Real Vampires Know Hips Happen (13 page)

“In more ways than one. Imagine sticking your finger into a power outlet while your feet are in water.” I sighed. “But it’s what I’ve got, so I’ll deal.” I paused in the doorway. “Be nice to Cait, she’s a good friend.”

“No worries there. I know a woman who deserves better when I meet one.” He suddenly sniffed the air. “And here she comes. See you later. Maybe.”

I headed up the stairs, brushing past Cait who barely noticed, her eyes locked on Bart. I was glad for her. She’d had some seriously messed up relationships in her past and Bart looked to be a good guy. Finally.

•  •  •

“Where
are you going?” Jerry caught me as I was about to get into the limo.

“Out.” I had almost made a clean getaway. Now he was eyeing me in the dress that was almost the right size but a little skimpy in the bodice. Yes, I’d gotten it zipped but the
neckline was probably not intended to expose quite so much bosom. Jerry certainly noticed the landscape.

“Looking like that? Are you meeting someone?” He dragged his eyes away from my cleavage to where a uniformed driver held the back door open for me. The limo was a vintage Rolls-Royce. Nice.

“Yes. It’s business. I won’t be late.” I slipped into the backseat, careful of my skirt, which was ballerina length. I loved the way the chiffon flowed around me. I didn’t love the way Jerry grabbed the door before the driver could close it.

“Business? What kind of business? You say you own a little shop in this new world. Yet you look like a woman on her way to a seduction. Are you meeting a man, Gloriana? Was all that talk about our starting over just so much blather?”

“Please just let me go, Jer. I can’t deal with this right now. I’m not out to seduce anyone. Trust me on that.” I blocked my thoughts but could read Jerry’s clearly. He
didn’t
trust me and wasn’t sure what to think. My dress was too bold for a lady to wear in public. At least to a man who still hadn’t figured out what was acceptable in this new time.

“Deal with what? You think I’m jealous? Should I be? Can’t I ask a simple question and get a simple answer? Obviously not. Off with you then.” He backed away, slamming the car door himself before the driver could do it. I saw him cross his arms over his chest and just stand there as the man climbed into the front and drove us away.

I didn’t care where we were going and didn’t pay attention to the direction we went as I relived that very frustrating conversation. Of course Jerry thought the worst. I would have jumped to the same conclusions if I’d seen him drive off looking his best and he’d refused to tell me where he was headed. And I did look my best. My mother knew her stuff and I felt pretty darn good from head to toe in my expensive outfit that had included lacy underwear, even shoes. I wished I could have worn it for Jerry and been able to plan an evening with him. Dressed for a seduction? If only.

All too soon we pulled up in front of an elegant town house in a classy part of town. It might even have been near Bart’s offices. I really should have noticed where we’d gone. What if I wanted to leave early? Could I even find my way back to Jerry’s? Probably not. Stupid on my part but it was too late for regrets. I let the chauffeur help me out of the car and entered the stately home where a servant took my clutch purse and escorted me to a sitting room. A fire blazed in a massive marble fireplace and I would have admired the beautiful antiques in other circumstances. As it was, my nerves had me pacing while I waited for what came next.

It didn’t take long. The man who stood in the doorway seemed to just appear. At least he wore earthly clothes, very expensive ones, instead of a toga. His tuxedo was custom tailored to show off a buff body. He was tall and tanned, like maybe he surfed. That crazy thought made me want to laugh. A god from Olympus on a surfboard? Okay, now I was losing it. But his blond hair looked sun bleached and his light eyes glowed with the golden warmth of the sun itself. Actually, he was beautiful. Huh? I didn’t throw that word around when it came to men, and preferred the battlescarred toughness Jerry had.

But I found myself drawn to his side when the man smiled, his perfect white teeth gleaming. It took me a moment to realize this was all probably an illusion. But it was a dazzling show.

“Gloriana, what a pleasure to meet you.” He took my hand in his. The warmth of his skin surged into me, even down to my toes, which were stuffed into new designer sandals—thanks, Mom.

“Hello. May I ask your name?” I couldn’t keep from smiling. His charm was contagious and I couldn’t stop myself from moving even closer, to feel more of his warmth.

