I stood in awe as we entered. William bowed at the waist and waved his arms in a sweeping gesture.
“Welcome to the Roman Pool,” he said.
I scanned the room, watching the light bounce off of what seemed to be one million small, square blue glass tiles. The blue seemed a shade deeper juxtaposed against similar sized gold tiles that formed a border on the walls. The tiles shimmered in the dim light of the lamps that illuminated the room. The blue also made the water of the pool look deep, endless.
As I walked further into the room, I noticed a tray sitting in one corner; it held a small bowl of fruit, a bottle of Champagne and two glasses.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked, stepping in close to whisper in my ear. I nodded and soon had a flute of Champagne in my hands.
“What did you mean about waiting for me?” I asked. “The last time we spoke you made it clear you didn’t approve of what I was doing.”
William crossed the room, returning the champagne bottle to the tray.
“I may have mixed feeling about you chasing after gangsters and meddling in the affairs of humans, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you. You were injured in the robbery, almost blinded. Did you really think I wouldn’t have an opinion?” he asked, taking a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from a small backpack he had carried into the castle with him. “You seem to think I’m not entitled to have a view on things, and then, as usual, before we could really discuss it, you just gave up and threw me out.”
“I didn’t see the point,” I said, trying to hold my quivering chin up high. “How can I be with a man who won’t support my work?”
“Darlin, that is overly dramatic, even for you,” he said, laughing. “And of course untrue. But I am curious, is that why you were planning to have dinner with that reporter?”
William, it seemed, knew more about my activities then I realized.
“Why not?” I said, but with half the defiance I intended. “He’s human. He likes politics. Seemed like a good start to me.”
If a rulebook existed for how to deal with vampires, the first piece of advice would probably be not to provoke one when they’re feeling possessive. William quickly came to stand in front of me and grabbed my chin in his hand.
“Yes, but does he know you and Gabriel like to fix the races?” he asked, his voice low and angry. “Were you going to tell him what you do for a living, or would you have him believe you are especially lucky in your career?”
He was right, of course. I would not have shared my secrets with JP, at least not right away. The truth was that I had no interest in having a relationship with him. I wanted to say as much, but found myself mute, unable to reply.
“Were you planning on leaving with him tonight?”
I nodded.
“Did you plan on sleeping with him?”
Without thinking, my hand came around and slapped William square in the face.
“You bastard,” I said. “Why would you ask me something so insulting?”
William rubbed his cheek, a look of satisfaction on his face.
“I warned you about friendships with vampires. Did you really think that I would let you into my life, my inner circle, and then let some human man come in and walk away with you?”
I didn’t reply. Instead I scanned the room for a ladder to get into the pool. I needed to cool down. Unfortunately, Hearst’s pool was ten feet deep everywhere but at the far end, where a small wading area had been created. I turned toward the shallow end.
“Let’s swim,” I said, walking toward the water.
William blocked my path. “Let me help you out of your dress,” he said, reaching around to unzip the back of my black sheath, then letting it fall to the floor.
Very suddenly I was wearing nothing but black lace boy shorts, a matching bra and heels. William came around and ran a finger under one bra strap pulling it down around my arm.
“There you go, walking away again, but I want to finish our discussion. I saw the way he was looking at you, Olivia,” he purred, and then he slipped his finger under the other strap and pulled it down, exposing my breast. Slowly, he ran his thumb across my nipple and then leaned in closer. “There is no man alive