Blood Noir - Laurell K. Hamilton [17]
“Nathaniel.”
“Hmm,” he said.
“You sound upset.”
“That you’re going off with another man to meet his family? Hmm, let me think, why would that upset me?”
“Are you telling me not to go?”
“I would never do that.”
“But…,” I said.
“But nothing, telling you what to do isn’t the kind of relationship we have. But I’m allowed to be a little jealous that you’re getting to go home with Jason.”
“Jean-Claude said the same thing, sort of, but his family is centuries dead. It’s not possible for him. You never talk about your family.”
“When Chimera was alive, he used people’s families against them. He tortured them, or made them into wereanimals so he could control them. To keep my family safe, I had to pretend I hated them. I did a good job of it, Anita. I doubt they’d want to see me again.”
I heard such regret in his voice. “You never know until you try, Micah.”
“We’ll see.”
“If it works out, I’d love to meet your family.”
“Really, you don’t seem much interested in your own.”
“I’m allowed issues with my own family; that doesn’t make me hate everyone’s family.”
“Okay,” but he sounded cautious.
“Really, Micah, Chimera’s dead, he can’t hurt you or your family anymore.”
“I know that, you killed him for me.”
“You wanted me to kill him.”
“Yes, I did.” And there was that note in his voice, that tone, that said he was all right with the violence that I did. He’d watched me kill Chimera, and he’d been just peachy with it. There were so many reasons that Micah and I worked as a couple. One of those reasons was a certain ruthless practicality in both of us.
“I would go home to see your folks, Micah.”
“Would we bring Nathaniel, too?”
That stopped me. We all three lived together, but…“I don’t know. I guess that would be your call.”
“I’ll think about it, all of it, the family, and whether I have the guts to show up after all these years with you and Nathaniel.” Put that way, I could sort of see his problem. It was sort of similar to Jason’s problem, actually. Perception is all.
“I’m sorry if my going off with Jason bothers you.”
“I’m sorry it bothers me, too. I need to work on that.”
“Micah, I love you.”
“I know, and I love you, too. Give my love to Nathaniel. You better start packing.”
“Micah, I…”
“No, it’s all right, Anita, really. Do what you need to do for Jason. But I guess I really would like to introduce you to my mom and dad, my brother and sister. I just never thought it was possible.”
“A lot of things are possible, Micah.”
“I guess. I’ve got to go. I love you, Anita.”
“I love you, too.”
“Give my love to Nathaniel.”
“I will.”
He hung up, and left me not sure how to feel. Guilty that it bothered him, yes, but more puzzled. He’d almost never mentioned his family. How was I supposed to know that he even wanted to see them? Sometimes the hardest part of dating this many men was juggling everyone’s emotions. People talked about the sex, because sex was easy; hearts were hard.
8
JASON HAD SAID he lived in a small city. I hadn’t understood what that might mean for the flight. What it meant was that we would have been on a freaking prop plane. The only thing that will get me on shit like that is life or death, as in a police investigation, where if I don’t go more people will die.
Maybe the panic showed on my face, because Jason made a second call to Jean-Claude. I keep forgetting that he owns a private jet. I don’t know why I keep forgetting, but I do. I think I’m just a little uncomfortable that I’m dating someone who owns one. It just seems a little too idle rich for me. Of course, Jean-Claude is about as idle as I am, which means he’s always working. He manages his little growing empire of preternatural businesses, and is good at it. I raise the dead and slay bad vampires. Busy, busy, busy.
But it meant that I didn’t have to brave a puddle jumper to do the favor for Jason. If I’d had to get on a tiny prop plane, well, I couldn’t think of a sexual act deviant enough to make up for the phobia abuse. Luckily for both of us, the private jet, though small by commercial standards,