Authors: Delilah Devlin
Tags: #Fiction, #Erotica, #General, #Romance, #Paranormal
“She’s decided not to accept Inanna’s invitation.”
Simon seated himself opposite her on another well-padded
sofa. “Did Inanna see her to the door?”
Chessa examined her fingernails and found a hangnail. She
stuffed her finger in her mouth and bit it off. “Not exactly,”
she said, not meeting his gaze.
into the darkness
239
Simon laughed. “My Natalie has good instincts. But you
still haven’t said what you want from me.”
“Are you in a rush to get rid of me?”
His sigh was long and exasperated. “Is this something that
can wait until another day?”
“She needs sanctuary,” she blurted.
Simon’s expression shuttered, but not before she’d heard
his breath draw deep. “Is she asking for it?”
“She doesn’t even know it exists.”
“Then you have to find another way to keep her safe. Send
her back to Inanna’s and make sure they don’t let her out
again.”
“Simon, you and I both know she won’t be happy there.”
“Since when do you care about Natalie’s happiness? I suppose you’ve become great friends.”
“Simon, I can’t keep her safe long. She’s ravenous. She’ll
draw attention the first time she steps out to find a meal.”
“Is she really pregnant?”
Chessa laid her head back on the cushion and looked at the
molded ceiling. Nice place he had here. “Inanna seemed to
think so,” she murmured.
“What about her policeman?”
“His name is Rene.”
“Will he go with her into sanctuary?”
“He’s not willing to become her life mate.”
“Must be one stubborn human to resist her. Or maybe he’s
found someone to deflect all that lust building in him,” he
said, his tone insinuating.
Chessa flushed. “I’ll need you to explain it to her—and she
might be resistant to the idea.”
240
delilah devlin
“I can’t imagine why. Who wouldn’t be willing to leave behind the world they know? Take a one-way trip into another
time and place?”
Chessa straightened, bunching her fists on her knees.
“Simon, what part of this aren’t you understanding? She’s
not safe here.”
“Oh, I understand. But I also know you have your sights
on her boyfriend. The daddy to her child. Do you really think
this is the best thing for her? Or is it the best thing for you?”
Chessa’s back stiffened ramrod straight. “I mean her no
harm, and I’ve given up any claim to Rene. You know why I’m
doing this. I only want her and her child safe.”
“Take a long look in a mirror, Chessa—not mine of course.
If you still want me to send her to sanctuary, I’ll talk to her
about it. But you need to purge your demons first.”
The metallic rattle drew their attention to a doorway.
Madeleine carried a large tray with a teapot and cups. “I
thought you might want something to fortify yourself before you face that storm again.” She placed the tray on the
coffee table and perched on the edge of the sofa next to
Simon. When her gaze met his, her smile said it all. She was
his willing captive.
Simon’s head swiveled toward Chessa. “Don’t come back
until the new moon. Our girl still has more growing to do,
and I’m going to be very, very busy.”
Natalie awoke in the darkness to the sound of her stomach
grumbling. She checked the time on the digital clock on the
nightstand. Nightfall had come. Soon, Chessa would arrive to
take her to dinner.
into the darkness
241
She rolled from the bed and pulled clothing out of her
drawers then headed to the bathroom. Once inside, she
showered and applied makeup to her face. The task was
pointless really. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone, and
the storm outside would likely wash it all away as soon as
she stepped outside. But she needed to do something to
while away the time.
Her hands shook with her hunger as she lined her eyes, and
the result was a little ghoulish, but appropriate to her mind.
She dressed in a silver sleeveless top and blue jeans that were
very loose at the waist and baggy in the rear. She dug for a
belt to hold them up and stepped into silver, jewel-studded
slides. The clothes were silly, the shoes ridiculous. She was
going to troll for blood and would likely stain everything she
wore. She wondered if vampires ever wore bibs and thought
the innovation might catch on.
When she’d dried her hair, she sat on the edge of the bed
and waited, counting the minutes.
This time when the knock came, she checked the peephole
first. Chessa stood in the hallway.
Natalie opened the door and gave Chessa’s attire a quick
glance. She’d overdressed. Chessa wore blue jeans and a
scruffy leather jacket.
Chessa intercepted her glance and held open her coat. Her
holster fit snug against her waist. Then she slid a long dagger
from an inner pocket. “I never travel without a little reinforcement.” Her eyebrows waggled up and down.
Natalie grinned. “I’ll have to remember that.”
“Now, that scares me. Get some lessons first.” Chessa
glanced inside the room. “You ready?”
242
delilah devlin
“Since I no longer have a purse or any cash to put into it—
yeah. It’s on you, right?”
“You have what you need to make payment. Let’s go.”
Rene sat at his desk, tired as hell. His eyes felt scratchy and
his underwear stuck to his cock. He needed a bath and to
brush his teeth, but he’d been in such a hurry to leave Natalie’s room the first time, he’d forgotten the necessities.
Staring at the copy of the faxed report from the Memphis
PD, his gaze blurred. He sat back and rubbed his eyes. Damn,
he’d lost so much blood to Natalie, he knew it would be a
while before his body restored the loss and his stamina was
back—that or he’d have to go to Charity Hospital and ask for
a transfusion. But how would he explain how he’d lost a few
pints?
There was this girl who happened to be born a vampire . . .
It
sounded nuts, and that’s what they’d think he was. If that
was true, a great big pair of baby-blues was responsible for
his lapse in sanity.
Rene swiveled in his chair, trying to decide whether to get
the cot from the lounge or sack out on the moth-ridden couch
when his gaze fell on Chessa’s filing cabinet.
The one sitting in the corner behind her desk that contained the cold case files she’d kept for forty years—since before he’d been born.
He’d read most of them. The ones in the upper three drawers. The bottom drawer was the only one she kept locked.
