Hot Blooded

up and
down like a roller coaster. Yes, he was happy he and Mariann had finally
connected, but he couldn't fight his sense of waiting for the other shoe to
drop. Would the gods grow jealous and yank her away? Could someone like him
deserve to be content?
    Screw deserving it, he thought. He'd take what he wanted and be damned.
    Emile broke into his distraction. "Bastien," he called. "It's time to get
underground."
    He waited by the entrance to their retreat, a cleverly fashioned boulder that
swung around on a pivot to reveal a flight of black granite stairs. In case this
camouflage was not enough, magic also hid the opening from human eyes, runes so
old their origins were lost in myth. Bastien had inscribed them reluctantly.
Experience had taught him to be mistrustful of magic's power.
    "I'm coming," he said and descended behind his friend.
    He gave his shoulders a shake. No doubt the dawn was aggravating his
moodiness.
    As soon as his head was clear of the door, an electric eye instructed it to
swing shut. Just as convenient were the tiny lights set into the stairway's
arched ceiling. Arranged to resemble the constellations, their low illumination
was perfect for
upyr
eyes. The electricians had done a marvelous job,
as had all his builders. Bastien regretted that he had to thrall their memories
when they were done. Proficiency like theirs deserved to be recalled.
    Then again, it was Bastien's power—and Bastien's bite—that had spurred them
to their best. Nothing like a dose of blood-enhanced
upyr
mind power to
keep your hired hands in line.
    Once they stepped off the long stairs, a handsome Indian carpet lined the
tunnel's heart-of-pine floor. Despite the obligatory lack of windows, the
twelve-foot ceilings made the passage appear spacious. With the ease of long
acquaintance, Emile and Bastien's footsteps fell into synchrony.
    "This place is great," Emile crowed as he often did upon coming home. "Much
more comfortable than Ulric's cave."
    Though true, the reminder of Bastien's exile increased the leadenness in his
gut. His legs temporarily refused to go on.
    "She's the one," he announced hollowly.
    Emile stopped a second after he did. "The one what?"
    "My queen. Mariann is my queen. She makes me want to claim my destiny."
    Emile snorted and resumed walking.
    Bastien hastened to catch up. "You think I'm delusional."
    "I think you're the slowest
upyr
I ever met. You should have claimed
your kingship centuries ago."
    "You of all people know why I can't."
    "I know why you believe you can't. My opinion diverges."
    Emile was probably the only
upyr
alive who could contradict him with
impunity. Even with their long friendship, Bastien's hands balled into angry
fists. "If I can't win her—"
    "Yes, I know," Emile sighed, "you'll throw yourself off a cliff."
    His condescension made Bastien grab his arm. To his annoyance, Emile's eyes
were laughing when he spun around. "How can I win her when I can't tell her who
I am?"
    "Today you can't tell her. Next month or next year may be a different story."
Emile rubbed his arm as Bastien released it. "Leave it to time and nature. Be
satisfied you made a start."
    "She does like me," Bastien said, his memory of her smile making him bounce
on his toes. "More than I thought. But maybe I rushed her. She hasn't been
divorced very long. Maybe I took advantage of her loneliness."
    "
Mon Dieu
!" Emile exclaimed, forking his hands through his hair.
"All's fair, you idiot. How do you think people fall in love?"
    "I don't know," Bastien said, taken aback by Emile's ire. "I've never tried
to do it before."
    "Pah. You are a shame to your countrymen. I don't know why I stay friends
with you."
    This time Bastien knew Emile was teasing. He slung his arm around the other's
shoulder. "You stay friends with me because you love me… almost as much as I
love the fair Mariann."
    "Oh, no." Emile shook his head. "The good Lord save me from that!"

----
Chapter 4
    Â« ^ »
    ROUND about two in the afternoon, once Heather's tattooed boyfriend had
loaded their last delivery into his van, Mariann was ready to call it a day.
    Heather and Eric had been full of giggles, chasing each other around the lot
like kids. Their antics made her smile in spite of her fatigue. She'd gotten
through her work on automatic pilot, luck and experience all that kept her from
culinary catastrophe. Her thoughts had been too occupied with Bastien to try for
more.
    She could