i decide to start with something easy, something mundane to gauge his reaction. "how did adele know we were coming?"

lance is surprised. he expected something more annaish. like, "what the fuck is going on?" i can tell because his mouth turns down and his eyebrows jump up. he recovers quickly and replies, "i called her from the house this morning. when you went inside to get the sheet."

"how?"

understanding sparks his eyes. "on the telephone. no magic involved."

"who is she? she seems to know you pretty well. does she know what you are?"

he shakes his head. "that i'm vampire? no. but she knows i'm-not normal. she's never asked what i am, and i've never offered. she is the granddaughter of an old family friend. her parents worked for us in south africa. i used to keep up with the family and when i came to the states forty-five years ago, she was just a baby. she attended college in the east. we saw each other once or twice. after graduation, she came to california for a job. it didn't work out. i had inherited this place, so i asked if she'd like to live here, manage the house when i was away, take charge of the staff when i was in residence. it was supposed to be a temporary thing. she stayed on."

"and this was when?"

"twenty years ago."

"so she's forty-something. she knows you're eighty. and she looks her age and you look like you could be her grandson. she's never questioned it? what is she? witch? shape-shifter?"

lance waves the question away. "she's a good friend and a good administrator. that's all i need to know. she has a home here as long as she wants it."

"that's not what i meant and you know it." his answer brings my animal instinct for self-preservation to the surface. "she's human and you have this cavalier attitude that she doesn't wonder what you are. you aren't afraid she'll make the connection and stake you in your sleep?"

he frowns. "i wasn't before now."

i look around the room. the house in malibu is filled with funky furniture, warhols on the walls, bright splashes of color. its best feature is the ocean, a few steps away from the wall of glass that frames it, capturing a sun-soaked ever-changing landscape. the feel of this place is dark, heavy, full of old things and older memories.

i wave a hand to take it in. "this isn't you."

"i agree," he replies without hesitation. "it's pretty much the way i inherited it. i don't spend much time here, you know. a weekend here and there. it's become more adele's house than mine."

"but you have friends here. she mentioned 'the boys.' "

suddenly, lance's expression mirrors more concern than curiosity. we've been talking out loud, but now, he answers with a quiet, not friends exactly. the man who sired me also has a place here. he and his entourage, others he's turned, travel together. i don't enjoy seeing him. but it's the price i pay for my freedom.

it's the first time lance has mentioned the circumstances of his becoming. something in his tone triggers an alarm. i know what it's like to be under the control of a powerful vampire. my anger burns through. does he threaten you?

he smiles at the tone of my response. he reaches out a hand and touches my cheek. no. we've made our peace. i am allowed to live my own life. but i am expected to pay my respects when we're in town together. this party tonight. we'll go, he'll show me off as his famous protege, we'll leave. it's not important. the rest of the weekend will be ours.

his tone betrays more than his casual words, however. a little nervousness, a bit of agitation. it's there though he's trying to hide it. my protective instincts spring to the fore. i want to know more-the story of how he became vampire. but i don't press. not now.

i smooth the concern from my thoughts. what about your human family? is there anyone you're still close to?

a shrug. my parents are dead. i have two brothers who manage the business. for obvious reasons, i don't see them. they live a world away. i'm not interested in the business, never was. we communicate through lawyers, mostly, though i've divested myself of most of my family's holdings. this house and a trust fund is all that's left. when i move on, the house and trust fund will go to adele.

a smile. so you see, like you, i have to work for a living. i'll have to buy those expensive birthday presents just like anybody else.

the old lance, the one i've come to know and depend on, is back. the fact that he had a past he didn't share has no bearing on the man he is now, the man who has been nothing but good to me. i put the beer bottle on the coffee table in front of me. his smile warms me, ignites a familiar hunger. "how long before adele and her couturier blow in?"

he places his bottle on the table beside mine. "she won't disturb us until we're ready. what did you have in mind?"

my roaming hands discover that he knows exactly what i have in mind. it's obviously on his mind, too.

"where's the shower?"