Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter #16 - Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton

was delicate, and so was he, at my height exactly. His eyes were chartreuse leopard eyes, from where a truly evil man had forced him into animal form long enough so his eyes never changed back. I’d killed the evil man, and Micah had moved in. We’d been a couple ever since.
    I told him the Reader’s Digest version of what was happening with Jason. “I’m sorry to hear about his father.”
    “Me, too.”
    “How did you get volunteered for this trip?”
    “You don’t think I’d come up with it myself?”
    “No,” he said, and there was no doubt in his voice.
    “Nathaniel.”
    “Hmm,” he said.
    “You sound upset.”
    file://L:\Azures L_Disc Shared Dowloads\EBooks\Anita Blake Series 1-17\(Book16] - Bl... 10/18/2009
    BloodNoir
    Page 43 of 287
    “That you’re going off with another man to meet his family? Hmm, let me think, why would that upset me?”
    “Are you telling me not to go?”
    “I would never do that.”
    “But…,” I said.
    “But nothing, telling you what to do isn’t the kind of relationship we have. But I’m allowed to be a little jealous that you’re getting to go home with Jason.”
    “Jean-Claude said the same thing, sort of, but his family is centuries dead. It’s not possible for him. You never talk about your family.”
    “When Chimera was alive, he used people’s families against them. He tortured them, or made them into wereanimals so he could control them. To keep my family safe, I had to pretend I hated them. I did a good job of it, Anita. I doubt they’d want to see me again.”
    I heard such regret in his voice. “You never know until you try, Micah.”
    “We’ll see.”
    “If it works out, I’d love to meet your family.”
    “Really, you don’t seem much interested in your own.”
    “I’m allowed issues with my own family; that doesn’t make me hate everyone’s family.”
    “Okay,” but he sounded cautious.
    “Really, Micah, Chimera’s dead, he can’t hurt you or your family anymore.”
    “I know that, you killed him for me.”
    “You wanted me to kill him.”
    “Yes, I did.” And there was that note in his voice, that tone, that said he was all right with the violence that I did. He’d watched me kill Chimera, and he’d been just peachy with it. There were so many reasons that Micah and I worked as a couple. One of those reasons was a certain ruthless practicality in both of us.
    “I would go home to see your folks, Micah.”
    “Would we bring Nathaniel, too?”
    That stopped me. We all three lived together, but…“I don’t know. I guess that would be your call.”
    “I’ll think about it, all of it, the family, and whether I have the guts to show up after all these years with you and Nathaniel.” Put that way, I could sort of see his problem. It was sort of similar to Jason’s problem, actually. Perception is all.
    file://L:\Azures L_Disc Shared Dowloads\EBooks\Anita Blake Series 1-17\(Book16] - Bl... 10/18/2009
    BloodNoir
    Page 44 of 287
    “I’m sorry if my going off with Jason bothers you.”
    “I’m sorry it bothers me, too. I need to work on that.”
    “Micah, I love you.”
    “I know, and I love you, too. Give my love to Nathaniel. You better start packing.”
    “Micah, I…”
    “No, it’s all right, Anita, really. Do what you need to do for Jason. But I guess I really would like to introduce you to my mom and dad, my brother and sister. I just never thought it was possible.”
    “A lot of things are possible, Micah.”
    “I guess. I’ve got to go. I love you, Anita.”
    “I love you, too.”
    “Give my love to Nathaniel.”
    “I will.”
    He hung up, and left me not sure how to feel. Guilty that it bothered him, yes, but more puzzled. He’d almost never mentioned his family. How was I supposed to know that he even wanted to see them? Sometimes the hardest part of dating this many men was juggling everyone’s emotions. People talked about the sex, because sex was easy; hearts were hard.
    file://L:\Azures L_Disc Shared