JК
The Harlequin :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 31 из 330She was one of those women who headed charity balls and sat on committees for the art museum, and she'd been hiring male prostitutes young enough to be her son.
«I think what bothered me about her was that she didn't look like someone who would…»
«Hire an escort,» he finished for me.
«Yeah.»
«I had a lot of different kinds of customers, Anita.»
«I figured that.»
«Did you, or did you try never to think about it?»
«Okay, the latter.»
«I can't change my past, Anita.»
«I didn't ask you to.»
«But you want me to quit stripping.»
«I never said that.»
«You're embarrassed by it, though.»
«For God's sake, Nathaniel, let it go. I'm embarrassed about being up on stage myself. I'm embarrassed that I fed on you in public.» I gripped the steering wheel so tight it hurt. «When I fed the ardeur off you that night, I fed off the entire audience. I didn't mean to, but I fed on their lust. I felt how much they enjoyed the show, and I fed on it.»
«And you didn't have to feed again for twenty-four hours.»
«Jean-Claude took my ardeur and shared it around among you guys.»
«Yes, but he thinks that one of the reasons he was able to do that is that you fed off the crowd, and me. I loved that you marked me in front of the crowd. You know how much I loved it.»
«Are you saying that if I hadn't gone up on stage and accidentally fed from the crowd, the ardeur would have gotten out of control in the middle of that serial killer case?»
«Maybe.»
I thought about that for a second as I drove. I thought about the ardeur going out of control in a van full of cops, Mobile Reserve cops, our answer to SWAT. I thought about the ardeur getting out of control while I was in a nest of vampires that had killed over ten people.
«If that's true, then why didn't Jean-Claude try to get me down to the club again?»
«He's offered.»
«I've refused.»
«Yeah,» Nathaniel said.
«Why tell me now?»
«Because I'm mad at you,» he said. He lowered his head on top of the box in his lap. «Because I'm mad that our date is ruined. I'm mad that some metaphysical crap is going to ruin our almost-anniversary.»
«I didn't plan this,» I said.
«No, but your life is always like this. Do you have any idea how hard it is to have a normal date with you?»
«If you don't like it, you don't have to stay in it.» The moment I said it, I wished I hadn't, but I didn't take it back.
«I think what bothered me about her was that she didn't look like someone who would…»
«Hire an escort,» he finished for me.
«Yeah.»
«I had a lot of different kinds of customers, Anita.»
«I figured that.»
«Did you, or did you try never to think about it?»
«Okay, the latter.»
«I can't change my past, Anita.»
«I didn't ask you to.»
«But you want me to quit stripping.»
«I never said that.»
«You're embarrassed by it, though.»
«For God's sake, Nathaniel, let it go. I'm embarrassed about being up on stage myself. I'm embarrassed that I fed on you in public.» I gripped the steering wheel so tight it hurt. «When I fed the ardeur off you that night, I fed off the entire audience. I didn't mean to, but I fed on their lust. I felt how much they enjoyed the show, and I fed on it.»
«And you didn't have to feed again for twenty-four hours.»
«Jean-Claude took my ardeur and shared it around among you guys.»
«Yes, but he thinks that one of the reasons he was able to do that is that you fed off the crowd, and me. I loved that you marked me in front of the crowd. You know how much I loved it.»
«Are you saying that if I hadn't gone up on stage and accidentally fed from the crowd, the ardeur would have gotten out of control in the middle of that serial killer case?»
«Maybe.»
I thought about that for a second as I drove. I thought about the ardeur going out of control in a van full of cops, Mobile Reserve cops, our answer to SWAT. I thought about the ardeur getting out of control while I was in a nest of vampires that had killed over ten people.
«If that's true, then why didn't Jean-Claude try to get me down to the club again?»
«He's offered.»
«I've refused.»
«Yeah,» Nathaniel said.
«Why tell me now?»
«Because I'm mad at you,» he said. He lowered his head on top of the box in his lap. «Because I'm mad that our date is ruined. I'm mad that some metaphysical crap is going to ruin our almost-anniversary.»
«I didn't plan this,» I said.
«No, but your life is always like this. Do you have any idea how hard it is to have a normal date with you?»
«If you don't like it, you don't have to stay in it.» The moment I said it, I wished I hadn't, but I didn't take it back.