Outtakes From the Grave

  The alley behind the club wasn’t lit. At nearly two a.m., it was deserted and pitch-dark. With my enhanced vision, however, I could make out three figures by the Dumpster, which was shaded by the long branches of a tree. One of them had just let out a scream that was abruptly choked off.

  Charging forward, I launched myself onto the back of the nearest vamp, who turned out to be Eric. He spun around just before I hit him, sensing my attack. In that split second, the stake that had been aimed at his heart struck deep into his shoulder instead. He let out a howl, which I quieted by flinging one of the throwing knives dead center into his throat. Now the noise he made was more of a loud gurgle. Eric leapt for me but I sidestepped him, and he was unprepared for my speed. As he pulled himself up short, I struck out with a fierce kick, knocking him backward. When he was on the ground, I flung myself on him with a pile-driving elbow drop that smashed his ribs. Immediately I crashed my knee with brutal force into his groin. When he instinctively doubled up, the stake in my left hand found its mark and slammed home through his heart. Three wrenching twists and he went limp permanently. Springing to my feet, I looked around to see how Bones fared.

  He stood a dozen feet away, watching me. From the head lying unattached at his feet, he’d been quicker than me in dispatching his target. My adrenaline pumped, blood rushing through my veins at the savageness of the brawl and the quickness of the ending. The stark reality was this: the fight was over and I wanted more. It was my first true taste of bloodlust.

  “Stay here while I get the car,” he barked.

  In less than two minutes the SUV pulled up as far as it could in the narrow alley, headlights off. Bones jumped out and opened the back. He twisted Eric’s head off and then threw the remainder of both their bodies into a Dumpster. Then he tossed the two heads into the hatchback and covered them with the plastic already laid out. There was a thick blanket on top of the plastic. To the casual observer, whoever that might be, it was just junk thrown in the back. As soon as the back slammed shut, Bones pulled me to him and kissed me with all the residual aggression left in him.

  To say I responded was to put it mildly. Left with an overabundance of energy, I sought an outlet for release, and he was better than violence. I ripped off his vest. Buttons flew, and I dug my hands into his chest and opened my mouth to rake my tongue with his. His mouth sealed over mine, and my free hand clawed along his waist to pull him closer.

  After a minute, he pulled back. “Too dangerous out here. No telling who might come along.”

  “What about their corpses being discovered in the Dumpster?” I asked, my voice still unsteady from the deluge of passion and leftover adrenaline.

  He grinned at me. “We’re leaving this state tomorrow, so it doesn’t matter. As for their heads, that’s why I brought the box of dry ice. They’ll ship out tomorrow to the client.”

  I wondered what the father would do with his grisly trophies. The man couldn’t really put them in the china cabinet next to the crystal.

  “But what about the police?” I persisted when we sped away from the Dumpster, the new home for the headless bodies.

  “Coppers? That’s the funny part, luv. When a vamp dies, their body decomposes to their true age. That’s why they look like bloomin’ mummies sometimes afterward. Just let them try to figure out how two stiffs dead over fifty years ended up in modern clothes stuffed into the garbage. Makes me laugh just to picture them scratching their chins about it.”

  “Really?” The more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew.

  “Yeah, really.”

  We stopped at a red light. He leaned over and kissed me, lacing his fingers in my hair. I loved the way he kissed me, as though he were drinking in the taste of me and still coming back thirsty.

  A horn blared at us, telling us the light was green again. He ignored it, even when it sounded several more times, until he was finished exploring my mouth and my lips were slightly swollen. Rolling down the window, he gave a one-fingered salute to the car behind us and sped through the light just as it turned red again. I leaned back into the seat, eyes half-closed, and watched his profile as he floored it through the sparse traffic. We made very good time back to the hotel.

  As soon as he parked, he pulled me to him again. God, but he could make me ache with need, no matter that I knew being with him was a horrible mistake. I pushed at his shoulders when his hands began to creep under the short hem of my dress.

  “Not here,” I panted, which was as close to “stop” as I could force myself to say.

