Charon forced all the morose thoughts away and stood. “You need to rest. I’ll take the tray, and you sleep. We can worry about what we’re going to do tomorrow.”
She yawned and nodded. “Okay. And thanks for saving me.”
He picked up the tray. “We won’t make a habit out of it, okay?”
“I don’t plan on it,” she said, sliding down under the covers. “The next time I’m going to kill whatever comes after me.”
One way or the other, he thought, if something comes after her, it would die. He could promise her that.
Chapter Four
Kenshin, director of the PIA, slumped down in a chair and wished he could take a long vacation. On the best of days, running a huge agency dedicated to policing the paranormal community while keeping humans in the dark was a chore. But, lately, it had been an out and out bitch. A blood cult was running around the city hooking vampires, and no one could get a line on them. Humans were being targeted and attacked. There was, apparently, a leak within the PIA with information going who knew where. Finally, the Hunters were starting to fray around the edges. At the best of times, something like this was considered a catastrophe, but with everything else going on, it was in the thermonuclear range.
He heard his office door open, and he looked up to find Joelle and Talon. Okay, things weren’t so horrible, he decided. Talon had his Liaison. Kenshin could put one check in the good column. In a day of shit, he’d take all the positive stuff he could find.
“Tell me something good,” he said to the couple. “Anything.”
The two of them glanced at one another, and Joelle spoke. “I don’t know how good it is, but the woman Charon brought in is like me. She isn’t susceptible to vampire suggestion. On the down side, the thought of vampires totally wigs her out.”
“I said good, Joelle. Tell me something good.” He wearily rubbed his face. “So, she could be a PIA agent, but since the people she’ll work with scare her, she’s useless. Awesome.”
“She also might be Charon’s Liaison.” Joelle said it quickly, as if ripping a Band-Aid off.
It took a moment for the meaning of the words to sink into Kenshin’s mind, then the implications of them. “What the fuck?” He stood up to pace, and he saw Talon move to put his body between Kenshin and the woman. Though having a Liaison had pulled Talon back from the brink of insanity, it also made him incredibly dangerous when it came to the woman.
“Please tell me why you imagine she’s his Liaison, and then, we’ll all hope you’re wrong.” Kenshin said.
“He drank from her,” Talon finally spoke. “The vamp tore her wrist up so he had to seal it so she wouldn’t bleed out. When we found the body, Charon had done a number on it.”
Joelle interrupted him as she stepped out to be seen. “He growls and doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. He looks at her like he wants to lick her up. He challenged Talon or at least he was going to, but I kicked the two of them out.”
“It might just be that he’s horny, and it’s all about sex. Or he hasn’t fed in a while.” Damn, Kenshin prayed like hell it was either one of those.
“No, Charon’s got women, and the amount of blood he consumed from the woman means he’s had his fill.”
Kenshin looked down at the floor for a long moment. If what the two of them said were true, they were going to be in deep shit soon. Or, at least, he thought they were. The whole idea of a true Liaison was something they were just learning about. People had had the title in the past, but until Joelle and Talon there hadn’t been a truly bonded couple. What would this do to Charon? If he and the woman couldn’t eventually build a relationship, and she truly was his Liaison, Charon would have to be put down. They’d have no choice.
“We need to know more,” Kenshin said. “There had to have been other human and vampire bonds formed.”
“I can check with Quenton and see what, if anything, he can come up with,” Joelle said. “He found the diary that talked about the whole Liaison thing so there’s bound to be something more.”
The phone rang, and Kenshin actually had a sinking feeling in his gut. It couldn’t be good. Hell, nothing had gone right, so a phone call in the middle of the night couldn’t be anything but bad news. He picked it up, and it only took a moment to know that things had gotten worse.
He hung up and turned to Joelle and Talon. “A human was attacked by a vampire in his home. He’s dead, and the human police found the body. Even worse, the man is Patrick James Flaherty. He’s Aislinn’s brother.”
