Nightwalker

by Rhonda L. Print

  His hands caressed under the edges of my shirt, slowly and seductively amping up the feel of electricity along my skin.

  I felt the muscles of his taut stomach quiver as I teased the hairs, savoring the feel of the softness of them contrasting with the hardness of his muscles. He groaned in both frustration and pleasure and in a lightning-speed movement my shirt was thrown to the floor. I sat up, still straddling him and looked into his night sky eyes. He let those eyes wander over me, my nipples growing taut with expectation as his gaze caressed them. The look in his eyes melted me and I leaned over and brushed my lips against his. He slid his hands along my side, grazing my breasts with his fingers before he cupped me with both hands.

  “Ian,” I barely whispered against his lips as both the physical pleasure of him kneading me gently and the sensual emotions flowing into me from him assaulted me so completely. His mouth replaced his hands, teasing first one then the other. A soft cry escaped my lips and I arched my back, encouraging him. His hand trailed down my stomach, sending ripples of pleasure across my body.

  We were both still wearing pants and the need for more skin to skin contact turned into an aching compulsion. I tore my body away from him and lowered myself until I was eye level with his groin. I slid the heel of my hand down his bulge, enjoying the feel of soft leather against his erection, eliciting a sharp gasp from Ian. I took my time pulling apart each button of his fly, teasing each inch of him as I went. I had already learned that Ian went commando and never appreciated that fact more than I did at this moment. I shifted position so that I lay between his thighs, enjoying each flexing of muscle as I stroked and teased him. When I reached the last button I grasped him with my hand. I locked my gaze on his as I gently guided him into my mouth.

  His head fell back and a guttural sound of pleasure came from him, his eyes half-closed in ecstasy. I played my tongue along the tip of him then slowly took him in, inch by glorious inch until there was too much of him and too little of me to go further. I grasped the base of him and let my fingers caress his sac as I tasted and suckled him while he writhed beneath me.

  Small sounds of pleasure, both his and mine, filled the air around us along with a sense of power that felt like electric flashes dancing across my skin. I felt a sensation unlike any I’d experienced before; not love, I had no intention of going through that hell again, but there was something there, something more than mere lust. I forced the thought from my mind before it could go too deep. I had no choice but to feel the emotional along with the physical pleasure, destiny had made sure of that long before I’d met Ian.

  “Enough, God please!” Ian’s voice came out in a flutter of air.

  I ignored his plea and continue to feed on him as if my life depended upon it. I slipped my hands up to his stomach to still his movement and continued to drink him down, feasting on not only sex but also the power of his emotions and mine mixed together in a frenzy of white-hot heat.

  I released him and he growled with a mixture of frustration and rapture. I laid my head upon his stomach as I reveled in the sight, scent, feel and taste of him.

  It was divine.

  “You’re a wanton vixen.” Ian pulled me toward him, his hands sliding down my sides and grazing my breasts. He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me up as he pivoted his body so that he was on top looking down at me.

  I smiled and I knew it was the smile that let just a little wicked mischief show in my eyes. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  He smiled back with his own devilish grin then claimed my lips again. He trailed kisses down my face and neck, lingering slightly at my pulse point that was now trying to beat a hole out of my skin.

  It was his turn to take control and he took every advantage as he traced his tongue down my stomach. His breath fell hot upon my core and the anticipation of it alone was enough to have me crying out his name.

  He chuckled softly and thrust his fingers inside me while his mouth continued its journey down me until he replaced them with his tongue.

  There was no longer room for any thought, any consciousness other than the physical and emotional charges reeling through my body until I danced under his touch and my world exploded in a myriad of sensations. He continued to taste me, his tongue diving in and around me until I screamed out in pleasure again, my hands fisted into the sheets as my head rocked from side to side.

  Then he was above me, looking down onto me. He raised one hand to brush my hair from my face. “Look at me, my love.”

  I turned to his face, his eyes midnight blue and swirling with points of light.

  “I want to watch your face while I make love to you.”

  With that he slid himself inside me, slowly working into me until he could go no further. Then he stopped and for a moment we just lay there, savoring the feel of each other.

  It felt like home and I felt tears glisten at the back of my eyes.

  Ian began to move, slowly, in and out of me, caressing me inside and out. I let my head fall back and arched into him as he increased the tempo until I felt like my world was about to shatter.

  “Feed on me, Ian.” I gasped and stretched my neck in invitation.

  “Tell me you’re mine, my love.” Ian spoke above me, his own breath uneven.

  “I’m yours.” I spoke breathily.

  “And I am yours.”

  He nestled his face into my neck and sank his fangs into me. I expected pain. It never came.

  My world exploded around me in a flurry of sensations as power ripped through me and I came. The force of my orgasm sparked ripples of electricity across my skin until there was nothing left but sensation.

  I felt his rhythm begin to falter as he lifted his head from my neck.

  Our pleasure came simultaneously as we called out each other’s name. As we lay there together, I felt Ian’s heart beating strongly in time with mine, as if they beat together as one.

  * * * *

  I awoke slowly to the fading light of day. Damn. I slept all day again. I hoped I wasn’t come down with something.

