Netherworld: Drop Dead Sexy

by Tracy St. John

  When I returned to the library, I found Dan sitting on the table top next to me, looking down on me in amazement as he fondled my breasts. Tristan kneeled between my legs, his eyes half-closed and a satisfied smile warming his handsome face.

  “Very nice, little girl,” he said, his voice full of praise. I thrilled to hear his approval.

  Then a thought occurred to me. “Did you — I mean, since you’re a ghost, Sir, can you?”

  Tristan chuckled. “Don’t ask me to explain, because no one to my knowledge has figured out the exact whys and wherefores. But yes, I reach climax and if I’d come in your mouth, you would have tasted my juices.”

  I remembered the taste of that one sweet drop Dan had given me. “It’s like we’re still alive, but on a different plane or dimension.”

  And what a dimension. I’d never completely lost myself in an orgasm before. And I was so ready for more. My nether regions throbbed anew as Tristan pulled free of me.

  “On your feet, baby. Bent over the table,” Dan said, rising.

  The rightness of serving him slipped over me, comforting and secure. I remained shaky from the mind-blowing climax, but I immediately assumed the position he wanted.

  “Hands behind your back.”

  I criss-crossed my wrists at the small of my back and shivered in delight as big, calloused hand closed over them, holding me helpless. Dan nudged my legs far apart with his, opening me. With his other hand, he positioned his cock at my entrance.

  He slowly impaled me, making me feel every luscious inch of him as he pressed inside. I shuddered when the hand not holding my wrists closed on the back of my neck, pinning me down. I keened a high note as he slid further into me, my flesh yielding eagerly to him.

  “Does it feel good to have my cock in you, baby?”

  “Yes Sir,” I gasped. My body already revved up for another orgasm, my sheath slowly flexing in uncontrollable spasms.

  He groaned. “I’m not going to last long. She’s too damned hot.”

  Tristan chuckled from elsewhere in the room. “I’m really glad you found her, Dan. She’ll help pass the time, won’t she?”

  Dan’s only answer was a gasp as my passage flexed around him again. Oh yeah, I neared the brink again.

  He filled me completely, bumping up against my cervix to make me hiss with sensation. Dan wasn’t the only one who wouldn’t last long. If he expected me to wait for permission, he would be very disappointed.

  “Hard and fast, Brandilynn,” he said. “That’s how I like it, so get ready.”

  “Please, Sir,” I begged.

  With that, he pounded me with all his strength. By the second stroke I was up and over, screaming in abandoned delight as he jerked me back and forth to meet his strength. And again, the blinding pulses stealing my mind, taking me out of the realm of sight and sound to only feel the excruciating explosions. As soon as it passed, another arrived to

  take me even higher. I rode that crest until yet one more blasted through, the carnage leaving my throat raw with screams I never heard.

  I found myself sobbing when I came back, my face pressed against the cool surface of the wood beneath me. Dan’s weight laid over me, heavy, his cock twitching inside as the last of his pleasure bathed my womb. He groaned my name.

  I don’t know how long we lay like that, trying to recover.

  At last Dan pushed himself up and carefully disengaged from my clinging sheath. I slowly rose, expecting to be sore from the punishing use. But no, I felt just fine and dandy. And glowy all over. The sex had been amazing.

  Tristan sat on the leather couch, fully clothed again. When I turned to Dan, he too was back in his button-down shirt and tan pants, looking like a businessman getting ready for his lunch break.

  Remembering how I’d shed my clothes, I thought of myself wearing my prettiest sky-blue sundress with the ruffles and yellow daffodils on the trim. Just like that, I felt the soft silk draped over my body. Neat.

  “You look as precious as an Easter egg,” Tristan observed. His appreciative glance made me flush with happiness.

  “Well, Easter is only a couple weeks away,” I answered, walking over and flouncing down on the couch next to him. I thought of my gold sandals and pearl drop earrings, along with a hand-painted wooden bangle I’d bought from a local artisan. Poof! Just like that, I wore the ensemble.

  I wonder if the dead do anything that requires a Versace gown.

  Dan sat on the edge of the table we’d just had so much fun on. I looked him over, trying to discern what he’d thought of our romp. He looked back and grinned.

  “A Dom is born,” I said.

  “I never knew a woman who liked to have control taken away. You sure don’t act like it when you’re not naked.”

  Tristan stroked my hair, and I shivered at the touch. He said, “It’s a popular misconception that subs are doormats. Most of the ones I’ve known are very much take charge outside of the bedroom.”

  “I like the sound of that combination. Strong as nails during the day, soft in my arms at night. I take it you’re feeling much better, Brandilynn?”

  “Much.” I frowned at them now that my hormones didn’t rule my brains. “You said something about I was your only witness to the killer. “Where are the ghosts of the other women who were murdered? There were what, more than a dozen in the last two years?”

