“I need you,” I whispered. “I need your chi. I need your hands on my body.” I closed my eyes as he reached around to tug the tail of my sweater out of my jeans.
“Stop. Lift your hands.”
I obeyed. As he slid the sweater up and over my head, then gently tossed it on the bed, I reveled in the delicious blast of cool air that played over my breasts. I was wearing a lace bra, and he unhooked it, slowly and deliberately. Then, as the straps went slack, he walked around to face me before he removed the bra. My breasts bounced gently as the band caught beneath them, then gave way. My nipples stiffened under his gaze, and a hot flare drove its way down my body, from breast to between my thighs, where it set off a series of minor explosions.
I let out a soft gasp, but he gave me one shake of the head. “Silence.”
Closing my mouth, I stood, frozen, as he reached for the zipper on my jeans, easing it down to expose the fact that I wasn’t wearing underwear. With a rough laugh, he arched his eyebrows.
“Commando? Brave woman.”
I couldn’t let that go by. “No, not brave. Just…being me.”
“Being you is a good thing.” He tugged on the belt loops, lowering my jeans until I could step out of them. They landed atop my sweater and bra, and I was truly naked except for my pentacle. That, I had no intention of removing.
He must have sensed my thoughts, because he shook his head, placing his finger to his lips to kiss it, then touching my own to transfer the kiss. “I will never ask you to remove your necklace. It protects you. It will burn me if I touch it, but I’ve been burned before.”
I didn’t want to hurt him. “I’ll take it off for you.”
“No. Don’t. I will never ask you to lower those defenses which keep you safe.” His voice grew serious, the play vanishing. “I will never ask you to endanger yourself for pleasure. Or for food. I’ll wear my shirt. The cloth will take the brunt of the heat from the silver.”
“Archer, be sensible—” I started to say, but he swept me to him, crushing my mouth with his in a kiss that went on forever. I moaned, frantic for his touch, frantic for the heat to consume me. With one hand, he reached down and began to finger me as I let out a low growl and—unable to wait—grabbed for his belt buckle.
I shoved his jeans down as he walked me forward to the bed. As I fell backward onto the mattress, he kneed apart my legs and thrust into me, hard and thick, demanding entrance. The fire between us flared, stronger than the first time, and the haze of passion began to overwhelm me as he covered my face with kisses.
Returning his lips to mine, he whispered, “Feed…feed on me…”
As he continued to drive himself into me, I began to feed. I inhaled deeply, drawing his breath—his life force—deep into my lungs. With every second, the charge grew stronger.
He arched, grinding against my pelvis, so deep inside he was touching my core. With one hand, he pinched one of my nipples so hard that I let out a cry that was mingled with his breath. The pain drove me higher. I was hooked to a live wire, a direct current to life itself. The glow of his touch, of the shimmering nimbus that made Archer who he was flared with wild abandon, and I drank it down.
Suddenly, unable to soak up any more, I realized that I was about to come. I called out his name as I came hard and fast, pleasure and pain mingled to where I could not separate them. Tears sprang up as I wrapped my arms around him. Archer followed suit, arching into my embrace as he closed his eyes and groaned. Then, spent, he fell against me and lay still, murmuring soft words that I couldn’t quite understand.
From a long way off, the doorbell chimed. Neither one of us moved, but a moment later, Marsh appeared in the bedroom.
He stared at us, still coupled, for a long moment. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but Dani’s downstairs. She let herself in. She’s hopping mad, Lily. You’d better come down.”
And with that, playtime was over.
Chapter 20
Crap, what had happened now? I threw on a nightgown, then slid a silk robe over it, belting it firmly. Archer grinned at me as he jammed his legs into his jeans and yanked them up.
“Good thing we were finished,” he said. “Otherwise, she could wait.” As I started for the door, he caught my arm. Pressing his lips to my forehead in a gentle kiss, he whispered, “I could get used to this, you know? I could really get used to this.”
