if you two hadn't intervened, I was afraid she was going to go for it."
"This demon shit has got to end, Glory." Jerry reached over and took my hand.
"You think I don't want it to?" I sighed.
"This all goes back to Valdez." Jerry squeezed my hand.
"I'm still helping him, Jer. Besides, I don't think they'd let me back out now anyway. They seem to be having too much fun at my expense." I sighed and looked out the window at the dark night. "Take me home. I need to make sure Penny gets in all right."
"Fine." He took his hand back to the steering wheel.
I decided that it was past time for me to make some things clear with Jerry and this was one of them. Yes, I hated the demon thing, but I was going to have to resolve it myself. End of story. I just hoped none of my friends ended up as collateral damage.
Chapter Fifteen
"We need to talk." This time I said it and Jerry was the one making the face like "Here it comes."
"Fine. What do you want to talk about?" He brought me a bottle of synthetic and settled me on the couch. "I know you're still upset about what happened with Florence. So am I."
"Yes. The demons are out of control. I'm surprised they haven't approached you." I took a sip of the cold drink but it didn't help. My insides were still Jell-O.
"I think they sense that it would do them no good. They obviously poke about for vulnerabilities. I've learned to hide mine pretty well over the years." He sat beside me, his arm along the back of the couch.
"But you have some." I studied him in the dim light from the kitchen, the only light we'd turned on. Penny wasn't home yet, but I really didn't expect her until right before dawn. She still had two more hours.
"You, of course. And my family. I have that need to protect what I consider mine, you know." He met my gaze, his dark eyes serious. "I know you hate when I say that. The 'mine' thing."
"Yes, I do. I don't belong to anyone but myself." I sighed. "And you see that as me being difficult."
"Gloriana, I made you vampire. To me it's simple. I'm responsible for you. It's been bred into me not to shirk my responsibilities." He touched my cheek. "And then there's the fact that I love you. So I want to keep you safe. It's a strong need that I can't seem to deny. No matter how many roadblocks you throw in my path."
"I guess most women would be honored, would let you have at it." I sighed at the touch of his hand. "I just wish we could be together without complications."
"What you see as complications, I see as simply the way things should be." He tugged me closer. "You are so damned stubborn about this. Is it because of Valdez?"
"Don't put this on him. It's all about me. Because I have to be free to choose my own way. To fight demons by his side. Or make love with you." I threw out my hands. "Or even spend time with Ray if I wish."
"You ask a lot, Gloriana." Jerry withdrew his arm and stood. "I don't know if it's in me to share you like that."
"I know." I didn't cry, my eyes suddenly very dry as I felt that truth down to my toes. "I've always known, Jerry. But I don't want to lose you. So my wish is that you'll work on being less, uh, I hate this word, but controlling."
"That is a harsh word." He ran his fingers through his hair and walked around the coffee table to pace the length of the room. "But I learned to do it at an early age. It's what a commander must do to his troops."
"I'm not a troop." I leaned back, glad we could talk calmly about this.
"Of course not." He stopped, his back to the TV. "I'm trying to explain where my attitude came from. Da taught it to me as a boy. Along with the way the men in my family have always treated their women."
"Oh, yes. Don't get me started on that." I leaned forward. "You know your father isn't exactly a good role model for you. Your parents have been separated for more decades than they've been together. And when they're together, it's like being in the middle of a battlefield."