Bergman said, “Naw, I think she’s hot for my bod. I’l tel you one thing. I’m not going to put out on the first date.
That’s for sure. I’l definitely make her wait until at least date number two.”
Cole and Sterling fel to the ground and began to rol around helplessly. Beside me I could see the glint of Vayl’s fangs. If I didn’t end this conversation right now I would probably rupture something vital from the supreme effort it was taking not to laugh out loud. I said, “That’s a sound plan, Miles. You do that. So I’l pick you up in the morning.”
“Okay! Have fun boffing your vampire!”
I hung up. Three beats of silence. And then we al roared.
The riad seemed smaler without Monique and Bergman there to brighten the corners. I said so to Vayl as we stood outside his door. Everyone else had gone off to their rooms to clean up. I should be on my way too. But it was hard to separate, even temporarily. So I found another excuse to stay by adding, “It’s great that you booked a riad so close to the medina. Makes for a short walk to, wel , pretty much anywhere.” Then I grinned like a lottery winner as I realized this was the first time he’d heard my compliment as
“himself.”
I realized he was thinking along the same lines when he said, “It seems that it was my last lucid move for some time.”
I said, “I don’t know how long this is going to eat at you.
I guess it would bother me for longer than twenty minutes too. But Sterling believes the only reason Ahmed could curse you was because you’d already cursed my mother.
And you only did that to protect me. If that’s wrong, you can wal ow in guilt for the next hundred years and I won’t fault you.”
“I know how miserable I made you.”
I smiled up at him. “You were kind of a dick back in the day, weren’t you?”
His face went taut and for a second I knew how Ahmed had felt to face his rage. “Yes.” Terse, get-the-hel -out-if-that’s-your-intention tone.
“But you’re not now,” I noted.
He pul ed a long breath in through his nose. “No.”
“That’s a hel uva feat. I’l bet I can name fifty men who could live three hundred years and never improve on their dickness.”
Twitch of the lip. “Is that a word now?”
“Absolutely. Here, I’l use it in another sentence. ‘His dickness was so far beyond help they decided to amputate.’ I think that’s—Vayl? Are you… laughing? About the serious malady of dickness? Geez, that’s pretty insensitive of you, considering you beat it yourself.” I leaned against the wal , savoring the sound of his pleasure. Then I realized I was leaving a red splotch on the tile. “Ick. I real y gotta get a shower. And try to get this shirt clean.”
“Yes,” Vayl said doubtful y as he viewed it through the stains. “It is so… charming.”
“I like it. Cole gave it to me for my birthday.” Oops. Al that work to stomp out the doomsdays and one slip of the tongue had relit the fire.
“I missed your birthday.”
“Not real y,” I said. “We had cake.”
“Do I remember Kyphas being there?”
I tried to shrug it off. “Yeah.”
“Then you did not have a true celebration.” Wow. He real y knew me. Which was probably why he decided to stop with the self-torture and focus on more important matters. “I have a present for you.”
“You do?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Is it here?”
“In fact, it is. Wel , it should be. I meant to check if everything had worked out as planned before I—”
“Oh, baby! Okay, okay, this is great!” I realized I was jumping up and down and clapping my hands. And that Vayl real y liked the extra bouncing that caused.
I stopped when he said, “I wil need to make a cal . But you should be able to open it”—he motioned to our general nastiness—“as soon as we have changed.”
I rewarded him with another round of bouncing and, since his clothes were ruined anyway, a bone-cracking hug.
No, not his, mine. But damn, did my back feel great afterward!
I said, “I have to go. Shower. Dress. Clean up. You too.
Fast, okay?” I kissed him, hard, on the lips. “Oh, did I say? I love you.”
There was a hint of gold in his emerald eyes when he said, “I do not suppose you would ever have to tel me again. But I am glad to hear the words.”
“Great. Okay. I’m outta here!” And I was off to the showers. Because, hey, it was my first birthday with a boyfriend whose idea of fun was to whisk me off to an exotic island for weeks at a time. Who knew what his idea of a great gift would be?
Al the way through my shower I tried to guess. Because surprises tend to gut me. And then I’m left standing, or sometimes lying there, looking like a candy-assed fool. So what could it be? He definitely liked the threads, so maybe a whole new wardrobe. Oh! What about another trip? That would be pretty boss. Like maybe sailing around the world.
Or backpacking through Alaska.
By the time I’d washed the last spot of blood from myself and my clothes, I’d made up my mind. Unfortunately, due to the surprise nature of the surprise, the decision had fal en into direness. Vayl was about to present me with another piece of jewelry. Probably something along the lines of a five-tier diamond necklace that I could wear, yeah, nowhere. Gack.
I practiced my thankful face in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. It didn’t work until I pasted on the Lucil e persona.
“No, real y, Vayl, you shouldn’t have.” Spit. “Are you kidding? It’s gorgeous!” Rinse, swish, and… spit again.
How much did safety-deposit boxes cost? And if I hung on to it until E.J. graduated from high school, would it bring enough at auction to put her through col ege?
I shoved my legs into a pair of olive-green khakis and told myself not to be disappointed. On top went a sleeveless white tee over which I threw a green cotton button-down and my white jacket. Black boots. Grief. Bolo.
And the forearm shield. I fil ed my pockets with extra clips, pasted a smile on my face, and went to knock on Vayl’s pasted a smile on my face, and went to knock on Vayl’s door.
“Come in, Jasmine.”
I’l admit my heart did a happy flip when he said my name. But when I entered the room to find him lounging in the chair by his empty fireplace, reading the note I’d written him while he was throwback Vayl, I nearly left again. His eyes stopped me. They were like liquid copper. The walk past his bed to the chair opposite his felt like a marathon because those eyes never left me. By the time I sat down I was breathless. So I waited for him to talk.
He laid his hand, with the note in it, across my legs.
“You must have been furious with me. And yet you wrote me this.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even think there’s a word for how fast Cole had to talk me down. But even in the middle of feeling like my head was going to explode I knew it wasn’t your fault. And later, when you saw my picture and you wanted me?” I looked down at the glass-topped table that sat between us. Wanted to grab one of the mints that sat in an elegant little bowl in its center, just to give my hands something to do besides clutch each other as if they’d never feel his fingers lace through mine again. I said,
“It helped a lot.”
Vayl folded the note and slipped it into the pocket of his black silk shirt. He rose so fast that I had to move my head to keep him in focus. His cane slammed against the tile as he walked to the balcony door and stared through the glass.
“What you must think of me.”