Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #29)(100)

“I think so, I just don’t think we can guarantee that it won’t set off some bigger explosion and we’re just not sure what real, original Greek fire does,” I said.

“Good,” he said.

“Because you don’t have any with you,” I said.

He smiled. “Even a federal marshal can’t bring an antitank rocket on board a commercial aircraft.”

“Well, if anyone could figure out how to do it, I was betting on you,” I said.

He gave a nod like a bow of acknowledgment.

“So now we just have to find him, right?” Peter asked.

I nodded, and everyone else agreed.

“We can begin with searching for warehouses that have been rented recently,” Jake said.

“We have no way of knowing how long he’s been in town,” Rodina said. “He could have been scouting for weeks, or months.”

“He had to be here long enough to know that Jean-Claude was at his most vulnerable at Guilty Pleasures tonight,” Wicked said.

“I opened my power up to capture the audience, I did not think that it opened me up to being magically challenged,” Jean-Claude said. I felt the sorrow in his voice; the loss of performing would cost him, because he loved it so much.

“We will find a way that you can perform onstage again,” I said.

“Perhaps the other master vampires are correct, and it is beneath my dignity, and our safety.”

I put my hand on his thigh, feeling the solidness of it underneath the silky robe. I felt his anxiety ease a little just from that. “They’re old fuddy-duddies who wouldn’t know a modern idea if it bit them on the ass.”

He smiled. “Fuddy-duddies?”

“Yes, damn it,” I said, and laughed. “They’ve lived so long apart from the rest of the world that they don’t know what’s possible.”

Richard wrapped his arm more tightly across Jean-Claude’s shoulders. “You love being onstage, you shouldn’t have to give that up.”

“Until Deimos is found and dealt with, perhaps leave the stage to others,” Jake said.

“Of course,” Jean-Claude said.

“That goes without saying,” I said, “we can’t give him any more openings into Jean-Claude’s power like that.”

“And that brings us to you giving your human servant and your moitié bête the fourth mark before dawn,” Jake said.

“You’re pushy, you know that?” I said.

“Only when everything I have worked toward for thousands of years is at stake.”

“Touché, Jake, a fine hit that,” Jean-Claude said. He got to his feet in one of those smooth movements that was all grace and centuries of practice. He turned and held his hands out to Richard and me. “Come, ma petite, mon lupe, we cannot leave it undone, for our enemy will use it as a breach in our castle walls.”

Richard took the offered hand and let the vampire help him to his feet. I stared at the offered hand, then raised my gaze up to the two men. It was still Jean-Claude, but Richard was smiling beside him, smiling like he knew I’d take the hand, like . . . like we were all starting over, and . . . panic, I started to panic. I didn’t try and shield it. Richard’s smile slipped. He said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what else I can say.”

“Ma petite, we are shoring up our defenses tonight, and I would like Richard to sleep on the other side of me in the bed tonight, but that is all until we have time to adjust to the changes.”

I turned to Nathaniel beside me on the couch and stared into his amazing lavender eyes. I felt calmer. Damian leaned over him to take my hand, and I felt icy calm like the world was solid and always would be.

“Wow,” I said, “you’re good.” I stared into his green eyes and felt that pull that vampires have like I could fall forward and be safe and steady forever. It was so tempting in that moment.

“Ma petite.”

I leaned toward Damian, but then Nathaniel was in the way. Once I couldn’t see Damian’s eyes, his hand in mine wasn’t enough to make me lean into it. Damian said, “I’m sorry, that was wrong.”

Nathaniel put his arm around me and put his hand over our clasped hands. “Nothing is going to change except that we add another person to our poly group.”

“How can you say that?” Damian asked. “Jean-Claude and Anita both loved him once. He is the missing piece to their triumvirate. I know how much our triumvirate has meant to me, how much I love you both, and that is all from the vampire marks that bind us together. I am still not attracted to any man but you, and all other women seem frivolous and too soft compared to Anita. I am never happier than when the three of us are together. My favorite nights at work are those when Anita comes to partner me for the dances, or you come to teach modern dances to me and the customers.”

“You are so good at learning the dances, so sexy,” Nathaniel said, smiling and leaning toward the green-eyed vampire. Damian leaned in toward him and their lips met, soft and tender. It filled me up with that happy warmth of knowing they were mine and I was theirs. Nathaniel pulled back from the kiss, and I moved in to take his place, so that Damian startled, eyes flickering open, and then he leaned into the kiss and so did I.

I kissed him long and deep, sliding my tongue between the hard tips of his fangs as he opened his mouth wider for me. Our free arms wrapped around each other, and Nathaniel’s arms held us tighter, so we drew back from the kiss to turn to him. I found his mouth, and Damian found his neck.