Лорел Гамильтон - Dead Ice

That made me stop and look back at him. “Excuse me?”

He was working himself up with his hands in the spray of the shower, almost like he was masturbating. “There’s finally a man in town that you want, but who doesn’t want you; how does it feel, Anita?”

I laughed; I couldn’t help it. It was the wrong thing to do if I’d wanted to de-escalate; most men don’t like being laughed at when they’re naked and turgid, but Kane had no sense of humor about it. His face went from sexy pouting to scowling at me.

“You think you can lead everyone around with your pussy; well, here’s one man who doesn’t give a damn about it. If it’s not a cock, I don’t care.”

“Trust me, Kane, you’re not on my hit list either.”

Two of the guards turned off their showers and hurried past me through the door into the locker room. They smelled scared, and they shouldn’t have been. Kane wasn’t good enough to be one of our guards, which meant they could have taken him in a fair fight, so why that cold sense of panic?

“But you like dick.”

“I like dick when it’s attached to the right person. Since you make such a big deal of being monogamous for Asher, I’d think you, of all people, would understand that.”

Two more guards got out of the showers and fled, and that was the right word. They sensed a fight that no matter which way it went gave them something to lose. They shouldn’t have felt that way, which meant I had missed something important between our bodyguards and Kane, but what was it?

“Asher said you liked men.”

“I do, but not all men, and I have a couple of female lovers now, so I’m exploring my options sans dick.” I smiled when I said the last, because it was just such a weird conversation to be having, especially with Kane. It was probably the longest one-on-one conversation we’d ever had.

“I’ve got to go meet Micah; enjoy your shower.” I was actually at the door this time when he said something that stopped me.

“How many lycanthropes did you fuck last night to cover yourself in that much of us?”

I frowned at him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I had to call Domino’s beast to save his life. Forcing the change like that can be violent and messy.”

“Nice story, but if that were true then you wouldn’t have had sperm mixed with Domino’s juices so that the guards didn’t recognize you.”

“I know stories grow in the retelling, but I was only in the shower for an hour, that’s damn quick embellishing.”

“You’re denying it?”

“Yeah, though frankly if I wanted to bring in all my wereanimal lovers and have a bukkake festival, what difference would it make to you, Kane?”

“Your level of debauchery keeps surprising me, Anita, that’s all.”

“You’re the one who was playing with himself in the shower, trying to get me to watch the show, so tell me again which of us is debauched?”

His anger flared like a hot wind, the edge of his beast riding with it. It was a lot of heat, far more power than the last time I’d been near him when he’d been pissy. “You’ve had a power jump, Kane. How?”

“Guess,” he said, and he was far too pleased with himself, so whatever had happened, he didn’t think I’d like it.

“I don’t know, and I really do have to meet Micah before I go meet with the FBI, so I really don’t have time to play twenty questions.”

“Let’s play Jeopardy instead,” he said.

“What are you talking about, Kane?”

“Categories are vampires, lycanthropes, and love; pick one.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, but said, “I’m not playing games with you, Kane; tell me, or don’t.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Not for you, no, and I really don’t have time for this shit today.” I went into the locker room. There was no one else in there, but the towels were scattered everywhere. There was even a pair of jogging shoes left forlornly on their sides as if people had left too quick to double-check their gear. Why would everyone run like that? What the hell was going on? Why was Kane so smug? Shit, I needed to know. I almost went back into the showers, but Kane saved me the trouble. He came out soaking wet, as if he hadn’t even bothered with a towel.

“What is one of the most sacred things a vampire can do for a shapeshifter?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“Oh come on, what’s the phrase for a lycanthrope attached to a vampire?”

“Pet?”

He frowned at me.

“Just tell me, Kane, the foreplay is getting freaking tedious.”

“What is something that a vampire does for love and power?”

I was frowning, too, now. “Makes someone a human servant.”

“And if they’re not human to begin with?”

I looked into those dark eyes of his, the smug look on his handsome face. “Oh shit, Asher made you his hyena to call.”

“Ding-ding-ding, you win!”

“Fuck, Kane, Narcissus has been after Asher to make him his hyena to call for almost two years. You’re not even one of the most powerful hyenas in your group. You’ve gained a hell of a lot of power, but Asher hasn’t gained nearly as much from you.”

“He loves me.”

“Yeah, so freaking what? Narcissus could kill you and him for this.”

“He wouldn’t dare harm me now, because that could kill Asher, and everyone knows that Jean-Claude would kill to protect his vampire lover.”

“Why was everyone scared of you in the showers just now?”

I didn’t think he could look any more pleased with himself, but I was wrong. He positively glowed with self-congratulations. “I’m working out with the guards now.”

“You started working out with the guards when you saw how much Asher appreciated all the muscles and gym work.”

“I have muscles, and every hyena works out, or you don’t survive unscarred.”

“Yeah, yeah, you and the werelions are all macho and shit, but you’ve never worked out to the level we hold our guards to; you still don’t.”

The anger was back, full and rich and . . . more. In fact, the anger had a familiar flavor to it. I laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Did Asher tell you that when you bind yourself to a vampire, you and he exchange some personality, or quirk?”

He frowned, water still beading down his face. “What are you talking about?”

“You taste of some of Asher’s anger added to your own, which means he got something of yours, too. I can’t wait to find out what, since you are such a shit.”

Anger went to rage, his hands in fists at his side. My weapons were still in the locker, and it was just the two of us. He wasn’t as well trained, but he had me in reach, size, strength, and speed, and he had some training. I didn’t want this to get out of hand, or did I?

“Why were the other guards that practiced with you this morning afraid of you?”

“For the same reason that Narcissus won’t hurt me, because that would piss off King Jean-Claude.”

“Why would you getting your ass handed to you in practice piss off Jean-Claude?”

“Because if you hurt me, it could hurt Asher, and Jean-Claude doesn’t let anyone hurt his golden-haired vampire boy.” There was anger when he said it, fueled by a very serious case of green-eyed jealousy.

I realized that with a little bit of prodding, I could make more food for myself. One thing I’d noticed is that anger never seemed to be “full.” Lust could be satisfied, at least temporarily, but my ability to absorb anger didn’t act like a full stomach, or a content libido. I could always be angry. “No matter what you do, or how much Asher says he loves you, you’ll always know that the man he wants most in his arms and in his coffin isn’t you.”