ABVH 01 - Guilty Pleasures

by Laurell K. Hamilton

  The woman was smiling at me, but her large brown eyes were fixed on Phillip’s hand where it played with my scar. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. I saw her chest rise and fall.

  “Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly.”

  “What did you say?” Phillip asked.

  I shook my head. He probably didn’t know the poem anyway. I couldn’t remember how it ended. I couldn’t remember if the fly got away. My stomach was tight. When Phillip’s hand brushed my naked back, I jumped.

  The woman laughed, high and maybe a little drunk. I whispered the fly’s words as I went up the steps, “Oh, no, no, to ask me is in vain for whoever goes up your winding stairs can ne’er come down again.”

  Ne’er come down again. It had a bad ring to it.

  25

  THE WOMAN PRESSED against the wall, so we could pass, and shut the door behind us. I kept waiting for her to lock it so we couldn’t get away, but she didn’t. I shoved Phillip’s hand off my scars, and he wrapped himself around my waist and led me down a long narrow hall. The house was cool, air conditioning purring against the heat. A square archway opened into a room.

  It was a living room with all that implies—a couch, love seat, two chairs, plants hanging in front of a bay window, afternoon shadows snaking across the carpeting. Homey. A man stood in the center of the room, a drink in his hand. He looked like he had just come from Leather ‘R’ Us. Leather bands crisscrossed his chest and arms, like Hollywood’s idea of an oversexed gladiator.

  I owed Phillip an apology. He’d dressed downright conservatively. The happy homemaker came up behind us in her royal purple lingerie and laid a hand on Phillip’s arm. Her fingernails were painted dark purple, almost black. The nails scratched along his arm, leaving faint reddish tracks behind.

  Phillip shivered beside me, his arm tightening around my waist. Was this his idea of fun? I hoped not.

  A tall, black woman rose from the couch. Her rather plentiful breasts threatened to squeeze out of a black wire bra. A crimson skirt with more holes than cloth hung from the bra and moved as she walked, giving glimpses of dark flesh. I was betting she was naked under the skirt.

  There were pinkish scars on one wrist and her neck. A baby junkie, new, almost fresh. She stalked around us, like we were for sale and she wanted to get a good look. Her hand brushed my back, and I stood away from Phillip, facing the woman.

  “That scar on your back; what is it? It isn’t vampire bites.” Her voice was low for a woman, an alto tenor maybe.

  “A sharp piece of wood was slammed into my back by a human servant.” I didn’t add that the sharp piece of wood had been one of the stakes I brought with me, or that I had killed the human servant later that same night.

  “My name’s Rochelle,” she said.

  “Anita.”

  The happy homemaker stepped up next to me, hand stroking over my arm. I stepped away from her, her fingers sliding over my skin. Her nails left little red lines on my arm. I resisted the urge to rub them. I was a tough-as-nails vampire slayer; scratches didn’t bother me. The look in the woman’s eyes did. She looked like she wondered what flavor I was and how long I’d last. I had never been looked at that way by another woman. I didn’t like it much.

  “I’m Madge. That’s my husband Harvey,” she said, pointing to Mr. Leather, who had moved to stand beside Rochelle. “Welcome to our home. Phillip has told us so much about you, Anita.”

  Harvey tried to come up behind me, but I stepped back towards the couch, so I could face him. They were trying to circle like sharks. Phillip was staring at me, hard. Right; I was supposed to be enjoying myself, not acting like they all had communicable diseases.

  Which was the lesser evil? A sixty-four-thousand-dollar question if ever I heard one. Madge licked her lips, slowly, suggestively. Her eyes said she was thinking naughty things about me, and her. No way. Rochelle swished her skirt, exposing far too much thigh. I had been right. She was naked under the skirt. I’d die first.

  That left Harvey. His small, blunt-fingered hands were playing with the leather-and-metal studding of the little kilt he wore. Fingers rubbing over and over the leather. Shit.

  I flashed him my best professional smile, not seductive, but it was better than a frown. His eyes widened and he took a step towards me, hand reaching out towards my left arm. I took a deep breath and held it, smile freezing in place.

