"My fault." Flo grinned. "We watched the Health Channel while you were in the shower last night. When I saw the program was about blood sugar…" She shrugged.

"I've never found human blood to be sweet." I said. "But even I wouldn't mind a treat now and then." Valdez bumped me again. " You gonna open those Cheetos or what? I think I'm bavin' a sinking spell."

"You'll live. Give me a minute." I sat down next to Flo. "Valdez is right about one thing. Between my sucky love life and my lack of crunch, I've been down for centuries."

"Then we must do something about it. The love life may be complicated." Flo got out her clear top coat and began on her left hand again. "You don't want Damian, he's no good for you. You've had Jeremiah, he drives you crazy. Was there anyone at the meeting the other night who made you hot?"

Hot? I'd spent the whole evening with a headache the size of Kansas. Blocking Damian was wearing on me, but I sure wasn't going to give him a shot at playing virtual sex games again.

Flo looked up, her eyes narrowed.

"Forget my love life." I ripped open the bag of Cheetos. I put one to my nose. Inhaled. Oh, God, was there ever a better smell?

I put it to my lips. The texture. I'd heard Valdez often enough crunching his way through a bag. To bite into something with texture…

"Wait, Glory." Flo snatched it out of my hand. "Before you do this, I must warn you." I swear my eyes watered. So close… "What? Is it like poison? Will I… die?" Yep, I was truly over that "Woe is me, I'm immortal" crap.

"No, but you might wish it so." She popped the Cheetos into Valdez's mouth. "I remember… I had a lover. Ari was a handsome Greek who owned his own island in the Aegean." She sighed.

"But he was mortal and didn't want to know I was vampire. I read his mind. So I pretended I was mortal too. Staying in my own room all day because I preferred the nights. Cooler, less interruption from the staff." She waved her hand. "Details. Anyway, I went so far as to eat with him. I would pretend of course. Push my food around my plate." She smiled at Valdez. "Drop some bites down to his little dog."

" I knew I liked you, Flo." Valdez wagged his tail, but his eyes were on that Cheetos bag.

"One night he insisted he hand feed me tidbits from his plate. He thought he was being sexy." Flo shuddered. "I chewed. I swallowed. I suffered agony. Pains in my stomach. I could not stand. I told him it was food poisoning. From something I'd eaten in my room before dinner."

"That's terrible." I fondled the Cheetos bag. "How long did the pains last?" Was I hopeless, or what?

"Days, Glory. The healing sleep didn't fix me. Can you imagine? From a few tidbits." Flo looked at the bag. "Worth it?"

"Maybe not tonight." Not with Westwood gunning for me and a business to run. I couldn't afford to be laid low for the sake of a few Cheetos. Could I? "Maybe we should work on my love life first."

"Love." Flo clapped her hands. "Now you're talking, girlfriend."

"I still haven't met a cowboy." I threw a handful of Cheetos into Valdez's popcorn bowl, then reluctantly returned the bag to the kitchen.

"Why a cowboy?" Flo really seemed interested.

"I've been partial to Stetsons and boots since my California gold-rush days. I'm not much of a singer—"

" I can vouch for that." Valdez had polished off his Cheetos.

"Would you not interrupt?" I gave him a look. "Anyway, back then I could have howled like Valdez and sex starved miners would toss gold nuggets in my direction. Of course they loved checking out my boobs in low-cut gowns."

"Use what you have, I always say." Flo sighed and leaned back. "Is this a love story?"

"Of course." I picked up a throw pillow and hugged it. "One miner in particular, the hat and boot type, caught my eye and swept me off my feet. Randy O'Banyan."

Flo rubbed her hands together. "Was he a good lover?"

"Incredible." I squeezed the pillow. "And full of fun. Like your Ari, he never knew I was vampire, though I fed from him. Young, healthy, O positive." I never used to think twice about feeding from a mortal. You get an incredible high. Then I got a conscience. Thought maybe I was taking advantage…

"Glory, mortals have plenty of blood. They never miss what we take as long as we aren't greedy." Flo grabbed the pillow and tossed it across the room. "Are you going to finish this story?"

"Okay. Randy and I'd meet every night for mind-blowing sex, with a little bite action on my part. Then I'd zap his memory and he'd go off to the mines every day. Until a mine shaft collapsed and buried him."

"No! You should have made him vampire, Glory." Flo wiped away a tear. "This reminds me of my lover in St. Petersburg. I waited too long and he was killed. Ungrateful peasants."