  He wrenched away and then yanked open his door. I got out too, grabbing the coat I’d worn earlier to conceal the blood smears on my dress. After all, it wouldn’t do for me to look like the murderess I was in front of the nice hotel employees. Bones pulled his denim jacket over his bare chest and kept his arm around me as we hurried inside the lobby. The same concierge who’d checked us in was alone at the desk. Poor man, he apparently worked the graveyard shift.

  When we reached the elevators, Bones shot me a wicked glance before he called out to the concierge, “For the record, we are having sex tonight.”

  Mortified, I slapped him. He laughed and grabbed me, kissing me so soundly I didn’t even notice when he propelled me into the elevator. The doors closed on the stupefied face of the concierge still staring after us.

  We barely made it inside the room. As soon as the door opened, we fell through it onto the floor, knocking over a nearby table and sending the lamp crashing to the ground. Bones kicked the door closed while ripping off his pants, tearing them in his impatience. I slid along the floor under him. The carpet scraped against my skin as he pushed my dress around my waist and buried his head between my legs. My hands stretched out behind me, fingers mindlessly grasping for anything at his erotic assault on my sensitive flesh. Something solid brushed by my hand, the lamp from the table. His tongue stabbed into me and I gripped the base of the light. After a moment it shattered and cut my palm. I didn’t even feel the pain. Only the sensation of his mouth registered, and it burned me as if he breathed fire.

  “Now. Now…” The words were raggedly spoken in pure desire. Everything ached to have him inside me again.

  “No,” he growled, voice muffled against my skin and tongue ruthlessly tormenting me with pleasure.

  “Yes. Now.” My fingernails ripped the carpet in frustration, spine arching with every wet stroke.

  “Tell me you want me. Say the words.” He paused long enough to lift his head so he could see my face. His eyes drilled into mine, unrelenting, and his tongue flicked out to tease my quivering flesh.

  Sparks nearly flew off me. “Yes, oh God, yes. I want you. Now.” If I had national secrets to spill, I would have. Anything to make him comply.

  He dragged his mouth up my stomach, pausing to rend my dress from me and draw on each nipple before his body covered mine. I opened my legs and gave a shuddering moan as he slid inside me. He rocked his hips slowly, and my arms wrapped around him so that nothing separated us. My hand bled where the glass had sliced into my palm. He held my wrist and sucked on the cut while continuing to move within me. I pulled it out of his mouth and kissed him, tasting my blood and other things when his tongue caressed mine.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he murmured into my mouth.

  Good, I thought. Then you won’t stop.

  Bones locked his arms around my waist and flipped us over, leaving me on top. This hadn’t happened before and I hesitated, unsure.

  His stomach muscles flexed as he sat up. His hands caressed my back, dark eyes bright green with lust. One sensuous arch under me as he rubbed his loins into mine took my shyness away.

  “Bones,” I moaned. “You feel so good it drives me crazy.”

  He smiled and bent his head to my breasts. “That’s the intention. Now it’s your turn. As hard or gentle as you want, you decide. You’re in control.”

  I repeated the motion he’d just used. The hard slide of his flesh was punctuated by his pe
lvis hitting my most sensitive spot, sending heat flaring through me. Being in control had never felt so good.

  “Let’s see if I can make you crazy,” I said throatily and began to move with single-minded purpose.

  ***

  “Shit!”

  The word burst from my mouth when I woke up to sunlight peeking through the heavy drapes and Bones curled next to me in bed. What was wrong with me? When the sun went down, it seemed to take my common sense with it.

  “Not this again…,” Bones muttered, then tightened his grip on me when I would have bolted out of bed.

  I squirmed, very aware we were both naked and repeated chafing was not a good idea. “Let me go.”

  He appeared to ponder it for a moment and then pulled me closer. “No.”

  “Come on, Bones! We have to stop this, can’t you see? This is no good, not for either of us.”

  “You’re the only one who doesn’t respect yourself in the morning,” he countered.

