Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter 27)

“Until he can control his energy, we can’t get into a car with him,” Custer said, nodding at Olaf.

“His energy is calming down,” Angel said.

Olaf had been calming down, but now the energy flared again, and the anger flared with it. Damn it, why did his anger smell so good to me?

“If you can tone it down, we can go somewhere and talk in private,” I said.

I fought not to rub my arms or move closer to Olaf. It was like I either needed to wash his power off my skin or touch it. It wasn’t his lion I wanted; it was his rage. Yummy, yummy rage. My thinking of him as food confused my lioness, so she faded into the darkness with only a gleam of golden eyes to remind me she wasn’t gone, just hiding in the dark like a good ambush predator.

“Privacy means no witnesses,” Olaf said.

It took me a second to realize what he was saying and why. I nodded, trying to clear my head of hungers that had nothing to do with solid food. What was wrong with me today? “I’m not wanting privacy so there won’t be witnesses to a crime. I want it because I won’t talk about this shit in public.”

“What shit is that?” he asked.

“Private shit.”

Olaf actually smiled as if I’d meant to be funny.

“Anita doesn’t like talking about intimate stuff in public,” Angel said with a come-hither smile.

“I want to talk of such things with Anita, but I will not let my desire make me foolish,” Olaf said.

Angel cocked a hip to one side so that the swell of her hips was even more promising inside the pencil skirt. She even put a hand on one hip as if to emphasize the swell of them. “It’s not just Anita you get to be alone with.” She literally stroked a hand down one hip. I knew she’d overplayed it before Olaf said anything.

“Two women at once is not one of my fantasies,” he said.

“Then what is?” She made her come-hither go up a notch so that it was a little bit evil or promised to do evil things with you.

“Does this pretense work on other men?”

“I’m not pretending anything,” she said.

“I let you see on my face what my fantasies are when we first met. You showed fear then, which was wise, and then you went back to flirting with me.”

“I flirt with everyone,” Angel said, but she’d moved her hands away from her hips.

“I have noticed. What I cannot decide is if you would carry through with all of it. Would you fuck them?”

She took a breath to answer, but I cut her off. “Angel like

s to flirt, but no, she doesn’t sleep with as many people as she teases.”

What I’d said was true, but the last thing I wanted was for Olaf to think Angel was a whore. He tended to kill them faster.

Angel tried to say something else, but I held my finger up, and she took the hint. “We really need somewhere private for this conversation.”

“How many of them will be joining us for the talk?” Olaf asked.

“Most of them,” I said.

“All of them,” said Nicky.

“I don’t think we need everyone,” I said.

“I think we do.” Nicky gave me very direct eye contact as if I was missing something important.

“Then I need guarantees for my safety,” Olaf said.