(Glory St Clair 11) Real Vampires Say Read My Hips (36 page)

Jerry jumped to his feet and grabbed my shoulders. “Okay, calm down. I can see you’re about to freak out. You need an accountant.”

“Someone I’d have to pay?” Now I was hyperventilating. “When did I get to be such a big deal entrepreneur that I needed that?”

“When you agreed to marry me, love. Relax. I’ll find someone who is cheap and honest. I actually know a guy. The shifter who does the books for your pal Valdez. How does that sound?”

“Perfect.” I kissed his chin.

“Is that all I get?” He tipped up
my
chin and gave me the right kind of kiss. “Now I’m going to call him and see if he can meet you downstairs tonight.”

“I knew I was right to agree to marry you.” I pulled his head down for another kiss. “But I have a confession to make.”

“What?” He pushed me back. “You look guilty. What now, Gloriana?”

“No biggie. Just that when we marry I want to keep my last name.” I braced myself. How would my stubborn Scot take that?

“You’d still be Gloriana St. Clair?” He stepped away and fell back on the couch. “Not Blade or Campbell?”

“You see the problem, don’t you?” I realized I was wringing my hands and forced myself to stop it. “We change names all the time. It would be easier…”

“You change names too, Gloriana. I’ve known you by at least a dozen.” He stared at the TV but I knew he wasn’t seeing the game. He was thinking, running the pros and cons through his mind.

“Yes, that’s true.” I sat beside him again and picked up his hand. “The whole name thing for us is complicated. I guess I’m staking a claim to mine for now. As a symbol of my independence. You know how I feel about that, Jerry.”

“God, yes. You’re close to paranoid about it.” He gripped my hand. “I do not want to take away your individuality, sweetheart. I love the fact that you’ve found yourself these past few years. That you’ve grown into a strong, assertive female who knows who she is.” He stared directly into my eyes, willing me to believe him. “I couldn’t be prouder of what you’ve accomplished with your business and the powers you’ve discovered in yourself. Even better is that you’re no longer afraid to use them.” He pulled my hand to his lips and brushed it gently with his fangs. “I feel that our marriage will be a partnership now. Two vampires who will promise to take on the world together, come what may. Do you agree?”

I blinked at the rush of tears blinding me for a moment. “Yes! God, yes, Jerry! You said it perfectly. I want that for us. To be side by side, facing everything that comes at us together.” I jerked his hand to me and bit into his wrist, his blood flooding my mouth. I drew hard, relishing the way his taste seeped into my very soul. After I swallowed, I licked the punctures closed then leaned in to offer him my own wrist,

“Gloriana.” He groaned and bit into it, pulling so that he had a good taste of me as well. When that wound was also sealed, we crashed together, devouring each other with our mouths, teeth, and tongues.

Before I knew it we were tearing at our clothes, desperate to be closer. He dragged aside my panties under my long wool skirt. I shoved down his zipper and pulled him free so he could plunge inside me. He hauled my legs up around his waist and rode me, muffling my screams of pleasure with his mouth. We knocked over the heavy brass and wood coffee table and rolled off the couch to hit the floor. I ended up on top, pushing up his shirt so I could rake his chest with my fangs while he opened my blouse and held onto my breasts through my bra.

“Jerry!” I couldn’t hold back a sob as an orgasm shook me before I could lick away the traces of his blood. “Now!” He knew what I meant and pulled my head down to sink his fangs into my jugular. The suction was too much and I seized again, digging my nails into his biceps. I almost tore my own skin from his fangs, my reaction was so strong, so wild and out of control. I was coming apart. Could I hold onto even one piece of myself? Why bother? Not when Jerry released me, growled my name, and offered his own vein. I took it, drinking deep. This man was my mate. My forever lover.

When we finally lay speechless and breathless, all we could do was stare at each other and grin. Names? What did they matter when we had this between us? Jerry stood and helped me up with one hand. He glanced at the TV and shrugged when he saw the score. Scotland had lost and now some other teams were on the field.

“You’d better change before you go downstairs. There’s blood on your blouse.” He pulled the edges of my top together. “And a button or two missing.” His grin was one of pure male pride.

“Hmm. You call that accountant. Then I think I’d better shower first. I wouldn’t want him to smell sex on me.” I trailed a finger down to where Jerry’s cock lay vulnerable outside of his zipper. “We are terrible. You could have at least taken off your pants.”

