by Lynsay Sands
“What secret?” Holly asked distractedly, her eyes sliding over the clothes now revealed. Good Lord, how long was the woman going to be house-sitting? She had enough clothes in there for a year. And every single item appeared extremely short, or skimpy, Holly noted with a frown.
“What secret?” Gia echoed with disbelief.
Holly glanced to her distractedly and nodded.
Gia stared back for a moment, then shook her head and turned back to the closet’s contents. She was muttering something in what Holly was sure must be Italian as she began shifting hangers along the rail, examining what she had available. Holly didn’t understand most of what she said, but did catch a word here or there that sounded familiar. She was pretty sure she knew what idiota and stupido translated to, for instance, but bit her lip and simply waited. At that point, her head was swimming with all the information she’d gained; all the names, the fact that she was now a vampire, that she could rip out a throat without compunction . . . That wasn’t her. But it appeared to be her now. Her life had taken a definite turn, and she didn’t know how to turn it back . . . or even if she could.
“I should be up there with her,” Justin growled, pacing the kitchen for probably the hundredth time.
“You heard Lucian,” Decker said, shaking his head. “No going anywhere near a bedroom with her. No being alone with her. No—”
“I wouldn’t be alone with her. Gia would be there,” Justin pointed out, pausing.
“In a bedroom,” Anders tacked on firmly and repeated Decker’s words, “No going anywhere near a bedroom with her.”
Justin growled under his breath with frustration and returned to pacing, which made Decker chuckle with amusement. Spinning to scowl at the man, he snapped. “What’s so damned funny?”
“Well, it was just a couple hours ago that you were begging Lucian to let you off the hook and have Dante and Tomasso do all the training so you could return to Canada,” Decker pointed out. “Now you’re pacing like a caged tiger and impatient to see her.”
“She’s my life mate,” he said grimly, and then his mouth twisted and he paced away, adding, “And I can’t claim her. She’s married. It’s against the law.”
“That’s tough,” Anders said and actually did sound sympathetic. It was the first sign of sympathy he’d shown. Mostly he and Decker seemed to find this a big damn joke. Bricker getting payback for all the guff he’d given them while they were courting their life mates.
“Yeah, tough,” he echoed bitterly.
“Not exactly,” Decker argued.
Justin glanced to him with irritation. “Trust me, not being able to claim my life mate is tough. How would you like it if you couldn’t have Dani?”
Decker winced at the suggestion, but argued, “No one says you can’t have her. The rule is we aren’t to use undue influence to interfere in a marriage,” he pointed out. “Which means using our abilities like mind reading and mind control. They only instituted that law to prevent immortals from destroying otherwise happy and healthy marriages for a fling.”
“Yeah,” Justin agreed sharply. “And?”
“Ahhh,” Anders murmured, nodding and then glanced to him and said, “You aren’t a fling. You want her for your life mate.”
“And while you can’t use mind control or mind reading to win her, the law doesn’t say anything about you not winning her on your own merits.”
“On my own merits?” Justin asked uncertainly.
“He means using your dubious natural wit and charm,” Anders said with dry amusement.
Justin’s eyes widened and then he frowned. “I’m not sure . . .”
“Of what?” Decker asked mockingly. “The law? It can’t be that you aren’t sure you can woo her. Not Justin Bricker, the Casanova of the immortals. The man who has been telling the rest of us for years that he was such a ladies’ man and we didn’t have a clue.”
“A clue about what?” Gia asked, entering the kitchen.
Justin’s head swiveled to the woman. Ignoring her comment, he asked with alarm, “You left Holly alone? What if she wakes up and—?”
“She is awake,” Gia interrupted. “She’s changing. She’ll be down in a minute.”
“Oh.” Justin relaxed with a sigh.
“So?” Gia asked. “Who doesn’t have a clue about what?”
“We cavemen-type old fellas don’t have a clue about women,” Decker explained with amusement. “While Justin is the Casanova of the immortals.”
Gia raised her eyebrows and glanced to Justin. After brief consideration, she shook her head. “No. He’s nothing like Casanova.
“Did you know him?” Decker asked with interest.
“Of course,” she said with a shrug. “Most of his reputation is due to his charm and skill at wooing rather than his abilities as a lover. He was only passable in that area.”
“Back to the issue at hand,” Justin said, scowling at the pair of them. “I can’t read or control her, so I couldn’t use those abilities to interfere with her marriage anyway, but life mate sex would probably be considered undue influence.”
Gia shrugged. “Then woo her the old-fashioned way . . . no sex.”
Justin frowned at the suggestion, not at all sure he could do that. He’d found it hard not to touch and caress her while he’d sat at her bedside, and she’d been unconscious then. Hell, when she’d attacked him in the car . . . Well, frankly, it hadn’t been just her he’d been fighting. He’d liked the feel of her body on his enough that Justin had almost wanted her to bite him. His body had wanted to do a lot more. He’d had brief, hot visions of her doing the same thing naked, lowering herself onto his erection and riding him as she ripped into his throat with her teeth. Only the reality of their both being fully dressed had prevented his letting her have her way while he had his own . . . well . . . that and the fact that while she’d wanted to sink her teeth into him, Holly probably wouldn’t have welcomed his sinking anything into her.
