Oh, but it was tempting. Then Damian's hand landed on Lucky's thigh. Could I really leave her in his way too skilled hands?
Lucky glanced at me then eased away from Damian. "Thanks, Damian, but maybe I should stay here. With Gloria. I have a feeling there's some girl talk involved."
I smiled my approval. Lucky was pretty quick on the uptake. One scowl from me and a heavy hand on her thigh and she'd figured Damian out.
"Whatever you wish, cara." Damian picked up Lucky's wrist and rubbed her vein.
"I'm getting worried about Flo. She usually reports in. And she isn't exactly having a lucky streak where boyfriends are concerned."
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Florence called before Damian got here and left a message on the answering machine. I didn't pick up because I didn't know if you'd want me answering your phone." Lucky sighed when Damian ran his finger up to the crook of her elbow. "Uh, anyway, she said she's staying with Richard tonight. I guess you know who she was talking about."
"Sure, I know Richard." And I'd had an almost fling with him. But I'd always suspected he still had feelings for Flo and their affair was back on in a big way.
"My sister and her lovers." Damian winked at me. "Do you have trouble keeping track, Gloriana?"
"Flo's safe with Richard, that's all I care about. So, Lucky, you can sleep in Flo's bed." I got up, walked to the door and flung it open. "Damian, thanks for dropping by. Head out before the sun catches you." I stood next to the door, Valdez, teeth bared, by my side. He doesn't particularly like Damian either.
Lucky stood and smoothed her skirt, short and tight and obviously from Flo's closet. "Bye, Damian, thanks for everything." Lucky linked arms with him and walked him to the door.
"My pleasure, cara." Damian smiled. "Gloriana, you are so busy with your store. If you wish for me to tutor Lucky . . ."
"I can handle it." I faked a smile, then slammed the door and locked it as soon as Damian was in the hall. "Lucky, be careful of that one. He's not above teaching just what he thinks will help him score."
"I can hear you, Gloriana. You wound me." Damian laughed and I finally heard him walk down the stairs. I made a face. "Vampire hearing. Not that I care how much I 'wound' him, but keep that in mind. You want to keep a secret, don't even whisper it when a vampire is around unless you want him or her to know it too."
"Supersonic hearing. Cool. And don't worry, Glory. I wasn't born yesterday." Lucky wrinkled her nose. "Unfortunately. You look like you're about twenty-three."
"Four hundred plus, but I was twenty-four when I was made vampire." Young, by today's standards, but back in the day twentyfour had been practically ancient.
"Awesome. Sometime, when I'm not so dead tired, I'd like to hear about how things were back then. And what you've been doing all these years. To have survived so long, you must be pretty clever." She smiled, then sat down and peeled off her boots. "I've known many men like Damian, guys who're sure they're doing you a huge favor by coming on to you. But a vampire lover . . . Damian said it can be amazing."
I took a moment to reflect. "Yep, with the right vampire. But vamp men are men, first, last and always. Some know which of your buttons to push and some just want you to push theirs, if you know what I mean."
"Do I ever." Lucky sighed and picked up an overnight bag Damian must have brought up from her car. "At least Damian didn't seem put off by my age. He looks on the sunny side of thirty, while I . . ." Lucky grimaced. "Well, you know."
"Damian's so ancient he probably helped discover fire. He's gone through thousands of women." At least I hadn't been one of them, but not because he hadn't tried. "He even claims to be the original Casanova."
"Hmm. Now you've got me interested." Lucky yawned, a real jaw breaker. "I'm exhausted. Is it like this every night right before dawn?"
"Yep. Once the sun comes up, you'll be out until it goes down again."
"So many hours, wasted." Lucky's shoulders sagged. "I'm used to running on about four hours' sleep a night. Sleeping all day is ridiculous."
"You don't have a choice, Lucky. That's the way it works. The sleep heals any major hurts you might get when you're awake, if that makes you feel better. You'll get used to it." I nodded toward the kitchen. "You want a drink before you bed down?"
"I guess you mean that fake blood. I'd kill for a latte, but Damian told me it would just make me queasy now." Lucky sighed. "I drank from him, Glory." She licked her lips. "I didn't think I'd like it, but he was so sweet about it. And the taste! The fake stuff is seriously flat after that."
"Sweet, generous Damian. You're the new vamp in town. Not that you're not sexy or whatever, but, Lucky, he'll try to seduce you because that's his knee-jerk reaction to any attractive female." I finished my drink and made a face because Lucky had hit the mark. Fake versus the real deal? And from an ancient vampire like Damian . . . "Bed time."
