Burnt Offerings - Laurell K. Hamilton [161]
I felt Richard’s power swell. It flowed out of him in a soothing wash, willing the leopards quiet, calling them back to human form.
Padma said, “No, no, they are mine. I will keep them in whatever form I choose, however long I choose.”
“They will begin to lose human characteristics,” Richard said. “Elizabeth is a nurse. She cannot do her job if she has fangs or eyes that do not change back.”
“She has no other job than to serve me,” Padma said.
Richard took a step forward. Jean-Claude touched his shoulder. “He is baiting us, mon ami.”
Richard shook his hand off, but nodded. “I don’t think the Master of Beasts could stop me if I forced them back to human form.”
“Is that a challenge?” Padma asked.
“The wereleopards don’t belong to you, Richard,” I said.
“These two don’t belong to anybody,” he said.
“They can be mine if they want to be,” I said.
“No,” Padma said. “No, I will give up nothing else. No one else to you.” He stepped back against the wall, dragging Gideon with him by the jeweled collar. Thomas followed almost as closely. “Asher, take her.”
Asher tried to grab my arm, but I backed up. “Hold your horses. Hasn’t anyone told you anticipation adds to the experience?”
“I have been anticipating this for over two hundred years, ma cherie. If anticipation adds, then it will be wondrous indeed.”
I stepped away from his eager eyes and went to Jean-Claude. “Any advice?”
“He will try to make it rape, ma petite.” He stopped me before I could say anything. “Not actual rape, but the effect is surprisingly similar. Make it a seduction, if you can. Turn necessity into a pleasure. It will be the last thing he expects, and it will unnerve him.”
“How unnerve?” I asked.
“That will depend, I think, upon how strong your nerve is.”
I glanced back at Asher. The eagerness on his face was frightening. I was sorry he’d been picked on for centuries, but it wasn’t my fault. “I don’t think it’s that good.”
Richard had been listening. He came close enough to whisper, “You’re donating blood to one vampire, what’s one more?”
“Ma petite and I do not have to share blood to share power,” Jean-Claude said.
Richard frowned at him, then at me. “Still holding back? Don’t you know how to give yourself completely to anyone?”
Jean-Claude’s face was very neutral, blank and beautiful. I looked from his impassive face to Richard’s angry one, and shook my head. “If I could find someone else to fill our third spot, I would, Richard. But we’re stuck with each other, so stop being such an ass.” I pushed past him hard enough for him to stumble, and it was all I could do not to slap him as I went by. Being nasty in private was one thing. Doing it in front of the bad guys was against the rules.
50
ASHER DRAGGED ME to a corner, and the others gathered around on the floor like story time in elementary school. Or maybe show-and-tell was a better analogy. He jerked me roughly against him, one hand in my hair controlling my head. He kissed me roughly enough to bruise unless I opened my mouth. I did better than that. I closed my eyes and French-kissed him, running my tongue between his fangs. I’d perfected the art of French-kissing a vampire without bleeding, and apparently I was good at it because Asher drew back first. There was a look of astonishment, total and complete. He couldn’t have looked more surprised if I’d slapped him. No, less surprised. He expected the slap.
Jean-Claude was right. If I could just outmaneuver Asher, be bolder than he was, he might never sink fang into me. It was worth a try. I didn’t even let Jean-Claude feed off of me. I wasn’t sure it was the lesser evil, but a girl’s got to draw the line somewhere.
Asher put his face so near mine, our noses almost touched. “Look at me, girl, look at me. You don’t want to touch this.”
The startling pale blue of his eyes, almost a white-blue, framed by golden eyelashes, was lovely. I concentrated on the eyes. “Undo your hair,” I said.
He pushed me away from