Read Anita Blake 23 - Jason for Free Online

both believe that if we find other people, you’ll see it as delegating us to them. You won’t feel you have to date us, because we’ll be dating other people. We’ve seen you do it with others, Crispin included.”
    I thought about that for a moment. Was that true? Was my encouraging them to find other lovers a way of getting them out of my bed, if not my life?
    “I hadn’t realized I was doing that, but no one person, not even me, can truly date this many people. I can fuck, but I can’t do the emotional stuff, the cute stuff, the things that really make it a relationship; there just isn’t enough of me to go around like that. I’m feeling pressured by everyone to take care of them, and I’ve reached a limit. I can’t take care of this many people as intimately as most of you want me to, I just don’t know how to do that. I asked Jean-Claude and even he didn’t know how to have real relationships with this many people, and he’s been a ladies’ man, and a gentlemen’s man, for centuries.”
    “I hadn’t really thought about it from that perspective. I don’t think . . . no, I know I couldn’t date this many people, but they’re all metaphysically tied to you and Jean-Claude and Micah, and there’s no untying those bindings except by death,” Envy said.
    “Anita cut the tie between Jade and her first vampire master,” Domino said.
    “Yes, but Anita is the Mother of the Dawn, the Queen of Tigers; she breaks servant from master the way that the old Queen of All Darkness did. Even the Queen never broke bonds between herself and any of her own servants,” she said.
    “So short of death or a metaphysical miracle, the bonds between Anita and all of us are immobile, unbreakable,” Jason said.
    “Yes,” Envy said.
    “I’m saying here out loud today that I can’t cope with this many people, not and do a good job of dating them, caring for all their needs. Hell, if I hadn’t been metaphysically screwed over, I wouldn’t have chosen most of the people I’m having sex with, not that it’s not great sex,” I said, kissing Domino on the cheek, “but it’s like I’m suddenly insanely attracted to people I don’t have much in common with, so the sex is mind-blowing, but the conversation in between not so much.”
    “The
ardeur
is like a date-rape drug that doesn’t go away,” Envy said.
    “Not my favorite analogy, but yeah,” I said.
    “But this drug affects both parties,” Jason said.
    “Not always. I talked about it with Jean-Claude, and the originator of the
ardeur
as a vampire ability, Belle Morte, was never affected by it; she was more like a contagion.”
    “Beautiful Death,” I said, “making people sick with desire.”
    “More like addicts,” Jason said.
    Nathaniel and I nodded. “
Addicted to love
isn’t just a song lyric,” I said.
    I turned to Domino. “Do you crave me like that? I mean, do the others who have found other lovers jones after sex with me like a junkie?”
    “Sometimes.”
    I felt terrible then.
    “Wait, but Anita doesn’t crave them the same way, or she wouldn’t have to ask that question.”
    “When the
ardeur
first came for me I had almost no control over it, so I was bound as tight as the people I fed on, but I got more control of it and I could protect myself from falling in love.”
    “I got here too late,” Domino said, and kissed me again to take some of the sting out of the words.
    “I’m sorry,” I said.
    Nathaniel leaned in from the other side and kissed my cheek. “I’m glad I got here early.”
    “It’s not just the
ardeur
, Anita. I’ve known you longer than Nathaniel, and I was around when the
ardeur
rose, but we’re not in love, or addicted to each other,” Jason said.
    “You were terrified of being consumed by love, and when you became my wolf to call, I sort of incorporated that into the mix, so we were both more free of the emotional stuff, or that’s what Jean-Claude thinks made the difference.”
    Jason nodded.