He gave me a wicked smile, moving closer and pressing his thumbs to my aching nipples through my sheer white bra. “Next time I’ll definitely take off my pants. And you’ll take off your bra.”

“Yes, indeed.” I gave his cock a squeeze. “I love you, Jeremiah Campbell. You want me to take your name, you’ve got it.”

“No, I see your point. Stick with what you’ve earned.” He sighed when I slipped a finger inside, to tease his balls. “And it will keep my mother from starting in on you.”

I stepped back abruptly. “Thanks for that reminder. Of course they’ll be here. Mother Campbell in black, no doubt.” She’d never liked me. “I hope the Laird is happy about the wedding.”

“He knew it was inevitable and he likes you. My mother?” Jerry pursued me to the door. “Gloriana, sweetheart. We both have difficult mothers. Can we help it?”

“No, you are right. So they will both be at our wedding. I will deal with yours and you will deal with mine.” I faced him, waiting for him to try to wiggle out of that.

“Well, you know when to pounce, don’t you, love?” He looked frustrated but knew that he’d been had. “Fine. I won’t speak to Hebe or even look at her. You’d best warn her not to get close to me or try to press the issue.”

“I could say the same to you. Your mother has said some very hateful things to me, Jer, and you know it. I won’t have her ruin my big night.” I stayed stiff in his arms when he tried to hug me. “Are we clear?”

“Yes, I guess we are.” He kissed my cheek. “Go. You do smell like sex. Which I find very stimulating. If you have to do business tonight, get out of here. I’ll make that call. You shower.”

“Fine.” I relented and kissed him too. “Thanks for giving in on the name thing. It’s important to me.”

“Yes, I know.” He headed back to the couch, picking up the coffee table on his way. “I can’t believe your sister or Alesha didn’t bother us after we made all that noise in here.”

I opened the door and almost knocked down both of them. “I think they were getting an earful.” They both had pink cheeks. “Ladies? Did you have some questions? Alesha, if you want to clean Mr. Blade’s room you should do it during the day. Otherwise you have no need to be in here. Charis, I doubt you want to watch soccer, so go away.” I brushed past them, closing the door behind me. “He has ID for you both. Look in the living room, on the coffee table. Charis, you’re twenty-one on the passport. That’s the oldest he could make you with the way you look and it will allow you to drink those dirty martinis you love.”

“Thanks, Glory.” Charis followed me to my room. “I checked on the Internet and saw I’d need a photo ID to get on the plane. Where’d he get a picture of me?”

“He pulled one from our surveillance cameras in the shop. Go see.” I turned to Alesha. “He made you twenty-five. I hope that’s all right. I forgot to ask your age.”

“I’m twenty-seven. That’s close enough. I guess you got my picture from the same place.” She winced when we both heard a screech and curses coming from the living room.

“Could this be any worse?” Charis came in holding her fake U.S. passport.

I hid my grin. Yes, I’d picked a pretty bad photo. Maybe it was mean of me but she’d been a handful since she’d arrived a week ago, disappearing when she felt like it, usually to Rafe’s club at night. Then Alesha had told me Charis also took off during the day. At least now she had a credit card, courtesy of our father. But that didn’t mean she’d stopped shoplifting for the thrill of it. She’d threatened to try her hand at driving my car too. I had the keys locked up now, afraid I’d wake up some night and find my pretty convertible totaled.

“It’s not that bad.” Alesha had run to get hers. It included a flattering picture, taken when she’d come out of the dressing room in her blue shirt and new jeans.

“I look like I just got out of the cells.” Charis glared at me. “Make me a new one. Don’t you have a camera on your new phone? Take a picture now. Then Jerry can get another passport made for me before our trip.”

“No, he can’t. Those things are expensive and take time. Or you’d have had it sooner.” I did have a nice new iPhone which took excellent pictures. But I was telling the truth about the passports. “No one looks at those things. Maybe after the wedding, if you’re still here, I’ll teach you to drive. When you get your license, they’ll take a new picture. It will be better.” Or not. Mine made me look like a demented serial killer.

“Really? You’ll teach me to drive a car?” As I knew it would, this got Charis off on a new subject. “Then I could get Dad to buy me one. I love your little convertible.” I’d taken her and Alesha to Wal-Mart to buy some things a few nights ago. She’d insisted we ride with the top down though it was forty degrees outside.