  Ian and I were tangled together in a mass of arms and legs. I turned my head to glance at the pillow below me, expecting to find blood from the wound on my neck where Ian had fed.

  There was none.

  I felt rather than saw Ian looking at me. I turned to meet his eyes as he began dragging his fingers lazily across my arm.

  “Good morning, my love.”

  “Good evening.” I corrected.

  “How do you feel?”

  I took a moment to stretch languidly, raising my arms above my head. I rolled into him and stretched my back like a fat housecat, smiling wickedly up at him.

  “I feel,” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “fabulous, sated.”

  He arched a brow at me. “Completely sated?”

  I draped my arms around him. “Well, maybe not completely.”

  He laughed and rolled with me in his arms. “I can take care of that.”

  He certainly did.

  A couple of hours later I sat at the table with a large cup of coffee, eggs, toast and the biggest pile of bacon I’d ever seen in front of me.

  “I can’t eat all this,” I protested.

  “Then focus on the bacon, my love. You need to replenish your iron after my feeding last night.”

  Ah. I picked up the fork and dove in. I took sips of coffee between bites of the bacon before moving on to the eggs and toast. Ian laughed as he removed my empty plate and cup and walked to the sink.

  “How is it that a vampire can cook so well?”

  He set my plate in the sink then paused.

  “I wasn’t always a vampire.” He reminded me softly as he refilled my coffee cup.

  He set the cup in front of me and took his seat back at the table.

  “I’m sorry, Ian.” I placed my hand on his in a comforting gesture.

  He shook his head. “No matter.” He settled back in his seat. “In my days as a human we did not have fast food.”
He smiled. “A man without a mate needed to cook.”

  “Emily didn’t cook?”

  “I had no need of food by the time I met Emily.”

  I blinked, then blinked again. “You were already a vampire when you met Emily?”

  He nodded.

  “But in your soul I saw…” I held my cup with both hands and took a long drink. The hot liquid scalded all the way down. I barely noticed as thoughts raced through my head.

  Ian leaned forward. “You did not witness my turning, my love. I was nearly seven hundred years old when I met Emily.” His eyes were searching mine, for what I didn’t know.

  He took the cup from my hands; they were shaking so bad that coffee had sloshed over the sides onto them.

  Thoughts spun through my head like some tiny roller coaster spinning loops in my brain. I couldn’t settle on just one long enough to consider the possibility of living for centuries. Centuries hell, more than half a millennia had passed while Ian walked the earth. I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept of that much time passing. A thought captured my funny bone and I couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling out of me.

  Ian gave me a look that said he questioned my sanity.

  “I’m dating an old man.” I took a breath to calm my laughter.

  “Do I look like an ‘old man’ to you?” He crossed his arms, looking sullen.

  I stretched across the table and kissed the tip of his nose.

  “You don’t look like an old man.”

  I leaned further and nuzzled the side of his cheek, breathing deep.

  “You don’t smell like an old man.”

  I kissed his lips then ran my tongue across them.

  “You definitely don’t taste like an old man.”

  He captured my bottom lip between his teeth and I laughed again.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I spent the evening filling Ian, Cougar and Falcon in on every detail I could remember on the case involving Fang. Raven wasn’t there. I didn’t ask where he was and no one volunteered the information to me.

  Sam called during the evening and confirmed what we’d all feared. Once Sam had discovered that Fang’s grave had been tampered with he got a court order to exhume the body and had a crew start right away. It was empty.

  Cougar did some kind of reading on me—it was one of his gifts—and discovered a link left behind by Fang. Since Fang wasn’t already dead, I’d have to kill the bastard again and this time, I’d make sure he fried in the sun. I didn’t “belong” to anyone, a fact I planned on shoving into Fang’s heart with a silver blade before he roasted. Apparently, he could have some level of control over my free will, make telepathic connections with me, and, of course, there was the vampire GPS thing to deal with. As long as the link between us existed, he would know where I was and what I was feeling whenever he wished, provided there wasn’t too much distance between us. Exactly how far away I’d have to be was unknown. If he’d invaded my brain already, I hadn’t felt it. Hopefully my shields were stronger than his senses.

  While Ian and I were back on comfortable terms, I opted to sleep alone that night and try to get back on a more reasonable schedule. I slept fitfully at best, tossing and turning throughout the night. Morning came and I slept through it once again. My job didn’t exactly require that I keep regular hours but I was going to have to do better than this.

  I woke up, showered, dressed and scowled at my battered reflection in the mirror before I headed toward the kitchen. Even though it was nearly noon, as soon as I hit the staircase I could smell the coffee drifting upwards. As I walked into the kitchen I found Bear standing at the counter pouring coffee into mugs.

  Awkward.

  What do you say to a man that you took two shots at, kicked in the balls and were essentially responsible for him getting thrown through a plate glass window?

  “Sorry, Bear.”

  He turned and handed me a cup of coffee. Surprisingly he had a pleasant look upon his face and didn’t appear any worse for the wear. Perhaps all of his injuries were to his back and covered by his clothing. He was dressed rather loosely today. His faded jeans led down to boots that could only be described as combat gear. He wore a long-sleeve shirt that was pulled up over his forearms. The slight bulge of his gun in a side holster ruined the line of his shirt but he appeared to be going for casual anyway. I accepted the coffee and muttered, “Thanks.”

