My Goddess

"He'll be away for days, from the peeks of it," the vampire added, gazing at me closely. "Still, I visualize whoever he was enjoyed the ride—both on you and to hell." He bestowed me a sluggish smile, simply completely disclosing his pointed teeth.

"He must have been somebody pretty nice for you to glance as hot as you do presently. What transpired? I guessed you just fucked the scum of the earth. The real assholes."

"Change of strategy. I didn't like to lend you erroneous hope." He nodded his head favorably. "Oh Katharina, you

never disappoint—you and your witticisms. But also, I've often found whores know how to make reasonable use of their mugs, on or off the job."

"Let go," I growled, jerking harder at the entrance.

"Why the rush? I have a right to comprehend what you and the imp were doing over here. The Eastside is my turf."

"We don't have to dwell by your 'turf' regulations, and you know it."

"Still, common cordiality enacts when you're in the neighborhood—literally, in this case—you at least say hello.

Moreover, how come we never associate? You owe me some quality moment. You use sufficient time with those other losers."

The losers he inferred to were my pals and the only reasonable vampires I'd ever confronted. Most vampires—like Guane— were proud, devoid of social abilities, and obsessed with territoriality. Not unlike a plenty of mortal men I'd encountered.

"If you don't allow me to go, you're going to know an entire modern description of 'common courtesy.'"

Okay, it was a crazy, fake action-movie line, but it was the nicest I could rise up with on the situation. I made my mouthpiece tone as menacing as possible, but it was real bravado, and he understood it.

Succubi were gifted with allure and shape-shifting; vampires had extraordinary power and velocity. What this meant was that one of us hung out better at clubs, and the other could crack a man's wrist with a handshake.

"Are you really terrifying me?" He rode a playful hand along my cheek, bringing about the furs on My inlet stand on end —in a horrible way. I shivered.

"That's delightful. And kind of arousing. I certainly think I'd love to detect you on the offensive. Possibly if you'd simply behave like a decent girl—ow! You small bitch!"

With both of his hands inhabited, I had confiscated my window of opportunity. A sudden spurt of shape-shifting, and pointed, three-inch paws emerged on my right hand. I filch them across his cheek.

His improved reflexes didn't allower me get relatively distant with the indication, but I did pulled out blood before he clasped my wrist and banged it against the car.

"What's the problem? Not offensive suitable for you?" I supervised through my discomfort. Additional horrible film lines.

"Cute, Katharina. Extremely cute. We'll glimpse how charming you are by the time I—"

Headlights glimmered in the dusk as a vehicle swiveled the intersection on the following block and presided toward us. In that rift second, I could discern the uncertainty on Guane's countenance.

Our tête-à-tête would surely be noted by the motorist. While Guane could handily slay an intervening mortal—hell, it was what he worked for a living—having the kill linked to his harassment of me would not look decent to our masters.

Even an asshole like Guane would reckon twofold before messing up that sort of paperwork.

"We aren't finalized," he sizzled, discharging my wrist. "Oh, I guess we are." I could feel braver now that

redemption was on the path. "The next time you come near me's leaving to be the last."

"I'm tremoring in anxiety," he simpered. His stares glinted once in the twilight, and then he was gone, walking off into the dusk simply as the car drove ahead.

Thank God for whatever affair or ice cream run had yanked that driver out tonight.

Not consuming any extra time, I got into my car and drove off, worried to be back in the town. I strived to resist the shivering of my hands on the spin, but the reality was, Guane frightened me.

I had confided him off plenty of times in the dignity of my undying friends, but grabbing him on lonely on a gray street was a completely different issue, particularly since all my menaces had been vacant ones.

I certainly abhorred turmoil in all its aspects. I presume this arrived from residing through times of history fraught with categories of savagery and animality no one in the recent world could even understand. People like to declare we dwell in vicious periods presently, but they have no notion.

Specifically, there had existed an actual achievement centuries back in glimpsing a rapist castrated swiftly and rapidly for his violations, without extensive courtroom theater or an early release for "good behavior."

