Sucker Punch (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter #27) - Laurell K. Hamilton Page 0,174

some of my brothers, then it’s just more family to love.”

Olaf parked in front of the police station and turned off the engine. I was already reaching for the door handle when he asked, “And do you truly love them as you love Anita?”

“No, I’m in love with her. I love some of the men like brothers and some as friends.”

“What of the women in your poly group who are still back in St. Louis?”

Nicky grinned, but it was more a baring of teeth, like the reminder that he had sharper ones in his other forms. “Most of them are afraid of me, so no, I don’t love any of them.”

“What about sex with them?”

“See the first answer: They’re afraid of me. And none of them likes rough sex or bondage, so what’s the point?”

“Even Angel and Petra?”

Fuck, I thought.

“I don’t love either of them,” Nicky said.

“Have you had sex with them?” Olaf asked.

I wanted to get out of the car, but was afraid the conversation wouldn’t stop, and then I wouldn’t be here to know what answers Nicky had given. I might need to know both the answers and Olaf’s reactions to those answers, so I stayed. Damn it.

“I’ve had sex with Angel.”

“And?” Olaf said.

“And Anita is very uncomfortable with this line of questioning,” Nicky said.

“Does that mean you won’t answer or cannot answer me?”

“It means that Anita would have to tell me she’s okay with me answering.”

I looked longingly at the sheriff’s station; it was right there. There were clues to see, but I knew Olaf wouldn’t leave this question alone. Since both women were being set up as bait, it seemed like it was a question that would have to be answered. Oh, hell.

“Does Angel know who and what I am?” Olaf asked.

That made me turn and look at him. “She knows.”

“And yet she is still flirting with me.”

I nodded.

“How rough does she like her bondage?”

I fought not to squirm or blush and failed on the second part. It made Olaf smile, and I glared at him. I started to get angry and welcomed it. It was so much better than embarrassment. “Not as rough as you do.” My voice was thick with anger, my skin warm with it.

He undid his seat belt so he could turn and look more fully at Nicky in the backseat. “But she is rough enough to satisfy you?”

“In a group scene with Anita involved, yes.”

The blush that had been fading flared back to life. “And we are done talking about this topic,” I said.

Olaf stared at me with his eyes lost behind the dark sunglasses, but the intensity of his attention was still like weight on my skin. “If we are to date each other, Adler, I need to know certain things.”

“He can ask them when you’re not around, Anita,” Nicky said.

“No, if you’re going to answer, then I need to know what’s said, I think.”

“Even if it makes you incredibly uncomfortable?”

“Even if,” I said, and just like that, I got myself under control. It was just another kind of bravery, and I would be brave, damn it.

“Ask,” Nicky said.

“Do you only have sex with the other women with Anita present?” Olaf said.

“With Angel, yes.”

“What of Petra?”

“She’s one of the ones who’s afraid of me and doesn’t like it rough.”

“So, you haven’t had sex with her?”

“No.”

“Okay, we’re done, right? We have a clue waiting for us, remember?” I said, and reached for the door handle.

“One more question,” Olaf said.

I actually rested my forehead against the window glass. “What?” I asked, and sounded tired even to myself.

“Anita must enjoy sex and bondage rough enough to satisfy you, but does she enjoy it rough enough for me?”

“For me, she’s great,” Nicky said. “Our kinks match up really well.”

“After seeing your videos, I’m surprised that Anita would agree to it.”

“My videos were mostly about work, about being scary enough to make people believe my old lion pride’s threat was good, or as an advertisement to what we could do for prospective customers. The stuff that Anita wouldn’t survive without scars or worse was torture to gain information or to make a business point. That’s what I meant earlier when I said that I enjoyed the interrogation only up to a point. After that point, it was just work.”

I sat there trying to go to that static, white-noise, empty part of me so that I wouldn’t care that a man I was in love with was saying such terrible things. I knew what Nicky was,