“Apollo.” He winked, like he expected me to gasp or something. Instead I wracked my brain. I should have read up on Greek mythology before I came but I did realize this was one of the biggies.

“Apollo? Aren’t you the god of the…?”

“Sun.” Proud grin. “Your mother assured me you’d be hungry for a glimpse of my brilliance.” No bashful boy here, obviously.

Now I got it. He was daylight, that elusive sunshine I never got to feel on my skin. No wonder I was drawn to him. My mother was nothing if not a clever bitch. “Since the sun isn’t something I get to see on a daily basis and hasn’t been for over four hundred years, I’d have to say you’re a novelty.” I couldn’t seem to let go of his hand. Or look away. He was shining, glowing.

I had that tingling goose-bumpy feeling I got when watching a sunrise. Which I’d been lucky enough to do briefly not too long ago with the help of one of Ian MacDonald’s drugs. But that was such a rare and costly deal that I doubted it would ever happen again.

“Not just a novelty, Gloriana.” He pulled me into his arms and I have to admit I didn’t resist, still under the whole sunlight spell. “Close your eyes and let me take you on a little journey. Give you a taste of what your life would be like if you came back with me to Olympus.”

Nothing like going straight for the pitch. Was there a timer going somewhere? Whatever happened to dating, the getting-to-know-you stage? Maybe the gods and goddesses had their own playbooks. If Mr. Perfection here was willing to take me on, my mother must have offered him some sweet deal. Even dressed in the prettiest gown I’d ever owned I felt like a troll compared to his masculine gorgeousness.

“Uh.” I couldn’t manage to complete that brilliant thought because my eyes drifted closed and we were off, riding in a chariot of all things, across a blue, blue sky. My mythology was coming back to me and I had a feeling I knew where this was going. Sure enough, green fields, snow-topped mountains then crowded cities raced by below us. It was magical. Because all the while the heat of that glowing orb, the sun, caressed our faces and our bodies from above. I
now wore a skimpy flowing sundress and my hair blew behind me in the warm breeze. He held me firmly around my waist and I felt completely safe as we careened across the sky.

I lifted my face to the sun, thrilled to actually know the heat of midday again. My breath hitched when I imagined a life where dawn wasn’t the enemy. Apollo pressed closer and I knew that he would hold me by his side forever, day after day, as we made this brilliant sun-drenched journey, seeing places I’d never even imagined existed.

A turquoise ocean gleamed under us and we swooped down to land on a tiny island. While he rested his horses, we splashed in a cove. Then he led me to a feast laid out on an elegant tablecloth. I could eat! I devoured exotic fruits whose flavors burst inside my mouth. When the juices ran down my chin, Apollo laughed and kissed it clean, calling me delicious.

Then he carried me to pristine white sand where he made slow and elegant love to me. I sighed in his arms, more thrilled by the heat of the sun on my naked body than the weight of him as he touched me and whispered Greek love words in my ear. He consumed me, giving me physical pleasure until I cried out his name. But he couldn’t touch my heart. That stayed cold despite the heat all around me.

When the sun started slipping toward the horizon, we ran to the chariot, hurrying to reach our home on Olympus. We were almost panicked but made it safely before night fell. Apollo hated the night and wasn’t allowed to ride after sunset or something dire would happen to us both.

I gasped and pulled away, back to reality with a thud. “No! I would never see the night again?”

“I am a man who lives only for the daylight, Gloriana. Being with me means you would never have to endure the night again—the darkness, the strange creatures who stir then and prey on the weak. I don’t know how you tolerated them.” He brushed a warm hand down my cheek then teased my lips closed with a fingertip when I might have opened them, showing my fangs. I knew he would hate
them. For a moment I was tempted to lean into his touch, savor that warmth, say yes to a life of sunshine with a man who hadn’t once mentioned my imperfections. No.

“I don’t just tolerate the darkness and those creatures. I’m one of them, Apollo. To me the night is beautiful. It’s where I belong.” I tried to push away but he wasn’t ready to give up yet. Whatever prize my mother offered, it must have been a doozy. “You can’t want me. I’m in love with someone else.”