I gazed up at him. Once again he took my breath away. What was it about him? I barely knew him and yet I wanted him in my life. I had been so relieved when Wynter told me to keep him around. It wasn’t just because I could feed off of him, either. That was a big plus, but below the surface, I realized there was so much I wanted to know about him.
“What are you thinking?”
Startled, I almost answered and then stopped myself. I couldn’t just blurt out that I wanted him to stick around, at least not the way I had been thinking. That was a one-way trip to stalker city. Plus, it didn’t seem fair to lay my expectations on his shoulders. Not when he had been so helpful. I pressed my lips together and shook my head, smiling.
He frowned. “Do you want to know what I’m thinking?”
Again, I had no good answer. I wanted to shout out, “Yes,” but something stopped me. Maybe it was fear, maybe it was just shock from all the changes that had gone on through the day. I wasn’t sure that I could handle anything that I might not want to hear at this point.
“I’m going to tell you, whether or not you ask.” He pushed me back, facing me directly. “Lily, this…arrangement we seem to have…it means more to me than just helping you out. I like being part of your life. That’s all I’ll say for now on that matter, but please, never feel you are using me. Okay?”
I nodded, drinking down every word he was saying.
“I also think that I know what you can do, now that you have to shut down the salon.” Before I could ask, he continued. “Work with me. I can use a partner in the business. It also seems to me that this would be a good way to fulfill Wynter’s orders, at least regarding the Souljacker. And this way, I can tell you the things that I need to tell you, but that confidentiality prevents me from revealing.”
Startled, I took a step back. That was the last thing I had expected him to say. “But I don’t know anything about being a detective or an investigator. Won’t I just be in the way?”
“Not at all. Let’s face it, you have to do something. I have more than enough work—it would help to have an assistant. I just haven’t found the right person yet. I have the money to pay you, and this would mean that when you grow too hungry, even if it’s during the day…” He didn’t have to finish the sentence. I already knew the end.
I jammed my hands in my pockets and stared at him. There was no subterfuge in his voice, and I couldn’t detect any hidden agenda behind his expression. That didn’t necessarily mean one didn’t exist, but if there was one, Archer was doing a good job of keeping it under wraps.
“I suppose if you think I’m capable of learning the job…And you’re right, there are perks, aren’t there?”
At that moment Marsh appeared again. He looked irritated. “Can you please hurry it up? Dani is roiling mad, and quite frankly, she’s taking it out on me. I don’t want to find out what she can do to spirits when she’s in a bad mood.”
I turned to Archer and nodded. “I’ll do it. Thank you for the vote of confidence. And…thank you for everything else.”
Marsh let out a snort. “I’m not even going to address that, but please—”
“We’re coming.” And with that, Archer and I headed downstairs.
• • •
Dani was sitting at the table, the look on her face cold enough to freeze water. Something had happened, all right. Before I could say anything, a knock on the back door announced Nate’s presence. I refilled the kettle and set it to boil. We could all use a hot cup of tea.
Nate glanced at Archer, giving him a little wave. “Hey, how’s it hanging?”
Archer’s lips crooked into
a gentle smile, lifting ever so slightly. “It’s been an interesting day. And you?” He included Dani in his question.
Nate shrugged. “Rough day at work. I had to let one of our better programmers go because we found out he was embezzling money via his expense account. He was also leaking sensitive information. I don’t see how this is going to end well. He’s the type who might show up at work with an automatic and mow down the whole office. Security’s on high alert.” He glanced over at Dani. “And don’t you look like you want to set the world on fire. What’s going on?”
Dani let out a sputter. “Well, for starters, when I got to my shop, I find it’s been trashed. Someone broke in and totally destroyed half my inventory. The cops came and dusted for prints, but unfortunately, whoever did it took the film from my security cameras before smashing them to pieces. This is going to cost me a fortune to fix. I won’t be able to make your wards, Lily, but then again, I noticed when I drove in tonight that you have a new set—they’re nice, by the way. I assume Wynter gave them to you? Good deal, because I’m going to be spending the next two weeks shoveling out the mess in my shop.” She paused to take a breath.
