Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs by Gerry Bartlett Read Free Book Online Page A

that’s no excuse.” Ray ran another towel over his wet hair.
    “I was rough on her. Blame it on the shock factor. But you certainly have the right . . .” I sat beside him, biting back the snarky comments I wanted to make. Did he have to pick someone so thin ? His bedmate couldn’t have been more different from me, even down to the dark hair and bikini wax. Oh, man, I so didn’t want to go there.
    He slid his hand over mine and squeezed. “Forgive me? I’m a stupid jerk. We should have taken this somewhere else. I’m really sorry if you were embarrassed.”
    I looked at him, all sincere apology and charm. I guess I’d always be attracted to him. He was handsome, built and had the kind of talent that sang to my soul if I let it. I’d been a fan even before he’d been tossed naked into my bed as a newly made vampire. The fact that now we were thrown together all the time had made it worse for a while, but I always went back to Blade in the end. So I knew it wasn’t fair to expect Ray to just hang around in case I decided to drop Blade and pick up someone else.
    “Not embarrassed so much as surprised. I threw a temper fit. Like a fiancée would under the circumstances.”
    “You didn’t hurt her?”
    I managed a shrug. “Not this time.”
    “Good. And there won’t be a next time. Not here, anyway. DeeDee and I have a history. We’re friends with benefits, I guess you could say. When we’re not with someone else, we hook up.” Ray dropped the hair towel into his lap.
    “So how did you explain that you’re engaged, but you’re not ‘with’ someone?” I jumped up again. “Damn it, Ray, if this gets into the tabloids, I’ll look like a fool and you’ll look like a jerk.” The tabloids already thought Ray was crazy for hanging out with a woman who wasn’t model thin or famous in her own right. DeeDee was both. Damn. If I didn’t quit grinding my teeth, I was going to loosen a fang.
    Of course the tabloids figured I was springing the baby trap. What irony. “Made” vamps like me can’t reproduce. Sigh.
    “It won’t get out. I told her you and I were breaking things off right after the Grammys. That’s still what you plan, isn’t it?” Ray stood and faced me. He knew the answer and was probably counting on it being the same. He didn’t want this sham to go on any more than I did. He was grateful to me for mentoring him through his vamp adjustment period. Judging by what he’d just done, he was getting into the vampire groove now and wouldn’t need my help much longer.
    Besides, any vampire who thinks he wants to be hooked up to the same person for eternity needs to get a clue. Call me heartless, but I sure never thought it was a good idea or I would have caved and said the vows with Blade a long time ago. Even soul mates need a break once in a while.
    “Relax, Ray. You’re off the hook. After this awards show, when we get back to Austin, we’ll announce irreconcilable differences and you can openly date whoever.” I kicked off my high heels and sighed with relief. “You sure you can trust this lady? You did erase her memory, didn’t you? Because unless she’s anemic, I think the girl made a donation while she was satisfying your other urges.”
    Ray grinned. “Hell, yes, I fed from her. That part was almost better than the sex, if you want to know the truth.”
    I shook my head. Yep, Ray was definitely a full-fledged graduate vampire now. It was all about the blood. And when you got human blood and great sex at the same time? I sighed, remembering.
    “Her memory, Ray.”
    “Yeah, yeah, I wiped her memory and the fang marks. All she’ll remember is the great sex.” He lost his smile. “Damn it, she did look pale. I tried to take it easy but it had been a while since I’d had fresh and it was so fine . . .” He gave me a worried look. “I might have taken too much. Think she’ll be all right? Should I go up and check on her?”
    “The way she ran out of here? I think she