  “All right, I admit it: I am clearly attracted to you. Why wouldn’t I be? You’re gorgeous and smart and funny, and you’re also the only person in my life who hasn’t made me feel like a freak. Oh, and you’re unbelievable in bed. There, are you happy? You’ve gotten what you want, why can’t you just leave like he did!” It came out of me before I even knew what I was saying.

  Something flashed across his expression, and then his voice was low and resonating. “I am not him. You’d do well to try to remember that.”

  “But you’re a vampire, Bones, and nothing can change that. There is no future for us. We have to stop this now.” Before I get hurt again. Before I care for you more than I already do.

  “’Fraid I can’t do that, luv,” he finally answered.

  My fingernails dug into my palms. “Why? You don’t need me, you can do the tracking on your own.” Despair gripped me, because I was very afraid I didn’t possess the willpower to end this on my own.

  He touched my face, and the gentleness in that gesture pierced me to the quick. “Because, Kitten, I am in love with you.”

  My mouth hung open, and my mind briefly cleared of thought. Then I said, “No you’re not,” because denial was always my first response to something I feared.

  He let out a snort. “That is one truly annoying habit you have, telling me what I do and do not feel. After living for over two hundred and thirty years, I think I know my own mind.”

  “I can’t believe you’d stoop this low.” If he hadn’t been holding me, I would have jumped up in outrage. “You’re not like Danny? He also lied about his feelings to get some action.”

  “And why do you think I haven’t said anything before now?” he shot back. “I never wanted you to wonder if I was merely cajoling you into bed with meaningless prattle. However, I’ve already gotten you on your back, and it wasn’t by declaring my devotion to you. I simply don’t care to hide my feelings any longer.”

  “But you’ve only known me two months.” Now I tried arguing the point, because denial apparently didn’t work.

  A slight smile curled his lips. “Kitten, I began to fall in love with you when you challenged me to that stupid fight in the cave. There you were, wearing almost nothing, blood in your hair from where I’d struck you, chained hand and foot, questioning my courage. Why do you think I made that arrangement with you? Oh, don’t get me wrong, you ended up doing splendidly. Much better than I thought you would, but as you said, I can do this alone. So could you now, for that matter. You’re strong enough, fast enough, smart enough. Truth is, luv, I struck that bargain with you so you’d be forced to spend time with me. I knew you’d never agree any other way. After all, you had such hang-ups about vampires. Still do, it appears.”

  “Bones…” My eyes were wide with his revelation and with the growing knowledge that he was serious. “We’d never work out together. We have to stop this now, before it goes any further.”

  “I know what makes you say that. Fear. You’re terrified because of how that other wanker treated you, and you’re even more afraid of what your dear mum would say, not to mention you still think all vampires are evil. But we are who we are, as men and as vampires. Just as you choose how to live your life with the power you have, so do we. You certainly never thought you’d shag a vampire, yet here you are in bed with me again. So although now you may think it could never work between us… Well. I don’t give up so easily.”

  While he spoke, my death grip on the sheets loosened and the rigidity of my limbs relaxed. Not one to let an opportunity pass him by, he closed the distance between us and kissed me when my guard was down. His hands wound through the sheets until he pulled them away from my body. The sudden feel of his incredible skin pressing along the length of me caused me to gasp. Those hands began to move over me, seeking the places he knew were my weaknesses with unerring accuracy.

  “You see, I told you,” he whispered as I trembled under him, “I don’t give up so easily.”

  We ordered breakfast later from room service. Well, by the time we ordered it, it was actually more like lunch, although I still chose the pancakes and eggs with bacon. Bones watched in amusement as I scarfed the food down eagerly, scraping my plate when it was empty.

  “You know, Kitten, you can always send for more. You don’t have to chew the dishes.”

  “Wouldn’t matter if I did. I think you already lost your security deposit,” I replied, casting a meaningful look at the shattered lamp, broken table, bloodstained carpet, overturned couch and various other items that were in a condition other than how we found them. It looked like a brawl had taken place. One sort of had. A sensual one, anyway.