“Crap. Who the hell do you think did it?” Nate asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m ready to kill. And then, I got a call from Rebecca’s husband. He’s blaming me for her death. He says I was a bad influence on her and that it’s my fault she got the fucking tattoo. He can’t do anything to me, but damn it all—Rebecca was my friend. She is…was…an adult. And then…” She suddenly ran out of steam.
So it was already beginning. “I think I may know what happened to your shop. I could be wrong but…” I glanced at Archer, who inclined his head.
“If you do, tell me because I’ll throw a whammy on them so fast they won’t be able to sit down for a week. I lost a lot of money.”
I let out a long sigh. “While I was out at Wynter’s today, she warned me that Tricia’s not done with her revenge. She’s out for my blood, and if it means hurting my friends, that’s what she’ll do. I—along with anybody associated with me—am on her shit list. She’s got revenge on the brain and you know how Weres hold grudges.”
“Fuck. That explains something else. The cops found a patch on the floor where somebody peed. They said it was strong—very strong. Ten to one, whoever she had in there was marking their territory to let me know they had been there.” She motioned to the refrigerator. “Can I grab something to drink? Some lemonade if you have it?”
“I’ll get it.” Archer moved to the counter to pour her a glass. As he set it on the table, he said, “We have some pizza left. Would you guys like it cold or hot?”
She accepted the soda, drinking half of it before answering. “Hot. Nate?”
“Hot’s fine with me. Pizza’s good no matter what.” He frowned. “So, your security cameras were tampered with? Did they steal anything?”
Dani shrugged, staring morosely at the glass in her hand. “I don’t know yet. I think so, though. Several of my expensive crystals are gone. But Weres don’t like magic, so I doubt they took any of my scrolls or spell components. They made a mess of them, though.”
Archer slid the pizza onto a pan and put it in the oven to heat. “I guess she wasted no time, did she. What did the police say?”
“They said that I should keep my eyes open, call them if any troublemakers come into the shop, and that they would analyze the urine to see what they can find. All so much talk meaning they haven’t a clue who did it and they have better things to do than waste their time on a break-in. Seriously, they can’t stop the vampires, and now they’re writing off burglaries. What are they good at?”
It occurred to me that maybe I could confine the damage, if I talked to Tricia. I didn’t want my friends taking the brunt of her anger for me. As Archer, Nate, and Dani discussed the break-in, I slipped into the living room and looked up her number on my phone’s InfoPages. I decided it would be safer to text, and sent her a message, asking her if she would meet with me privately for a talk—that I wanted to apologize and do what I could to make amends. I knew that it would never make up for what happened, but I couldn’t sit around and do nothing.
That done, I took a deep breath and returned to the kitchen. Maybe I could at least take care of one problem without too much collateral damage.
Chapter 21
Dani and Nate were deep into the pizza when I returned to the kitchen.
As I settled back in my chair, Dani asked around a mouthful of mozzarella, “So, tell us what happened out at Wynter’s.”
“What didn’t happen?” I gave them the rundown of my visit. “So, in effect, in one day, my entire life has been turned upside down. I’m no longer self-employed, that’s for sure.” I couldn’t decide if I felt more grumpy because I had been forced to close my business, or if it was because I hadn’t been given a choice in the matter.
“We’ve all had one hell of a day,” Nate said. “What about you, Archer?”
“I was waiting till everybody was here to tell you what I managed to find out today. I decided to try to find out who might have been helping the Souljacker escape, and why they did so. The most logical suspect is his father. So I started there. And that’s when the trail opened up into a rabbit hole, and I went tumbling down.”
That didn’t sound good. “Is it really that bad?”
“I think that I found out a number of things we’d all be safer off not knowing.” Archer wasn’t smiling. He spread out a series of file folders on the desk. “I printed off the information just in case somebody decides to go in and try to delete it.”