  Tristan answered that one. “Not all the dead come back as ghosts. There was one other victim we found a few months ago, but she also suffered from amnesiatic trauma and disappeared before we could get any information from her.”

  I stared at him. “If the dead don’t come back as ghosts, where do they go? Heaven and Hell?”

  Dan shrugged. “No one really knows. It seems those with strong personalities manifest as spirits. And if there’s a Heaven or Hell, we’ve never seen a sign of either.”

  Tristan added, “Most spirits haunt beloved homes, follow loved ones around, or stay with their bodies.”

  “Like I did.” My voice sounded very small as I thought about the long frightening days and nights in the woods. “I thought I was having a nightmare. It was horrible.”

  Dan said, “It’s a miracle you’re sane. Most of the serial killer’s victims are savaged beyond the simple blood draining vampires usually do. No doubt the pain you suffered was horrific.”

  “Stop trying to cheer me up.” I pushed aside the grief that wanted to overwhelm me once more.

  Tristan asked, “You didn’t extend your escort services to vampires, you said.”

  “Human only. One of your fellow commission members was a regular of mine, George Stansfield.”

  Tristan grimaced. “I’m sure it will come out during the investigation. These things always do. I’ll have to prepare a statement.”

  “If the police dig too far, it’s going to hurt some big names in the community.”

  “Oh, you can be sure they’ll dig. There’s a lot of pressure to get these murders solved and the killer staked.” He changed subjects. “How did you get into being an escort? I’ve seen the news reports. Your family is Fulton Falls’ high society.”

  My answer was short. “Rebellion.”

  Dan stared at me in shock. “That’s it?”

  They always wanted explanations. I sighed. “My life was stifling. My parents had my entire future planned out. I went to the right private school, had all the right friends, attended the right college … they even picked the right man for me to marry.”

  Tristan nodded. “That wouldn’t have been not too strange for my time, but these days it’s a little extreme.”

  “I couldn’t breathe without their say so.” Eager to change the subject, I asked, “How old are you, Mr. Keith?”

  He blinked at the turn of conversation, but he didn’t press the issue. With a smile he said, “After sharing carnal relations, I think you should call me Tristan.”

  “Okay. Tristan.” I smiled. Why had I been so afraid of vampires? He really wasn’t a bad sort. A little
old-fashioned, at least when he wasn’t humping me on a library table, but I liked it.

  “I was born at the turn of the century over 100 years ago,” he said. “I’ve been a vampire for almost 75 years.”

  “You’re kind of young for being such a big time player among the vamps, aren’t you?”

  He shrugged. “While we gain in our supernatural powers as we get older, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with the changing times, especially those born before the Industrial Revolution. Most elders retire from public life around the 300-year mark.”

  Dan added, “We have only one vampire around that age among Tristan’s trusted group.”

  “The Judge,” I whispered and shuddered.

  Tristan had two attendants accompany him at public functions. One was his sister Patricia. Rumor had it he’d made her a vampire himself. The other aide was Pembroke Keimer, better known as The Judge. He’d been around Fulton Falls a couple years now, quickly becoming Tristan’s right hand vamp. The man had the most severe attitude I’d ever seen, looking for all the world like the Puritan judge he was reputed to have been before a vamp turned him. The Judge looked terrifying even on TV.

  To the men I said, “He’s scary all right. Was he really in on the Salem Witch Trials?”

  Tristan shook his head, his chuckle telling me he was used to the rampant rumors that swirled around his assistant. “No, though I think he attended them as a bystander.”

  Dan wasn’t as amused. “I think Brandilynn should steer clear of him if possible. He’s not a fan of women of, uh, questionable virtue.”

  Tristan pondered the suggestion. “His insight is invaluable. But since she has no memory of the attack as of yet, we’ll give her a chance to acclimate to her new afterlife before exposing her to him.”

  I switched the subject, not enjoying the current one too much. “How do you two know each other? I mean, you don’t make a habit out of sharing girls, right?”

  Dan answered that one with a shake of his head. “No, this was a new experience for me.”

  “So, what’s your connection?”

  “Death is incredibly boring. Even filling the time with sex can get old.” He grinned at Tristan. “Vampires always have some drama unfolding. They’re a manipulative bunch, forever trying to outmaneuver each other as well as humans.”

  Tristan laughed. “We do love power plays, don’t we? Politics came naturally to me once I became undead.”

  Dan smirked his agreement. “Tristan is one of the more ambitious of his kind, as well as a fair dealer. So when death got a little too mundane, I offered my background in business to help him in his many ventures.”

  I nodded. “You have a lot of businesses. Property development and management, construction, and that trucking company.”

  “Plus I’m the silent partner in several other fields.” Tristan preened. “Dan’s help has been invaluable. Unlike my subordinate vampires and shifters who are looking to promote their own agendas, I can trust him with everything.”

  “I’m just looking to be kept busy and entertained.”

