Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [370]
Jamil nodded almost to himself. “Good. I was worried.”
“What, you thought I’d throw a fit and storm off, leaving him to his just desserts?”
“Something like that,” he said.
“Did he have sex with the woman who’s made the accusation?”
“If you mean intercourse, no. She’s human,” he said. “Richard doesn’t do humans. He’s afraid they’re too fragile.”
“I thought you just said he’d been sleeping with Ms. Schaffer.”
“Having sex, but not doing the dirty deed.”
I wasn’t a virgin. I knew there were alternatives, but. . . “Why alternative methods with humans? Why not just . . . do it?”
“Doing the wild thing can release our beast early. You don’t want to know what happens when you’re with a human who doesn’t know what you are, and you shift on top of them, inside them.” A shadow crossed his face, and he looked away.
“You sound like the voice of experience,” I said.
He looked slowly back at me, and there was something in his face that was suddenly frightening, like looking up and realizing that the bars between you and the lion at the zoo aren’t there anymore. “That is none of your business.”
I nodded. “Sorry, you’re right. You’re absolutely right. It was too personal.”
But it was interesting information. There had been a point where I’d pretty much begged Richard to stay the night. To have sex with me. He’d said no because it wouldn’t be fair until I saw him change into werewolf form. I needed to be able to accept the whole package. I hadn’t been able to do that once the package bled and writhed all over me. But now I wondered if part of his hesitation had been simply fear of hurting me. Maybe.
I shook my head. It didn’t matter. Business. If I concentrated really hard, maybe I could stay on track. We were here to get him out of jail, not to worry about why we broke up.
“We could use a little help here with the luggage,” Jason called.
He had two suitcases under each arm. Zane and Cherry were carrying one coffin. They looked like pallbearer bookends. Nathaniel was lying on his back on the other coffin. He’d taken off his shirt and unbound his hair. His hands were folded across his stomach, eyes closed. I didn’t know whether he was playing dead or trying to get a tan.
“A little help here,” Jason said, kicking his foot towards the rest of the luggage. Two suitcases and a huge trunk still sat unclaimed.
I walked towards them. “Jesus, only one of those suitcases is mine. Who’s the clotheshorse?”
Zane and Cherry put the coffin gently on the Tarmac. “Just one suitcase is mine,” Zane said.
“Three of them are mine,” Cherry said. She sounded vaguely embarrassed.
“Who brought the trunk?”
“Jean-Claude sent it,” Jason said. “Just in case we do meet with the local master. He wanted us to make a good show of it.”
I frowned at the trunk. “Please tell me there’s nothing in there that Jean-Claude plans on me wearing.”
Jason grinned.
I shook my head. “I don’t want to see it.”
“Maybe you’ll get lucky,” Jason said. “Maybe they’ll try to kill you instead.”
I frowned at him. “You’re just full of happy thoughts.”
“My speciality,” he said.
Nathaniel turned his head and looked at me, hands clasped across his bare stomach. “I can lift the coffin, but it’s not balanced right for carrying. I need help.”
“You certainly do,” I said.
He blinked up at me, one hand raised to block the sun. I moved until my body blocked the sun and he could look at me without squinting. He smiled up at me.
“What’s with the coffin sunbathing?” I asked.
The smile wilted around the edges, then faded completely. “It’s the scene in the crypt,” he said as if that explained everything. It didn’t.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He raised just his shoulders and head off the coffin like he was doing stomach crunches. His abs bunched nicely with the effort. “You really haven’t watched my movies, have you?”
“Sorry,” I said.
He sat up the rest