"I will remember that you saved me, ma petite. You could have been free of me. Thank you."
It sounded sincere enough. "You're welcome."
"I need to get this crud off me," Jason said. He sounded just a touch frantic. I was betting he'd be trying to scrub off more than just dirt. But memories don't wash that easily. More's the pity.
"Go on, both of you. Jason can scrub up in Larry's room. It's only practical."
Larry grinned at me. "Thanks."
"I meant it when I said you did good tonight."
I finally got the smile I'd expected. "Come on, Jason, hot water and fresh towels await." Larry held the door for Jason and gave me a little salute. Geez.
Alone again with Jean-Claude. Would this night never end? "You never answered my question about the coffin," I said.
"I will be alright for another night or two."
"How did Serephina go from being your equal in power to being what we saw tonight?"
He shook his head. "I truly do not know, ma petite. She surprised me badly. She did not have to let us go tonight. As long as she did not harm us, we could have been her guests for the day."
"Are you surprised she let us go?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
Jean-Claude pushed away from the love seat. "Take your shower, ma petite. I will await the young men's return."
"I thought you could go next, wash the blood out of your hair."
He put a hand up to the back of his hair. He grimaced at the feel of it. "Distasteful, but I want a bath, ma petite. It takes longer than a shower, so you go first."
I looked at him for a long moment.
"If you do not hurry, I will not have time for a bath before dawn. I would hate to sleep on your clean sheets covered in blood."
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Fine; just be sure you stay out of the bathroom."
"My word of honor that I will not barge in on you."
"Yeah, right." Though, strangely enough, I believed him. Jean-Claude had been trying to seduce me for a long time. A frontal assault just wasn't his style. I went to take my shower.
29
Ronnie had dragged me into Victoria's Secret. I had pointed out that no one would see my underwear or my nightclothes except other women in the gym locker room. Ronnie had replied, "You'll see them." The logic escaped me but she had talked me into a robe.
It was burgundy, the color of wine-dark peonies. It glowed against my pale skin and matched some of the bruises blossoming on my back. Nothing like getting thrown into a wall to give you a little color. The bite mark on my back wasn't very deep. Hard for humanoid fangs to sink in from that angle. The fang marks on my wrist were deeper. They were two neat little holes, almost dainty. It didn't hurt as much as it should have. Maybe vampires did have painkillers in their saliva, or maybe it was the fangs.
I still couldn't believe that I'd let him sink fangs into me. Shit.
I pulled the robe closer around me. The material was heavy enough to be cozy on a winter evening, and had wide silky cuffs, and more silk lining the edges. It looked vaguely Victorian, a little masculine. I looked delicate in it, like a Victorian doll that hadn't gotten completely dressed yet. I put on an oversized black t-shirt under the robe. It ruined some of the effect, but it beat the heck out of wearing nothing but a robe and underwear out to greet the boys.
I retrieved the Browning from the back of the stool where it had sat during my shower. I carried it with me to the bedroom, and hesitated. I always went armed. Hell, I slept with a gun, but I didn't feel like slipping on a holster. I put the Browning away and settled for slipping the Firestar into the robe pocket. Made the cloth hang funny, but if something nasty came through the door I was ready for it.
Jean-Claude was standing at the window when I opened the bedroom door. He had opened the drapes, and was leaning against the window's edge staring out into the darkness. He turned when the door opened, though I knew he'd heard me before that.
"Ma petite, you look lovely."
"It's the only robe I own," I said.
"Of course," he said. His face had that amused mask on it again; this time I would have liked to know what he was thinking. His midnight blue eyes were very intense; they didn't match the nonchalant expression. Maybe I didn't want to know what he was thinking.
"Where are Larry and Jason?"
"They have come and gone," he said.
"Gone?"
"Jason had a sudden craving, and Larry drove him in the Jeep."
I just looked at him. "There is such a thing as room service."
"It is the wee hours of the morning, ma petite. The room service menu is somewhat limited. Jason has donated blood twice to me tonight; he needed protein." Jean-Claude smiled. "It was either take-out, or he could eat Larry. I thought you'd prefer take-out."