Page 15 of Rafael (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 28)

“I believe that you mean what you say, Anita, you usually do, and I do appreciate the offer, but no matter how well it begins, it has always ended in drama, breaking up, and sometimes violence.”

“What kind of violence?” I asked.

“One of them stabbed me.”

I stared at him. “Shit, that’s... tell me you pressed charges. I hate the double standard that if a woman hurts a man, she gets a pass just because she’s a girl. Equality means just that; you do something awful, you get the same punishment.”

He shook his head. “It was a steak knife, no silver in the steel. There wouldn’t even be a wound by the time police could arrive; besides, I am a king and a wererat, it would have made me look weak.”

“Did you feel she was justified? I mean not stabbing you, but did you cheat on her or something?”

“The morning after the three-way that was her idea, with the woman of her choice, she woke up third in the bed. Her friend and I were kissing.”

“You thought you had her permission,” I said.

“We both did, but she got out of bed obviously upset, so I went after her, trying to understand what I’d done wrong.”

“Which was what?” I asked.

He smiled. “I think when it was all over, her complaint was that I hadn’t kissed her awake first. She wanted to share me with her friend, but she didn’t want me to like her friend better.”

“Wow, I understand why you’re leery of being with two women at once now. I’m like totally sorry that Pierette sprang it on you like this, and we can skip it, or talk later, or whatever makes you the most comfortable.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“Wait a second, what did you do to the woman who stabbed you if the police weren’t involved?”

“I broke up with her; why, what did you think I had done to her?”

“Trying to kill the king for most shapeshifter groups is an automatic death sentence outside of a formal challenge.”

“It was suggested by some of my people, but she didn’t really want me dead. She was horrified as soon as she saw the blood. She begged my forgiveness, professed her love for me. I think she even meant it.”

“Abusers are always sorry afterward, but it’s still not love,” I said.

He studied my face. “You consider what she did the same as a man hitting a woman?”

“If you stab someone because you’re jealous of them, that’s crazy and abusive no matter what sex you are—it’s not okay for a man to do it, or a woman to do it, or anyone to do that to another human being because they’re jealous of them.”

“Very practical,” he said.

“You look and feel like you’re not outraged by it, like it was okay. You know it’s not okay, right? You know that was not your fault, or justified in any way, right?” I asked.

“I do now, but it would take me years after it happened to understand that.”

“How can you not know that’s not okay, Rafael?”

“I am attracted to sexy, crazy, unstable women, and that is my fault.”

“Should I be insulted?” I asked with a smile.

It was his turn to look embarrassed. “No, no, you are the most stable relationship I’ve ever had.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, because it seemed sad. “Really?”

He laughed. “The look on your face, Anita, and yes, really. No matter how sane and together they seem, if I’m attracted to them, they are seriously unstable. Some hide their insanity better than others, but it’s always there. The harder I am driven to pursue a woman, the crazier she will prove to be.”

“Even your ex-wife?” I asked.

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