Страница 47 из 101
«And how would you feel if I picked one of the women here in the underground to have sex with while you fuck Sampson?»
I looked at him. I thought of several things to say, none of them helpful.
«You wouldn't like it, would you?» he said.
«No,» I said, not sure what else to say.
«Then don't expect me to enjoy sharing you.»
«I don't expect you to like it, Richard. I don't think Jean-Claude likes it either, or Micah.» I looked at Nathaniel. I both frowned and smiled.
«I like sharing,» he said, with a smile.
«Good for you,» Richard said. «I don't.»
«You're having sex with the human women you're dating,» I said.
«Some of them, yes I am.»
«You're doing that by choice; I'm doing this because I have to.»
«You'll still enjoy it,» he said.
«Would it make you happier if the sex were bad?»
«Yes.» He stood up, and let me finally see that he was wearing nice jeans and a red T-shirt. He'd probably refused fetish wear, and I didn't think he had any dress clothes here. «Yes, it would make me feel better if I didn't know you'd enjoy it.»
«I don't know what to say to that, Richard, I really don't.»
«I'm not having sex with anyone but Anita, and I don't have a problem with this,» Micah said.
«No, of course you don't, because you're perfect,» Richard said.
Micah looked at me, as if asking how much fight to have.
«Don't fight,» I said. «Let's eat, then we'll talk about what to say to Rafael.»
«And just because she says 'don't fight, you won't fight, will you?» Richard asked.
«Usually, no,» Micah said.
«Sometimes, Micah, I hate you,» Richard said.
«Right back at you,» Micah said with a smile.
Richard's power slapped along my skin like tiny bites of heat. But Micah was closer, and when his power flared, too, it was like standing too close to an open oven. «Stop it, both of you.»
«Mon chat, mon ami , we do not have time for this.»
«I am not your friend,» Richard said. «I am your wolf to call, but that does not make us friends.»
Jean-Claude took a deep breath, let it out, and went very still. Still in that way that the old ones could go, so that you felt if you looked away they'd vanish, even though they were standing right there. His voice when it came was neutral, pleasant, in an empty, impersonal way. «As you like, Richard. Mon chat , and mon lupe , we do not have time for this.»
Richard turned toward him, his power filling up the room like hot bathwater that had gotten out of hand. You thought you were having a nice relaxing bath, and suddenly you were drowning. My pulse sped up, and the wolf inside me stirred.
I closed my eyes and started breathing, deep and even, breathing from the soles of my feet to the top of my chest. Deep cleansing breaths, to still that movement deep inside me. To isolate me from what Richard was doing. It was his power, not mine. I did not have to respond to it. Part of me believed that, but part of me knew better. His power and mine had married too tightly.
«Don't call me that,» Richard said.
«If you are only my wolf to call and you are not my friend, then what else can I call you?» Jean-Claude's voice was very flat when he said it. I realized suddenly that he was angry, too. Angry at Rafael? Angry at the Harlequin? Angry at everything?
«Not that, not just wolf.»
«You take insult where none is intended, but if you will find insult where none is meant, then perhaps I should try harder to insult on purpose.»
The sound of the heavy outer door banged loud in the charged silence. It made me jump. «Rafael is here,» Claudia said. Her voice managed to sound relieved and worried all at the same time, as if she was happy to cut the fight short, but worried what her king would do.
Richard was glaring at Jean-Claude, and the vampire was finally letting his anger show on his face when Rafael walked through the far drapes. Rafael was tall, dark, and handsome. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the six-foot, darkly Hispanic man in his nicely cut business suit. He'd left the tie off, so that the white dress shirt framed the hollow of his neck like an invitation. That last thought didn't sound like my own. I glanced at Jean-Claude, wondering if it was his. He'd fed on someone's blood today, I could tell that much, but I knew that sometimes he lusted after powerful blood the way that other men lusted after pretty women. What I hadn't known until that moment was that he lusted after Rafael as food.
Another surprise was behind him. Louie Fane, Dr. Louis Fane, teacher of biology at Washington University, and live-in boyfriend of one of my best friends. Ro
Louie was five foot six, slender, but not weak looking. Today his arms were covered, but when they were bare fine muscles played in his forearms. His hair was straight and dark, and cut short, freshly so, because I'd seen him only last week and it had been past his ears; now it wasn't. His face was softly squared, almost the only hint that his mother had been from Ecuador. That and the black eyes, darker even than my own.
I was surprised to see Louie. Don't know why; he was Rafael's second-in-command. How did a mild-ma
«Rafael, King of the Rodere of St. Louis, welcome,» Jean-Claude said. The formality of the greeting set the tone.
