Free Should There Be (Vampire Assassin League) by Jackie Ivie Page A

Please?”
    “A 4-D team will be here momentarily, and you wish to be naked? Oh, no. That is not happening, my love.”
    My love?
    Her heart constricted at hearing it. From the most stunning man she’d ever seen? The man who’d turned her entire world upside down? In one day? And it was said with such a low tone, it seemed to hang in the air. She couldn’t find words to answer him.
    “You are mine, Lenna. Mine. No one is ever to see you as you are now.”
    “You go too fast, Rafaele. I—.”
    “Lenna, please. If you look at me that way, I cannot think. I wish only to return to your arms! I have waited so long. Centuries of time! You do not understand! And I waste time. I must go.”
    She gulped. Wow. The view was spectacular and the words he said were running a close second. She put up a hand.
    “Now what?” he asked.
    “You’ll…get mobbed.”
    “Nonsense.”
    He slid out the door before she could argue. Lenna sighed and scooted to the end of the booth, making it teeter with the movement of weight. They’d more than destroyed the room. There was even a chunk of tile missing from where the tanning beds had been secured to the floor. She’d retrieved her spare clothing, shoved them on, and was just finished when the door burst open. A bag came flying in, Rafaele right behind it. He slammed the door shut behind him, and then locked it. And then he was backing from it as if it might chase him, too.
    “Trouble?” Lenna asked. It was hard not to giggle.
    “Those women. They—!” His words cut off.
    “You get mobbed, did you?”
    “They do not take no for an answer. They blocked me. And they wished pictures of me. With me. Poses! They wanted me to pose with them. Or for them. You would not believe what they asked of me!”
    “Maybe you shouldn’t have stopped to talk to them.”
    “I couldn’t just fly off. They’d see.”
    “Aren’t you doing this rather brown?” Lenna shoved her sports bra and the destroyed pants into her bag, retrieved a comb, and worked at tangles without regard to pulling. She was angry with herself. She’d forgotten how dense he’d acted back before she’d attacked and then ravished him. Since then, she’d thought they’d gone past resorting to faked stupidity. It was a shame to think he’d still try it.
    “Brown?”
    “Come on, Rafe. Any guy who looks like you causes a stir. Women probably come out of the woodwork when you’re around. This can’t be abnormal. They probably need security for you to go anywhere in public.”
    “I am never in public.”
    “Right. And this never happens.”
    “It doesn’t. Oh. Except for…uh. I see what you mean. I have been out before. It has been a problem.”
    “How much time do I have?”
    “Before what?”
    “Your new fan club gets here. You know they’re chasing you. And they’re going to find you with me…and then they’ll get really angry. I’ll be lucky if I’m not escorted off the premises.”
    “What? Why?”
    “Still doing the innocent bit? Okay then. I’ll spell it out. You’re young. You’re gorgeous. You’re ripped. You’re a lot of man, and you just had to go and show it off by running around shirtless and sans jockstrap. Talk about presentation. You practically called them on.”
    “I did no such thing!”
    “Even if you didn’t dress like that on purpose, it wouldn’t take much. You’re the best looking thing to hit this club, and look. You’re with me. And they’re already jealous of me.”
    “They are?”
    “Women are jealous creatures, especially the older ones. Fitness clubs are full of them. So is my client list. I have to be very careful what I say and how I act. The beautiful ones are the worst. Some don’t age well. They work really hard and pay a lot of money to hang onto their youth and looks. Just wait. You’ll see. Here. You’ll need this.”
    She handed him her comb. He took it.
    “You want a mirror?”
    “Never use them.”
    “Okay. Now, I know you’re full of