  “I am the one who should be apologizing. I walked into a situation I knew nothing about and rough-handled you.”

  “You walked into the room and saw me with a fully loaded Glock aimed between your boss’s eyes. I think that justifies a little rough-handling.”

  He shook his head. “I should not have treated you so harshly. I apologize.”

  “And I’m sorry I shot at you, kicked you in the junk and got you thrown through a plate-glass window.”

  “Not the first time,” he commented casually, “probably won’t be the last.”

  I smiled and shook my head. “You know, Bear? I think this may be one of the strangest conversations I’ve ever had.”

  He smiled, took a sip of coffee and headed out the back door. It was then I noticed that the window had been repaired. I scanned the room and found the only signs of the struggle were two bullet holes in the wall near the doorway. Huh, I guess money gets things done pretty fast.

  I had some leftover paperwork to do on some recent investigations so I grabbed my laptop and cup of coffee and headed out to the patio. While I now knew that Ian did not “sleep” until sunset, I also knew that he would not be awake for a few more hours.

  A desert lizard scurried away as I took a seat at the tile-covered table overlooking the expanse of desert that spilled into the mountains. The sun was high in the pale blue sky and a hummingbird danced above the bright red flowers of a Mexican Bird of Paradise. I sat back in the heavily padded chair and watched the wind blow the pale pink flowers of the many Bougainvillea bushes that served as a backdrop to the cactus garden lining the perimeter of the courtyard.

  A “beep” let me know that my computer was booted up and ready to go. I signed into my email account. Along with the usual array of spam, I had three from Mutual Fidelity regarding the reports I planned on submitting today, two of them regarding a couple of new cases which I quickly responded “yes” to. Right now, Fidelity was my main job, with my consulting work for the cops coming in second, although lately it was taking up most of my time. I was hoping Fidelity didn’t get impatient and fire my ass but in the grand scheme of things, tracking down a vicious killer took precedence over insurance fraud.

  Another email popped up on the screen, this one from Wilson, which had me checking my cell phone to make sure I had a signal here. I had full bars and a charged battery so I called Wilson instead of responding via email. I used it as a form of business communication but I preferred the phone for family and friend contacts.

  “I’m surprised you have a signal in the mountains,” his voice boomed over the line.

  “What the hell are you talking about? I’m not in the mountains.” My confusion was clear in my voice.

  There was a moment of silence before he responded. “I thought you two would have made it to Sedona by now, did you have car trouble?”

  “Sedona? What the fuck would I be doing in Sedona? I’m at Ian’s place.”

  I heard his footsteps quicken and the sound of a car door opening and closing. He called out some orders into the police radio as he started up the car. “Alli called me and said you two were going up to Sedona for the weekend. She thought you needed to get away from here for a few days and decided to make a weekend out of it.”

  I was on my feet and headed for the garage as he spoke. Panic rode my nerves as I climbed into Ian’s black Mercedes.

  “I haven’t talked to Alli since I left my house the other night, Wilson. I’ve been at Ian’s place ever since. What the fuck is going on?”

  “Alli’s gone. She’s been gone since yesterday afterno
on.”

  The keys dangled from the ignition. I guess when your property is guarded you don’t really worry about mundane things like taking your keys out of the car, and for that I was extremely grateful. I started the car and left a trail of dust behind me as I sped down the driveway.

  The gates opened automatically as I approached them and I turned onto the blacktop in a skid. “I’m on my way, Wilson.” I could hear the chatter of his police radio in the background.

  “I’ve got a couple of squad cars on their way to my house and the hospital. I’m headed home now.” Fear was not something that I heard often in his voice.

  I heard it now.

  “Twenty minutes.” I pushed the accelerator to the floor.

  I made it in fifteen.

  The house was surrounded with squad cars. A K-9 unit had his nose to the ground, searching for a trail. I swallowed back the dread that sent chills snaking down my spine and ran in the front door. I found Wilson pacing through the house barking out orders to everyone who passed.

  “She didn’t take a fucking thing.” He bellowed when he saw me. “Why the hell didn’t I notice that when I came home last night?” he asked with a mixture of anger and panic. “I should have fucking noticed.”

  I threw my arms around him and squeezed with all my strength. “She’s fine, Wilson.” I looked up into his eyes. “We will find her.” I put all the determination I felt in the words. “We will find her and bring her back home.” I took a step back.

  “I sent a squad car to the hospital. No one there knows anything about it. She called in to them yesterday and said she needed to take the next few days off for a family emergency.”

  “When was the last time you heard from her?” I hugged my arms around my shoulders, swallowing back the panic.

  “She called yesterday around lunch. She told me that the two of you were driving up to the high country for a getaway. She was worried about you,” he said softer. “She was worried and she wanted to get you out of here for a couple of days.” His voice began to break and his shoulders slumped.

  “Okay, try to remember her exact words. I’m going to go check with Ramírez and get an update.”