(Glory St Clair 11) Real Vampires Say Read My Hips (18 page)

I sat down and began gathering up the vials. He’d take the damned stuff or I would slip it into his food. He had to win the fight. Had to.

I’d been walking the floor for more than an hour when Flo burst through the door.

“Glory, you must help me.” She wobbled over to the sofa and sat down.

“What is it?” I sat next to her. “Great shoes.” I had to comment. They were five inch heels in red leather with open toes. They set off her black and white dress with a red belt perfectly.

“Pah! Torture shoes. I am a disgrace to women everywhere. I hate being a mortal.” She kicked them off and rubbed one of her feet. “But that’s not why I’m here. It’s our men. Jeremiah came by our place just as I was about to make Ricardo very happy if you know what I mean.” She added a gesture that made it clear what she meant and I was sorry to have that picture in my head. “Anyway, I think Ricardo was glad to leave me. He claims I am wearing him out.” She used air quotes for that. “That birth control.” She leaned in to whisper. “It makes me hungry for him all the time.”

“Yes, sure. But about the men. Where did they go?” I had no idea if Jerry even knew Olympus well enough to find a place to blow off steam.

“A sleazy bar I think. I bet it’s one of those that has naked waitresses or strippers.” Flo’s eyes filled. “I won’t have it, I tell you. If Ricardo wants to drink and look at half naked women, he can do that at home.” She hit her own substantial bosom. “What am I? Nothing? I have a nice rack. Ricardo says so.”

“You know men, Flo. Sometimes they like to have a drink and just chill.” Which made me crazy. “And looking at a new rack makes them happy.” And me mad. “Where is this place?” I got up and snapped myself a short leather skirt and red lace bustier that would give a cocktail waitress a run for her money. I gave myself my own pair of red high heels. “We’re going to drag them out of this place.”

“Now you’re talking, girlfriend.” Flo jumped up then grabbed her shoes. “Can you make shoes for me? Maybe something with a lower heel?”

“Seriously? You love high heels.”

“I can’t walk in these things without falling down here.” She sighed, looking ashamed. “I know, it is horrible. Maybe I practice.”

“No, let me try.” I concentrated, picturing some cute espadrilles for Flo in her size and snapped. Nothing. I guess my powers weren’t as advanced as my mother’s.

“I love it when you realize you need me, darling.”

Speak of the devil. “Mother. Can you help Flo? Her feet are killing her.” I smiled at my mother. “And we need directions. Our men went to some sleazy bar to drink and look at topless women. Do you know where it is?”

“Of course.” She glanced down at Flo’s feet and my pal was suddenly wearing some mid-heel espadrilles just like I’d pictured. It was a serious reminder that Mom’s mind reading skills were off the charts. “As to the bar, there’s one that is known for its strong drinks and loose women. Are you sure you want to go after them? Sometimes men need a chance to cool off.”

“Jerry’s mad because I told him I’m using birth control.” I glanced at Flo. “He took Richard as his wingman I guess. Also I want him to take a strengthening elixir before the big fight. He’s being stubborn about it.”

“I must say I approve of the birth control.” Mother smiled. “The elixir may or may not help but we want to have a fair fight. Zeus does like good entertainment.” Mother nodded. “I’ll take you there. With an armed guard. It’s not in the best part of Olympus and I don’t think we should teleport there. We’ll take a carriage.”

“A carriage? What century are you people stuck in anyway?” I couldn’t help it. This whole realm, I guess you’d call it, was so out of touch with modern times. Most of the time the people even talked like they were stuck in a Victorian novel.

“Gloriana, we are above modern ways. This is Zeus’s kingdom. We aren’t going to bring in a Maserati or a Porsche just because you’d prefer it. Zeus doesn’t care for the noise or the pollution. And our beautiful roads would be ruined.” Mother sniffed. “Our ways are gentler.”

“A Maserati can be gentle. You should feel the leather seats.” Flo had quit test driving her new shoes and now came up to us, smiling. “But I understand and respect this, yes? Now let’s go before some bimbo gets her claws into my man.”

“Relax, Flo. Richard is true to you and madly in love. But maybe he needs a little break from your enthusiasm.” I steered her toward the door.

“Hah! He never needed a break before. It is this place. He has nothing to do except help Jeremiah train and make love to me.” Flo turned to my mother. “He is bored, Hebe, can you understand that?”’

