“So my Siren blood doesn’t count for anything?” He rolled me from side to side until he could get those jeans down enough to part my legs even farther. “There’s what I’m after.” He bent his head and used his hands to open me to his mouth.

“It, um, counts to, oh, make you, ee, unique.” I gasped and trembled on the verge of climax. “There are so few of—oh my God!—you.”

“Just me and Lucky.” Ray sat up and tore off his clothes. My jeans and sweater were the next to go. “And you, of course. What does your blood do, Gloriana?” He pulled me to my feet and to the middle of the enormous room. What did he have in mind? The piano bench? The hot tub bubbling on the terrace? That one made me shudder. Or was he going to drag me down to the black and white rug and finish this there? For a moment we just faced each other, both of us naked. He was perfect. Me? Not even close.

“Nothing. I can’t draw men to me, Ray. Only my song can and I don’t have it. Isn’t that great news?” I waited, not sure for what, and rested my hands on his shoulders.

“So what I’m feeling for you is real?” He ran a fingertip from my shoulder to my breast to my hip.

I shivered and ran my fingertip down the same path on his body. “I’m not sure exactly what you feel for me, Ray, but it’s not some kind of Siren magic. It’s just me, Gloriana, here. Chubby thighs and all.” I flushed and realized that was a damned stupid thing to say. Now, of course, he’d look at them, judge them and compare them to the model-slim thighs he’d seen and screwed in Hollywood and all over the world.

He dropped to his knees in front of me. “I love your thighs. They’re strong and grip me hard when I’m between them.” He ran a row of kisses along each one. “And I love you. Damned if I don’t.” He pulled me down to the rug and on top of him. “Make love with me, Glory girl. I need you.”

“Ray.” My voice shook as I dropped down in front of him and kissed him with my heart in it. “I love you.”

“I know that this may be the last time we’re together like this.” He lay back and pulled me on top of him. “I’m not an idiot.”

“The last…” I stretched until my toes tangled with his, my body savoring the feel of his against every inch. His hard shaft nudged me and I opened my legs. But he didn’t try to take me yet.

“Blade, Glory. I know you still want to see him. To clear things up with him.” Ray pushed his fingers into my hair. “He left here thinking you trapped him, didn’t he?”

“Yes.” I kept my eyes on Ray’s, not about to deny that. “His pride was terribly hurt.”

“I’m gonna hurt too, when you’re gone.” He pulled my head down to kiss me deeply then rolled us until he was on top, looking down at me.

“Where am I going, Ray?” I wrapped my legs around his hips and moaned as he pushed inside me. I wanted him, couldn’t wait for that glorious movement that would take us out of ourselves and into that special place where nothing mattered but pleasure. Why did he have to bring up such serious matters now?

“Scotland, of course. It’s necessary.” Ray began to move, thrusting deep so that I felt every inch of him. “But if he’s idiot enough to refuse to take you back?” His pace quickened and he lifted my hips so I could feel just how strong and right we were together. “Baby, you will come back to me. Got it?”

I trembled, feeling the waves of pleasure crash on my shore as he leaned down to take my vein. I raked his back with my nails and smelled his blood, similar to mine but with a salty difference that was as erotic as it was irresistible. I wanted that pull of his mouth on my neck, needed that pressure of his cock deep inside me and loved the words he whispered in my mind as the world disappeared and we held each other. Ray. He was sending me to Scotland.

Seventeen

I had to tell Rafe the good news too. That he wasn’t one of my victims. But I couldn’t do it while I was reeking of sex with Ray. I’d stayed and played and spent the day sacked out in Ray’s arms. Then he’d arranged a chartered jet to Scotland for me. Got to love a man who’d do something like that when he knew I was going to see his rival. I admit I was misty-eyed as I kissed Ray good-bye, fully intending for it to be the last time before my trip.

I stopped at the apartment first and washed from head to toe to get every trace of Ray off of me. Rafe had a shifter’s nose and I wasn’t going to make this news any more challenging for him. When I walked into N-V, I didn’t want to throw out any lures but a woman has her pride. My usual black pants were snug enough to be interesting and my red and black tunic top roomy enough to hide the tummy bulge that was finally almost gone. The red cheeks? At least the lighting at N-V was dim. I was really going to have to talk to Ian about that. And his lies about my blood.

I sidled up to the bartender and ordered some of the blood with alcohol. “Is Rafe around?”