  His fingers barely traced over the bend of my arm, tickling down the skin, until I shivered. Harvey took the shiver for an invitation and moved in closer, bodies almost touching. I put a hand on his chest to keep him from coming any closer. The hair on his chest was coarse and thick, black. I’ve never been a fan of hairy chests. Give me smooth any day. His arm began to encircle my back. I wasn’t sure what to do. If I took a step back I was going to sit down on the couch, not a good idea. If I stepped forward I’d be stepping into him, pressed against all that leather and skin.

  He smiled at me. “I’ve been dying to meet you.”

  He said “dying” like it was a dirty word, or an inside joke. The others laughed, all except Phillip. He took my arm and pulled me away from Harvey. I leaned into Phillip, even put my arms around his waist. I had never hugged anyone in a fishnet shirt before. It was an interesting sensation.

  Phillip said, “Remember what I said.”

  “Sure, sure,” Madge said. “She’s yours, all yours, no sharing, no half-sies.” She stalked over to him, swaying in her tight lace panties. With the heels on she could look him in the eye. “You can keep her safe from us for now, but when the big boys get here, you’ll share. They’ll make you share.”

  He stared at her until she looked away. “I brought her here, and I’ll take her home,” he said.

  Madge raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to fight them? Phillip, my boy, she must be a sweet piece of tail, but no bedwarmer is worth pissing off the big guys.”

  I stepped away from Phillip and put a hand flat against her stomach and pushed, just enough to make her back up. The heels made her balance bad, and she almost fell. “Let’s get something straight,” I said. “I am not a piece of anything, nor am I a bedwarmer.”

  Phillip said, “Anita . . .”

  “My, my, she’s got a temper. Wherever did you find her, Phillip?” Madge asked.

  If there is anything I hate, it is being found amusing when I’m angry. I stepped up close to her, and she smiled down at me. “Did you know,” I said, “that when you smile, you get deep wrinkles on either side of your mouth? You are over forty, aren’t you?”

  She drew a deep, gasping breath and stepped back from me. “You little bitch.”

  “Don’t ever call me a piece of tail again, Madge, darling.”

  Rochelle was laughing silently, her considerable bosom shaking like dark brown jello. Harvey stood straight-faced. If he had so much as smiled, I think Madge would have hurt him. His eyes were very shiny, but there was no hint of a smile.

  A door opened and closed down the hall, farther into the house. A woman stepped into the room. She was around fifty, or maybe a hard forty. Very blonde hair framed a plump face. Even money the blonde came out of a bottle. Plump little hands glittered with rings, real stones. A long, black negligee swept the floor, complete with an open lace robe. The flat black of the negligee was kind to her figure, but not kind enough. She was overweight and there was no hiding it. She looked like a PTA member, a Girl Scout leader, a cookie baker, someone’s mother. And there she stood in the doorway, staring at Phillip.

  She let out a little squeal and came running towards him. I got out of the way before I was crushed in the stampede. Phillip had just enough time to brace himself before she flung her considerable weight into his arms. For a minute I thought he was going to fall backwards into the floor with her on top, but his back straightened, his legs tensed, and he righted them both.

  Strong Phillip, able to lift overweight nymphomaniacs with both hands.

  Harvey said, “This is Crystal.”

 
; Crystal was kissing Phillip’s chest, chubby, homey little hands trying to pull his shirt out of his pants so she could touch his bare flesh. She was like a cheerful little puppy in heat.

  Phillip was trying to discourage her without much success. He gave me a long glance. And I remembered what he had said, that he had stopped coming to these parties. Was this why? Crystal and her like? Madge of the sharp fingernails? I had forced him to bring me, but in doing so, I had forced him to bring himself.

  If you thought of it that way, it was my fault Phillip was here. Damn, I owed him.

  I patted the woman’s cheek, softly. She blinked at me, and I wondered if she was nearsighted. “Crystal,” I said. I smiled my best angelic smile. “Crystal, I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re pawing my date.”

  Her mouth fell open; her pale eyes bugged out. “Date,” she squeaked. “No one has dates at a party.”

  “Well, I’m new to the parties. I don’t know the rules yet. But where I come from, one woman does not grope another woman’s date. At least wait until I turn my back, okay?”