So, wooing her the old-fashioned way, without sex . . . not so appealing. Frankly, Justin didn’t even know what that would entail. The realization was a lowering one. He’d wined and dined hundreds, maybe even thousands of women over the last hundred years, but every wooing had been with the strict aim of getting them into bed. Now he had to do it with no end game in mind except to win her. He couldn’t even bloody kiss her. What was he supposed to do? Bring her flowers? Read her poetry? Throw his coat over puddles for her?
“Wow,” Decker said on a laugh. “For the guy who’s supposed to know so much about women, you don’t seem to have a clue.”
“What do you expect?” Gia asked with amusement. “He’s a man. You men have never understood us women. Ever.”
Justin glanced to her sharply. “You’re a woman.”
“Thank you for noticing,” Gia said on a laugh.
“No, I mean . . . you can tell me what I should do. How can I win her?” he asked almost desperately.
Gia peered at him silently for a moment and then said, “I will think about it.”
“About what?” he asked uncertainly. “About ways for me to woo her?”
“About whether you deserve my help,” she corrected and then said heavily, “From your memories and thoughts it seems obvious to me that you think of women as little more than sheaths for your sword, and you’ve had many sheaths,” she added dryly. “No doubt you’ve wined and dined them, charmed them with your wit and smile, and then discarded them with that same charming smile when you wearied of them, caring little how they felt about it all.”
Justin opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He couldn’t deny it. He hadn’t thought about it the way she was describing it, but now realized he’d done just that.
“Oh, be fair, Gia,” Decker said quietly. “None of them were his life mate. He would hardly treat Holly that way.”
“
So, because they were not his life mate, it is all right that he treated them like a commodity?” Gia asked, one eyebrow arched. “That he used them for his own pleasure, got what he could from them, and then tossed them aside like disposable tampons?”
All three men cringed at that analogy and Gia rolled her eyes. “Almost a millennia of experience between the three of you and you still act like mortal preteens when it comes to the mention of feminine hygiene,” she said with disgust. “Honestly. It must be a North American thing. My cousins would not react with disgust to such a comment.”
“No doubt they’ve learned better from their time with you,” Anders said mildly.
Gia considered that and then nodded with a slow grin. “No doubt.”
“Don’t worry,” Decker said now, slapping Justin on the shoulder. “Anders and I will help you out. We’ll advise you on how to woo your Holly.”
Justin gaped at the man with dismay, horrified at the very prospect. Decker and Anders giving him advice on women?
“Don’t be a smartass,” Anders growled. “Even in your head.”
“Yeah,” Decker agreed with a scowl. “We both have life mates; we’ve learned from them what women like. We can help.”
“Dear God,” Justin muttered. He then sank down in a seat and laid his head on the kitchen table with a miserable sigh.
Six
“Foot rubs?” Justin echoed with disbelief.
Decker nodded. “Dani likes it when I rub lotion into her feet while we watch television.” He paused and pursed his lips briefly, and then added, “Mind you, that usually leads to rubbing her calves, and then her thighs and . . . On second thought, perhaps you should stay away from foot rubs,” he decided.
Justin sagged back in his seat with disappointment and the men fell silent briefly.
“The bath,” Anders suddenly said.
Justin raised his head with disbelief. “What?”
“If I know Valerie intends to bathe, I will slip into the bathroom ahead of her to start the water running and set out a clean towel and washcloth for her,” he explained. “It takes but a moment, and she thinks I am the most considerate of men and gives me a grateful kiss.” He paused, suddenly frowning. “Of course, that kiss usually leads to another, and then another and the next thing you know we are both naked in the bath, and—”
“I think it’s probably better you don’t run a bath for her either,” Decker interrupted.
Anders paused, cleared his throat, and then tugged at the collar of his T-shirt and nodded. “Yes. Stay away from the bath business.”
Justin hung his head in misery. The two men had been “helping” him for several minutes now, each coming up with a suggestion of something thoughtful and considerate that they did for their life mate. Unfortunately, each thoughtful endeavor had invariably led to sex and the suggestion that the action should be avoided rather than used. In other words, they weren’t helping at all.
“You men,” Gia said on a laugh. She shook her head and then said to Decker and Anders, “You are obviously good men and treat your women well, but—” She turned to Justin. “The simplest thing for you to do is to talk to her. Find out what she likes, what her interests are, and go from there.”
“Gia?”
They all turned to glance toward the door at that uncertain call from the hall.
“In here, piccola,” Gia responded.
“I’m not sure this outfit is quite me. I—Oh,” Holly interrupted herself as she reached the doorway and noted the occupants of the room. Her gaze slid from Gia to Decker and Anders. She eyed them with a brief curiosity and then her gaze continued on to Justin, and he fancied there was a glimmer of relief in her eyes when they settled on him.
“The outfit is perfect, piccola,” Gia pronounced, moving toward Holly to take her hand and hold it up. “Turn for me.”
Holly flushed, but turned on the spot as instructed.