“Too well. It is why we have so much gossip and indulge in affairs here.” She turned when we got outside. “Here’s our carriage. If the men are drunk, we can bring them back in this.”

I gawked at what seemed straight out of a Cinderella movie. The white carriage had open sides and silk covered plush seats. Everything was trimmed in gold and silver. The horses were white, too, and had silver bridles. I didn’t ask what they did about horse poop. Guess that didn’t hurt their beautiful roads paved in gold. Soldiers in white uniforms with gold epaulets helped us up the steps and soon we were on our way down one more glittering path.

“When we get there, we’ll wait in the carriage. I’ll send one of the soldiers in to see if they are there. This may be a fool’s errand.” Mother leaned back against the silk pillows. She looked beautiful as usual, this time in a green blouse tucked into navy pants. Her navy sandals had silver buckles. There were emeralds in her ears and on her fingers.

“If they aren’t here, where could they be?” I couldn’t relax.

“Maybe they went back to the training area. Mars has a workout room set up for your lover. He might be lifting weights or hitting one of those bag things.” Mother sat up when the carriage stopped. “Elias, go inside and see if two mortals are in there. You know the ones. If they are, come back out before you make contact.”

A soldier bowed and took off, pushing inside a large white stone building that looked a lot like most buildings in Olympus. The only way you would know this wasn’t a private villa was the discreet sign above the double doors. Bacchanal. Oh, I did not like what that implied. And the music that I heard when the door opened had the kind of throbbing beat that hinted of a mating dance. The insulation must be great because as soon as the door swished closed, all we could hear was the noise of restless horses and the sounds they made as they waited to move on.

“Does Dionysus own this place?” I had to ask.

“Of course. If it involves decadence and a party, he’s involved. I have no idea how many such clubs he runs but this is the one most likely to be mentioned in Blade’s hearing. It’s one of Mars’ favorites.” Mother frowned. “Maybe we should go in after all. I wouldn’t mind taking a look around.”

“Now you’re talking, girlfriend.” Flo’s mouth snapped shut at the icy look from my mother. “No disrespect intended.”

“I should hope not.” Mother gestured and a guard hurried over to let down the steps and give her his arm as she got out of the carriage. “Come on, girls. We might as well enjoy this too. Men and women both come here. My brother does know how to show people a good time.” She snapped her fingers and wore a low-cut green cocktail dress. Looking Flo over, she snapped again and put her in black with high heels. I took care of my own dress, a take on the toga look except in gold with shoes to match. Then we strutted into the club.

Well, Mother and I strutted, Flo wobbled and staggered and almost turned an ankle. She hadn’t been kidding about not being able to walk in high heels. I hid a grin as I offered her my arm to lean on when we got through the door.

The music was loud, the lights were dim and the place was packed. Scantily dressed women worked the poles set up on the corners of the stage. Actually, they were topless. Eye candy for men. And then there was eye candy for women. Men in G-strings writhed in the middle of the cat walk stage, doing a combination of gymnastics and bump and grind. I admit I had a flash of heat go through me at the sight of their perfect, oiled bodies.

When I could tear my eyes away from the show, I remembered to look for Jerry and Richard. At first I didn’t see them. Mother stalked through the crowd, which parted for her like she had a gun in her hand. Not necessary. Daughter of Zeus. You don’t mess with the hierarchy. Anyway, I saw where she was headed. Mars had a corner table and had several men with him. Each guy, including Dad, had a beautiful woman draped over him. When he saw Mother coming, he jumped up, dumping his date on the floor. She was on her way to being indignant until she saw who was approaching. Then she scurried away on all fours. It would have been funny except there was a little heat lightning flashing above the table.

I decided to steer clear and grabbed Flo, helping her hobble over to the bar. I ordered two of the drink specials, whatever they were, and then dug for some of my father’s coins I’d stuck in my bra. A deep voice spoke from behind me.

“Put it on my tab.”

I whirled around, afraid I was going to have to face Kratos again. But it was a man I didn’t recognize. “Thank you.”

“You
are
Gloriana, aren’t you?” He leaned against the bar, his smile charming.

I appreciated the fact that he didn’t focus on my cleavage like most men did. Oh. Forgot. I was now a B-cup, not the old double D. I snapped on a pushup bra. Better. His eyes moved there. I was shameless as I smiled.

‘“Yes. And you are?” I jerked when Flo grabbed my arm.