  Crystal’s lower lip trembled. Her eyes began to fill with tears. I had been gentle, kind even, and she was still going to cry. What was she doing here with these people?

  Madge came and put her arm around Crystal and led the woman away. Madge was making soothing noises and patting her black silken arms.

  Rochelle said, “Very cold.” She walked away from me towards a liquor cabinet that was against one wall.

  Harvey had also left, following Madge and Crystal without so much as a backwards glance.

  You’d think I’d kicked a puppy. Phillip let out a long breath and set down on the couch. He clasped his hands in front of him, between his knees. I sat down next to him, tucking my skirt down over my legs.

  “I don’t think I can do this,” he whispered.

  I touched his arm. He was trembling, a constant shaking that I didn’t like at all. I hadn’t realized what it would cost him to come tonight, but I was beginning to find out.

  “We can go,” I said.

  He turned very slowly and stared at me. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean we can go.”

  “You’d leave now without finding out anything because I’m having problems?” he asked.

  “Let’s just say I like you better as the overconfident flirt. You keep acting like a real person, and you’ll have me all confused. We can go if you can’t handle it.”

  He took a deep breath and let it out, then shook himself like a dog coming out of water. “I can do it. If I have a choice, I can do it.”

  It was my turn to stare. “Why didn’t you have a choice before?”

  He looked away. “I just felt like I had to bring you if you wanted to come.”

  “No, dammit, that wasn’t what you meant at all.” I touched his face and forced him to look at me. “Someone gave you orders to come see me the other day, didn’t they? It wasn’t just to find out about Jean-Claude, was it?”

  His eyes were wide, and I could feel his pulse under my fingers. “What are you afraid of, Phillip? Who’s giving you orders?”

  “Anita, please, I can’t.”

  My hand dropped to my lap. “What are your orders, Phillip?”

  He swallowed, and I watched his throat work. “I’m to keep you safe here, that’s all.” His pulse was jumping under the bruised bite in his neck. He licked his lips, not seductive, nervous. He was lying to me. The trick was, how much of a lie and what about?

  I heard Madge’s voice coming up the hall, all cheerful seduction. Such a good hostess. She escorted two people into the room. One was a woman with short auburn hair and too much eye makeup, like green chalk smeared above her eyes. The second was Edward, smiling, at his charming best, with his arm around Madge’s bare waist. She gave a rich, throaty laugh as he whispered something to her.

  I froze, for a second. It was so unexpected that I just froze. If he had pulled out a gun, he could have killed me while I sat with my mouth hanging open. What the hell was he doing here?

  Madge led him and the woman towards the bar. He glanced back at me over her shoulder and gave me a delicate smile that left his blue eyes empty as a doll’s.

  I knew my twenty-four hours were not up. I knew that. Edward had decided to come looking for Nikolaos. Had he followed us? Had he listened to Phillip’s message on my machine?

  “What’s wrong?” Phillip asked.

  “What’s wrong?” I said. “You are taking orders from somebody, probably a vampire . . .” I finished the statement silently in my head: And Death has just waltzed in the door to play freak while he searches for Nikolaos. There was only one reason Edward searched for a particular vampire. He meant to kill her, if he could.

  The assassin might finally have met his match. I had thought I wanted to be around when Edward finally lost. I wanted to see what prey was too large for Death to conquer. I had seen this prey, up close and personal. If Edward and Nikolaos met and she even suspected that I had a hand in it . . . shit. Shit, shit, shit!

  I should turn Edward in. He had threatened me, and he would carry it out. He would torture me to get information. What did I owe him? But I couldn’t do it, wouldn’t do it. A human being does not turn another human being over to the monsters. Not for any reason.

  Monica had broken that rule, and I despised her for it. I think I was the closest thing Edward had to a real friend. A person who knows who and what you are and likes you anyway. I did like him, despite or because of what he was. Even though I knew he’d kill me if it worked out that way? Yes, even though. It didn’t make much sense when you looked at it that way. But I couldn’t worry about Edward’s morality. The only person I had to face in the mirror was me. The only moral dilemma I could solve was my own.

