Real Vampires Don't Diet

"Get over yourself, Ray." I pretended to study a chip in my nail polish.



"Better block your thoughts next time then." He laughed and stepped into his shorts. I chose to ignore that. "Anyway, what I really want is to come out of the Aggie thing alive." Ray grinned. "That too. But doesn't mean we have to quit living now. Just so you know, I'm perfectly willing to keep Sienna waiting if you want to take advantage of me."



He ducked into the closet when I threw a pillow at him. With him out of sight I could think and breathe again. I had to admit, though, that his playing did lighten my mood, which tended toward gloom and doom.



Ray came out wearing jeans, a navy sweater in his hand. He shoved his feet into black Cavalli loafers, then pulled the sweater on over his head.



"The clock is ticking even faster now. I sure as hell don't want to wait until the full moon to get Will out of there." Ray tucked his wallet into his back pocket, picked up a comb, then walked back to the bed. "Would you do this for me? I still haven't gotten used to the no reflection thing."



"Sure. Sit." I waited while he settled on the edge of the bed again, then dragged the comb through his wet black hair. It was silky and straight and hitting past his shoulders now. He usually tied it at his neck or tucked it behind his ears. I combed it straight back, the way I liked it best. So I could see every bit of his handsome face and those blue, blue eyes. He'd shaved and I indulged myself, brushing a droplet of water off his strong jaw.



"Now you're ready. I'll be down in about an hour. Is that enough rehearsal time?"



"It'll have to be. Come here." Ray put his arms around me. "I've been thinking. Aggie says she can pull us to her no matter what, but I could charter a jet. We could make a break for the West Coast. Surely" We both grabbed our heads at the same time.



"Forget it, Israel. Suck it up and take care of my business. Now behave. Will's fixing me crepes. I do not want to be disturbed again."



Ray and I sagged against each other.



"So much for that idea." I sighed when the pain disappeared. "Go practice. I'll be down in a while. Then we can at least see what Flo and Richard have come up with."



Two hours later, we were still trying to escape from the house.



"Sienna, it sounds great. Doesn't it, Nathan?" I looked at Ray's friend who was just as anxious as I was to get this rehearsal over with. Nate was supposed to be taking Sienna out for a late dinner.



"The arrangement is brilliant. I swear the final notes still give me goose bumps and I've heard itWhat, Glory?seven, eight times tonight?"



"Ten, but who's counting?" I walked up to Ray who was sitting at the piano and put my hands on his shoulders. "Get us the hell out of here. Please?" Our silent communication was really handy in situations like this.



"Ray, I think the harmony on the second line of the chorus is wrong. Play it again." Sienna frowned at the sheet music in her hand. "No, move over. Let me play it."



Ray stood and slammed the lid shut on the grand piano. "No! I'm tapped out. It's perfect, Sienna. Has been perfect since Monday. Will you leave it the hell alone?"



"Excuse me?" Sienna didn't seem put off by what was the first temper tantrum I'd seen Ray throw. "I'll say when it's perfect. You just don't take this seriously, Ray." She tossed the sheet music into the air and turned on her heel. "Nathan, get me out of here. The big rock star is satisfied. Why am I bothering? I'll have my manager call the Grammy committee. I feel laryngitis coming on."



"Now, Sienna. Don't be foolish." Nathan shot Ray a look that said, "Apologize." Ray shook his head.



"You guys obviously need a little break. Why not just knock off for tonight and pick it up again early tomorrow night?" I ran to catch Ray as he headed for the front door. "Wait, baby, let's discuss this."



"Nights. What's that about?" Sienna was right behind Ray and almost shoved me out of her way. "You can't be bothered to wake up before the sun sets? I'm sick of your screwy schedule, Israel Caine. I may be younger and newer to the game, but I've got a string of hits, mister. My last single sat on the top of the charts a hell of lot longer than yours did." Oh, crap. Ray's back was rigid, and I could read his thoughts, a string of expletives that raised my eyebrows. Sienna was lucky he was determined to keep his vampire self under control, because he was really thinking about trying the rip-someone's-throatout method of venting fury. He turned slowly and the three of usSienna, Nathan and Ijumped back when we saw his face.



"Thank you so much for reminding me that I'm a washed-up has-been. Are you sure you want to share a stage with a loser like me? Oh, yeah, it was your agent who approached mine with the idea of this duet in the first place, wasn't it?" Ray's fists slowly unclenched.



