JК
Danse Macabre :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 30 из 427I don't want to be her pomme because she's dependable . I want to be her pomme because we are fucking amazing together.»
Clay shrugged. «I love her, at least I thought I did.»
«You don't sound very sure,» Nathaniel said.
«Jean-Claude made us both bunk over with you and Anita a couple of times. Meng-Die was upset, but not that upset. I thought it was because she knew that we'd be back. That I cared about her enough not to be lured away. Then Requiem turned her down because he thought that was why Anita wouldn't take him as her next pomme de sang .» Clay's face showed something close to pain. «She went ballistic. Jean-Claude rips us out of her bed, forces us to sleep with you, and she's cool about it. Losing Requiem bothered her, more than losing us.»
I watched the look in his pale eyes. That had hurt him. He really did care for her. Damn. «Some women, especially of Belle Morte's line, seem to take rejection really badly. You guys had no choice. Jean-Claude said bunk over, and you had to do it. Requiem chose to leave her. That cuts a certain type of woman, or man, real deep.»
Clay put those puzzled, pain-filled eyes on me. «You mean it hurt her pride.»
I nodded. «Trust me, most master vamps have more than their share.»
He shook his head. «I know you're trying to make me feel better, Anita, but what you've just said is that her hurt pride means more to her than whatever she feels for me. Thanks for trying to make me feel better.»
«But I failed miserably,» I said.
He actually touched me voluntarily, rare for Clay lately; he squeezed my shoulder, very guy. «Yeah, you really suck at this whole comfort thing, but thanks.»
He had never been very handsy, but after he bunked over and felt the ardeur rise in the bed, he'd touched me only when he absolutely had to. I think he was afraid to touch me. The hints of the ardeur made Graham chase me harder. The same kind of hints scared Clay. One man's heaven, another man's hell.
«We should introduce ourselves to our guests,» Micah said, «and you need to change shoes.»
I sighed. «So we're on our own for this little cocktail party.» I knelt down, careful of my hose on the stone floor, and took off the jogging shoes.
«I'm afraid so,» Clay said.
«Great, just great.» I stood up and let Nathaniel slip the first high heel on, then Micah balanced me while Nathaniel did the other shoe. Four-inch heels, what had I been thinking? I never did like cocktail party talk, but that wasn't the problem this time. I could fake small talk if I had to.
Clay shrugged. «I love her, at least I thought I did.»
«You don't sound very sure,» Nathaniel said.
«Jean-Claude made us both bunk over with you and Anita a couple of times. Meng-Die was upset, but not that upset. I thought it was because she knew that we'd be back. That I cared about her enough not to be lured away. Then Requiem turned her down because he thought that was why Anita wouldn't take him as her next pomme de sang .» Clay's face showed something close to pain. «She went ballistic. Jean-Claude rips us out of her bed, forces us to sleep with you, and she's cool about it. Losing Requiem bothered her, more than losing us.»
I watched the look in his pale eyes. That had hurt him. He really did care for her. Damn. «Some women, especially of Belle Morte's line, seem to take rejection really badly. You guys had no choice. Jean-Claude said bunk over, and you had to do it. Requiem chose to leave her. That cuts a certain type of woman, or man, real deep.»
Clay put those puzzled, pain-filled eyes on me. «You mean it hurt her pride.»
I nodded. «Trust me, most master vamps have more than their share.»
He shook his head. «I know you're trying to make me feel better, Anita, but what you've just said is that her hurt pride means more to her than whatever she feels for me. Thanks for trying to make me feel better.»
«But I failed miserably,» I said.
He actually touched me voluntarily, rare for Clay lately; he squeezed my shoulder, very guy. «Yeah, you really suck at this whole comfort thing, but thanks.»
He had never been very handsy, but after he bunked over and felt the ardeur rise in the bed, he'd touched me only when he absolutely had to. I think he was afraid to touch me. The hints of the ardeur made Graham chase me harder. The same kind of hints scared Clay. One man's heaven, another man's hell.
«We should introduce ourselves to our guests,» Micah said, «and you need to change shoes.»
I sighed. «So we're on our own for this little cocktail party.» I knelt down, careful of my hose on the stone floor, and took off the jogging shoes.
«I'm afraid so,» Clay said.
«Great, just great.» I stood up and let Nathaniel slip the first high heel on, then Micah balanced me while Nathaniel did the other shoe. Four-inch heels, what had I been thinking? I never did like cocktail party talk, but that wasn't the problem this time. I could fake small talk if I had to.