“Of course I know it! Dammit!” Rhys raked his fingers through his hair.
“Honor among vampires? Is that it?” Megan asked in disbelief. “Villagrande wants to kill you. You said yourself he’s stronger than you are. What have you got against leveling the playing field, so to speak?”
“Because it’s cheating. No one on the Council is going to respect me if they find out I used black magick to immobilize my enemy so I could destroy him.” He shook his head. “It’s like shooting him in the back.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Daisy muttered.
“I guess it would, to a former hunter,” Erik said good-naturedly.
“Hold on a minute!” Megan said. “I don’t mind your working your hocus pocus on my house, but I don’t think I want anybody working black magick on me.”
“It isn’t black magick,” Erik said. “Just a little witchcraft.”
She shook her head emphatically. “No way.”
“Megan, my love,” Rhys said, “don’t be stubborn.”
“Why not?” she retorted. “You are.”
Rhys blew out an exasperated sigh. “It’s different with me.”
“All right, you two,” Erik said. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. We can take the matter up again tomorrow. I’ll go out and put the wards on the house, and then I need to find a place where Daisy and I can spend the day.”
“You can stay in my penthouse, if you like,” Rhys offered. “I’ll be staying here.”
Megan looked at him, obviously surprised by this bit of news, but she didn’t object.
Erik nodded. “Thanks.”
Rising, Rhys pulled Megan to her feet. “I’m going to go let them in, and then I’ll be back.”
“Be careful.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Right.”
Rhys drew her into his arms and kissed her soundly, then kissed her again, more tenderly. “I won’t be gone long.”
He followed Erik and Daisy outside, stood with Daisy while Erik cast a protective spell around the house. Supernatural power electrified the air. Rhys swore softly as it danced over his skin like thousands of tiny shocks, raising the short hairs along his arms and the back of his neck.
“That spell we talked about for Megan,” Rhys said when Erik finished casting the protective wards on Megan’s house. “Can you work it on her without her knowing?”
“Sure, that won’t be a problem. The only thing is, I don’t know if I can make it strong enough to repel Villagrande.”
“Just do your best.”
“But Megan said…”
“Never mind what she said. Just do it.”
“All right. I’ll come back and take care of it later tonight.”
“Thanks. Guess I owe you another one.”
It took only minutes for the three of them to transport themselves to Rhys’s penthouse. Rhys let Erik and Daisy in, invited them to make themselves at home, then quickly returned to Megan’s. She opened the door before he rang the bell.
“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded angrily. “Why didn’t you…?”
“Blood bond,” she reminded him with a saucy grin. “I knew it was you.”
“Think you’re pretty smart, don’t you?” he muttered as he closed and locked the door.
She stood on her tiptoes, pulled his head down, and kissed him. “It’s going to be morning soon,” she said, nipping at his lower lip. “Do you want to stand here and argue until dawn?”
“What do you think?” Swinging her into his arms, he carried her swiftly up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. “I think I can find a better way to pass the time.”
Chapter 35
“What about Megan?” Shirl asked as she slid under the covers beside Tomás. “What’s going to happen to her?”
He shrugged negligently. “I have no quarrel with her.”
“But she’s in love with Rhys.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“I don’t understand why you want to rule the West Coast,” Shirl said, frowning. “I’d be perfectly happy to live in New York.”
“You’ll understand, in time.” Villagrande stroked her hair, a faraway look in his eyes. “When you live for hundreds of years, you can’t help becoming bored now and then. I’ve grown weary of the East, so I’ve decided to stay here a while.”
“But why does Rhys have to leave?”
“Master Vampires don’t share their territory.”
She considered that a moment before asking, “What if he won’t leave?”
The sudden narrowing of Villagrande’s eyes gave her all the answer she needed.
Shirl rested her head on his shoulder. She was intrigued by Tomás, awed by his power, addicted to his lovemaking. He had taught her much about being a vampire in the last few days, had regaled her with stories of his past. He had traveled the world many times, seen everything there was to see. It was almost impossible to comprehend just how old he was. He wasn’t sure exactly when he was born, but he had known ancient kings and queens, fought in many battles in many countries, both on land and sea, visited America before the white man came.
Living with him was exhilarating, fascinating. And a little frightening. He had been a vampire for so long, he seemed to have forgotten that he had once been human. After eons of being a vampire, he viewed mankind as nothing more than prey, to do with as he wished. He drank from the males. Dallied with the females. Sometimes he toyed with them before taking them. But he always killed them in the end.
She had disappointed him the other night. He had urged her to make her first kill, and even though she had wanted to please him, she hadn’t been able to do it. The fact that he killed indiscriminately frightened her. Would she one day be as cold and callous as he was? He had no friends that she knew of. He had lived alone on his fancy yacht for decades before she met him. Thinking of friends brought Megan to mind again. Though she refused to admit it, she missed Megan’s friendship more than she would have thought possible.
Thoughts of Megan faded into the distance when Tomás reached for her. Shirl had been intimate with only two men in her lifetime, but they both paled beside him. She wondered how many other women he had loved.
She had asked him once, and he had laughed. It was the first time she had heard him laugh with such open amusement. When she had insisted on knowing what was so funny, he had patted her on the head as if she were a little girl who had asked a silly question.