tapping Dawn’s picture. “She liked pain.”

Pam was surprised Eric had answered me, I could tell by her eyebrows. She seemed somehow obligated to follow his example. “I have seen both of them. I have never been with them. This one,” she flicked her finger at Maudette’s picture, “was a pathetic creature.”

“Thank you very much, that’s all of your time I need to take,” I said, and tried to turn to leave. But Bill still held my arm imprisoned.

“Bill, are you quite attached to your friend?” Eric asked.

It took a second for the meaning to sink in. Eric the Hunk was asking if I could be borrowed.

“She is mine,” Bill said, but he wasn’t roaring it as he had to the nasty vampires from Monroe. Nonetheless, he sounded pretty darn firm.

Eric inclined his golden head, but he gave me the once-over again. At least he started with my face.

Bill seemed to relax. He bowed to Eric, somehow including Pam in the gesture, backed away for two steps, finally permitting me to turn my back to the couple.

“Gee whiz, what was that about?” I asked in a furious whisper. I’d have a big bruise the next day.

“They’re older than I am by centuries,” Bill said, looking very vampirey.

“Is that the pecking order? By age?”

“Pecking order,” Bill said thoughtfully. “That’s not a bad way to put it.” He almost laughed. I could tell by the way his lip twitched.

“If you had been interested, I would have been obliged to let you go with Eric,” he said, after we’d resumed our seats and had a belt from our drinks.

“No,” I said sharply.

“Why didn’t you say anything when the fang-bangers came to our table trying to seduce me away from you?”

We weren’t operating on the same wave level. Maybe social nuances weren’t something vampires cared about. I was going to have to explain something that couldn’t really bear much explaining.

I made a very unladylike sound out of sheer exasperation.

“Okay,” I said sharply. “Listen up, Bill! When you came to my house, I had to invite you. When you came here with me, I had to invite you. You haven’t asked me out. Lurking in my driveway doesn’t count, and asking me to stop by your house and leave a list of contractors doesn’t count. So it’s always been me asking you. How can I tell you that you have to stay with me, if you want to go? If those girls will let you suck their blood—or that guy, for that matter—then I don’t feel I have a right to stand in your way!”

“Eric is much better looking than I am,” Bill said. “He is more powerful, and I understand sex with him is unforgettable. He is so old he only needs to take a sip to maintain his strength. He almost never kills any more. So, as vampires go, he’s a good guy. You could still go with him. He is still looking at you. He would try his glamor on you if you were not with me.”

“I don’t want to go with Eric,” I said stubbornly.

“I don’t want to go with any of the fang-bangers,” he said.

We sat in silence for a minute or two.

“So we’re all right,” I said obscurely.

“Yes.”

We took a few moments more, thinking this over.

“Want another drink?” he asked.

“Yes, unless you need to get back.”

“No, this is fine.”

He went to the bar. Eric’s friend Pam left, and Eric appeared to be counting my eyelashes. I tried to keep my gaze on my hands, to indicate modesty. I felt power tweaks kind of flow over me and had an uneasy feeling Eric was trying to influence me. I risked a quick peek, and sure enough he was looking at me expectantly. Was I supposed to pull off my dress? Bark like a dog? Kick Bill in the shins? Shit.

Bill came back with our drinks.

“He’s gonna know I’m not normal,” I said grimly. Bill didn’t seem to need an explanation.

“He’s breaking the rules just attempting to glamorize you after I’ve told him you’re mine,” Bill said. He sounded pretty pissed off. His voice didn’t get hotter and hotter like mine would have, but colder and colder.

“You seem to be telling everyone that,” I muttered. Without doing anything about it, I added silently.

“It’s vampire tradition,” Bill explained again. “If I pronounce you mine, no one else can try to feed on you.”

“Feed on me, that’s a delightful phrase,” I said sharply, and Bill actually had an expression of exasperation for all of