“I’m out of country with half a dozen lovers of my own. It would be ridiculous of me to get pissed because you have a chance to sleep with Angel.” I couldn’t quite hide the next thought, or maybe reaction, of my own. I was intrigued by her, too. There was that little spark of interest in her that still surprised me when it was about another woman.

Richard said, “I’m still not used to you liking women.”

“Me, either,” I said.

Angel smiled, and said, “Let’s see how this goes. Maybe we can all play together when Anita gets home?” And that was enough to tip the balance for Richard. I think Jean-Claude was just trying to stay out of the pitfalls of the situation until Richard and I decided it for us all.

Angel then said, “Dev asked if it would be possible for you to feed some of Anita’s ardeur needs because they’re trying to find a missing person before he gets hurt.”

“Are you offering to feed the ardeur for me?” Jean-Claude asked.

“I’d like to know for myself if it’s as amazing a fuck as the stories claim,” she said.

He laughed, an abrupt, pleased sound. She’d do fine.

She looked past Jean-Claude to Richard and said, “You are both very different people. If we were one-on-one, I’d approach you both very differently, so I will want a little guidance as to how to be with you both.”

He looked at her for a long, serious moment and then said, “We can do that.”

“Ma petite, I will close the links down low between us, if you will do the same on your end?” Jean-Claude asked.

“We will.” And we did. I left them to their blood and sex, and they left us to ours.

55

THERE WAS A knock on the van door. I called, “Who is it?”

“It’s Domino. Auntie Nim’s friend Slane is here with the information we wanted.”

Dev said, “You go. I’ll feed Damian, if he’s okay with that.”

I could feel that Damian wanted to sink his fangs into Nathaniel and me more, but a lot of the heat had dissipated. I was pretty sure it was in St. Louis with Richard, Jean-Claude, and Angel. I was careful not to think too hard about that, just in case it reopened the marks too wide between us. I did not want to suddenly be in their heads in the middle of sex, or worse yet in the middle of Jean-Claude feeding the ardeur for both of us.

“If you let me capture you with my gaze, it won’t hurt. It will just feel good,” Damian said.

“I’m all for feeling good, but now that you’ve come to the Dark Side, I’m sure you could make it feel even better.”

“Dev,” I said.

He grinned at me.

“I’ll stay and make sure that he behaves,” Nicky said.

“I plan on being the perfect gentleman,” Damian said.

“I wasn’t talking about you,” Nicky said.

Nathaniel and I left them to it, and got out of the van into a fresh bout of drizzling rain. Slane had his hat pulled down low against the wet; with the long hair, his puppy dog ears were completely hidden. “My mistress is impressed with the effort that you have put into searching for the missing Roane and his lady.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but do you know where they are?”

“Nay, but if there comes a time when we could lend a hand to you and yours, we will.”

I looked at him for a second. “That’s great, but I’m a little confused. I thought you had information that would help us find the Roane and his girlfriend.”

“No, but there is a Roane who has come forward. He would meet with you.”

“After what happened to Riley, I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I said.

“He understands the danger, but he wishes to talk to you and especially the red-haired vampire you have brought back with you.”

“Why does he want to talk especially to Damian?”

“He knew the vampire before he left Ireland.”

“Okay. Where do we meet him and how do we keep him from being disappeared on us like the last Roane?”

“We will use our magic to keep him hidden. Young Riley should not have tried to sneak behind his master’s back without magic to hide him from her eyes.”

“I understood that Nim and all of you wouldn’t have anything to do with the Roane, because you didn’t want to be on the Wicked Bitch’s shit list.”

“I’m not sure I understand what that means.”

Nathaniel said, “Being on someone’s shit list means they’re mad at you and hold a grudge.”

“Then yes, we did not want to be on the shit list.”

“What changed your mind?” I asked.

“You have shamed us, and not much will do that,” he said with a smile, but his eyes didn’t look happy.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to apologize for making them feel bad or celebrate that they were going to help the Selkies now. We seemed to be ahead, so I just said, “Where and when is the meeting?”

“Now and not far.”

“How did you know that Damian was awake for the day? Most vampires wouldn’t be.”

“Our magic is fading here in Dublin, but we still have our ways.”

“Is that a polite way of telling me you won’t answer the question?”

He looked surprised. “I gave you an answer.”

I had a moment of wanting Flannery here to do cultural translation, but just let it go. I might ask him later. Right now I’d make sure our vampire had finished his snack, and then we’d go meet the new Roane. I hoped this one had better luck afterward than Riley had.