Page 33 of Vampire's Choice

She didn’t care. He’d messed with her trust. She’d happily die rather than let someone think it was okay to treat her that way.

He held her gaze. Her eyes were watering, and she refused to blink. “You don’t look down when I look at you,” he said. “But you want to.”

“I want to, yes. For the right Master. You aren’t him. You aren’t even close. You’re not even trying to be.”

He may have guessed it, but she’d just said aloud what she never had. But he didn’t know that. She calmed the cold ball of apprehension. If he repeated it to anyone, it would be interpreted as an empty taunt. Not the actual truth. She had bigger problems. Like being dead, right here and now.

His mouth tightened, the fangs disappearing. So did he, taking flight so abruptly she stumbled backwards. Then she yelped and jumped back further. The knife he’d tossed out into the open air, way above the earth, landed before her, point embedded in the ground.

By the time she retrieved it and the other one he’d knocked away from her, he was hovering above her again. When she stared at him, a knife held at the ready in either fist, she felt it again. The strong desire to lower her gaze, be on her knees to him. The asshole.

It was the sex demon thing. Not the man behind it. Or was it? She might be being naïve about his ability, but her gut told her the compulsion magic couldn’t have this kind of hold on her. Nothing about him, or her reaction to him, made sense.

She knew how to handle that. She held her position and waited for his next move.

His expression shuttered and he gave her a short nod. Almost courteous, if she hadn’t sensed the inferno of want and need raging between them. He left her company, winging away across the mellow sunlit sky.

After she watched him go, she realized she was where he’d first picked her up. Medusa was onshore again, standing by the windsurfer as if she’d pulled in to be available if Ruth needed backup. As Ruth lifted a hand in thanks, Medusa’s expression adopted the bemusement of someone who wasn’t sure what exactly they’d witnessed, but it wasn’t what they’d expected.

Though Medusa acknowledged the wave and returned to the water, Ruth knew Yvette would be informed of the interaction. Normal sexual wranglings between staff probably weren’t considered worthy of anything more than gossip, but Ruth was a new variable, and Merc was obviously kept under close watch.

Ruth cleaned the dirt off her knives and returned both to their hiding places. She refastened her jeans and belt, and straightened her clothes. Then she headed for the camp. Maybe by the time she reached it, her nerves would be calmer and her sweaty palms would be dry.

Getting Merc out of her head was going to be a lot harder. She needed more information.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Should she worry about the repercussions of stabbing a Circus staff member? She’d noted the blood was already coagulating when he’d hovered in the air above her. It seemed to confirm his healing properties were as decent as a vampire’s. And he had mentioned that he’d “kept” Tau’s slash marks on purpose.

He hadn’t fed on her, though. Blood helped vampires heal faster. Did sexual energy do the same for him?

She’d figure out a way to check on him later. Not that he deserved it, but she was going to be the better person. The challenge would be finding out where his quarters were. Probably a dark hole in the ground, shared with roommates Gollum and Hannibal Lecter.

Marcellus and Clara had a yurt, too. It was the same size as Yvette’s, which made sense, not just because of Marcellus’s status, but for the practical amount of space his wings would need. The flaps were open, and she heard voices. Marcellus, Clara and Charlie. The healer stepped out as Ruth arrived.

The blind healer “looked” at her, her brow furrowing. “You need some chakra cleansing, my lady,” she said. “And a deep tissue massage. You’ll feel better. He has a contaminated energy.”

“There’s no privacy here,” Ruth told her.

“Very little,” Charlie agreed. “Too many insightful people, plus a handful like me, with intrusive reading powers. We have an agreement to keep it on the surface level, though. Only for detecting health and wellbeing issues we can resolve. Yvette has the right to dig deeper, but even she does it primarily for the Circus’s interests.”

Though Ruth had deduced a lot of that herself, she appreciated Charlie’s friendly heads up. It also told her she’d be able to find out more about Merc if she asked the right people the right questions. “How’s Clara?”

“Tired,” came a weary voice from inside the tent. “But doing okay. Come on in, Ruth.”

Charlie moved away as Ruth entered the yurt. A large bed was on her right. The sturdy wood frame looked capable of handling an angel. Did angels sleep? Even if they didn’t, Clara did. Angels obviously also had interest in other things that could be done in a bed, another reason for overbuilding it. Vampire beds weren’t spindly structures, either.

If she was dwelling on stuff like that, her body was still too worked up. Memo to self; next time, pick a fight after getting the mind shattering orgasm.

Clara was a small figure on the vast mattress, but she was propped up on pillows and looked more like herself than when last Ruth had seen her.

The yurt walls were collaged with hand painted pictures, photographs, flowers and postcards. A wardrobe probably contained Clara’s colorful clothing. A coat rack next to it held Ruth’s coat, a long knotty sweater, and a fedora with so many souvenir pins attached to it the black felt was barely visible. Other than that, a table and a couple of chairs, the area was clear.

“We don’t keep much furniture in here,” Clara said, watching Ruth take in her surroundings. “Marcellus’s wingspan can clear every flat surface like a golden retriever’s tail. I want him to feel this is his home away from home, so I do what I can to make it comfortable.”

“Where is he? I thought I heard him.”

“You did.” Clara pointed toward another entrance to the yurt, the two accesses allowing a fresh breeze through the space. “He went to tell Yvette and Maddock about my latest vision. After that he’ll report to Jonah. Jonah is Prime Legion Commander, which means he leads the angelic forces that protect the universe.”

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