I stared at my feet, not believing what I was about to say. “You have to go because she’s the Queen of Vampires and because Roman’s my sire, and because . . . because . . . I don’t want to have to tell her no.” Glancing up at her through my eyelashes, I tried for a grin.
She narrowed her brow, tilting her head. “You have got to be kidding.” Then, with a long breath, she dropped the half-dozen outfits that were in her hands. “Fine. Okay, just fine. But you, my love, are going to be responsible for picking out an outfit for me.”
I was about to protest when she shook her head. “Don’t even try to get out of this.”
Meekly, I acquiesced, shuffling over. I had to figure out my own outfit, as well. Roman had specified that the meeting was a formal affair. I wasn’t about to stint Blood Wyne her due. I glanced through our closets. We couldn’t share clothes—I was far smaller and shorter than Nerissa, so we never had the option to borrow outfits. Clubbing clothes were out, as were professional suits. Jeans? Not in a million years.
Finally, in the back of her closet, I spied a gown. It had a halter top and was a vivid shade of cobalt blue. The skirt flowed out into a gossamer swirl of layers varying from the same cobalt to a pale ice blue. Faint threads of gold wound through the different hues, with just enough sparkle to transform the gown from pretty to exquisite.
“This is gorgeous. When did you get this?” I hung it on a hook on the closet door and began to rummage through her shoes. Her peep-toe gold metallic slingbacks would match perfectly.
She stared at the gown, a soft, sad smile crossing her face. “I wore that to the last party my great-aunt Lucy threw before she died. The aunt who left me the money that I bought the condo with. I loved her, you know. She was a good woman, and for a human to be able to integrate with the Pride is rare. They never fully accepted her, but she won over more than a few of them.”
“She must have cared a great deal for you.” I hadn’t asked Nerissa all that much about her family. We’d had a few long conversations, but overall, Nerissa had been reticent on her affiliations with the Puma Pride. For one thing, they hated vampires and had all but pushed her out because of her relationship with me.
Nerissa laid out the dress on the bed, then rummaged through her dresser for a strapless, low-back bra and matching thong. “My family . . .” She carried her underwear over to her dressing table and stripped off her shirt. I watched, drinking in the sight of her.
“My father died when I was young. He was shot by a hunter and we found his body the next day. Mom . . . her name is Lana . . . had a young child and no job. She did one of the only things women in our Pride can do. She remarried. Her new husband treated me all right, but he’s very alpha. When I showed signs of being interested in learning from Venus, he was seriously annoyed and refused to allow a daughter of his—even a stepdaughter—to follow that path under his roof. He wanted me to marry in the Pride and have babies. And he was even less tolerant when he found out I preferred women to men. I left home early but thought I could manage to stay part of the Pride. When I went back to tell my mother I was getting married to you, she kissed me, told me she loved me, and then asked me never to return.”
I stood rock still. Nerissa had never once mentioned this to me. Her family had refused to come to the wedding but, given that the Puma Pride didn’t like vamps, I hadn’t expected them to. But I had never known any of this. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. She kicked you out of her house for marrying a woman?” And then I stopped. “No, she kicked you out for marrying a vampire.”
Nerissa glanced over at me as she lowered herself to the vanity bench, her expression cautiously neutral. “Right.”
And then I understood why Nerissa needed to know that I was truly here for her. Now, my sisters and I were the only family she had left. Venus was off in the Dragon Reaches, and that left very few in the Puma Pride who would accept Nerissa’s marriage with me. They didn’t even like my sisters, though we had saved their butts once, quite some time ago. No, the Puma Pride worked with us through the Supe Community Council, but that was as far as it went.
Just as suddenly, it dawned on me that my lack of communication skills must have hurt my wife precisely because she had no family to go home to. She had sacrificed her Pride’s support to follow her own path, and had lost their acceptance when she threw her lot in with mine. I leaned down, kissing her gently on the lips.
“I’m sorry. They are the ones losing out, my love. And I almost joined them. I promise you, from now on, I’m here for you. Whatever we face—either of us—we face it together.”
She smiled then, breathing softly. “Thank you. That’s why I’m going with you tonight. We face whatever comes together.”