Read Online From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris - Free Book Online Page A

as though Quinn has you booked.”
    “That was mean.”
    “It’s Quinn who’s cruel, promising you he’d be here and then not keeping his word.” There was a dark element in Eric’s voice, an undertone of anger.
    “Do you know what’s happened to him?” I asked. “Do you know where he is?”
    There was a significant silence. “No,” Eric said very gently. “I don’t know. But there is someone in town who wants to meet you. I promised I would arrange it. I’d like to take you to Shreveport myself.”
    So this wasn’t a date date.
    “You mean that guy Jonathan? He came to the wedding and introduced himself. I’ve got to say, I didn’t much care for the guy. No offense, if he’s a friend of yours.”
    “Jonathan? What Jonathan?”
    “I’m talking about the Asian guy; he’s maybe Thai? He was at the Bellefleur wedding last night. He said he wanted to see me because he was staying in Shreveport and he’d heard a lot about me. He said he’d checked in with you, like a good little visiting vampire.”
    “I don’t know him,” Eric said. His voice was much sharper. “I’ll ask here at Fangtasia to see if anyone has seen him. And I’ll prompt the queen about your money, though she is . . . not herself. Now, will you please do what I’m asking you to do?”
    I made a face at the telephone. “I guess,” I said. “Who’m I meeting? And where?”
    “I’ll have to let the ‘who’ remain a mystery,” Eric said. “As to where, we’ll go to dinner at a nice restaurant. The kind you’d call casual dressy.”
    “You don’t eat. What will you do?”
    “I’ll introduce you and stay as long as you need me to.”
    A crowded restaurant should be all right. “Okay,” I said, not very graciously. “I’ll get off work about six or six thirty.”
    “I’ll be there to pick you up at seven.”
    “Give me till seven thirty. I need to change.” I knew I sounded grumpy, and that was exactly how I felt. I hated the big mystery around this meeting.
    “You’ll feel better when you see me,” he said. Dammit, he was absolutely right.

Chapter 4
    I checked my Word of the Day calendar while I was waiting for my hair-straightening iron to heat up. “Epicene.” Huh.
    Since I didn’t know what restaurant we were going to, and I didn’t know who we’d meet there, I picked my most comfortable option and wore a sky blue silk T-shirt that Amelia had said was too big for her, and some black dress slacks with black heels. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry, so a gold chain and some little gold earrings did the decorating for me. I’d had a tough day at work, but I was too curious about the evening ahead to feel tired.
    Eric was on time, and I felt (surprise) a rush of pleasure when I saw him. I don’t think that was entirely due to the blood bond between us. I think any heterosexual woman would feel a rush of pleasure at the sight of Eric. He was a tall man and must have been seen as a giant in his time. He was built to swing a heavy sword to hew down his enemies. Eric’s golden blond hair sprang back like a lion’s mane from a bold forehead. There was nothing epicene about Eric, nothing ethereally beautiful, either. He was all male.
    Eric bent to kiss me on the cheek. I felt warm and safe. This was the effect Eric had on me now that we’d swapped blood more than three times. The blood sharing hadn’t been for pleasure but a necessity—at least I’d thought so—every time, but the price I paid was steep. We were bonded now, and when he was near, I was absurdly happy. I tried to enjoy the sensation, but knowing it wasn’t completely natural made that hard to do.
    Since Eric had come in his Corvette, I was extra glad I’d worn pants. Getting into and out of a Corvette modestly was a very difficult procedure if you were wearing a dress. I made small talk on the way to Shreveport, but Eric was uncharacteristically silent. I tried to question him about Jonathan, the mysterious vampire at the wedding, but