“There they are. At the table against the wall. Come on, Glory, help me walk over there.”

“Someone who hopes Kratos goes down. Tell your friend from Earth to quit drinking and go back to training. Some of us have money on him.” He nodded toward the table Flo was eager to get to. “Welcome to Olympus, Cousin. We will meet again.” He nodded and walked away.

“Glory, now! They haven’t seen us yet.” Flo was strong for such a short woman. “Pick up our drinks. Who was that man?”

“A cousin apparently. Good to know someone else wants Jerry to win his fight.” I handed Flo her drink, sure she hadn’t heard a word I’d said, and “accidentally” spilled mine. “Okay, let’s get over there. Hold on to me.”

We made our stumbling way through the crowd to a table that was practically in darkness. But it wasn’t all that far from one of the poles where a redhead seemed determined to make our two guys take an interest in her flexibility. Oh, yeah, that had been Kratos’ term, hadn’t it? I should recommend this woman to him. Whatever, it was clear from the number of empty glasses on the table that our guys had been drowning their sorrows.

“Aren’t you a pretty sight, Jeremy Blade?” I couldn’t help it. The two men were slumped in their chairs and had almost passed out.

“Glory, glorious, glorified.” Jerry threw back his chair, laughing when it hit the floor. “Well, didn’t manage that too well, did I? But then what’s new? I can’t do anything in Olympush.” He staggered over to me and slid his hand around my neck. “I’m sorry as hell, lover mine, but I’m going to fuck this fight up. Hope you are happy with that Olympush asshole.”’

Richard suddenly giggled. Yeah, stern always serious Richard actually giggled. “You said ‘Olympush’. Twice.” He slapped the table and went into a full-fledged guffaw. “Olympush asshole.”

“Not funny, sport. She’s going to be in his bed. Having his babies. Doesn’t want mine.” Jerry jerked me to him. “That’s what you said, isn’t it?”

“Jerry, not here. Please, come home with me.” I slid my arm around his waist and tried to turn him toward the door.

“Hey, I was working this table.” The redhead dancer closed in and actually tried to hip-butt me out of the way. “That guy was just about to give me gold for a lap dance.”

I whirled around and got in her face. I guess my eyes must have told her I wasn’t to be messed with and I raised a finger. To my surprise, it glowed white hot. “You want to test me, sweetheart? I can singe your eyebrows with a twitch of this fingertip.”

“Uh, never mind.” She backed away. “Geez, a girl can’t make a living anymore.”

I dipped into my cleavage and tossed her a gold coin. “Here. Take a break. I know what it’s like to have to dance for drunks. Hit the back room and give yourself five minutes.” I didn’t wait to see what she did, just slowly turned to face Jerry. He was staring at me with wide eyes. I think some of his buzz was wearing off.

Flo had found a glass of water. She dumped it on Richard’s head. “Look at you! Drunk! Looking at boobies of strangers! I am ashamed of you!”

“Baby. You have the only boobies I want.” He pressed his face to her chest and kissed each breast through her dress. “But you are wearing me out. All you do is fuck me. Every minute of the day. I can’t take it anymore.”

Flo looked over his head at me and grinned. “Ah, you should be so lucky, you big cry baby. Come home and I show you what I want. Then we’ll see if you have been weared out. Eh?”

“Oh, God.” Richard lurched to his feet. “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.”

“Don’t tell me this is nothing!” My mother’s voice was loud enough to be heard over the music and there was a sudden flash of lightning. We all ducked. My mother had decided to cut loose.

“What the hell was that?” Flo shouted to me as we dove under the table.

“Welcome to Olympus, pal.” I was lucky that Jerry was so drunk that he’d fallen on the floor next to me. Richard lay next to Flo.

“Just how many women do you need to satisfy you, you over-sexed beast!” Thunder roared in the club and one of the women screamed as lightning arced down her pole. She leaped off the stage, her skimpy costume smoking. Amazingly the music never stopped and neither did the other dancers. I guess it was all part of the entertainment.

Flo and I had a good view of my father holding a wooden chair in front of him. It had scorch marks on it but he was grinning like this was great fun. My mother’s chest heaved as she picked up a drink from the table and tossed it at one of the scantily clad women who had made the mistake of trying to pick up the pile of gold coins on the table.

“Come on, love, let her have the money. She’s earned it.” Mars laughed out loud when Hebe screeched and threw the empty glass at him.