"Ray, I, that was uncalled for. I know"



"Shut up, Sienna. I'm not through." I saw Ray's mouth working. I knew what he was doing. Trying to control his fangs. Yep, Sienna smelled delicious. Fresh, young and a nice A negative.



We all waited, afraid to speak.



"I haven't been taking this seriously. I have some other things on my mind." He reached out and I took his hand. "Glory understands. She's helping me through this I guess you'd call it withdrawal. Whatever. It's got me on my last nerve." I gave Sienna a "back off" look. "You're doing great, Ray. Don't be so hard on yourself."



"No, I owe Sienna an apology. Give me a week, and I promise I'll have my shit together and we can start again. There's still time." He looked at Sienna. "What do you think, Sienna?"



"I think I'm an idiot. I know you've just quit drinking. What a bad trip. Of course you're strung out. And you're doing it without rehab." Sienna shook her head. "A whole week. I, uh, that's tough, Ray. What if I just leave Austin until Monday. Ian's on location in Wyoming, shooting a picture. I'll surprise him with a visit, and maybe when I come back, you'll be ready to work again. Okay?"



"Call me then. If I can't pull it together, maybe we can get the Grammy people to schedule you for a solo instead of the duet." Ray grimaced when Nathan made a noise of protest. "Hey, she's just starting out, Nate. I've made my name. Besides, I'm pretty sure it won't come to that." He lifted my hand to his lips. "Right, Glory?"



"Right." Oh, God, I hoped I was telling the truth. I wrapped my arm around Ray's waist. This was costing him so much. The Grammy thing was huge for him. I'd heard Nathan talking to Barry about it. Ray's career needed the boost. But Aggie was about to ruin all that. Of course a career meant nothing if we were residing in the bowels of hell with Circe.



"Come on, let's get out of here. Sorry, Sienna. Glory and I like to go for a ride in the hills. Seems to clear my head. Maybe we'll go to her place. Doesn't matter. You and Nate have a nice dinner. Sorry for the meltdown." Ray pulled me out the front door before we had to listen to any more from either Sienna or Nate.



I let Ray help me into the Escalade. My jeans and sweater hadn't quite dried and I was anxious to get home to change. Would Flo and Richard be waiting for us? Or would they have snapped to the fact that Aggie didn't have them on a leash and they could gather up brother Casanova and head for parts unknown, leaving Ray and me to our fates?



"Wow. I never saw you go ballistic like that before, Ray."



"It happens." Ray patted my bottom. "You know, you might consider leaving some clothes here. Especially now that we're



'engaged.' I'm not objecting, but those jeans are definitely tighter than they were last night and they're still damp. Can't be comfortable."



"No kidding. But don't change the subject. Why'd you go off on Sienna like that?" Ray got in and started the car. "I'd reached my limit. Sienna goes over the same thing a zillion times. Changes something, then changes it back. When all I can think about is you, me and Will in that cage. Will and I taking turns being Aggie's boy toy before she hands us over to Circe." Ray drove through the iron gates and cameras flashed. They wouldn't get much, not with the dark tinted windows on the SUV, but I could hear shouted questions about a wedding date. Hmm, news travels fast. I should call Jerry before he read it somewhere. But I bet he had better things to do in Transylvania than hunt up an American tabloid.



I'd had no idea how really freaked-out Ray was by this whole Aggie business. I guess I'd dodged so many bullets myself through the centuries that I'd actually turned into an optimist. This time, though, I needed a search light to find the bright side of this situation.



"You okay today, Ray? You didn't get to feed much last night." I glanced at him as he drove fast through the hills toward my apartment.



"You think I don't know that? I had to fight the urge to take a bite out of Sienna, though for some reason Nate smelled really good to me." Ray grinned. "That would be totally weird though."



"He's a rare blood type. Only natural you'd crave a taste of it. I told you, his type is my personal favorite." I'd lusted after it myself. But as an older vampire, I actually could go a few days between feedings when I'd had the real deal like I'd had on Sixth Street. I needed to drink the synthetic way more frequently. So maybe that wasn't a particularly "green" way to go after all. Think of all those bottles I had to recycle. Okay, now I was rationalizing.



"Glory, did you hear me? I said I'm feeling really, um, thirsty. Either you've got to feed me for real this time instead of a puny little wrist snack, or we've got to hunt a mortal for me to drink from."



"Right. And it's got to be a hot girl."



"Well, sure. Why not?" Ray pulled into the alley behind my shop. He turned off the engine and we climbed out of the car.



"You are such a guy." I stood next to Ray, automatically looking around to make sure we were alone. "What if no hot girls are available?"