Flirting With Disaster

by Kendra Ashe

  “What a shame. I could show you such wicked delights,” he said, his voice low and sensuous.

  Slowly and seductively, his eyes moved from my face to the contour of my neck before coming to rest on the cleavage visible above the neckline of my dress. The heat in his gaze sent ripples of desire over my entire body.

  Damn! I knew I shouldn’t have worn this dress. I was just asking for trouble.

  Wren had asked me to choose something that would catch Mason’s eye. Maybe that hadn’t been such a good idea.

  A lump formed in my throat. What the hell was wrong with me?

  It wasn’t like I was a virgin. I was acting like a teenage girl on my first date. He must really think me naive.

  “What about this Kieran? Could it be one of his vampires that’s been killing people?” I asked, changing the subject.

  It worked, at least for the time being. Mason’s entire demeanor changed.

  “Even if it is, Kieran is not someone to go up against.” Mason scowled.

  “But wouldn’t it be worth it if we stop a killer and find this secret valley?” I asked before retrieving my glass and downing the rest of the brandy.

  Mason was silent. Again, his eyes raked over me like I was a piece of meat. His scrutiny made me feel even more uncomfortable.

  “Let’s dance.” Picking up a remote from the coffee table, he switched on the stereo and a slow melody filled the room.

  “Oh, I don’t think so,” I said, shaking my head.

  It was time to admit to myself that I was attracted to him, and if I let him get too close, I’d lose control. Knowing my weakness would help to keep that from happening.

  Getting closer wasn’t a good idea. As it was I could barely keep my eyes off his broad chest and sensuous lips.

  I already knew his hands could make magic with a guitar, and I couldn’t help but wonder what they would feel like if they were caressing my skin. Most of all, I was drawn to his eyes - his vampire eyes.

  No matter how hot he was, I had to remember Wren’s warning. There was no way I was going to become Mason’s living blood bag.

  “Please, I insist.” He held out his hand.

  Reluctantly, I placed my hand in his. His touch was cool, but the sensation of his skin against mine was wildly erotic.

  Mason pulled me into his arms and we began to sway to the slow melody drifting through the room. I felt his hands glide down my back to my behind, and then even lower until he could have easily slipped them beneath my dress.

  “Mason,” I gasped.

  “What can I say,” he shrugged. “My appetites are insatiable, including my appetite for pleasures of the flesh.”

  I thought I should do some more protesting but he didn’t give me a chance. His mouth found my neck. I could feel my pulse pounding against his lips as he left a trail of kisses up to my jaw.

  Almost as if they had a mind of their own, my hands found their way to his hair. From the first time I saw him, I’d wanted to run my fingers through that silky mane of his.

  Suddenly, his hands were cradling my face and his lips came down on mine.

  Letting go of my inhibitions, my lips parted to receive his tongue. I was drowning in the feeling of him exploring my mouth.

  Everything changed and I was someplace else.

  We were in a bed with black satin sheets tangled around us as he did amazing things to my body.

  In the blink of an eye, someone else was in the bed with us. It was another man. Like Mason, he had dark hair and he was just as breathtaking. When I felt his lips on my face and his hand on my other private parts, a gasp exploded from my throat. It was impossible to wrap my mind around the pure ecstasy flooding through my body. In that instant, all I could think about was sweet release.

  My eyes flew open and I was back in Mason’s living room. I blinked, confused about what had just happened. Mason’s arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, which was a good thing. Without him holding me up, I would have collapsed.

  “Did you like that?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I breathed.

  “I could do that for you, and so much more,” he breathed his words into my ear.

  “Wren told me I would have to be your feeder.”

  Blinking, Mason looked as if he were coming out of a daze. “That isn’t always true. Sometimes I just make love to a woman because I want to.”

  “How did you get into my head like that?” I asked.

  “I can send images to your mind,” he told me.

  While he was in my head, I’d felt the power of his desire and it was overwhelming. His lust surrounded me like a blanket of heat.

  Breaking free of it would be a battle and one that I was no longer sure I wanted to win.

  “Why was there someone else with us?” I asked, suddenly remembering the other guy.

  Mason’s eyes turned cold and his nostrils flared as he scanned the room.

  Was he sensing something that I wasn’t?

  All of a sudden, the front window exploded in a spray of glass. I was lucky. As soon as I heard the shatter, I covered my face to protect it from the flying shards.

  At the same time that the glass exploded, a dark form came through the window. It was the same guy who’d been in my head only moments before. He stood in Mason’s living room, his eyes glowing with an inner light. With his lips pulled back in a snarl, his fangs were clearly visible.

  If I’d had doubts about the reality of vampires before, the sight of the stranger fixed that.

  Mason was in a defensive stance, ready to spring on the intruder. “How dare you come in here?” he roared.

  “I just wanted some of what you were having. She looks delicious.” Letting out a low growl, the vampire lunged at me.

  Before he could get close, Mason pulled me out of the way. He then leaped at the intruder, knocking him to the ground.

  My mouth fell open as both vampires lifted into the air. Mason slammed into the other guy and they both hit the floor with a loud thud.

