[Draven's Crossing 1] Hidden Diversions

Dedication:

For the Readers who were so patient. Thank you! Thank you to PSP for your patience as well.

To: Cherise, Chris, Dawn, Tilly, Cynnie, Jess, Andrea and Shar for your input, support, laughs and suggestions.

“Though this
be
madness, yet there is method in’t.”

- Polonius, Hamlet, Shakespeare

Chapter One

SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE

No leads yet.
Mayor silent.
-Isadora Jones, DC News Blast

Tension rushed through Torger’s veins. One leg jiggled as he tried not to get up and pace. Draven continued to drone on about the Council’s wishes on the serial killer matter. He didn’t want to think about the
killer,
in fact he didn’t want to even be here. He was at the end of his rope on all sides. Everywhere he turned the press was on his heels, asking him questions that he didn’t have the answers to, demanding time and energy that he couldn’t afford to lose. There was nothing to tell anyone. Any leads they’d gotten when Jackal had stumbled upon that cult from a few weeks ago had evaporated. The leader had killed
himself
somehow and any members that hadn’t been caught were in the wind. Frustration was a constant emotional companion at the DCPD. All of his officers and detectives were working overtime and then some. All cases that could be put on the backburner had been. The main focus of his department was the serial killer. No one was more anxious for news than Torger. Not even Draven, the vampire mayor of Draven’s Crossing, could compete with Torger’s anticipation. Every day that a lead didn’t pan out was a day lost.

Things weren’t helped by DC News’ top reporter, Isadora Jones, calling him for interviews. Lately, he’d been trying to avoid her at all costs. It didn’t have anything to do with the case and everything to do with the erotic dreams that haunted the little sleep he’d been able to catch. Heat flared in his stomach. Arousal wound its way through his body as snippets of that latest dream surfaced. The fantasies had always been there, but they became more prominent with her daily phone calls and emails. She’d even taken to appearing at his home in the morning with coffee in hand, asking for a quote for her column or her show or her blog. He could picture her features clearly, delicate features, fierce stare, full lips so plump and tempting, brown eyes hard and full of determination, jaw set, dark brown curls streaked with bright pink falling to her shoulders in a silken curtain that he just wanted to run his fingers through. The heat grew as need scratched through his veins and blood filled his cock, thickening it. His shaft pressed against his fly making his pants feel tight. This time he did
squirm
a little as he tried to bat away the desire.

When was the last time he’d taken care of his arousal problem? He couldn’t really remember. Work consumed him, weakening his defenses. His wolf’s dark amber eyes gazed back at him filled with a question. It was the same query that the animal had asked the moment they’d met Isy:
Are you going to claim her or not?
Torger didn’t have answers to give the beast. Isy was a dragon shifter; dragons normally stuck to their kind. Isadora did go her own way in all things, stubbornly so, which he was both grateful for and annoyed by. He wasn’t sure about her moods. She always left him feeling like he’d just been hit by a storm and left to clean up the damage. It was exhilarating but made him yearn for more time with her that had nothing to do with their jobs. Could they even have a relationship?

“Torger, can you please pull your head out of Never, Neverland and join us? I was asking you a question.” Draven glared at him, his black eyes filled with annoyance.

Torger shifted in his chair again. He cleared his throat as he tried to decide how to contribute to the conversation but wasn’t sure what to say. “There’s nothing. We don’t have a single lead that has panned out. Unless the killer gets sloppy, I’m pretty sure that his batting average will remain the same.” Just saying those words had bile rising in his throat and coating the back of his tongue with an acidic tang.

Draven sighed and turned his back to face the window. “So we’re fucked is what you’re telling me. That’s unacceptable. There has to be something we can do. Short of telling people to stay away and institute Martial Law, which the citizens will be opposed to. They’re doing everything they can to help out and with the Ball coming up my plate is so full, I haven’t seen my desk in weeks. Rose is working herself to the bone with PR. Give me suggestions, guys.
Anything.
I don’t even want to discuss the ideas that the Council is suggesting to me.”