“I’ll go with you to the scene,” Talon said.
Kenshin nodded. “Styx is already there. Joelle, I’ll need you to handle the COM.”
“Will do,” she said as the three of them left the office. “I’ll see if Reaper can hit the library. He’s the one that helped Quenton find the information to begin with so he might have a better idea where to look.”
* * * *
Reaper stalked into the library. He’d pulled his blood red hair back to get it out of his face because he’d assumed he’d be out fighting. Instead, he was relegated to the library in an attempt to help Quenton do research. What the fuck did Reaper know about anything? He was a fighter. He’d been trained from a child to kill without much thought and, yet, here he was being asked to step into the role of scholar. What a joke, but Joelle hadn’t been laughing when she’d asked him for the favor. He was obviously pussying out if he’d agreed to do this, but he was here now.
Quenton came out of the stacks with a book in hand and froze. The two of them eyed one another, and Reaper wondered what the other man was thinking. Normally, the two of them did nothing but snipe at each other, and Reaper never came to the library unless he had to. That had changed, though, when he’d helped Quenton discover why Joelle was so sick. The two of them had uncovered the truth behind the Liaison and Hunter bond, which had ultimately saved Joelle’s life.
“Is there a meeting I’m unaware of?” Quenton asked in his rich British accent. The guy always sounded like he was going to ask if you had an appointment then offer you tea. Reaper knew he wasn’t, since he could be a real asshole.
“No, there’s some kind of emergency, and Joelle had to go to the COM. She asked if I’d come here and help you with the information search.”
Quenton nodded, his face unreadable. Reaper thought if he could see the guy’s eyes he’d be able to maybe get a bead on his thoughts, but Quenton had them covered. As was his custom, he wore small silver frames with black lenses, which totally disguised his eyes. Reaper knew the irises were a dark ruby red, a gift from the man’s demon father. Beyond that, he didn’t know much else about him. Didn’t know how old he was. Didn’t know where he’d come from or where he went at night. Didn’t know if someone was waiting for him.
Reaper shut the door on that thought. Who cared if the man was hooked up? He hadn’t ever given Quenton a minute’s thought until Grimm had said the man had a thing for him. He truly doubted it though since Grimm was a dick. Of course, most people said the same thing of Reaper.
“I found a number of journals that I think may be relevant to what we need, but haven’t had time to go through them.”
“I can read,” Reaper said, with just a bit of heat in his voice. Most people thought all he could do was kill and fuck, but Reaper had been sent to school. He didn’t have any fancy college degrees, but he read quite a bit. Not that he shared that with anyone.
Quenton motioned him to follow, and the two of them went back to the room where the oldest documents were kept. This was the place they found the journal containing information about the vampire and the human woman. Quenton picked up a sheath of old parchment pages and carried them to a desk.
“These are pages from an Ancient. They are a combination of journal pages and letters. I’m fairly certain he mentions a human he’s connected with, but I haven’t gotten very far. Let me get you some gloves so you can handle the pages.”
Reaper sat in the squeaky chair and turned on a small lamp. He was so large he overwhelmed the small desk. He also hoped like hell he didn’t end up breaking the chair. Gloves were placed on the desk in front of him. Shit, Quenton moved so quietly Reaper hadn’t even heard him. He wondered again about the man and where he’d come from.
“The Ancient who wrote these pages was born after the author of the journal we found. Of course, that was written around the twelfth century. I believe this one is possibly sixteenth or seventeenth century. I skimmed it, and he writes about someone who intoxicates his senses.”
“Yep, flowery bullshit poetry,” Reaper said, shaking his head. “Why do these dudes feel like they have to write like that?”
Quenton tapped his chin. “Perhaps he felt that saying he wanted to fuck the shit out of her wasn’t poetic enough.”
Reaper snorted. “Yeah, but it sure as hell gets the point across.”
