another meltdown coming? Personally, I was sick of myself. Made some tough decisions lately, and regretted at least one of them almost instantly.
“No, Glory, I’ve been an ass. I get it. Vampires can’t eat. I know what it’s like to crave what you can’t have.” He pulled me into his arms, and I felt weepy enough to actually lean into him. Damn those cinnamon rolls. Out of a can, but still.
“It’s just that they smell so good.” And he looked so fine. And felt so warm and strong and . . . I sucked it up and pushed back. “We need to get some things straight here.” I didn’t have to glance down to know that, hello, part of him was already headed in that direction under the stupid skimpy towel. Nice to know Mr. Tall, Dark and Shifty wasn’t immune to my dubious charms.
Oh, who was I kidding? I still had on my shapeless Snoopy nightshirt and hadn’t combed my hair since yesterday. It was probably his breakfast Rafe was excited about.
“Yeah, well. It’s your place. But I’ve got to eat.” His dimples were showing again as he headed back to sit at the kitchen table. “I’ll scarf these down, then spray some air freshener. Will that make you feel better?”
I sighed and collapsed on the couch. “It would make me feel better if you put on some clothes. And, excuse me for noticing, bought some underwear.”
“Whoa. Guess I am getting to you.” He laughed. “Cut me a break. I spent years naked inside a dog body. No wardrobe necessary.” He dragged a finger through a puddle of icing and licked it clean. Tormentor. “And I’ve never been too crazy about underwear. But for you, I’ll deal. Shopping’s just low on my priorities right now. I’ve been trying to get this nightclub off the ground.”
“Yeah, how’s that going?” I picked up my bottle of synthetic blood. Yawn. Not even my favorite type. Because my fave is expensive. And Glory St. Clair is always on a budget.
“Not great. Everything costs more than I thought it would. So today I finally caved and called an old friend. She has plenty of money and likes the club scene. Unfortunately, knowing Nadia, she won’t be a silent partner.” Rafe picked up his empty plate, rinsed it off and set it in the sink.
“Nadia? Is she a shifter too?” Even the name sounded exotic.
“Vampire. I worked for her back in the seventies. She’s got bars and nightclubs all over the world. Austin, Texas, in general, will be a new scene for her so she’s coming tomorrow to scope it out. If she likes what she sees, we’ll strike a deal.” Rafe plopped into a chair across from me.
Oh, he did not just flash me. I stood and stalked into the kitchen to rinse out my glass bottle. We recycle.
“Good luck with that. Now I’m going down to the shop. Up here we need some rules. You’ve got to shower during the day while I’m conked out in my death sleep. The hot water heater here is only good for one shower a night, and I have a feeling you just took it.” I strode over to the bathroom door, figuring the cold shower I’d get was what I deserved with these instant replays of leaning on the almost naked Rafe in my brain.
“Sorry. My body clock’s still on vamp time. Work all night, sleep all day, but with one eye open. You know?” Rafe got up and sauntered over to face me.
“Right. You went way above and beyond what any paycheck required to protect me.” I kept my eyes on his. Otherwise, I’d be checking out that truly great chest just inches from my nose. Didn’t help that his scent was as familiar as my own. Hey, Valdez the dog had slept on the foot of my bed for years. One inhale and I felt safe and close to the best friend I’d ever had.
“We’re even. You saved my furry butt a time or two.” He grinned. “Like from a crowd of energy-sucking psychos.”
“We’ll never be even.” I couldn’t smile about that memory. He’d almost been killed by a group of vampires who’d been trying to get to me. “I’ll always be grateful to you. But you’re off the payroll. And I’ve got to learn to deal without a bodyguard now. We’re friends. Roommates. So sleep with both eyes closed, buddy. You deserve that.”
I admit that, while I was determined to be independent for the first time in my life, the concept freaked me out more than a little. But I’d told my overprotective maker and long-time lover, Jeremy Blade, to give me my space. That included no more freebies like the twenty-four-seven security he’d provided for the past, oh, four hundred years. Stupid me had even turned down the chance to stay in Hollywood and play house with the amazing rock star Israel Caine.
Sure I’m insane. But that’s me. Now I was out to prove that I could stand on my own two feet. In cute shoes, of course. The fact that I’d cried myself to sleep ever since I’d come back from Hollywood was just me being stupid.
“You deserve to be safe. How I sleep is my business, Glory. Don’t stress over it.” Rafe put his hands on my shoulders. “And get this, lady.” He stared down at me, suddenly serious. No sign of a dimple. “Yeah, I’m your friend, and I’ll always protect you if I see the need, with or without a paycheck.”
“You shouldn’t—” I blinked when he backed me up to a wall.
“I don’t take orders from you anymore. Right?”
“Right. Rafe, what’s the deal?” Compared to my vamp subhuman temperature, his body was almost hot. I inhaled again, but this time instead of “safe” I got a sizzle of something I hadn’t expected.
“The deal is I’ve watched you with Blade and Caine, and I figure there’s a reason you won’t commit to either one of them.” He moved his hands from my shoulders to my neck, his thumbs doing funny things to the skin behind my ears.
“Uh.” I shivered, absolutely speechless for once.
His grin was slow and knowing. “Don’t worry, Glory. I’m not going to rush you. But one of these nights I’m going to end up in your bed again, and it’s not going to be lying at your feet.”
He stepped back and headed down the hall, his towel hitting the floor as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door.
I was left with the image of his perfect taut butt burned into my brain. Dimples there too. Damn.
“Glory, I’m glad you’re here. Things have been crazy.” Lacy Devereau, my day manager and right-hand girl in the shop, looked me over. “You okay?”
“Fine. Rafe’s been torturing me with his cooking again, that’s all.” I smiled at a customer heading toward a dressing room with a vintage dress over her arm. “Business good, then?”
“Okay, but that’s not the crazy part. It’s Flo. She’s made this place into wedding central. You know I’m one of her bridesmaids.” Lacy glanced behind her and lowered her voice. “Stop her, Glory. She’s talking about changing the dresses again. I don’t care if she is paying. With the wedding only weeks away, they’ll never get here on time.”
“You’re right. I’m on it.” I picked up a pile of receipts. The daily take hadn’t been too shabby. My vintage clothing and antique store was on trendy Sixth Street, between Mugs and Muffins, a coffee shop owned by a fellow vamp, and a tattoo parlor. The location for Rafe’s nightclub was a few blocks down. We weren’t far from the University of Texas, and my shop had become a hangout for some of the students. Since I call my place Vintage Vamp’s Emporium and my bud Florence Da Vinci, the not-so-blushing bride, had painted a vampire mural on the wall, we were really popular with Goths and vampire wannabes. I’d tried to discourage that at first, then played along, even passing out fake fangs at Halloween.
“Where’s Flo now?” I was maid of honor and had finally persuaded my former roomie to go with slimming black and a bodice that would cover a double-D cup. Being a tiny size six herself, Flo really didn’t get a full-figured gal’s issues with some of the cute little numbers she liked for her bridesmaids.