"I called my neighbor who's looking after my cat. I just wonder . . ." Lucky's shoulders slumped. "This"-she gestured toward her throat-"is so damned complicated."
"You'd better plan to stay here at least long enough to learn what's what. And not from Casanova Sabatini either. I promise I'll sit down with you and we'll figure things out."
Lucky laughed but it was a bitter sound. "Figure things out? Honey, I've got forever to do that." She headed down the hall.
"Oh, Lucky."
"Yes?"
"I brought you something from the shop." I held out a gently used leather hobo.
"You're kidding." She grabbed the strap and looked inside. "It's a knockoff."
"Oh, well." I followed her down the hall. Oh, yeah. There was my reward, empty and ready to go.
"You won't change your mind? I'll pay you-"
I held up a hand. "Nope. Taking money for saving your life would be tacky. But this"-I stroked the Birkin bag's supple leather and smiled-"this is, um, appropriate."
"Aw, Glory, have a heart. A thousand bucks."
I just smiled and strolled toward my bedroom, Lucky right behind me. I tossed Lucky a pink gown. Lucky looked it over and wrinkled her custom-made nose. "Take this. Flo sleeps raw."
"Nylon? You are determined to punish me, aren't you? I like silk teddies."
"Sorry, Lucky, but you were saved by an ordinary working woman who just happens to be vampire." I smiled. "I have a few silk teddies, but I save them for special occasions that don't include sleeping. And I'm not punishing you, though you have complicated the hell out of my life. By the time you hit the sheets, you'll be dead to the world and what you're wearing won't matter."
"Dead?"
I heard Lucky's plaintive wail as I headed for the bathroom. Maybe I should have stopped to explain, but what was the point? Roll out the coffin, vampires are as good as dead during daylight hours. I heard some thumps that sounded like Lucky's boots hitting the wall in Flo's bedroom.
Valdez hopped on the foot of the bed and gave me a sympathetic look. "Relax, Blondie. You did the right thing. Lucky owes you, not vice versa."
"Thank you. But maybe I should have locked up all the knives in the kitchen. If she wakes up first and isn't all that happy-" I couldn't finish the thought; the sun was coming up and with it oblivion.
I woke up with a start. Just after sunset. Sometimes it's like that. Other times it takes me a while to get moving. Lucky. I nudged Valdez off the bed and got up. I was coming out of the bathroom when Lucky grabbed my arm.
"Is . . . Was Damian really Casanova?"
I laughed and pried off her fingers. "Maybe, maybe not. But nobody's better than Damian at fantasy." I headed for the kitchen, Lucky on my heels. "Sleep well?"
"No dreams, which is a bummer. But I woke up thinking about Damian and, um, sinking my teeth into him. Is that sick or what?" Lucky staggered to the couch and collapsed, my pink nightgown a tent around her.
"Perfectly normal. Feeding is erotic with the right guy."
"Are you and Damian, uh, involved?" Lucky wiggled her bare toes, which were painted scarlet.
"No way, no how." I handed her a Fangtastic and sat across from her. "I warned you, Lucky. Damian is bad news." She sagged back against the cushions. "Of course he is. I have a history of falling for the wrong guy. But forget him. For now." She took a swallow and groaned. "This is disgusting. Is there only one kind of fake blood? There's got to be something better than this."
"Sure there is. But the rare ones are expensive. This is a fairly common blood type." I have a thing for AB negative, but it's not in my budget. "And there are other brands."
"Hey, I'll kick in if you want to order something better. It's the least I can do while I'm staying here." Lucky gave me a searching look. "But why don't you just drink from, what do you call them, uh, mortals? I don't mean kill or anything, but Damian says you can drink enough to satisfy the urge and not leave a person on the verge of death." Damian says. Like he was her go-to guy for everything vampire. "Listen, Lucky. Damian is a very ancient vampire. He has tricks that you've yet to learn. You can't just go around drinking from mortals. You want to start a vampire-hunting frenzy?"
"No, but Damian said you can fix it so they don't remember what happened. Even erase the fang marks. You're going to teach me all that, right?"
I sighed and sat down across from her. So much for keeping the whammy a secret. "Yes, I'll teach you all that." And what a pain this was going to be. Hey, I'm a woman with a business to run, friends to shop with and a lover to keep happy. And with a million dollars on the line, I was going to do my damnedest to track down a killer wannabe in my spare time.