Once their eyes broke contact, Justin turned his attention to the outfit and now his eyes widened incredulously. Gia had given her another red top to wear, one that hung off one shoulder and reached down to her thighs, barely. It was belted at the waist over black tights.
“That’s not a damned outfit, Gia. It’s half of one at best. Where’s the rest of it?” he asked with dismay. “Where are her pants?”
“Those are the pants,” Gia said with amusement, brushing a bit of lint off Holly’s lower thigh.
“They’re panty hose,” Justin protested.
“They’re tights and are worn as pants in today’s fashion,” she lectured.
“I think they’re cute,” Decker complimented, grinning at Holly.
Justin scowled at him and then insisted, “At least give her one of those hankies you call skirts so she can feel half decently dressed.”
Gia shrugged and waved Holly toward the door. “If you’d rather she wear a skirt than the tights, I guess I can—”
“With the tights, with the tights,” he growled and thought, Dammit, I need a skirt myself to hide the effects that Holly is having on me.
“Yes, you do,” Anders said. His expression was solemn, but Justin was sure there was amusement twinkling in his dark eyes.
Justin scowled at him, and then quickly moved to stand behind the table to hide the erection he’d sprouted as Holly started to follow everyone’s amused glances to his groin.
“Skirt or tights, but not both,” Gia said firmly. “Which will it be?”
Justin scowled at her, and then dropped to sit in the chair Decker caught with one ankle and shifted toward him.
“Just . . . Fine, whatever,” he muttered in defeat and lowered his head to try to concentrate on making his erection go away. Damn. It was going to make things difficult if this problem kept popping up.
Decker suddenly laughed. “Good one.”
Justin peered at him blankly, not understanding, and it was Anders who said, “Popping up? Either a perfect, or unfortunate, turn of phrase, I think.”
Justin closed his eyes and shook his head, wondering when he had become the grown-up. Usually he was the one cracking jokes and—
“Gia says I have to stay here for training.”
Justin raised his head to find that Holly had crossed the room to stand beside him. He hesitated and then nodded solemnly. “It’s for the best.”
She pursed her lips, obviously displeased. “How long will it take?”
He shrugged helplessly. “It’s different for different people.”
“Right,” she said grimly and he could see that she was gritting her teeth. “Gia said something about two weeks.”
“Well, yes, your family and acquaintances have been given a cover story to allow for two weeks. But we can extend it if necessary,” he assured her.
“Extend it?” Holly squawked and then snapped her mouth closed. She seemed to be building up a good head of steam with her thoughts and he was just wishing he could read them and know what to expect, when she suddenly relaxed and dropped to sit in the chair next to him with a little sigh. Shaking her head, she muttered, “We were supposed to go out with Elaine and Bill tomorrow night. I guess I’m not going to make it.”
“No,” Justin agreed.
“And I’ll be out two weeks’ pay and two weeks of classes,” she added unhappily and shifted in her chair.
“Yes,” Justin agreed, guilt plucking at him.
“But at least you’re alive to miss it,” Gia pointed out. “If Justin hadn’t turned you, you wouldn’t be.”
“Right,” Holly muttered and offered him an apologetic, “Sorry. I do appreciate that, I guess.” She didn’t sound overly certain on that point and seeming to realize it herself, smiled at him crookedly and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m a little unclear on exactly what happened to make you turn me. I mean, I know you explained this to me in the hotel. At least I think
you did, but I’m afraid I—”
“Thought I was a lunatic so wasn’t paying attention?” Justin suggested wryly.
“Basically,” she acknowledged apologetically, blew out a breath and then said, “If I recall, I think you said I was running with scissors and fell?”
Justin nodded.
“Why was I running?” she asked. “You said I misunderstood something. What was it?”
Justin grimaced and glanced from Anders and Decker to Gia, but there was no help there. Sighing, he said, “Anders and I were in the crematorium. It scared you.”
“Why?” she asked with a frown. “Your just being there wouldn’t scare me. So, you must have been doing something that scared me,” she reasoned, and then tilted her head. “What was it?”
Justin shifted uncomfortably. It was pretty early on for him to have to explain this. She would be horrified, he was sure. “I’m an Enforcer.”
“What is that?” she asked at once.
“It’s basically an immortal police officer. We go after rogues, which are immortals who break our laws,” he explained.
“Rogue Hunter,” she murmured and he thought Gia must have mentioned the term to her.
“Yes, we’re sometimes called Rogue Hunters because that is the most important part of our job, hunting down rogues, or immortals who have broken our laws.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. “And what were you doing at the crematorium? Is John Byron an immortal? Were you after him?”
“No. John Byron is mortal,” he assured her. “Actually, we had already caught our rogues.”
“More than one?” she asked curiously.
Justin nodded. “This time it was a group. Sometimes it’s just one rogue. Other times . . .” He shrugged. “We’ve had to go into nests of twenty and thirty rogues on occasion. This time there were only a dozen or so in the nest, but they were bad ones. Their leader was old and quite mad, but his turns were all mortals of a criminal nature. He apparently made a practice of turning sadistic, conscienceless men who were angry, nasty fellows happy to torment and rip out the throats of mortals . . . and for pleasure, not to feed on.”