So I sat with Elspeth for hours, listening to her stories and relaxing in the weak November sunlight. A few beings came out and swam in the pool, but they seemed unaffected by its power. I guess unless you were like me, a water elemental or whatever the hell I was, it was just a pool. And not uncut heroin.
When it was time for lunch, we wandered back into the Compound. I was surprised to see Ryu there, already awake, until I realized it was after three o’clock. He was sitting with Wally, the djinn, and I waggled my eyebrows at him as we approached. Ryu managed to keep a straight face, excused himself, and came toward me.
“Not so fast, you little minx,” he said, pulling me into a hard embrace.
“Aww.” I grinned. “I wanted to meet your friend.”
“I’m sure you do, darling. And Wally would love to meet you, too. He’d meet you right up against the wall if you gave him a chance. But you’re all mine,” he finished, giving my lower lip a predatory nip that nearly sent my body plummeting to the floor and my libido crashing through the roof.
I actually whimpered, and Ryu chuckled. Then his face grew more serious as he whispered into my ear. “Did you hear what happened?”
“Yes,” I said, all traces of lust suddenly wiped from my system. “Elspeth told me this morning, at breakfast. I thought at first she was telling me that they knew it was Jimmu who’d done it, but no such luck.”
Ryu frowned, his expression troubled.
“What are we going to do?” I asked.
“I’ve got no fucking clue,” he replied, shaking his head. “The game’s afoot, obviously. The problem is, we have no idea what the game is, or who’s playing it, or what the stakes are.” He was mixing his metaphors, but I didn’t think he’d appreciate being confronted on that one, so I just nodded.
“We need more information,” I said. “And I need lunch.”
Ryu rolled his eyes. “I’m going to hook you up to an IV and roll it around with you. You never stop eating.”
“Hey, you eat during sex and you don’t hear me complaining.”
He blinked at me before he burst out laughing. When he finally stopped, his pupils were dilated and he was flashing me some full-frontal canines.
“You’re not complaining because you’re usually shouting my name.” He smirked. “Or calling out to God. But don’t feel bad—it’s a mistake many women make.”
I gave him the hairy eyeball. “It’s because every time we make love I’m dreaming of sandwiches. Grilled cheese—cheddar, of course—with bacon. And just a little chopped up tomato sprinkled between the cheese and the bacon.”
Ryu pulled away to meet my eyes appraisingly. “You’re not serious, are you?” he asked, finally.
I considered telling him that I was, just to get him back for the “all the other women” comment, but decided against it.
“No,” I said, finally. “It’s really because you rock my casbah.” I stretched up on my tiptoes to kiss the frown from his lips.
“Can lunch wait?” he asked, when I let him up for air.
No! my stomach grumbled. But there was a resounding vote of yes! coming from down below my belt. The below-the-belt party won, and I took Ryu’s hand to lead him up to our room. “But you have to order us some sandwiches,” I said as we trotted up the stairs. “Grilled cheese. With bacon and tomatoes.” He nodded, and both parties cheered. It was a win-win situation.
Hours later, lying intertwined with Ryu with the remains of my sandwich clinging to my lips in the form of a few stray crumbs, I groaned. But this time it was with trepidation and not pleasure.
“What’s wrong?” he murmured.
“Elspeth is going to be here soon and I have no idea what to wear. I’ll have to borrow something. Or wear that red dress again. Is that dressy enough, do you think?”
Ryu’s grin widened. I stared at him, but he didn’t spill. We were at an impasse.
“Okay,” I said, breaking under the pressure. “What’s the dealio?”
“Go look in my closet, top shelf. You’ll need a chair.”
I had a feeling I knew what was coming, but it was way too Pretty Woman for me to believe. I got up out of the bed and dragged our little armchair over to Ryu’s closet. I tried not to let it remind me of the last time I looked in the top shelf of a closet. But this time instead of a metal box full of ears that was set to blow up at a strange touch, there was a large white box wrapped in silver cord. It had a sticker labeling it as being from Iris’s boutique. I liked this box much better.