Unfortunately, those who struggle in retribution and vigilantism barely realize where to drag the line, so I'd grab the bureaucracy of the recent judicial policy any day.

Reckoning back to how I'd supposed the advantageous motorist was on an ice cream race, I agreed on a tiny dessert would do me some good also. Once I was safely back in Seattle, I

stopped in a 24-hour grocery shop, finding some commerce mastermind had established tiramisu-flavored ice cream. Tiramisu and ice cream. The originality of mortals never declined to astonish me.

As I was about to pay, I enacted an exhibit of bouquets. They were inexpensive and a little tattered, but I stared as a young man entered and nervously surveyed them over.

At last he chose some autumn-colored mums and hauled them off. My sights observed him wistfully, half-jealous of whatever girl would be reaping those.

As Guane had remarked, I usually fed off losers, men I didn't have to feel regretful about hurting or rendering oblivious for a few days. Those aspect did not convey flowers and usually averted vastly sentimental gestures totally.

As for the guys who did send flowers, well, I prevented them. For their own good. That was out of personality for a succubus, but I was extremely jaded to care about decency anymore.

Feeling awful and alone, I picked up a bouquet of red carnations for myself and reimbursed for it and the ice cream.

When I reached home, my phone was ringing. Setting down my interests, I stared at the Caller-ID. Caller unknown. "My lord and superior," I retorted. "What an excellent

halting to an excellent night."

"Save your gags, Georgie. Why were you fucking with Guane?"

"Jake, I—what?"

"He just phoned. Let out you were overly hassling him." "Hassling? Him?" Outrage spurted inside me. "He began

it! He arose to me and—"

"Did you whack him?"

"I…"

"Did you?"

I sough. Jake was the archdemon of the tremendous Seattle hierarchy of evil, as well as my administrator. It was his duty to oversee all of us, make sure we performed our obligations, and maintain us in line. Like

any sluggish monster, nonetheless, he liked

we establish as slight job for him as possible. His bitterness was nearly noticeable through the phone line.

"I did sort of whack him. Certainly, it was more of a swipe."

"I recognize. A swipe. And did you jeopardize him too?"

"Well, yes, I guess, if you need to contend semantics, but Jake, come on! He's a vampire. I can't fondle him. You know that."

The archdemon faltered, seemingly evaluating the effect of me moving head-to -head with Guane. I must have relinquished in the theoretical assault because I learned Jake puff a moment later.

"Yes. I suppose. But don't aggravate him anymore. I've got plenty to work on right now without you kids having cat fights."

"Since when perform you work?" Children undoubtedly.

"Good night, Georgie. Don't tangle with Guane again." The phone detached. Demons weren't huge on minor

conversation.

I hung up, feeling highly offended. I couldn't speculate Guane had tattled on me and then made me out to be the terrible guy. Horrible, Jake appeared to have speculated it. At least at first.

That possibly weaken me most of all because, my slacker-succubus manners aside, I'd constantly liked a sort of indulgent, instructor's pet role with the archdemon.

Aiming comfort, I held up the ice cream off to my chamber, removing my garments for an adaptable nightdress. Kinny, my cat, strutted up from where she'd been dozing at the hoof of my bed and spanned. Solid white recoup for some ebony spots on her forehead, she winked green eyes at me in welcoming.

"I can't go to bed," I said to her, impeding a yawn. "I have to read first."

I coddled with the pint and my book, recollecting then how I'd ultimately be meeting my special writer at the signing tomorrow. Gabriel Loftbrok's story constantly communicated to me, arousing something inside I hadn't just learned was asleep.

His recent publication, The Glasgow Pact, couldn't alleviate grief guilt I felt over what had occurred with Frank, but it replenished a hurting chasm in me anyway. I wondered that mortals, living so brief a moment, could develop such incredible stuff.

"I never built anything when I was a human," I confided Kinny when I'd completed five pages.

She caressed against me, purring sympathetically, and I had barely sufficient dignity of senses to plop the ice cream away before plunging back into bed and falling asleep.