  Dan suddenly went on alert, standing up straight as he looked towards the library’s double doors. “Someone’s here.”

  I stood up, not sure why I felt alarm. “Another ghost?”

  “No, the living.”

  Taylor and Lana, the two women who’d helped Sheriff Grayson locate my body, walked in through the library’s main doors. Once they were inside, Lana halted and closed her eyes. “I feel Dan and the woman and—” her brow creased as she concentrated. Tristan rose from the couch and stepped to her side. He gently touched her shoulder, and she stiffened. “Vampire. Is that you Tristan?”

  He squeezed her shoulder, and she relaxed. “It’s him.”

  Taylor cast her gaze around the room. “Is it safe to report?”

  Tristan patted Lana’s shoulder this time. “It’s safe. Go ahead.”

  Taylor’s delivery came out crisp and very matter-of-fact. “It does look as if Ms. Payson is the latest victim of the Ripper. No one’s saying much until the autopsy, but my source says it was a particularly nasty death. The mutilations are definitely getting worse. Like the previous victims, she wasn’t killed in those woods. The Ripper dumped her there afterwards. We’re just lucky the wild pigs or dogs didn’t find her first. She’s the freshest kill they’ve gotten since the Ripper started.”

  I swallowed hard and my knees knocked together. Freshest kill. Not a description of myself I enjoyed hearing. “If I wasn’t dead I’d throw up.”

  Dan joined me and wrapped his big, strong arms around me. “Why don’t I take you somewhere else while she reports?”

  Before I could answer, Taylor said, “The autopsy is day after tomorrow. That’s about it for now. Oh, except no one wants the body.” She grimaced sympathetically. “I guess she wasn’t on good terms with her family.”

  Lana had her hankie out again and dabbed her eyes. “Poor soul. That’s too bad.”

  As the women turned to leave, I pushed Dan away and dropped back down on the sofa. “No surprises there.”

  But I was surprised, a little. Sure, I’d been disowned and had no expectations of rejoining my family in life. But they wouldn’t even bury me? That kind of cut.

  Fortunately I was too wrung out to cry. At this point, I accepted even small blessings. I had no intentions of blubbering like a weakling, and certainly not over something done by my parents. They had no right to my tears, not now, not ever.

  Dan and Tristan sat on either side of me. Each took a hand, and I warmed to feel the gentle strength flowing from them. I had lucked out to meet such gentlemen, the kind that were protective without belittling me.

  Tristan’s cultured voice flowed, a balm to my pain. “I’ll see to it you get a decent burial.”

  “Thank you, but it’s not necessary.”

  “I think it is.” He kissed my hand and rose. “Dan, I will leave her in your capable hands for now. I have a few things to take care of before sunset.”

  “I’ll give her the grand tour.” Dan quirked a smile, and stuff inside me went all squirmy. He was so handsome, especially when he smiled.

  Tristan frowned. “Watch where you take her. The east side of Old Town is getting violent again.”

  Okay, Mr. County Commissioner sounded a little too paternal. What next, be home by eleven? “What does it matter? We’re dead, right? So nothing can hurt us,” I pointed out.

  Dan slowly shook his head at me. “Oh, we can be hurt. You felt pleasure with sex, didn’t you?”

  Tristan gave me a very serious look, serious enough that I got off my high horse about his patronizing attitude. “Not only can ghosts be hurt, but we can be ‘killed’ again, so to speak. Permanently erased from existence. Which can be a blessing if someone decided to torture you for eternity, which is also possible.”

  His words sparked a thrill of terror. “Wow, nasty. What about vampires? If you get staked, you’ll be ghosts full time, right?”

  Tristan’s lips thinned into a straight line. “Staking doesn’t kill vampires, it just pins them down so they can be killed. But the answer to your question is that the souls of dead vampires disappear entirely, including our daytime ghosts.”

  Dan added, “That’s why their day resting places are kept so well hidden.”

  Tristan spoke to him. “I’ll have a channel present at tonight’s meeting, so bring her.”

  “Okay.”

  Tristan’s body went smeary, and then he disappeared entirely. I gaped. Is that how I had looked when Dan took me from the woods? Freaky.

  Dan stood, pulling me up easily with him. “Ready for the grand tour of old Fulton Falls?”

  I took a deep breath. Tristan had said Dan would keep me safe. “Sure.”

  Hand in hand, we walked out.

  Chapter Three

  Outside the library I gaped at my environment. It’s difficult to explain how a pool of inky black surrounded me, yet I saw my surroundings without trouble. Imagine being i
n town at night, streetlights turning everything to shades of gray. It’s kind of like that, but without the actual illumination.

  I turned slowly, taking in the city below the city. Streets of packed dirt ran between the blackened ruins of buildings. Crumbling and cracked tabby walls, the building material of choice way back when, showed where stores and offices had once stood. Smears of soot darkened the once whitish gray structures, cobbled with oyster shells.