“Sure is. Hang here and he’ll be out in a minute. I called him about a customer giving me some grief.” Skip, the bartender, nodded down the long and crowded bar. Oh, I should have known. Who was parked on a bar stool, her thugs behind her, but Lucky? She was knocking back the high-octane blood and arguing with my friend Diana Marchand, the owner of Mugs and Muffins. Interesting that one of the thugs was a new guy, not a thick-necked shifter but a tall, dark and handsome vampire whose power could be felt even from where I stood, yards away. Can’t say I liked that development.

“Let me guess. Trying to collect a debt?” I gestured toward Lucky. Other customers were easing away, trying to give the pair some space.

“You got it and the loud one wouldn’t take it outside. Believe me, I tried.” Skip grimaced and wiped down the bar. “Here comes the boss now.”

Rafe smiled at me then looked down the bar and did a double take. “You’ve got to be kidding me. When did Lucky Carver hit town?”

“A few days ago. Still the same Lucky we love to hate.” I knew that when Lucky saw me, she’d shift her attention. Diana would be grateful, but things might get ugly. “Can I talk to you in your office?”

“Not yet. I want her out of here.” Rafe looked like he meant business, obviously excited by the prospect of tossing Lucky out on her ass.

“Be careful, Rafe. Her goons take their jobs seriously.” I put a cautionary hand on his shoulder.

“I can handle this. Lucky. I’ll be damned.” Rafe squeezed my hand. “Be right back. Hang tight.”

I followed him with some idea of offering backup. He stepped between Diana and Lucky and both women paused in their argument to scope him out appreciatively. He wore his usual uniform for work, one of those black T-shirts with the red N-V logo slashed across the front. Of course it fit like a well-worn glove. So did his jeans. Several other women at the bar were giving him the eye too. Diana used his arrival as a distraction and tried to slip away.

“Not so fast, lady. There’s the matter of the money you owe me.” Lucky latched onto Diana’s arm and signaled her “boys.” They moved in, blocking Diana’s escape route. Lucky’s new vampire put his hand on her back and she got a deer-in-headlights look. “You aren’t leaving until I get something on account.”

“I told you—” Diana obviously didn’t have the money and glanced down like maybe a bag of cash with her name on it would magically appear at her feet.

“Hey, this isn’t going to happen here.” Rafe pried Diana’s arm from Lucky’s grip but kept a hand on Lucky. “Take it outside, Lucky.”

“You know who I am?” Lucky smiled with lips expertly colored and lined with a bold coral. “How?” She shook her head when the guards made threatening rumbles and stared pointedly at Rafe’s hold on their boss.

“I’m Valdez. I was there when you first arrived in town.” Rafe’s frown made it clear it wasn’t a fond memory as he glanced at nearby mortals.

“My, oh, my. You shucked off the fur coat.” Lucky caught my eye. “Nice.”

Rafe gently pulled both women off their bar stools and to their feet. “Diana?”

“Can I go to the ladies’ first?” She aimed a panicked look across the room.

Lucky firmed her lips. “Not unless one of my boys goes with you.” She aimed a painted nail at Diana, who was already inching toward the exit. “She’d be out the back door if I let her go.”

“I wouldn’t—” But Diana wasn’t a great liar.

“Okay, we keep it here but we keep it down.” Rafe signaled the bartender, who picked up a phone. Within moments, the band announced a new set. That got the bar emptied as eager patrons hit the dance floor. “Diana, you owe Lucky money?”

Diana drained her glass then avoided Lucky’s glare as she talked to Rafe. “Yes, stupid of me, but I did take out a loan when business got bad last summer.” Diana glared at Lucky. “This woman passed out cards before she left town last time, courting my business. When no bank would give me a loan, naturally I called her.” Diana held on to her black clutch like it was a lifeline. “The terms are just horrid, Rafe, but what was I to do? I figured business would pick up and it did, but…” Diana was from the South and her drawl was becoming more obvious along with her distress.

Lucky held up her hand to cut her off. “Do I care why? No. Payment’s three months overdue. So pay now or I take possession of your collateral.” Lucky’s smile was pure predator. No wonder they called them loan sharks. “I wouldn’t mind owning a little coffee shop next to Glory’s store.” She glanced down the bar and gestured at me. “Don’t hang back. Come join us, Glory. We could be neighbors. What do you think?”

I stepped to Rafe’s side. “I think I’d help Diana sell her soul first.”

Diana’s gasp and Rafe’s incredulous look let me know I’d just stepped in it. I guess my history with Lucifer and the demons was still too fresh to even joke about hell. Diana actually crossed herself. Lucky’s new bodyguard cracked a smile and wasn’t that interesting? The way he was studying me, though, was getting on my last nerve. Mr. Intensity might laugh at my jokes, but I didn’t doubt he was ready to do whatever he had to for Lucky’s protection. I ignored him.