  The vampire began laughing hysterically. “Really, Mason, you are out of shape. I could have taken you.”

  Scowling, Mason got to his feet. “Colin, you are asking for trouble.”

  As Colin stood up, I was able to get a good look at him. He was striking, just like Mason. I was beginning to think looks and charisma were just vampire traits. He had eyes as black as the night and dark hair that curled softly around his neck. He was dressed in black leather embellished with silver spikes.

  “I see you have a new feeder. You should be careful with this one and keep her around a while.” Colin laughed at the sullen look on Mason’s face.

  “She’s not a feeder.” Mason forced his words through clenched teeth.

  “Okay, dude, I just thought-,” Colin’s voice trailed off when he saw the fury on Mason’s face.

  “I know what you thought.” Mason’s anger was still evident.

  Colin took a step back. “I didn’t mean anything.”

  Mason drew in a deep breath. “What are you doing here, Colin?”

  The amusement faded from Colin’s face. “You’ll probably want to know that Kieran has your friend. That Seeker freak, Wren.”

  I drew in a sharp breath.

  Wren was in trouble.

  “How do you know this?” Mason asked, his composure returning.

  “I saw some of Kieran’s nest take him. He was in the parking lot at the Underground,” Colin explained as he was brushing some imaginary dust from his jacket.

  “He broke the code of silence.” Colin turned to me. It was hard to miss the gleam of malice in his eyes. “If he were going to tell her, he should have turned her.”

  Mason turned his attention to me. “If I let you borrow my car, can you get back to the Underground without me? You can leave my car in the Underground’s parking lot. Don’t let anyone approach you until the sun is up,” he added.

  “But what about Wren?” I wasn’t about to get the brush-off, especially if it involved a frien
d.

  “I will deal with this. I’ll have to find out where they are keeping him,” Mason explained. “So, unless you plan to stay here alone, you will want to get going.”

  Since I had no intention of staying, I started for the door. It was probably a good idea to get out of there while I had the chance.

  “Claire,” Mason called.

  I turned to look back at him.

  “It’s been sweet,” he said, blowing me a kiss.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I did as Mason instructed, leaving his car at the Underground. As soon as I had my own car back, I made a beeline for the office. I had to see for myself that Wren wasn’t there.

  Parking out front, I ran toward the entrance. Although the door was closed, it wasn’t locked. That wasn’t like Wren at all.

  Sure enough, the office was empty.

  “Marie!” I called. “Are you here?”

  Our office ghost stepped out of the wall and pretended to brush the dust from her clothes. “No, I went shopping,” she said, rolling her eyes. “For hell’s sake, where do you think I’d be? It isn’t as if I have a choice.”

  “Sorry,” I told her. “Wren has been taken by vampires. Did you see anything?”

  “What am I, a babysitter for vampires?”

  “I was just wondering if he was taken from the office.”

  “When he left, he was alone. That’s all I know,” she said.

  “How long ago?”

  Marie lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know. Time is different when I’m in the wall.”

  Later, I’d regret not asking her what it was like while in her death sleep, but at that moment, I was too worried about Wren.

  Thanking Marie, I left the office, making sure it was locked.

  I thought about visiting him at his house but that’s when I realized that I had no idea where he lived.

  The only thing I could do was let Mason handle it. If there was no news my tomorrow night, report him missing to the police. I’d have to call Detective Landry. He was the only one who would know what to do about an abducted vampire.

  * * *

  It was a lot easier to think about getting out of bed than to do it. I practically had to pry my eyes open, but even then I only managed to get them open to slits and then I closed them again. The sun was way too bright. In fact, it seemed to be brighter than normal.

  Forcing myself to roll out of bed, I got to my feet. That didn’t last long before I was overcome with the urge to collapse.

  I wasn’t used to coming in so late. Sure, since I’d started working for Wren, I had been staying out later, but this was ridiculous. I’d spent most of the night prowling the streets of New Orleans, searching for Wren.

  The sky was turning purple when I walked in the door. I’d been so exhausted. I’d only had enough strength to fall into bed. After closing my eyes, everything was a blank until I tried to open them again.

  This kind of exhaustion wasn’t normal for someone my age.

  Wait a minute!

  Sensitivity to the sun and feeling suddenly exhausted could mean I’d been bitten last night, without realizing it. Forcing my legs to move, I stumbled to my small windowless bathroom that was really more like a closet.

  Flipping on the light, I winced from the pain that was making its way from my eyes to the middle of my brain.

  The harsh fluorescent light was worse than the sunlight.

  When I could finally open my eyes enough to see, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Right away, I wanted to close my eyes again. I looked like crap. My hair was a mess and the black dress I’d slept in was a mass of wrinkles.

  I hated sleeping in my clothes but I’d been too tired to care.

  Doing my best to ignore the fact that I could have easily passed for a zombie, I examined my neck for fang marks.

  There wasn’t a single mark on my neck. Since necks weren’t the only place a vampire could bite, I thought I should probably check my arms and shoulders too.

  There wasn’t a vampire bite anywhere.

