Real Vampires: Glory Does Vegas by Bartlett, Gerry (white hot kiss TXT) 📕

in here. One bathroom. The shower is small. Not enough room for two.” I had a pile of dirty clothes in one corner, topped by the sheets I’d taken off yesterday. Clean sheets on my double bed now. That was a good thing. I heard a clang and turned in time to see Jerry drop his sword on top of the sheets. Then he pulled me into his arms.

“Glory, please. Help me understand.” He held me, kissing my neck where blood throbbed beneath my skin. “I love you. I want us to be together. What can I do to make this happen?”

“I love you, too. I want us to be together. But tonight I met more evidence of how you take other women into your bed with no thought of how that hurts me.” I pushed back and sat on the side of the bed. I was so tired. Tired of this fight, tired of working so hard to get him to understand. Tired of my own frustrations.

“You’re right. When I bed another woman, I’m only thinking of how fucking her will ease my needs. I do have needs. You obviously are quite content to go without sex for long periods of time. I, I am not.” He sat beside me and took my hand.

“Have you tried, Jeremiah? Because I’m telling you right now that it will take me about two more years to get the money together for the shop I plan to open. I’ve been doing research and have settled on the best location for it. I will be going to Texas, the city of Austin. The rent is cheap there and the demand for my kind of goods is strong.” I stared at a hat I had on a stand on my dressing table. Vintage, one of the pieces I would sell in a place that I’d looked up on the Internet.

Jerry fell back on the bed. “Two years? You were serious when you said it will take you that long?”

“I won’t go without adequate funds. That’s how businesses get in trouble. Do you agree with that?” I looked down at him, so handsome in his kilt and white shirt. He’d tossed his fancy green jacket on top of his sword and kicked off his dress shoes.

“Yes, it’s true.” He covered his eyes with his arm. Thinking about two years like I was asking the impossible. It was ridiculous. Compared to the decades we’d known each other, centuries, a mere pair of years was nothing.

He sat up. “Austin, Texas. You’re sure?”

“There’s a huge state university in Austin and students love vintage clothes. I have my eye on a part of town that will be suitable. No state income tax either, I like that. I’ve even found a friend who lives there. You remember CiCi?”

“The Countess? Da knew her first. Yes, she’s a good friend.” He picked up my hand. “You wouldn’t be alone there. That’s good.” He hit our joined hands on his knee. “You’ve really thought about this. I suppose I should investigate this Austin as well.”

“That’s entirely up to you.” I faced him and made sure he was looking into my eyes. “Because I have a condition, Jeremiah. If we are to be together, really together, then I want a promise from you.”

“Why am I feeling dread in the pit of my stomach?” He let go of my hand and stood. “What do you want from me, Gloriana? I have said I love you. What else must I do?”

“Promise me you will be celibate during these two years.” I saw his eyes widen. “Certainly, you may come see me when your needs overwhelm you. I am only asking you to give up your other women, not sex entirely. Prove to me you can be faithful. Can you do that?” I was literally holding my breath, the breathing that I didn’t need any more. How much did he love me? Could he promise such a thing?

He paced the small area, kicking aside an empty Cheetos bag. He ran his hand through his hair and even cursed, using a word he normally avoided around me, a lady.

“You don’t like me much, do you, Gloriana?” He stopped and fell to his knees then grabbed both my hands. “I mean it. Asking me this shows how little you think of the man I have become—selfish, uncaring, and interested only in my own wants and needs.”

“Jeremiah.” I didn’t know what to say. I certainly couldn’t deny it. “You have to be strong. Have always had to be strong as a warrior and leader of men. Even in these modern times you carry big responsibilities. I understand that requires you to focus on leading above all else. I’m asking you to think about my feelings first for a change. My wants and needs.” I paused. Was I worth denying his masculine urges? When he didn’t say anything, I sighed.

“I hate being so needy, but when you share your body with another woman, it’s an intimacy that I want you to have only with me.” Did he really understand me?

“Intimacy. That’s a woman’s word.” He let go of my hands and sat on the bed again. “Gloriana, men don’t think that way.” He looked into my eyes. “What you’re asking…”

“Is non-negotiable. No sex of any kind with other women until we meet in Austin in two years’ time. Am I worth it to you? Do you love me that much?”

He took me into his arm. “You are worth everything to me, Gloriana St. Clair. I have never loved a woman like I love you and am sure I never will.” He kissed me then. When he pulled back, he finally said the words I’d needed to hear.

“I will be with no other woman until we meet again in this benighted Austin.” He threw off his shirt. “Texas? You would pick a state that refuses to allow legalized gambling. That’s one of the ways I make my living, you know.”

I stood, my hand