I eased away from Jerry's arms and turned to see Penny, followed by two burly shifters carrying boxes.
"Yes, that's Ray. Just finish up. Is that your last load? You only have a few hours until dawn, you know." I sounded like a snippy house mother, which I was at the moment.
"Yes, last load. Fellas, the boxes go back here. Follow me." Penny smiled at Jerry, gawked at Ray, then headed toward her bedroom.
Jerry and I just stood there silently, patiently waiting until the two men left and Penny had closed the door.
"Uh, hi, Mr. Blade." Penny flushed. "Sorry if I'm in the way here. I'll be working on my laptop." She held up earphones. "These are noise-cancelling. Top of the line. Going to my bedroom now. Music on. Loud." She headed toward the hall. " ' Night."
"Thanks, Penny. I'll explain about Ray tomorrow. I promise." I smiled at her gratefully. She really was incredibly bright. When she'd disappeared, her door closing with a click, Jerry moved away from me to sit on the coffee table near Ray's head.
"Now I'm going to prove just how much I love you, Gloriana." He bit his own wrist, then shoved it into Ray's mouth. "Drink, you sorry bastard. Drink and heal so you can get the hell out of here."
I stared at Jerry, my mouth open. As proof of love, this was a doozy. Jerry giving his life force to Ray. And of course Ray latched on. Jerry's ancient blood was irresistible. Ray gulped and swallowed, taking it in and healing, almost before our eyes. The cut on top of his head vanished and the circles under his eyes disappeared. He had his healthy tan back too, the tan he'd had when he'd been turned vampire. I dragged my gaze from that miracle to move behind Jerry, running my hands through his soft hair.
"Thank you. This means - "
"What I said. That I love you. That I'll do whatever it takes to prove that." He jerked his arm away from Ray, swearing as his skin ripped. He kept a hand on Ray's chest when Ray tried to go for another drink. "Cease your whining, Caine. You've had enough." He leaned down and stared into Ray's eyes, now bright and alert. "Sleep. When you wake up tomorrow night, you should be good as new. Whatever the hell that means to you."
To my astonishment, Ray meekly closed his eyes, apparently down for the count.
"You whammied him." I stepped back when Jerry rose and pushed the coffee table out of his way.
"Aye."
"I didn't think that was possible with another vampire. Especially one like Ray, who wouldn't want to do anything you ordered him to do." I glanced at Ray again, who was clearly sleeping peacefully.
"He's still weak, has enough of my blood in him to be susceptible to me, and no will to resist." Jerry scooped me into his arms and carried me toward my bedroom. "I'm hoping that last one applies to you as well."
"Wait a damned minute." Even I realized there was no heat behind my protest. I grabbed the doorframe as he stepped over the threshold, stopping us before he was actually inside the bedroom. I had to at least make a token attempt to slow this down.
Jerry grinned down at me. "You want me to leave? After I went against every instinct that said let the bleeding sod rot? I fed him for you, Gloriana. I'd hoped that would prove something to you."
"It proved, Jerry, that you like to make grand gestures. No news there." We both knew Ray would have healed on his own. Eventually. There was no need to bring that up.
"Can't say I wasn't impressed." I stroked his cheek. The roughness of his late-night beard was just another sign of his virility. He was so strong, so all male. I loved that about him. "But do you want me to fall into bed with you in gratitude? For saving Ray?"
"I'd take it." He laughed when I hit his chest. "For a start." He leaned down to kiss me in that hot and effortless way he had that curled my toes and made me grasp his hair. "But I imagine I could get you to invite me there for other reasons with a little time and persuasion."
"I'm too easy for you. You left me here crying your name." I punched him a little harder this time. He'd hurt me but not nearly as much as I'd hurt him when