  Relieved, I eyed the shower. I knew I should be out looking for Wren, but I wasn’t going to get far if I was half asleep.

  Stripping off my clothes, I stepped into the stream of cool water and let it wash away my grogginess. Once I was awake, my thoughts went haywire.

  Either I was dazed because that drink I’d had was one stiff drink, or I was in shock from everything that had happened over the last couple days.

  I’d danced with a vampire!

  That was just really weird.

  If someone had told me a week ago that I’d be dancing with a vampire I’d have laughed myself into a delirium, and then I’d have told them they were crazy.

  But vampires were real, and I had danced with one.

  Still, I couldn’t quite look at Wren or Mason and think vampire. To accept they were vampires, I would also have to accept the fact that they were predators, as sure as the gators in the swamps.

  Turning off the shower, I grabbed a towel. Although I still looked a mess, I at least felt a little better.

  Now it was time to do something about Wren.

  Rushing from the bathroom, I rummaged through my clothes until I found something simple and easy to throw on, which happened to be an old t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I dialed Wren’s number, hoping he’d answer.

  He didn’t.

  I couldn’t believe I’d missed so many clues that pointed to something being off with Wren. It had been easy to believe that most of his habits were due to him being a night person.

  I guess I hadn’t been wrong about that part, but he was a night person for entirely different reasons than I’d assumed.

  So now what?

  Even if Wren hadn’t been abducted, he wasn’t going to answer his phone until after the sun went down.

  There wasn’t much I could do until I could verify that he was missing. Grabbing my keys from the kitchen counter, I left my apartment, making double sure the door was locked behind me.

  I rushed down the stairs from the second floor to where I’d parked my car in front of the building. One of the perks that came with working for Dark Side was its location in the quarter. I liked the atmosphere.

  On one side was the bookshop and on the other was Rene’s Voodoo Emporium.

  When I reached the office, I found space in a nearby lot and ran across the street to the building that housed our office.

  I found the small, cramped office exactly how I’d left it. After turning on my computer, I plopped down in my desk chair and waited for it to load. There wasn’t a lot I could do until I talked to Mason. In the meantime, I could research vampires.

  I searched the term, undead. Tons of zombie listings came up so I changed the search term to real vampires in New Orleans.

  Most of what I found was pretty far out there, though there were a couple of sites that were downright chilling. There were people online who claimed to be vampires, placing ads for feeders. I couldn’t help but wonder how many of these vampires were of the true immortal variety.

  After an hour of searching, I still hadn’t found anything of significance. There was a lot of nonsense about garlic and burying vampires face down, but nothing that would help me find Wren.

  Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and wondered why I was doing anything at all.

  I mean, a vampire is a vampire, right? No matter how pretty the packaging, they were killers.

  But Wren was my friend. Besides, it wasn’t like it was his fault that he was a vampire, and he was trying to do something about it.

  Turning on him now would be like turning on a friend just because you found out they had a disease. That wouldn’t be cool.

  Wren was a vampire because of Mason. But then again, Mason had only been trying to save Wren’s life.

  What a mess!

  I couldn’t help but wonder why Mason had even bothered to save Wren. The knight in shining armor thing didn’t seem to fit with t
he vampire image, especially Mason’s.

  Finally, one of the listings caught my attention.

  Vampires Fight Back.

  When the page opened, I knew I’d found something real. Unlike so many of the vampire sites on the web, this one seemed to be someone’s story.

  Many years ago, I was cursed and doomed to eternal darkness. It is a curse that is colder and lonelier than the grave could ever be. I believed this would be my existence for all time, but then I discovered there could be a way for the vampire to live in the light. In this hidden world, there is no discrimination against vamps.

  It couldn’t be a coincidence.

  I spent several minutes looking around the site for some kind of contact information, but there wasn’t any. Still, I had to find this person or vampire. I had to find out what he knew about Kieran.

  Maybe it was time to call in a favor from one of Wren’s police buddies. The police should be able to trace the site to its owner. At least I hoped they could.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I glanced down at the address I’d scribbled in my notebook, and then at the sign in the window of the little white building.

  Dockside Body Art

  The address I’d been given was in a seedy area near the riverfront. I was a little skeptical. This couldn’t be the right address.

  Who would purposely open a business here?

  Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Hunting down a vampire was bad enough, now it looked like I’d also have to watch for muggers and only God knew what else.

  The building was dark and there was a closed sign in the window.

  Well, this totally sucked.

  Frustrated, I tried the door. Sure enough, it was locked.

  Stepping up to the window, I peered inside but it was too dark to see much of anything. Although the sun was nearly down, there was still some light. If this guy was a vampire, it only made sense that he might not be out and about quite yet.

  When I stepped away from the window, I backed right into someone standing behind me.

  I let out a weak scream and spun around to confront the person or monster that had decided to creep on me.

  “Looking for something?”

  The man was completely bald and covered in tattoos. He was wearing a black tank top so that a lot of his body art was visible. Most of the images were just the regular tattoos of hearts and ship anchors, but there were also macabre images of skulls and people bleeding from bite wounds. On one of his shoulders, there was a tattoo of something that looked half human and half beast.