Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 11-15 - Laurell K. Hamilton [1054]
“I beat you last time,” Joseph said. That was true.
“You got lucky,” Haven said, and the voice was sliding down to something less pleasant.
“But I didn’t even know you were here. I came to see Anita.”
Truth and Wicked stepped aside, taking Joseph with them. I was suddenly lying there staring up at the other man. I had a moment of staring up into that deceptively blue gaze, such an innocent color, and then his gaze slid down my body. It wasn’t sexual; I’d forgotten to lower my gown, so the wounds were still visible.
His face was very serious, and on the edge of that came a flash of anger through those sky-blue eyes. “Weretiger, huh?”
“Yeah.”
He reached out, as if he would touch the wounds. I drew the gown back over my skin. He looked me in the face again. There was a look in his eyes that I couldn’t decipher. It was a serious look, whatever it meant.
Something stirred inside me, something that flashed tawny and gold in the dark end of the tunnel. I suddenly smelled dry grass and heat so hot it had a smell to it. I smelled lion.
“I’m trying to be good here,” Haven said. “If you go all lioness on me, I can’t promise to be good.”
“I appreciate that,” I said out loud, but my hand ached to reach out to him. He was toning down his power level, and I was toning down mine, but the urge to touch him was still there. Micah had figured it out that my power wasn’t seeking a lion to be another animal to call like Nathaniel. The power was seeking what Micah was to me, a Rex to my Regina. Chimera had been the same way, I guess; he’d been the dominant in whatever group he took over. The mix of panwere and Belle Morte’s line of vamps seemed to have changed it from me trying to be dominant to everyone into trying to be a dominant couple with everyone.
“Take his hand.”
I blinked up at them.
Truth repeated, “Take his hand.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Haven reached out to me. I could have moved back, but I was just a little late in moving. Maybe it was a Freudian slip, or maybe it was an entire wardrobe.
His hand wrapped around mine with room to spare. His hands were as big as Richard’s, the fingers longer, closer to the way Jean-Claude’s hands looked, but the size was all Richard. The feel of his hand in mine made something tight in my chest loosen. I had enough men in my life, damn it. All I had to do was let go of his hand, but I didn’t let go.
Haven was staring down at our clasped hands as if he didn’t know what they were. He sounded distracted, like he was thinking about something very different from what his words said. “Your Nimir-Raj has kicked Joseph and his lions out of the coalition. I’ve checked with the wererats, the werehyenas, and your Ulfric. They’re all cool with me doing what needs doing.”
“It was good of you to check with everyone,” Truth said.
“The animal groups in your coalition with Jean-Claude are still united. I didn’t want to piss everyone off the first day back.” He was rubbing his thumb across my knuckles as he talked. “I just need to ask you how you feel about it, and I can get started.”
“Anita, please,” Joseph said. He was still being held between the two vampires.
“No one in the coalition trusts you anymore, Joseph. I don’t trust you either.”
“So you won’t care what I do?” Haven asked. He was looking at my face now. His face was more serious than I’d ever seen it.
“There are some lions in his group that are weak, but they’re still valuable. Give them a chance to join you.”
“Valuable how?”
“They have jobs. They bring income into the pride so that others don’t have to work.”
“Money won’t be a problem. Auggie bankrolled us until things got up and running.”
“And that’s another thing; I’ll try not to interfere in how you run the pride, but I can’t let you bring new mob connections to St. Louis.”
“You know that’s one of the main reasons Auggie wanted us down here.”
“I figured it was, but we’ve got enough crime without