Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Colletion_ Books 6-10 - Laurell K. Hamilton [712]
Bernardo laughed, and the sound startled all of us, I think. “Now that is a new one. Me being mistaken for a cop.”
“What are you, if you’re not a cop?” she asked.
“Sometimes I’m a bodyguard. Sometimes I’m someone you need to guard the body against. Depends on who’s paying better.” His voice sounded very sure of itself, very matter of fact.
“Maybe you are, and maybe you’re not. Drop the pants, and we’ll see.”
He started unbuckling his belt. I moved away from him, though not too far. Didn’t want to get back in front of the shotgun again.
“What’s wrong? You’ve seen him without his pants before,” she said. I was beginning to think she didn’t believe me.
“Not in a crowd, I haven’t,” I said. I let the righteous indignation blaze in my voice. It got more laughter from the crowd.
The women were starting to chant, “Take it off, take it all off,” and worse. The girl that had been hanging on Harpo was just behind him, watching the show with glittering excited eyes.
Bernardo didn’t complain or blush. He just undid his pants and pushed them to about mid thigh, and stood there. My look away was automatic. The women screamed and whistled. One voice yelled, “Big daddy, yes!” The men joined in. The men were congratulating him and speculating on how we did it without hurting me.
I had to look. I just couldn’t help myself. I had to know if I’d guessed right, and frankly I just had to look. Embarrassing but true. It took me a few seconds to register that he was circumcised because what I saw first was sheer size. He was well, well endowed.
I was blushing, and I couldn’t help that. But I knew if I just stood there and gaped that the lies would all be for nothing. I tried to act as if it were Richard or Jean-Claude standing there. What would I have done? I’d have covered them up.
I moved to stand in front of him, though was careful not to touch. I admit though that I couldn’t seem to look anywhere else. Richard was impressive. Bernardo had passed impressive and gone over to scary. I shielded him from view with my body, putting my hands on either side of his waist to steady myself. I was blushing so hard, I was dizzy.
I looked at her, still shielding him from the room. “Good enough?” I asked. Even my voice sounded strangled with discomfort.
“Give him a kiss,” she said.
I looked at her. “Let him put his pants up and I will.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t say kiss his lips.”
If I blushed any harder, my head was going to explode. I turned around so I couldn’t see him anymore. “We are so not doing this.”
“I think you’ll do anything we want,” she said.
I don’t know what I would have said to that because a man’s voice sounded. “Enough games, Paulina. Give them back their weapons, and let them go.”
We all turned. Coming from the dim back of the room was another dwarf, little person. He was maybe half a head taller than the bartender, Paulina, and he was more obviously Hispanic and younger. His hair was a rich black, his skin tanned and unlined. He looked twenty-something, but the aura of power that spread outward from him like an overwhelming perfume felt older.
“I am Nicandro Baco, Nicky to my friends.” The crowd parted for him like a curtain being drawn back. He held his hand out to me, and I took it, but he didn’t shake hands. He raised my hand to his lips and kissed it. But he kept his eyes rolled up to see my face as he did it, and something about the way his eyes looked, his mouth on my skin, reminded me of much more intimate places for a man’s mouth to be. I took my hand back as soon as I could and still be polite.
“Mr. Baco, thank you for seeing me.” It sounded so businesslike, as if Bernardo wasn’t standing behind us with his pants around his thighs.
“Get dressed,” he said. He barely glanced at Bernardo. But I heard him pulling up his pants, struggling to get everything back in place, though frankly I was surprised his jeans could fit over everything.
“Why are you here,