Draven turned around, a plea in his dark eyes. Torger wanted to give his friend and boss help but there wasn’t anything he could do. “I’ll keep trying. I promise you, I’ll have something for you, even if it’s small, by the end of the week.”

Jagger, Draven’s vampiric man of all trades, looked skeptical and Draven looked surprised, but it was all Torger could say to ease the situation, even a little bit. He would do whatever it took to find a clue on the killer even if it meant using himself as bait. As for Isy, those fantasies would have to stay where they were. There was no time for a pursuit of attraction, not when his city, his turf, was in danger.

* * * *

Isy groaned and wriggled as Torger kissed his way up her belly. Soft swipes of his tongue added to the sensations shimmering through her body.
Delicious, sweet butterfly kisses that teased her and wound her arousal up into a tight ball.
She squirmed under his touches, she tried to lift her legs to wrap them around his waist but they wouldn’t move, not even an inch. He’d tied them down tight to her bedposts, much to her delight. Her arms were the same way. She’d insisted that he take control, let his inner alpha wolf out and he’d complied beyond her wildest dreams. So far he’d flogged her, tied her down and blindfolded her and now was torturing so sweetly that she couldn’t ask for anything else. If only he’d fuck her senseless, then things really would be perfect. Instead, he took his time, teasing her with the lightest of touches. She wasn’t sure whether to scream or lay there and take it all. Who knew when they’d get another chance like this?

Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Isy!
Isy! You’re on in an hour.”

Isy groaned and rolled over on the couch. She didn’t want to wake up. Not now. Torger was so close to kissing her. She didn’t want to delay that any longer. Months of fantasies and wondering what his lips would taste like would evaporate if she woke up now.

Isy! Get up! Come on, we need you. Ivan Evanson is here for the interview.

Isy swore under her breath. “All right, all right, I’m getting up.”

She opened her eyes with reluctance and prayed that she’d be able to continue the dream later that night. It was doubtful given her workload. So far, all she’d had were fleeting fantasies that evaporated come morning. With a shake of her head, she dispersed the last of the dream though tendrils of arousal still wrapped around her tight. Her dragon didn’t say anything, much to her relief. If her beast had decided to give her its input, she was sure that the dragon would harp on the unresolved desires that Isy was trying to hide from. All the calls and visits to his cabin didn’t help matters. She’d say it was for work but in reality, she was worried about the toll the serial killer case was taking on him.

Torger looked more worn down and tired. There were bags under his eyes and he looked more inclined to bite a person’s head off than answer a simple question. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the pressure he was under but wanted to help. Only, everything she said came out about the case when she meant to invite him out for coffee or dinner. Whether that led to sex, she could only hope.
How can you talk to a person when your jobs clash?

She smirked at the turn her thoughts had taken. “I need to get laid and fast.”

With a sigh she sat up, rose from the couch and opened the door, praying the interview with Representative Evanson didn’t piss her off. All that unburned sexual tension could lead to an outburst she couldn’t take back and that would be bad. Especially since it would be live, which could lead to a viral sound bite she’d never be able to live down. Maybe she’d even lose her job.

“Isadora?” Hamilcar’s gruff voice drifted from behind her.

She let out a small scream and whirled around. Pain lanced her fingers as they morphed into claws, ready to rip into anyone who dared attack her. Once she saw that it was only the masked black dragon of chaos and Draven’s head of security, she let out a sigh of relief and willed her fingers to return to human form. “Damn it, Car, don’t sneak up on me. Can’t you use the door like everyone else? We may be cousins but for all you know I could have been naked in here.” A small jolt of pleasure made her smile at the teasing of her cousin.

Crimson splotches spread through his cheeks, and his black eyes glimmered with an unidentifiable emotion. He swallowed; his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down making her smile, too.
Poor thing is nervous.

She waved away her comment. “Okay, what’s up?”

He cleared his throat. “It’s Torger, we’re worried about him. We think he’s trying to take on too much,” Hamilcar started.