Quenton laughed, and Reaper didn’t think he’d ever heard him do that before. It wasn’t as if the two of them were friends or even mild acquaintances. Truly, Reaper didn’t have friends. None of the Hunters did. Except for Grimm, he amended. Grimm and Quenton were friends or they had been. Reaper hadn’t seen Quenton around in the last few weeks, nor had he heard Grimm mention him.
Instead of prying, Reaper put on the gloves and leaned over the first page. None of his business, he told himself, just read the pages. The sooner they found answers the faster he could be out on the street doing what he did best.
* * * *
Hands moved down her body. Aislinn sighed as a mouth closed over a nipple and sucked. She ran her hands over a heavily muscled back, enjoying the sensation of hot male skin. She parted her legs as fingers delved and explored. She moaned as her clit was lightly pinched. Never before had she felt like this, never before had anyone touched her like this. She’s spent her life locked in a hospital, and though, she’d pleasured herself, no one had ever touched her before.
Lips and tongue replaced the hand on her most private place, and her eyes rolled at the sensations. He licked and sucked as she sobbed in need. Then his enormous penis was there, easing inside of her body. She spread her legs wide and clutched at him as he nuzzled her neck. His cock took her virginity as his fangs punched into her throat. She screamed as she came.
Aislinn sat bolt upright in bed, shaking. Dream. It was a dream. But her body throbbed and shook with unmet needs. She placed her hand over the spot on her neck, but there was nothing. No blood, no marks. Always in the past, when she’d dreamed, there had been terror and pain. This time, God, this time was so different.
Shakily, she climbed from the bed and made her way to the bathroom. Shower, she thought, she’d take a shower. She’d wash away the dream and all the crazy emotions it brought up. But the emotions were also normal, she told herself. She’d been attacked by a vampire and rescued by a man she’d allowed herself to trust. She found out that the same man was also a vampire, and he had never hurt her. So, all of these jumbled emotions were just working their way through her psyche. That’s all it was.
She stripped off her clothes and climbed under the hot spray. Closing her eyes, she stood and let the water fall on her. Her muscles began to relax as she did the deep breathing exercises she’d been taught. They were supposed to calm her, and usually, they did a good job. This time, though, all it did was make her more aware of feelings the dream brought. Aware that between her legs was an empty, nagging ache. She clenched her legs together, and sensations zinged through her body.
Her eyes popped open, and she busied herself by pulling off the band that held the braid of her hair. Tilting her head back, she wet her hair thoroughly. The heavy mass brushed against her lower back, reminiscent of the fingertips from the dream. Why did her mind keep going there? It was normal. It had just been a while since she’d masturbated. Her body was just telling her it had been too long. She was a healthy female with needs. That’s all it was.
Her hands closed over her breasts and rubbed. Her nipples ached, and she wondered what it would feel like for a man to put his mouth there. Instantly, the image of Charon came into her head.
No. Not possible.
He was a vampire, he had fangs, he drank blood. But, jeez, he was sexy and big and so…male. It wouldn’t hurt to use him in her little fantasy. He’d never know, and in her mind, he could be anything she wanted.
She lifted her foot onto the seat built into the shower and ran her fingers between her legs. Aislinn leaned against the wall for balance as she rubbed her clit. The image of Charon appeared in her mind, and it was his hand she moved against. She pressed one finger into her body, and she felt the passage clamp around it. Slowly, she moved her finger in and out while her thumb continued to brush and play against her clit. She contemplated trying to fit two fingers in, but a small sound made her pause. She opened her eyes and found the subject of her fantasy watching her through the glass wall of the shower. The two of them locked eyes as Aislinn came.
His mouth widened, and she saw fangs, but they didn’t scare her. In fact, it turned her on, and the thought brought her crashing back to reality. She pulled her hands off her body and looked down at the floor. She glanced up a moment later, and he was gone, but the things he’d carried were balanced on the shelf outside the shower. She eased the door open to find he’d brought her shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a razor, and body lotion.