“I’ll teach you too, Alesha. It will be handy for you to be able to drive. So you can go to the grocery store and Wal-Mart on your own, during the day.”

“I’d like that, Glory.” Alesha kept staring at her passport. “This says I was born in a place called Michigan. Where is that?”

“It’s north of here. Jerry didn’t think we should all come from Texas. Especially since none of us has a Texas accent. Charis, why don’t you show Alesha where it is on a map? Use my computer.” I was more than ready for my shower and hadn’t missed Charis checking out my blouse with the missing buttons and blood stains. Did I really want company for the long haul? How many empty apartments did I have? Would Dad pay rent for one for Charis? “Now I’ve got to go. I have work to do in the shop.”

“Can I come?” Charis obviously wasn’t excited about spending time with a handmaiden. She’d never gotten over her superiority complex.

“I’m just going down there to look over the books. The shop is closed. It will be boring.”

“I have a credit card. Maybe I’ll buy something.” She actually batted her eyelashes at me.

“Whatever. Give me a few minutes to clean up.” I opened my bedroom door.

“Yeah. You and Jerry were really hitting it hot and heavy in the man cave.” Charis nudged Alesha with an elbow. “The handmaiden here was ready to barge in to save you. She was afraid you were being hurt. I told her that was just you having a very, very good time.” She winked.

“I’m sorry, Glory. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy.” Alesha’s cheeks were pink again and she stared down at her new shoes. “From now on, I will stay in the kitchen unless you call me.”

“Listen, you two.” I tapped my foot. What could I say? Ignore all screams? But what if I really needed help someday? Who was I kidding? I sure wouldn’t ask either of these women for help. “Jerry and I enjoy an active sex life. I’m noisy. Deal with it. I will never scream for help and expect either of you to come running. Got it?”

“Well, thanks a lot. I do have skills, you know.” To prove it, Charis shot a flame at the wall and incinerated a picture of bluebonnets. Luckily, I’d never liked it.

“Hey, you could have just told me you could do that here.” I grabbed a vase and jerked out the fresh flowers. I tossed the water at the smoking spot on the wall just as Alesha ran in from the kitchen with a fire extinguisher.

“Glory will make you leave if you keep doing things like that.” Alesha squirted the spot again for good measure. “But we both could help you if attacked, Glory. If you are alone and need help, scream. We will come. If you are with Mr. Blade, we will assume you are having… fun.”

“What the hell can you do to help Glory, chickadee?” Charis had her hands on her hips and looked Alesha over. “Hit a bad man with a mop?”

“I have skills too. My mop can be lethal.” Alesha held the fire extinguisher over her head like a weapon. “And a good blast with this in the face won’t be soon forgotten either.”

Charis laughed. “Yeah, I can see you’re fearless.” She patted Alesha on the back. “Come on, I’ll show you Michigan. Or was it Minnesota? I get all those M- states mixed up.” She glanced at me. “Will you get a move on? You already wasted half the night in the
man
cave.”

“Not a waste at all, Sister.” I grinned as they headed for my laptop in the living room. Okay, so maybe they were starting to get along. Alesha was showing Charis her passport as they walked away. Shower. Oh, yeah. I had work to do.

As predicted, Charis was soon bored in the shop and waved her credit card at me before she headed down Sixth Street and toward Rafe’s club. I shouted a warning at her to limit her drinks then sat down with the books again. Not having to pay rent had made a big difference on our bottom line in the shop. Lacy had great connections among the shifter community too. She had taken in a lot of inventory at rock bottom prices. If I could afford it, I was going to give her a raise.

I’d no sooner had that thought than there was a knock on the front glass door. I got up to see if my new accountant had arrived. Surprise, surprise. It was the shifter who guarded Rafe’s door some nights.

“Don’t tell me you’re also an accountant?” I said as soon as I got the door unlocked.

“Bouncer slash accountant, that’s me.” Ed was intimidating, but there was certainly a gleam of intelligence in his dark eyes. “I have always had an affinity for numbers, Glory. So I do Rafe’s books. If you want to call him for a reference, be my guest.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” I led him to my back room where I had spread out my bills and ledger. It was a bit of a mess. “I hate this kind of paperwork. I got into this business because I love to shop. Hunting for the vintage clothes and collectibles is addictive. I get a rush from finding a great piece at a bargain price and then hooking up a customer with something they always wanted.”