Page 75 of Smolder (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 29)

I fought to keep my body and heartbeat slow and even, because I knew werewolf law, too. If someone was too dangerous to be accepted into your pack, you could send them on to another pack, but you had to warn that pack about the issues. If you couldn’t find another pack to take them, then they were executed. I wonder if Demo knew that little codicil to the werewolf laws? I doubted it; even among the wolves themselves it wasn’t something you talked about much. Most people would eventually find a pack structure that worked for them. The Demolition Man was going to get himself killed if someone didn’t explain the facts of life and death among the werewolves to him soon.

“What is the delay?” Jean-Claude asked. The fact that he realized Wicked and Truth had stopped in front of the SUV but not opened a door for us when I hadn’t noticed said I was way too distracted.

“There was a fender bender,” Truth said.

“It’s cleared now,” Wicked said.

They usually only finished each other’s sentences when they were stressed, which let me know that the fight with the crowd or some part of tonight’s emergency had hit them harder than normal. The Wicked Truth didn’t shake easily, but I didn’t point out that I knew their tell. Until we got into the underground below the Circus we were not secure. I wasn’t going to distract them until they shut the door of our bedroom tonight. Okay, maybe just the big dungeonlike door at the bottom of the mile of stairs leading down into the underground, but until that moment they were working, and I wasn’t going to start psychoanalyzing them now.

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 DRIVINGso 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 theardeuron 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.

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