«Jean-Claude, Master of the City of St. Louis, I am honored that you have invited me into your home.» His gaze went to Richard. «Ulfric of the Thro
I was close enough to hear the sharp intake of breath, and I thought Richard would say something that went with that almost violent breath, but he let the air out slowly. It shuddered a little on its way out, and he spoke almost normally. «Rafael, King of Rats, friend and ally, there's plenty of food, help yourself.»
«Thank you,» Rafael said, and some tension I hadn't realized was there went out of his broad shoulders, as if he'd worried about Richard's reaction, too.
Louie went to Richard, and they did that guy handshake/hug, where you grip forearms and sort of bump shoulders. I heard him say, «Sorry about this.»
If Richard said anything, I didn't hear it because Micah was talking to Rafael. «Are the leopards so unimportant that you do not even greet their king or queen?»
Of all the people in the room, I hadn't expected problems from Micah. From the look on Rafael's face, him either. «I meant no disrespect, Nimir-Raj.»
«Yes, you did,» Micah said.
«Micah…«I said.
He shook his head at me. «No, Anita, we can't let an insult like this go. We can't.»
Richard said, «You finally find something worth fighting for, Micah?»
He gave Richard a cold look. «What would you do if Rafael had ignored you and greeted every other leader in the room?»
Anger flashed over Richard's face, then smoothed out. «I wouldn't like it.»
«Jean-Claude, you need to teach your cats better ma
That got my attention, and not in a good way. I moved to stand by Micah. Nathaniel moved up with us, though a little behind us. We were king and queen; you didn't stand in front of the royalty, even if you were living with them.
«We aren't pets,» I said.
«You are Jean-Claude's human servant, and the leopards have no co
I felt movement around us as the bodyguards shifted nervously. Rafael didn't even look at them. I did. I looked at Claudia, and she actually blushed. «Whose side are you on if the flags go up?» I asked.
«Do you actually believe you could challenge me?» Rafael said, and he sounded amused. I ignored him and kept my gaze on Claudia. Micah had his attention on Rafael, and I knew he'd let me know if I needed to look at the big man.
«Come on, Claudia, Fredo, talk to me. You're our bodyguards, but he's your king. If it goes bad, can we depend on you, or not?»
«They are my people,» Rafael said. «They owe their loyalty to me.»
I finally looked at him. It was not a friendly look. «Then they need to leave this room, now. We need hyena and wolves in here, now.»
«They are no match for my people,» Rafael said.
«Maybe not, but at least I can trust who they'll jump for.»
Clay had hit his radio and was relaying my request.
Rafael looked at Jean-Claude. «Are the leopards in charge here, Jean-Claude? It is what I had heard, but I had not believed it.» He had turned away from us as if we didn't matter.
I had a horrible urge to draw my gun, but knew I'd never get it out in time. Not with Claudia and Fredo in the room. And besides, I wouldn't really shoot him over an insult, and you never draw a gun unless you're willing to use it. I wasn't willing to use it, but I was really wanting a way to wipe that arrogance off Rafael's face.
Wolves and hyenas spilled into the room, at a run. We now had more of our people in the room than we did wererats. The tightness in my stomach eased a little.
«Rafael,» Richard said, «why are you doing this?»
«Doing what?» he asked. «Treating the leopards as the lesser power they are supposed to be?»
Richard let his face show the surprise he felt. «Are you purposefully trying to bait Anita?»
«I have come to negotiate with the Master of the City and his triumvirate of power. His animal to call and his human servant.»
«I'm also the leopard's queen, and they are my animal to call,» I said. «You can't insult one half of my power base while you try to negotiate with the other.»
«Exactly,» Rafael said.
«What?» I asked.
«You have made your point, Rafael,» Jean-Claude said.
I looked from one to the other. «Not to me, he hasn't.»
«I'm confused, too,» Richard said.
«I have worked for years to build the wererats into a force to be reckoned with, bargained with, a force not to be treated lightly. Though I may dislike Narcissus, he, in his own way, has also built the werehyenas up into a force to be reckoned with.» He motioned at us, the only three leopards in the room. «The leopards were the playthings of the wolves when Raina was their lupa. Gabriel, the leader of the leopards, was her pawn. Then Anita killed both of them. She became lupa to the wolves and tried to protect the leopards. I was happy that the leopards had a true protector, someone who did not just use them. No group deserves the treatment that they suffered at Gabriel's hands.» He walked toward us, slowly, nothing menacing in that movement, but I fought an urge to step back. Somehow I wasn't sure I wanted him that close to me, to us.