The Harlequin   ::   Гамильтон Лорел

«If your beast didn't try to rise again, then why are you back to needing bodyguards?» Lisandro asked.

I opened my mouth, closed it. «I don't know how much Jean-Claude will want you to know. I'm not even sure how much anyone is allowed to know.»

«About what?»

I shrugged. «I'll tell you if I can.»

«If you're going to get me killed, can I at least know why?»

«I've never gotten you hurt before.»

«No, but we've lost two of our rats guarding you, Anita. Let's just say that if my wife ends up a widow, I'd like to know why.»

I glanced at his hand. «You don't wear a ring.»

«Not at work, no.»

«Why not?»

«You don't want people knowing you have people that you care about, Anita. It can give them ideas.» His gaze flicked to Nathaniel, just for a moment, then back to me. But Nathaniel had seen it.

«Lisandro thinks I'm a victim. That you need stronger men in your life.»

I went to sit beside Nathaniel on the new white couch. He put his arm across my shoulders, and I settled in against him. Yeah, we'd been fighting, but that wasn't Lisandro's business, and it certainly wasn't his business who I dated.

«You can date who you want, that's not my beef.»

«What is your beef?» I asked, and let my words take on that slight hostile edge that was almost always just below the surface for me.

«You're a vampire now, right?»

My, my, news travels fast. «Not exactly,» I said, out loud.

«I know you're not like a bloodsucker. You're still alive and everything, but you gained Jean-Claude's ability to feed off sex.»

«Yeah,» I said, still hostile.

«Human servants gain some of their master's abilities, that's normal. You should have gained the ability to help Jean-Claude feed his hungers, but your feeding on lust isn't an extra for his energy, it's a necessity for you. I heard what happened the night you tried to stop feeding it. You almost killed Damian, and Nathaniel, and yourself. Remus thinks you would have died if you hadn't fed the ardeur . If you hadn't fucked someone, he really thinks you might have died.»

«Isn't it nice that he shared with everybody,» I said.

«You can be all defensive about it if you want, but it's weird as hell. Rafael can't find anyone who's ever heard of a human servant gaining a hunger or thirst like this.»

«And how weird my life has become is your business, why?»

«Because you're asking me and my people to risk our lives to keep you safe, that's why.