“Fine. I’ll be waiting. Eagerly.” Valdez plopped down on the Oriental rug in the hallway. “And keep in mind that locks won’t keep me out. I live to destroy—anyone who hurts my lady.”

“Ooh, see me tremble.” Trina shook her hands in the air.

I sent Valdez a message that said I agreed that Trina was an idiot and that I’d hurry, then slammed the door. There was a chair in the corner of the room next to a window with yet another breathtaking view of the ocean. No telling how many millions this house cost. Slimming down vampires obviously paid really well. The thought dampened my appetite. Then I saw Trina’s open closet door. Size-zero jeans hung there. Zero. I’d never even bothered to dream about such a thing.

“Sit in the chair. Hand me your wrist.” I pulled up a matching ottoman and sat on it.

“What? Not going to do a little more? Most of Ian’s female vamps like turning this into fun and games.” Trina touched my hair. “You’re prettier than some clients. And you managed to get a man like Israel Caine to propose to you. I’m, um, intrigued.” She slid her hand down to my shoulder. “Come on, Glory. At least take me at the neck. It’s so much more intimate.”

I breathed in a jolt of good-quality B positive. Then I shook my head. “I don’t want to be intimate with you, Trina. I save that for the men I love. This is a business transaction, nothing more. And I really hate taking advantage of you this way. I meant it when I said I don’t normally drink from mortals.”

“I don’t appeal to you at all?” Trina brushed against me, her nipples hard against my arm. “Don’t tell me that in the hundreds of years you’ve been alive you’ve never experimented ...”

I glanced at the door, sure Valdez was getting an earful with his supersonic hearing. “I’m not telling you anything.” I pulled her wrist to my lips and hit the vein. The instant the rich blood filled my mouth, I was all about the feeding. I heard Trina moan, apparently enjoying the sensation. She even tried to reach for me again, but I didn’t give a damn.

I was high on the taste and heat of the mortality surging into my body. It was so warm, made me feel so alive. It’s the only time I really felt that way. And I’d missed it. Denied myself the pleasure. And this time . . . Maybe Ian had something here. Because this experience . . . The energy was exhilarating, beyond anything I’d ever felt before during feeding. This was wow! Only the realization that Trina’s hand had crept onto my bra snapped me out of it.

I released her and reared back, plucking away that hand and jumping to my feet. My whole body quivered. Oh, God. I leaned over to make the room stop spinning. This feeling. Like I’d run twenty miles, was still running. My heart pounded and my legs ached. What a great feeling.

I struggled to catch my breath, my hands on my knees as I glanced up and saw the ocean. One of Ian’s surfers caught a wave and rode it in. My adrenaline rush had to be similar. I was soaring.

“Glory.” Trina stood behind me, her warm hand on my back. “Are you okay? Do I need to get Ian?” She rubbed my shoulders, even leaned on me for a moment, her breath hot as she kissed the back of my head. “That was incredible. Please come to me again.”

“I . . . I’m fine. Give me a moment.” I finally straightened and stepped away from her. “Thank you. For the donation. For a mortal, you seem awfully at ease with our wacko world.”

“I’ve always been into the paranormal. I just knew that things like vampires had to be real.” Her eyes were shining, but her face was pale and she suddenly sat down on the foot of the bed. “I’m hoping to become one of you. If I please the master . . . You’ll tell him, won’t you? That I served you well?” She put out a shaky hand.

“Sure, you were fantastic. Best feeding ever.” Oh, great. Now I had a serious case of the guilts. Had I taken too much? I stepped closer to her, touched her cheek to see if she was too cold, which would be a bad sign. She grabbed my hand and sighed.

“I want to please you again, Glory.”

Thank God, she was warm and I carefully extricated myself, relieved when she stood. I put up a hand when it looked like she was going to hug me.

“Let’s go. Ray’s waiting. And Valdez, of course. Stay behind me. And, for God’s sake, don’t touch me in front of either of them. They wouldn’t take it well.”

Trina giggled. “Neither would Ian. Men. What do they know about pleasure? Next time, maybe . . . ?”

I shook my head but that didn’t seem to faze her. I headed for the door. When I opened it, Valdez gave me a narrow-eyed look, like he was inspecting me for signs of debauchery. I just strutted past him. Because, boy, did I feel amazing. And, would you believe, lighter somehow. Seriously, I thought my jeans were already looser. Probably my imagination, but I was so going to find a scale when we got back to the hotel.

Ray and Ian were drinking from bottles of his “juice” when Trina and I got back to the living room. They jumped up when they saw us.

