Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [1016]
“Damn,” I said, softly.
Lillian sighed. “I’ll get some ice.” She left us alone.
Nathaniel knelt in front of me, being careful not to spill the coffee. Merle and Cherry glided into the living room while I was still staring at my reddened hands. Cherry sat beside me on the couch. She was still nude, but it didn’t matter. Nothing seemed to matter. Merle stayed standing, and I didn’t even bother trying to look up at him. All I could see were the silver toes of his boots.
“Nathaniel said that you touched his beast when you marked his back,” Cherry said.
I blinked at her, meeting her pale eyes. I nodded. I remembered a shining moment, after I’d marked his back actually, where I’d felt his beast roiling under the touch of my power, and I’d been sure I could call that part of him, make him shapeshift for me. I was still nodding, and made myself stop, saying, “I remember.”
Lillian came back out and applied bags of ice wrapped in a small towel to my hands. “Try not to hurt yourself for a few minutes. I’m going back to check on Gregory.” She left me with the three leopards and my ice.
“If you touched Nathaniel’s beast, there’s a chance you could call Gregory’s now.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
Cherry gripped my arm. “Don’t fall apart on us now, Anita, Gregory needs you.”
The first flare of anger pushed through the shock. “I have done my fucking best for him tonight.”
She dropped her hand away from my arm, but didn’t look away. “Anita, please, Merle thinks you may be strong enough to call Gregory’s beast, even before your first full moon.”
I clutched the towel-covered ice to my chest. The sudden cold across my nearly naked chest helped clear my head. “I thought that wasn’t possible before I shifted for the first time.”
“With you, Anita,” Merle said, “I would be a fool to say what you can and can’t do.”
I let the ice fall on the coverlet in my lap and looked up at the big man. “Why the change of heart? I failed Gregory out there on the deck.”
“You risked yourself for one of your cats. It is the very best a Nimira-Ra, or -Raj, has in them, to take great risks for their people.”
I touched the towel, found one corner wet, and knew the plastic bag hadn’t sealed completely. I moved the bag rightside up so it wouldn’t spill anymore. “What do you want from me?” My voice sounded as tired as I felt.
Merle knelt in front of me, and I met his eyes. There was a look in them that I didn’t want right now. He seemed to trust me, and I didn’t feel trustworthy. I felt scared.
“Call Gregory’s beast.”
“I don’t know how. When I was with Nathaniel, it was . . .” I sighed.
“It was sexual,” Cherry finished for me.
I nodded. “I am not trying for that kind of mood with Gregory again tonight. I don’t think either he, or I, could handle it if it went wrong again.”
“Calling the beast doesn’t have to be sexual,” Merle said.
I met his strangely trusting gaze. I was beyond tired. I just didn’t have anything left tonight, not for Gregory. I did not want to touch him again tonight. Part of me was afraid that Raina would make an unplanned appearance, though I knew that was almost impossible for her now. I did have better control than that. But . . . “How can I ever touch Gregory again and not remember that?”
“I don’t know,” Cherry said, “but please, Anita, please help him.”
“How do I call his beast without getting in the mood?” I asked.
“You need to talk to someone who can call the beast from their people,” Merle said.
I looked at him. “You got someone in mind?”
“I am told your Ulfric can call the beast from his wolves.”
I nodded. “So I hear.”
“If he called a wolf into form, while you watched, then he might be able to show you how to do it.”
“You really think it will work?” I asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said, “but isn’t it worth trying?”
I handed him the leaking bag of ice.