Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #29)(74)

They tried to herd us into the car, but there weren’t enough seats for all of us protectees and our protectors. If Richard hadn’t been there or had been willing to get into the second car it would have been quick, but in all the debating he touched my bare arm, and it was like a power boost, because I was still in Jean-Claude’s arms. Like it, or hate it, the three of us were a triumvirate of power. Damn it.





32

ETHAN WAS DRIVING so he didn’t get to play the game of musical chairs, but the rest of us did. If the bodyguards hadn’t insisted on one of them sitting on each row of seats we could have shoved Jean-Claude, Richard, and me into the center seats, or even the back row. Nathaniel would have been willing, but Jake and the Wicked Truth were adamant that we needed a guard per row.

Jake leaned in to me and said, “This is an excellent spot for an ambush, please just get in the back seat with the Ulfric.”

That was enough to get me in the back seat of the SUV between Wicked and Richard. Their shoulders were so wide that they had to put their arms across the back of the seats so they didn’t squish me, and that was when an unexpected argument broke out.

“Can you please move your arm,” Richard said.

“My arm is fine where it is,” Wicked said.

“You’re Anita’s bodyguard, not her boyfriend.”

“You’re not her boyfriend either.” If you didn’t know Wicked, you might think he was jealous of me with other people, but I knew that wasn’t it, because that wasn’t our relationship, so what was going on?

“But I am her lover,” Richard said.

“So am I.”

“Wicked,” I said, and I sounded a little surprised, because I had fed the ardeur on him before, so technically he was my lover, but . . .

“Is he your lover?” Richard asked.

I looked from Richard to Wicked, who looked down at me with such arrogance. He was gorgeous, but he wasn’t vain like this, the arrogance was protective. In a way that I didn’t understand, Wicked’s ego was on the line here, or something else was.

“Yes, he is,” I said, looking at Wicked as I gave the answer. He smiled, and I was glad he was happy with me, but when I turned to Richard he was scowling. I did not need this tonight.

“Is he part of your poly group now?” Richard asked.

“Not exactly.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you have not been her boyfriend in all the years I’ve worked for her, has that changed?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but Richard said, “You’re right, I haven’t been around much, and when I was around I behaved badly most of the time. I’m hoping to do better from this point on.”

“Hope is cheap, Ulfric, just do better.”

Anger flared through Richard like heat against my skin where we were forced to touch. “Stop it, both of you. This space is too small and you’re both too powerful metaphysically to start a pissing contest with me squished between you.”

Richard had to do some deep breathing to quiet his anger and his beast. While he did that, Wicked said, “I’m sorry, but as your bodyguard I’ve watched him hurt you and Jean-Claude over and over. I want him to know that Truth and I will do our best to protect you physically and emotionally from him.”

“Wow, I mean, thanks, but this is going to be awkward enough without . . .”

“No, Anita, that’s fair,” Nathaniel said.

I looked up at him where he was turned around in the seat to look back at me. Jean-Claude sat beside him with Jake against the door mirroring Wicked’s position on our seat. Jean-Claude wasn’t turning around to join in the conversation yet.

“I thought we were getting along,” Richard said.

“We are,” Nathaniel said, “but it’s not just me that you need to make amends to.”

“I don’t owe Wicked an apology.”

“No, you don’t,” Wicked said, “but we need to get the ground rules set from the beginning so there are no misunderstandings between us.”

“He is Ulfric,” Jake said.

“I am not a werewolf, the only king I have is Jean-Claude.”

“I didn’t play the king-of-wolves card on you, that was Jake. I would never demand loyalty from any vampire based on me being Ulfric, or any other supernatural that wasn’t a werewolf.”

“Thank you for that,” Wicked said.

“Please move your arm so that I can be the one touching Anita?”

“You are not my king, or her boyfriend, why should I move my arm out of your way?”

“Wicked,” Jean-Claude said.

“Jean-Claude,” Truth said from the front seat, “this isn’t just Wicked and me. All the security discussed what we would do if we felt that your emotional attachments were putting you at risk.”

“Richard helped me save us all tonight, he did no harm,” Jean-Claude said.

“He, Asher, and Kane are the most unstable of all the people who are alone with you when you kick the security out of the room, and they’ve all hurt you physically and emotionally,” Truth said.

“We are never alone with Kane,” I said, “he’s bug nuts.”

“Jean-Claude will still be alone with Kane and Asher when you’re traveling on business,”