“You okay, Glory? You look . . . jazzed.”

“I feel that way.” I turned to Ian. “I don’t know about weight loss, but the effects of feeding from her . . .”

“Quite a rush, isn’t it?” Ian slung his arm around Trina. “She’ll be here for you tomorrow. You must come every night around midnight. I’ll make sure she’s ready. There will be other things you’ll have to do too. Not just this. I’ll explain them tomorrow. For now, I have two bottles of other special products for you to take with you. Drink one before you sleep and one when you rise tomorrow. They’re clearly marked. This is very important, Glory, if you want the effects of your feedings from Trina to last.”

“Babe, we’ve got to go.” Ray glanced at his watch. “I’ve got rehearsal and I’m not leaving you here.”

“Right. I guess that means shifting again.” I hated the thought but felt pumped enough that I figured I could do it easily.

“No need. I have a limo waiting to take you to the venue where Caine told me he’s rehearsing, then it will take you on to the hotel, Glory. I hope that’s satisfactory.”

“Perfect.” I smiled at Ian. Now I was really liking him, MacDonald or not. He’d been nice about the weigh-in. And that feeding . . . Well, who knew? Shoot. Maybe I was high. I smiled at Ray too. Even Valdez got a head pat. Nothing could bring me down right now.

“See you tomorrow, Ian. It’ll just be Valdez and me. Ray, you don’t have to come again. I know you’re busy.” I cuddled up to Ray. Part of the loving-engaged-couple thing, of course.

Ray frowned. “We’ll see. Now, let’s hit the road. Forget the Campbells, MacDonald. Take care of my girl or there will be hell to pay from me. Are we clear?”

“Of course. I find all this protectiveness toward your fiancée quite admirable.” Ian walked us to the stairs that led down to the driveway and the waiting limousine. “And think about that other product, Caine. It’s a vampire’s dream come true.”

We settled into the backseat of the limo, the glass up and shielding us from the driver before I asked the burning question.

“Okay, Ray, what’s the other product Ian’s trying to sell?” Maybe my good feelings were wearing off, because now I was a little tired. Running twenty miles will do that to you, I guess.

“He says he’s got something that can allow me to go out in the sun.” Ray stared into my eyes. “I’d see daylight again. You know what that would mean to me, Glory?”

I grabbed his arm on one side and Valdez’s fur on the other. “I know that if it doesn’t work and you try it, sweetheart, you’re toast.”

Five

“You’re trusting him. Why shouldn’t I?” Ray leaned back on the leather seat. “I want this. Ian says he can make it happen.”

“I don’t believe it. Not even the Energy Vampires have a formula for surviving daylight yet.” I remembered the head of the vampire cult, famous for their Vampire Viagra, telling me that. (Yeah, go figure. Even vamps enjoy a boost in their sex lives.) “The only way to test a drug like that is to send a vampire into the sun. Who’d be crazy enough to try it out?”

“Ian says . . .” Ray shook his head. “Never mind. We’re here. I’ve got to go. We’ll talk about this later at the hotel.” He leaned across me to look at Valdez. “Take care of my lady.”

“ Your lady. Yeah, right. Don’t let the act go to your head, Caine. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Valdez lifted his chin. “Blade’s at the hotel waiting for her right now. When he hears where you took her tonight, the shit’s goin’ to hit the fan.”

“Let it. Glory’s going to do what she wants. Am I right, sweet thing?” Ray brushed his thumb across my cheek to my lips.

“Yes, you are.” I held Ray’s hand for a moment. “Promise me you won’t do anything with Ian without discussing it with me first, Ray. Please?” I knew how much he missed the sun. He’d been a freak about his boat, his tropical island paradise, his beach. Even the fact that he’d now live forever hadn’t come close to making up for the loss of those hours he’d spent in the sun. He was a “live for the moment” kind of guy. Forever didn’t seem to matter that much to him.

“I’m not an idiot, Glory. You’re still my vamp mentor, babe, but I don’t dance to your tune.” He leaned in and kissed my lips. “Still, I realize I owe you my life. Such as it is. See you later.” He opened the door as soon as the limo stopped. “Say hi to Blade for me. The man doesn’t pose a threat to me, Valdez. He’s stuck in the past. Glory knows it and so do you. My lady’s a ‘now’ kind of woman. When she gets her new look, she’ll be ready for even more changes.” He grinned, then slammed the door.

“Arrogant son of a bitch,” Valdez muttered as the car pulled away from the curb.