  He let out a contented noise and settled back with his arms flung carelessly over his head. “Don’t fret. It was worth every farthing.”

  “What’s that?” There was a marking underneath his inner left arm, and I traced it with a finger. “I never noticed this before. Crossbones. How appropriate.” The tattoo was etched with just the outline, and his pale flesh emphasized the black ink. “When did you get it?”

  He reached down and held my hand. “Over sixty years ago. Rather like a name tag. A mate gave it to me. He’s dead now; he was a Marine in World War II.”

  Talk about a generation gap. That tattoo was over three times my age.

  He had his laptop set up in the bedroom, and Bones went to it and logged online while I visited the bathroom. When I came out, he stared in satisfaction at the screen.

  “Bank wire transfer completed. We’ll be shipping the heads tomorrow before we board, and that a neat hundred g’s for the lot. That’ll be $20K for you, Kitten, and you didn’t even have to kiss either of them. Not bad for a few minutes work, is it?”

  “I don’t want the money.” The reply was immediate. I didn’t even have to think about it. No matter that the shallow, greedy part of my brain screeched in protest.

  He raised a dark brow at me. “Whyever not? You earned it. I told you that was always part of the plan, even though I didn’t let you in on it right off. What’s the problem?”

  Sighing as I sat heavily on the edge of the bed, I tried to articulate the whirling of emotions and thoughts that consisted of my conscience. “Because it isn’t right. It was one thing to take it when we weren’t sleeping together, but I don’t want to feel like a kept woman. I don’t know why I can’t say no to you and make it stick right now, but I won’t be your girlfriend and your employee at the same time. Really, the choice is yours. Pay me, and I stop sleeping with you. Keep the money and we continue on in bed until I get my head fixed to where I can resist you.”

  He laughed outright, coming over to where I sat and putting his head on my lap while dissolving in hilarity. His arms grasped me around the waist, and when he finally pulled back, his eyes were pink from tears. “And you wonder why I love you. When you boil it all down, you’re paying me to shag you, for as soon as I stop, I owe you twenty percent of every contract I take. Blimey, Kitten, you’ve turned me back into a whore.”

 
“That’s… that’s not… Dammit, you know what I meant!”

  Clearly I hadn’t thought of it in those terms. I tried to wrest away, but his arms hardened like steel. Although still sparking with humor, there was a definite glint of something else in his eyes. Dark brown orbs started to color with green.

  “You’re not going anywhere, luv. I have twenty thousand dollars to earn, and I’m going to start working on it right now…”

  ***

  “Wake up, Kitten. We have to be at the airport within the hour.”

  I didn’t remember drifting off. Then again, my brain hadn’t been functioning at all after the third shattering climax, or was it the fourth?

  “Where are we going?” I asked, sitting up. We seemed to be always on the move, and all I wanted to do right then was sleep.

  “Back home.”

  “Oh no, I never even called my mother.”

  Bones cast a sidelong grin at me. “Going to tell her how much you enjoyed Bible study? I seem to remember you calling out the Lord’s name several times this afternoon.”

  “You’re a pig.”

  He was too. An arrogant, dirty, insatiable pig, and God help me, I reveled in it when we were alone. “I’m going to tell her the truth.” His eyebrow rose in amazement before I quickly amended, “Er, some of the truth. I’ll tell her I went with a friend to do a job. Thanks to the marks on my neck, she knows I’m sleeping with someone. You’ll be tickled to hear the day you came to pick me up, she was out buying me condoms.”

  “Really?” he said with a laugh. “Quite thoughtful of her. Are you going to bring them over so she’ll think you’re practicing safe sex?”

  Something between desire and despair shot through me. “Any sex with you isn’t safe, no matter how many condoms were involved.”

  He leaned closer until his mouth nearly brushed my ear. “Since when do you like to do anything safe?” His teeth caught my earlobe for a moment, and then he sat back again. The mere brush of him against me caused me to quiver, and no, there was nothing safe about it.