“You’ll forget him. Your mother says he has already forgotten you.” He trailed a fingertip along my ollarbone, tracing the edge of my dress where it dipped between my breasts. “Come with me, Gloriana. You’ll soon be unable to call him to mind yourself, once you have experienced the glories of Olympus. I can guarantee it. We have everything there a woman could want.
I
have everything a woman could want.” His eyes darkened and he gave me a look I recognized. Oh. So Apollo liked a full-figured woman. Good to know.

“I’m sure you are wonderful. But you can’t make me forget the man I love without Olympus trickery. Are you that desperate to please my mother?” I gasped when his eyes flashed golden sparks. Oops. He didn’t like that “d” word.

“I please only myself.” His voice was hard and his hands tightened on my shoulders until I winced. “However”—he seemed to remember that there was something he had to gain here because like a switch had been flipped, he was suddenly all smiles and warm golden light again—“I have been known to please my lovers until they are never again satisfied with anyone else.” He slid his hands down to grasp my hands.

“Apollo.” I tried to pull away.

“Relax, Gloriana. Think this through. Surely you could never regret leaving the darkness that man you claim to love made you a slave to so long ago. I can give you the sun.” Apollo’s smile was a brilliant flare of pure light. “Riding by my side will make you the envy of every other woman and many men in Olympus. I don’t make this offer lightly.”

I finally managed to put some distance between us. It was obvious to me that his endless journeys had made Apollo forget how to share his heart with a woman. He didn’t seem to care what
I
wanted but was determined to pull me into his world, to make me into what he needed me to be. An accessory. And a means to an end. Whatever he and my mother had going, he wanted to win here.

“I’m honored by your offer. Truly. I don’t know what kind of favors or rewards my mother promised you if you could get me to come with you, but this isn’t going to happen. As much as I’d like to see some daylight, thanks, but no thanks.” I ran out of the room and grabbed my purse from a table in the hall.

Outside, I looked up at the night sky. A three-quarter moon gleamed overhead surrounded by glittering stars. I had learned to love the night and couldn’t imagine a life without its beauty. My mother had played the wrong card tonight. I turned when I heard footsteps approach down the brick sidewalk.

“You turned down Apollo?” My mother clearly wasn’t happy. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder shook the bricks under my feet.

“He wasn’t my type. Too self-involved.” I started walking. I didn’t have a clue if it was toward Jerry’s or not. I just wanted to get away from my mother.

“He’s highly placed, very highly placed. I thought you’d jump at the chance to see the sun after centuries—”

“You thought?” I whirled to face her. “What do you know about me? You figured a vampire would be keen to see the sun. Any vampire. But I’m not just any vampire. I’m your so-called daughter. It would be nice if you’d try to understand what I really want. That’s Jeremiah Campbell. Not some self-important god from on high. Get it?”

“
You
need to get it, Gloriana. Being a vampire was a tragic accident for you.” She laid her hand on my arm and I felt the power surge down to my fingertips. It was like being hooked up to a Taser. If she burned out the soles of my
pretty new shoes, I was going to be pissed. She must have read my mind because she let me go.

“Thank you. I admit you have excellent taste. Love the dress, the shoes, even the underwear. Do not love the man. Now will you give up on this and give Jerry back his memory?”
I
reached out this time, touching her lightly on her shoulder. As usual she looked perfect, this time in a blue designer evening gown that matched her eyes. Where was she going? To a fancy dress ball? No matter, she looked beautiful and I wished I had her tiny waist and flair for wearing clothes.

“Compliments are nice but have no sway with me, Gloriana. You want a tiny waist? On Olympus I will make it so.” She gave me an assessing stare, waiting.

“Not worth it, Mother. Even Apollo didn’t mind my generous figure. Maybe the guys get bored up there with all the females the same size.” I smirked, loving the idea.

My mother shook her head. “I suppose it’s possible. I’m sorry Apollo didn’t suit. I was sure…No matter. I have four more tries. Brace yourself. There are more arrows in my quiver and I will loose the next one tomorrow night.” Mother smiled and covered my hand with hers. “If nothing else, you will get a nice wardrobe out of this. And I saw that you were tempted with the Sun God. I was glad to see that you have an open mind.”

Now, that left me speechless. Had I been? Tempted? Maybe for a minute. Not by the man, of course. But offering daylight had been major. I didn’t like to think that I could have been so easily led off course. I loved Jerry. I wanted him well. And to stay here with him. End of story.