Guilty Pleasures: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel by Hamilton Laurell K

Author:Hamilton, Laurell K. [Hamilton, Laurell K.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2002-09-23T16:00:00+00:00

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.

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