We settled in to listen.
“First, you have to know that Terrance Schafer and the Deadfather go way back. Terrance helps out the Deadfather politically, the Deadfather invests in Schafer’s businesses.” Archer looked up from the paper he was holding. “Got that?”
“Yeah, and that sounds about right. Big business and vampires are becoming synonymous.” As much as I didn’t like the fact, I wasn’t going to refute it.
“Okay, well here’s where it gets dicey. Terrance’s wife—Charles’s mother—is petitioning the court for power of attorney over her son. She wanted him staked. She’s also a major power player in the political scene, so it’s feasible she could win the case. She and Terrance are divorced, you know.”
Light-switch time. I snapped my fingers. “So Terrance asks the Deadfather to help him smuggle Charles out of WestcoPsi. He couldn’t ask the authorities to release Charles—he did murder that family, and if he’s let out he’ll automatically be under penalty of death.”
Dani paled. “But, why would the Deadfather let Charles go free? Why didn’t he turn him over to Terrance?”
Archer scratched his nose, looking very much like he was about to tell us something we didn’t want to hear. “Because something went wrong. Dani, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’ll just come out and say it. There were two witnesses to what happened the night Charles escaped—they managed to stay out of sight. They described the vampire who broke in and killed the guards. I did a little more digging and sure enough…this vampire works for the Deadfather. He’s his right-hand man, so to speak.”
Dani hugged her stomach, grimancing. “You don’t mean…”
“I’m afraid so. The vampire who broke into WestcoPsi and freed the Souljacker was supposed to take him back to Terrance and the Deadfather. Something happened along the way, and he lost control of Charles after he got him out of the institution. I found out today that the name of that vampire is Greg Fallow. Dani, your late husband is the Deadfather’s right-hand man.”
• • •
Between Dani crying, and Nate and me shouting, the kitchen was a free-for-all for the next few minutes. Finally Archer let out a loud whistle.
“Enough. We have to talk about this. I know it comes as a shock, and I’m sorry I had to tell you like this, but I only found out this afternoon.”
Dani wiped her eyes with a napkin. “I’m just…
I don’t know why I should be shocked. After all, it’s not like he’s the Greg I married. I just…I didn’t expect for him to be involved.” Straightening her shoulders, she inhaled deeply, then let it out in a slow, even stream. “All right, get it over with. Tell us everything you know about him.”
Archer gauged her cautiously. “You sure?”
“Yes, go.”
“All right, here it is. Greg has been working for the Deadfather since shortly after he was turned. Your husband was always smart and that didn’t change when he died. He was ambitious, correct?”
Dani nodded. “Yeah, he was never content to just be. He was always working toward the next new thing…new stage in life, new job, new…whatever came his way.”
“Okay, so now that the fundamental shock is out of the way, here’s what I found out. The Deadfather owns Greg. I mean owns him, lock, stock, and barrel. The Deadfather funded Veek.”
“Is that how he got the money?” Dani asked. “I wondered about that. We weren’t rich when he was alive, and he hasn’t had that much time to amass the amount it would take.”
“So, what does Greg do for the Deadfather?” I didn’t want to know—it couldn’t be good, whatever it was, but we had to find out.
Archer paused again. I could tell there was more unwelcome information coming. “I can’t be 100 percent sure about this, but I think he’s one of the Deadfather’s hit men.”
Dani said nothing. The shock seemed to be all wrung out of her. She just stared at Archer with a morose look on her face.
I rubbed my head. “You mean he’s basically a gun for hire?”
“I’d call it a fang for hire, but essentially, yes.”
I slumped back in my chair. Greg worked for the Deadfather. He not only worked for the Deadfather, but he killed for him. I let out a shaky sigh and glanced over at Dani. She was on the edge of breaking down, that much I could tell. The trauma of discovering her shop had been trashed along with discovering that her ex-husband had helped spring the vampire who was stalking us had taken its toll. I motioned for Archer to cut the discussion.