Real Vampires Live Large by Gerry Bartlett

face me. “Kiss me good-bye and make it a good one.”
    Jerry smiled and ran his hands over my body. I’d been naked in the bed and I was still naked. Not that I’d let Mara see me like that. She’d never made a secret of the fact that she thought I was fat. Skinny bitch. So I’d been hiding behind Jerry. He didn’t mind my generous curves.
    â€œI’d like to do more than kiss you, lass, but five minutes wouldn’t be nearly enough. I’d—” He leaned down and whispered graphic details of what he’d like to do. The list was long, maybe an hour’s worth. And I felt heat pooling between my thighs.
    â€œI love it when you talk dirty. Mara can wait.” I dragged his lips to mine and gave him a kiss guaranteed to curl his toes. I whispered some interesting variations on his earlier suggestions in his mind. He growled and grabbed my ass like he’d never let go.
    But he did. Let go, that is.
    â€œWe’ve got to leave now or we won’t beat the sun to land-fall. ”
    I sighed and gave him a final hug. “Be careful. And come back as quick as you can.”
    â€œAlways.” Jerry gave me a hard kiss, then strode out of the room. I flopped on the bed and stared dry-eyed at the ceiling.
    There was a scratching at the door and I dove under the covers. Until Blade came back, it was flannel nightgowns for me.
    â€œCome in.” Two dogs, one trailing a lime green Prada sandal by its broken strap, came in with concerned looks.
    Valdez jumped on the bed. “You okay?”
    â€œYeah.” I buried my fingers in his fur. The bed dipped and I figured Will had jumped up on the bed too. Valdez growled and gave him a head butt that sent Will crashing into the nightstand. A brass lamp wobbled then hit the floor.
    â€œEasy there, my canine cohort. I’m only guarding our mistress.”
    â€œYou can guard her from the floor, asshole.” Valdez had obviously decided to be top dog. Which was fine with me. The way Will said mistress made my fangs swell and I had a real strong urge to rip his head off and stuff it up his . . . you know. Good. Anger beat the hell out of all the other emotions that I was set to wallow in.
    â€œHe’s right, Will. And you touch even one strap on any of my shoes and you’ll get generic canned dog food for the duration.” I almost laughed at the expression on Will’s furry face.
    â€œMakes me wonder if I’ve landed in hell.” Will stalked over to the door and lay across the threshold.
    Valdez snorted. “Drama queen.”
    â€œQueen? Queen?”
    Who knew a dog could hit high C? I closed my eyes as the insults flew back and forth. All I could think about was Blade, flying over a dark, cold ocean.

Eight
    "This is where we’re going to live?” Will poked his head into the kitchen. “I liked Blade’s place better. State of the art. This is pathetic. Electric stove. Don’t you know gas is the way to go?”
    â€œGet over it, Emeril. You’re not going to be cooking here and neither is Glory if you don’t shape up.” Valdez took his top dog role seriously. He looked around and chuffed. “Still smells a little funky in here, but it’s good to be home.”
    â€œYes, it is.” I collapsed on the couch and wrinkled my nose. A restoration company had been through the place and what I smelled wasn’t so much smoke as disinfectant used with a liberal hand. Too liberal. I immediately had a headache.
    â€œWhat’s wrong, Glory?” Valdez put his head on my knee. “Is that vamp trying to communicate again? Bad news if he can get at you here.”
    â€œNo. Just the cleaning stuff.” But the other headaches hadn’t stopped. When we were outside, I still heard someone calling my name. There was a knock on the door and both dogs jumped up and growled.
    â€œWho is it?” I got up and looked through the peephole. No one should have