He’d often wondered why and supposed it might have something to do with her screwy family. But maybe, there was another reason.
into the darkness
243
He’d never know unless he looked. No stone would be left
unturned in his search for the killer threatening Natalie. He
might not be the right man for her, but he wanted to know
she’d be safe. It was the least he owed her.
Rifling through the tools, pens, and flashlights he’d accumulated in his desk, he found a screwdriver. The lock was the
built-in kind—easy to break for someone who’d jimmied his
own cabinet every time he’d lost the key.
he raucous sound of a cheery accordion and
Telectric guitars blared from the open doorway. Natalie kept her head down against the driving wind and rushed behind Chessa toward the
bar she’d chosen for her “meal.” The hooded rain
slicker she wore ended at the knees, and her feet
and the bottom of her jeans were soaked. But she
could smell food ahead. Her stomach was already
gnawing at her backbone she was so hungry.
Just inside the door a grinning man flashed a megawatt, white smile that looked like the disembodied
grin of the Cheshire Cat against his dark face. “Welcome, welcome. Da hurricane party jus’ started.”
Chessa greeted him with a lift of her lips, showing him a bit of fang.
246
delilah devlin
His smile grew impossibly wider, and his gaze swept them
both with curiosity. “You be in luck. Da room’s full.”
Chessa paused to remove her slicker and held her hand out
for Natalie’s. She handed both to the man. “Make sure I get
these back.”
“I never say no to pretty ladies.”
His laughter followed them through the noisy bar, past a
crowded dance floor, and beyond to a dark, narrow hallway
with three doors—two marked as restrooms, the last with a
sign that said PRIVATE.
Chessa pounded a fist on the thick door, and it swung open
to a cloud of smoke and the smell of booze and sex.
Natalie tamped down the urge to moan. While her mind
was revolted, her body yearned toward the room. She crossed
the threshold into a devil’s lair.
Once the door shut, the Cajun-flavored music was gone and
in its place a techno-beat thudded like a heartbeat. The lights
were low, but with her improved sense she found couples
dancing so close she had to do a double-take to realize they
mated on the floor. Others sat or reclined in padded booths
in various stages of undress, engaged in sexual acts, some of
which Natalie could only wonder about.
Chessa grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “Don’t stare
like you’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“I haven’t.”
“Pretend. You don’t want anyone to know you’re fresh meat.”
Then Chessa shocked Natalie to her toes by leaning close and
kissing her full on the lips. She nuzzled her cheek and whispered
in her ear, “Anything goes here. You can drink, fuck—just don’t
kill your host. We don’t want the attention.”
into the darkness
247
She led Natalie to the bar, and they both slid onto wooden
stools. Natalie tried to keep her gaze from clinging to the
other customers, but the mirror behind the bar only seemed
to magnify the luridness. Bodies rose and fell in unison on
the dance floor. Groans of sexual excitement and pending orgasms were only partially masked by the loud music.
“What can I get you two ladies?” The bartender greeted
them with a knowing smile.
“Thanks, we don’t need you to find our dates,” Chessa
said, then leaned toward Natalie. “Let your fangs down,” she
whispered, “or they’ll think you’re here to bleed.”
Natalie stared at the bartender’s neck and felt the downward slide of her teeth, letting them press past her upper lip
to dig into the lower.
His eyes narrowed, and he lifted his chin toward the dance
floor. “Go ahead and have a look around. There are still a few
who aren’t taken and several who wouldn’t mind sharing, I’m
sure.”
Natalie felt like she’d dropped through a rabbit hole, only
the Mad Hatter was hosting a blood orgy. She swiveled on her
chair to have a look at the menu.
“Remember what I told you,” Chessa said.
Like she would ever forget. In the car, Chessa had briefed
her, priming her for her new adventure. She’d been told certain
bars catered to vampires, and human “hosts” came willingly to
be used. Some hoped for the ultimate hook-up—to be turned.
Others wanted the intense sexual thrill a bite provided.
“Just go with the flow,” Chessa had said. “Everybody
knows the score.”
“What if they want to be turned?” she’d asked.
248
delilah devlin
“Then they’re doomed to disappointment. That’s never
something we do lightly. If a vampire finds someone he wants
as a life mate, then maybe. Be sure to stay away from the
Revenants
.”
“I didn’t think it mattered whom I drank from.”
“It doesn’t. But you don’t want them taking a reciprocal
bite. If they’ve tasted Born before, they’ll make you. Be sure
you bite first. If he’s undead, make an excuse and get away
quick. You do remember the difference in the taste?”
“Pasqual’s blood wasn’t as rich.”
“Exactly. I’m not sure of the physiology, but it has something to do with red corpuscles and the constant cycle of replenishment to keep their corpses animated.”
“Lovely,” Natalie murmured, shuddering at the description. “How will I know if he’s Born or a
Revenant
?”
“Assume all males are
Revenants
. We don’t bear male
children.”
“Ever?”
“Not since Inanna’s time, at least.”
Natalie wondered why only female children. She opened
her mouth to ask why—
“Would you like to dance?” a voice came from behind her.
Natalie’s eyes widened. For a moment, she’d forgotten
where she was. Casting a wild glance at Chessa, who nodded
her approval, she rose from her stool and turned to find a man
who appeared to be her age. His hair was curly and blond.
His eyes a muddy hazel. His smile was nice if his body was a
little tense.
She leaned toward him and raised her voice loud enough for
him to hear. “Your first time here?”
into the darkness
249
He nodded, a sheepish grin stretching his lips. “My friends
know this place. Said they have the best parties.” His glance
dropped to her breasts and below.
Best sex he meant, Natalie thought wryly. “You said you
wanted to dance. Was that just a euphemism?”