  I watched Edward play kissy-face with Madge. He was much better at role-playing than I was. He was also a much better liar.

  I would not tell, and Edward had known I would not tell. In his own way, he knew me, too. He had bet his life on my integrity, and that pissed me off. I hate to be used. My virtue had become its own punishment.

  But maybe, I didn’t know how yet, I could use Edward the way he was using me. Perhaps I could use his lack of honor as he used my honor now.

  It had possibilities.

  26

  THE AUBURN-HAIRED WOMAN with Edward came over to the couch and slid into Phillip’s lap. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck with a little kick of her feet. Her hands didn’t wander lower, and she didn’t try to undress him. The night was looking up. Edward followed behind the woman like a blond shadow. There was a drink in his hand and a suitably harmless smile on his face.

  If I hadn’t known him, I would never have looked at him and said, there, there is a dangerous man. Edward the Chameleon. He balanced on the couch arm at the woman’s back, one hand rubbing her shoulder.

  “Anita, this is Darlene,” Phillip said.

  I nodded. She giggled and kicked her little feet.

  “This is Teddy. Isn’t he scrumptious?”

  Teddy? Scrumptious? I managed a smile, and Edward kissed the side of her neck. She snuggled against his chest, managing to wiggle in Phillip’s lap at the same time. Coordination.

  “Let me have a taste.” Darlene sucked her lower lip under her teeth and drew it out slowly.

  Phillip’s breath trembled. He whispered, “Yes.”

  I didn’t think I was going to like this.

  Darlene cupped his arm in her hands and raised it to her mouth. She bestowed a delicate kiss over one of his scars, then she slid her legs down between his until she was kneeling at his feet, still holding his arm. The full skirt of her dress was bunched up around her waist, caught on his legs. She was wearing red lace panties and matching garters. Color coordination.

  Phillip’s face had gone slack. He was staring at her as she brought his arm towards her mouth. A small pink tongue licked his arm, quick, out, wet, gone. She glanced up at Phillip, eyes dark and full. She must have liked wh
at she saw because she began to lick his scars, one by one, delicate, a cat with cream. Her eyes never left his face.

  Phillip shuddered; his spine spasmed. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch. Her hands went to his stomach. She gripped the fishnet and pulled. It slid out of his pants, and her hands stroked up bare chest.

  He jerked, eyes wide, and caught her arms. He shook his head. “No, no.” His voice sounded hoarse, too deep.

  “You want me to stop?” Darlene asked. Her eyes were nearly closed, breath deep, lips full and waiting.

  He was struggling to talk and make sense at the same time. “If we do this . . . that leaves Anita alone. Fair game. Her first party.”

  Darlene looked at me, maybe for the first time. “With scars like that?”

  “Scars are from a real attack. I talked her into the party.” He brought her hands out from under his shirt. “I can’t desert her.” His eyes seemed to be focusing again. “She doesn’t know the rules.”

  Darlene leaned her head on his thigh. “Phillip, please, I’ve missed you.”

  “You know what they’d do to her.”

  “Teddy will keep her safe. He knows the rules.”

  I asked, “You’ve been to other parties?”

  “Yes,” Edward said. He held my gaze for several seconds while I tried to picture him at other parties. So this was where he got his information about the vampire world, through the freaks.

  “No,” Phillip said. He stood, bringing Darlene to her feet, still holding her forearms. “No,” he said, and his voice sounded certain, confident. He released her and held out his hand to me. I took it. What else could I do?

  His hand was sweating and warm. He strode out of the room, and I was forced to half-run in my heels to catch up with my hand.

  He led me down the hall to the bathroom and we went in. He locked the door and leaned against it, sweat beaded on his face, eyes closed. I took back my hand, and he didn’t fight me.

  I looked around at the available seating and finally chose to sit on the edge of the bathtub. It wasn’t comfortable, but it seemed the lesser of two evils. Phillip drew in great gulps of air and finally turned to the sink. He ran water loud and splashing, dipped his hands in, and covered his face again and again until he stood, water dripping down his face. Droplets caught in his eyelashes and hair. He blinked at himself in the mirror over the basin. He looked startled, wide-eyed.