Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 11-15 - Laurell K. Hamilton [284]
“Everybody off, out of the pool,” I said.
Damian’s sorrow was almost like rain on my skin. Nathaniel wasn’t sad. He went straight to panic, afraid he’d done something wrong. “It’s alright, Nathaniel, you’re alright. We’re all alright.” I wasn’t sure I actually believed that down to my toes, but the panic subsided, and everybody got off of me. Yeah. Though Damian’s sadness clung to me like I’d walked through some metaphysical cobweb.
While we were getting untangled, Micah came through the splintered door. I’d been found in compromising positions by boyfriends before, but never with less embarrassment. He didn’t ask stupid questions or make me feel like a slut. In fact he concentrated on the most important thing. “Wow,” he said, and the wow seemed to take in the blood scattered here and there on the floor and the walls, the injuries that he could see on most of us, the broken door, all of it, but what he said outloud was, “Is everybody alright?”
I started to get up off the floor, and Damian offered me a hand up. I wouldn’t have taken it normally, but we’d just had sex, and it seemed odd to slap away his hand. The moment my hand touched his, I realized it was more than that. That need to put my skin against his was still there. One moment of good sex didn’t take away centuries of need. Sex was like some kind of fuel like food—you burned it up and needed more.
I got my hand out of his and took a slightly shaky step away from Nathaniel and Damian. A little distance would be helpful, I hoped. “We’ll all live,” I said.
“Good.” He cocked his head to one side and said, “I didn’t know that Damian could walk around this early in the day.”
“He can’t,” I said.
“Do I say the obvious, ‘but he is walking around during the day,’ or do you want me to just stop asking questions?”
I was suddenly tired, and I probably wasn’t the only one. “Have you been to bed at all?”
He shook his head, and as if I’d reminded him, he rubbed his chartreuse eyes, his sunglasses already tucked into the front of his shirt. “When I drove the guy home from the bar, he had a live-in girlfriend and a child. Girlfriend started a fight about his drinking. Anger does not help you fight the change.”
“Did he shift?” I asked.
“No, but it was close, and he’s so new . . .” Micah shook his head again. “I’d feel better if the girlfriend was a little more understanding about how dangerous he could be. She just didn’t seem to understand.”
“She didn’t want to understand,” Richard said.
Micah turned and looked at him. I realized that of all the people in the room, Richard had been the only one that Micah hadn’t really looked at. “Then you’ve met Patrick’s girlfriend.”
Richard started to shake his head, stopped in mid-motion, and winced. “No, but I’ve seen it. The human spouse just doesn’t want to understand that they’re married to a monster.” I think he meant it to sound matter-of-fact, but it didn’t. It sounded bitter.
I’d never made Richard feel like that, that I knew of; no, he’d spent a great deal more time making me feel like a monster. So I let it go. I let it go because I didn’t know what to say, or if there was anything to say. Okay, I had one thing to say. “The coalition is offering a monthly meeting for family members. I thought we’d given flyers out to the werewolves.”
Richard got to his feet, cradling his arm. “This is my Patrick, Patrick Cook?”
Micah said, “Yes.”
“And you’ve been baby-sitting him all night?”
“Yes,” Micah said, again.
Richard looked down at the floor, then back up. He met Micah’s gaze, but his face wasn’t completely happy about it. “Thank you for looking after my wolf.”
“The