Incubus Dreams - Laurell K. Hamilton [261]
“Richard, you aren’t my dad, or my boyfriend. I don’t owe you an explanation about who I do, or don’t, sleep with.”
“You slept with Nathaniel for four months before you had sex with him. What changed? Why these two vampires, why now? I heard it was a hell of a show last night, what the hell happened?”
“Are you asking from some macho possessiveness?”
“No, as the third of your triumverate. Or should I say, one of your triumverates?”
As the third of our triumverate he had a right to know how close we’d come to losing control of Primo and some other choice bits. He had helped me last night, even if it had gone wrong, he’d tried. He’d really tried.
I sat down on the edge of the bed, and he sat on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest, while I gave him a thumbnail sketch of the near disaster and an edited version of what I’d done to help Jean-Claude feed. I didn’t leave much out, I just didn’t elaborate.
“I can’t believe you fucked Byron. I didn’t even think he liked girls.”
“He took one for the team,” I said, and tried to keep the irony in my voice to a minimum.
He actually blushed. “I didn’t mean it that way. I meant, if I was shopping for men for you among the new vampires, he wouldn’t have been high on my list.”
“Truthfully, he’s not high on mine. I mean he’s a nice enough guy, but as a friend, not as more.”
“Then, why?”
“He was the person that was there, Richard. If I accidentally sucked someone’s soul out through their mouth, Jean-Claude thought I’d be less cut up if it was Byron and not Nathaniel.”
“Is Primo like some kind of Trojan horse?” he asked, and him asking that made me think better of him, lots better. It was a very good question.
“You mean did the Dragon let Jean-Claude have Primo so she could try and take over here?”
“Or just cause enough destruction that Jean-Claude got up on charges. Or his business was ruined, something. From what Jean-Claude’s been hearing from Europe, the council isn’t too happy with him.”
It must have shown on my face, because Richard said, out loud, “I have been paying attention Anita.”
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, I didn’t think you had.”
“I admit I wasn’t before, maybe like a month before, but I am now. I told you, I’ve decided to live and not die by inches. That means I’ve got to pay attention to business, and I may not like it. I may hate it, but being part of this triumverate is business.”
“I don’t know about Primo. He might be, as you so aptly put it, a Trojan horse. I left one of the wererats on guard outside his coffin. I gave orders that if Primo breaks out, he’s to be killed. No third chances, because he’s already on his second.”
“Why would Jean-Claude bring in something that dangerous?”
“I saw Primo fight, and I saw him heal more damage than any vampire I’ve ever seen heal. It was impressive. We’ve got a lot of powerful vamps, but most of them are Belle’s line, and that runs high to beauty, seduction, which is great for the clubs. I mean we have some really choice people to strip and to dance with the tourists at Danse Macabre, but if we had a war, a real war, then we have almost no soldiers.”
“You have the wolves,” he said, “and through two treaties, the wererats.”
“Yeah, but it’s unusual to have such close ties with other groups. Vamps scouting us for takeover won’t count beyond the wolves. It won’t occur to most of them that a treaty with an animal that isn’t the master’s to call will come through when the going gets tough.”
“So you approve of Primo being here?”
“No, definitely not, not after last night. I think we should shoot his ass, but I understand why Jean-Claude took the chance. We need some vamps that can fight, not just look pretty.” As if on cue, the door opened, and it was my favorite pretty vampire.
56
WE BOTH TURNED to look at the door, though my turn was less turny than Richard’s. Jean-Claude was in the doorway wearing the black robe I was so fond of. The one that was edged with real black fur at the lapels, and framed his