"Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake 10 - Narcissus Chains" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

hadn't seen them, in the flesh anyway. I had returned no phone calls. I had
run for the hills at the first hint of cologne. Why such drastic measures?
Frankly, because almost every time I saw them, I fell off the chastity wagon.
They both had my libido, but I was trying to decide who had my heart. I still
didn't know. The only thing I had decided was that it was time to stop hiding.
I had to see them and figure out what we were all going to do. I'd decided two
weeks ago that I needed to see them. It was the day that I refilled my
birth-control pill prescription, and started taking it again. The very last
thing I needed was a surprise pregnancy. That the first thing I thought of
when I thought of Richard and Jean-Claude was to go back on birth control
tells you something about the effect they had on me.
You needed to be on the pill for at least a month to be safe, or as safe as
you ever got. Four more weeks, five to be sure, then I'd call. Maybe.
I heard Ronnie's heels running on the gravel. "Anita, Anita, wait, don't be
angry."
The thing was, I wasn't angry with her. I was angry with me. Angry that
after all these months I still couldn't decide between the two men. I stopped
walking and waited for her, huddled in my little black skirt outfit, the
little foil swan in my hands. The night had turned cool enough to make me wish
I'd worn a jacket. When Ronnie caught up with me I started walking again.
"I'm not mad, Ronnie, just tired. Tired of you, my family, Dolph,
Zerbrowski, everyone being so damned judgmental." My heels hit the sidewalk
with sharp clacks. Jean-Claude had once said he could tell if I was angry just
by the sound of my heels on the floor. "Watch your step. You're wearing higher
heels than I am." Ronnie was five feet eight, which meant with heels she was
nearly six feet.
I was wearing two-inch heels, which put me at five five. I get a much
better workout when Ronnie and I jog together than she does.
The phone was ringing as I juggled the key and the foil-wrapped leftovers.
Ronnie took the leftovers, and I shoved the door open with my shoulder. I was
running across the floor in my high heels before I remembered that I was on
vacation. Which meant whatever emergency was calling at 2:05 in the morning
was not my problem, not for another two weeks at least. But old habits die
hard, and I was at the phone before I remembered. I actually let the machine
pick up while I stood there, heart pounding. I was planning on ignoring it,
but ... but I still stood ready to grab the receiver just in case.
Loud, booming music, and a man's voice. I didn't recognize the music, but I
recognized the voice. "Anita, it's Gregory. Nathaniel's in trouble."
Gregory was one of the wereleopards I'd inherited when I killed their
alpha, their leader. As a human, I wasn't really up to the job, but until I
found a replacement, even I was better than nothing. Wereanimals without a
dominant to protect them were anyone's meat, and if someone moved in and
slaughtered them, it would sort of be my fault. So I acted as their protector,
but the job was more complicated than I'd ever dreamed. Nathaniel was the
problem. All the others were rebuilding their lives since their old leader had
been killed, but not Nathaniel. He'd had a hard life: abused, raped, pimped
out, and topped. Topped meant he'd been someone's slave тАУ as in sex and pain.
He was one of the few true submissives I'd ever met, though, admittedly, my
pool of acquaintance was limited.
I cursed softly and picked up the phone. "I'm here, Gregory, what's