“Oh, Ryu,” I whispered. “You didn’t.”
“Of course I did,” he said from the bed. “As soon as we decided to come out here, I had Iris wrap it up. You might not get a chance to dress up in Rockabill, but you certainly will here.”
I finally found the strength to pull the box down from the shelf. It was very large and unwieldy, and I wondered where he’d had it stashed. Duh, I thought, of course.
“I thought you had the goblin bodies stuffed back there!” I exclaimed, getting off the chair and climbing back into bed next to Ryu, clutching the big box to my chest. I felt like a little girl at Christmas.
“Huh?” Ryu asked, confused.
“In the trunk of your car,” I clarified. “When you wouldn’t let me put my stuff in there, I figured you had the bodies back there.”
“Why would I have goblin bodies in the back of my Porsche?” he asked, like that was the craziest thing he’d ever heard.
I looked at him, levelly. “Ryu, I’m still getting over the fact that there are goblin bodies out there, period. Whether or not it’s reasonable to shove them into the trunk of your car is really beside the point.”
He laughed and leaned forward to kiss me. “Good point,” he conceded. Then he teasingly shook the box. “Open it,” he commanded, gently.
I undid the silver cord and lifted off the box cover. Underneath a thin wrapping of tissue paper lay the silvery dress and the pair of heels with the black bows.
“Oh, Ryu,” I breathed. “I feel just like Julia Roberts. Only without the hooker aspect. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, Miss True,” he said, leaning back against the headboard. “And this one is from me. No company expense accounts were harmed in the purchasing of this present.”
I’d stood up, held the dress in front of me, and looked at myself in the mirror. It was just as perfect as I’d remembered it. Although what I was going to do with my boobs was beyond me—hopefully Elspeth had some magic spell for keeping boobs and dresses in their proper places. I turned to Ryu, grinning like a jack-o’-lantern. For the moment, all traces of anxiety were gone.
“Amazing sex, beautiful clothes, and a grilled cheese whenever I ask—I could get used to this life,” I joked, turning back to the mirror and trying to balance the dress against me and hold up my hair at the same time.
Suddenly Ryu was behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, underneath the dress. He nuzzled into my neck, inhaling deeply. “That’s the plan, Jane,” he murmured, before meeting my gaze in the mirror.
For a split second I thought he was serious. Then my brain kicked in. Get over yourself, it advised, remembering all the women at the hotel. He does this for a living… literally.
Laughter burbled up from my lips and I turned around in his arms, the dress pressed between us.
“So that’s why the Alfar put crack in their pool. Get me addicted, and I’ll never leave!”
Ryu returned the laugh and took the dress from me. He hung it up, ever so gently, then pushed me toward the bathroom as he started getting dressed.
“Go get ready for Elspeth, sweetness. I’ll meet you back here when it’s time for dinner.” I nodded. “And Jane,” he said, his tone suddenly serious. “Be on your toes tonight. I have no idea what is going to happen. But if anything bad kicks off, you run—get out of the main hall and try to make it back to our rooms. When you get here, lock the doors, and don’t open them for anyone but me, okay?”
I was again plunged into worry about this evening. Which was good; I should never have let myself get lulled into a false sense of security.
He smiled at me, but his expression was tight. “I’ll keep you safe,” he said. “I swear. But don’t trust anyone else. Just run and I’ll find you.”
“Okay,” I said, giving him an equally unhappy smile. He kissed me on the cheek and then took a suit bag out of the closet as well as the shopping bag he’d picked up from Nell and Anyan’s cabin.
“I’m meeting Wally,” he said. “Then I’ll find somewhere else to change. I don’t want to get in Elspeth’s way.” He kissed me good-bye, giving my hand an encouraging little squeeze before he left.
When Ryu was gone I took a deep breath. I felt totally unprepared for tonight. I was like a mouse that had found herself invited to the neighborhood cats’ spring fling. I should be donning armor and stashing semi-automatic weapons about my person, not worrying about whether I should wear my hair up or down that evening.