"I don't make people vampires, Flo." And that was one power I had no interest in picking up. "So I cried for weeks. Refused to hunt. I was so weak, I figured I might just die. And that was okay with me. I loved Randy."

"Of course you did." Flo patted my hand. "I have had many wonderful lovers. And lost many. But you must feed. Keep up your strength."

"That's what Blade said when he found me." I got up and headed into the kitchen to get a Bloody Merry. All this talk of feeding… I took a deep swallow and told myself for the thousandth time that it satisfied me. Yeah, right. I settled on the love seat again. "You know Blade has this uncanny telepathic ability where I'm concerned."

"I call it love." Flo looked wistful. "A great love. He is your life mate, Gloriana." I wasn't about to get into the love versus possessiveness versus responsibility argument now. "Whatever he is, he came roaring into town. He scooped me up, literally, along with the Valdez du jour." I looked at my current Valdez. "A fierce protector who never talked or read my mind. I loved that dog."

Valdez gave me a reproachful look. Okay, that was mean. He'd saved my life, a little over a week ago.

"I'm sorry, Valdez." I smiled slightly. "I love you too."

"You'd better. He saved us both. Eh, doggy?" Flo rubbed Valdez with her bare toes and he was glad to turn to her, presenting me with his backside.

"What did Blade do after he scooped you?"

"He took us to a villa in Mexico. He was alternately sweet and bossy, forcing me to feed from him until I got my strength back."

"Your hero! He must really love you to be so generous."

"He was generous like a fox. You know feeding makes hot, hotter. And with the right person… One bite and I was jumping his bones. Again and again. God, I'm so freaking easy where Blade is concerned."

"Of course you are." Flo willed me to meet her gaze. "So are you going to just sit back and let Mara have him now?"

"Quit doing the whammy, Flo. I don't know." I picked up my book from the coffee table. "I don't know what I want. That's part of my problem."

Flo smiled. "I think you do know what you want. And that's your whole problem."

Chapter Fifteen

Whether I wanted him or not, Blade showed up the night I was going for my bra fitting.

"Florence tells me you're making your own protective gear and are supposed to pick it up tonight." Blade stood at the door jingling car keys. "Let me go with you. I want to see this Kevlar."

Why not? Through Flo, I'd arranged to use the hearse. Hey, Damian owed me. But this was better. Flo didn't need to be running her mouth about me to Blade, though. Matchmaking, no doubt.

"Can Valdez stay here? The seamstress got a little"—I looked down at my dog, who was wagging his tail and grinning at Blade—"nervous around him. She's got young kids."

"Sure. Stay here, Valdez." Blade waited for me to grab my purse.

"It's not far." We walked downstairs, stopping at the threshold to sniff the outside air. In a little over a week it had become a cautious habit. No olive wood, thank God.

We stepped outside and of course Blade had driven that Mercedes convertible. I held out my hand. "I'll drive." Blade grinned. "I think you want this car. And Florence tells me the last estimate to fix your old car was over a thousand dollars."

"Flo's been a busy girl, hasn't she?" Flo and I were going to have a little chat as soon as I saw her. She was out tonight with Kenneth Collins. Not a date. Way too soon for that. But Kenny was lonely and Flo is good company when she's not being a blabbermouth.

I got into the driver's side and adjusted the seat. I did love this car and the cool fall night was perfect for the top to be down. The drive lasted less than ten minutes, darn it. I'd found this seamstress through Miranda, my technical expert and picker. She'd come in to spend her coupon and hung around long enough to get a feel for what I wanted for the shop. I pulled up in front of the small wood frame house. Now that we were here, I wondered if this was a good idea. Blade had been quiet during our drive, watching my hair blow in the breeze. I could still feel his gaze. Warm. Sexy thoughts. What would he think when he saw me in the bra?

"Let's go in." He got out and walked around to open my door. "And I've seen you with and without a bra. I prefer without." I took his hand and let him pull me up. Definitely sexy thoughts. "I told Kim that I needed this bra because when I'm not running the shop I work with a knife thrower in the circus. That's you. And that he misses. Obviously not you." Blade leaned down and pulled a knife from his boot. "Good idea. Maybe we can test this Kevlar."

"Not on me you don't." I grabbed his arm and pulled him up the walk. "But maybe we can get a piece of extra material, put it on one of my mannequins and see how it works."