“You don’t what, Spencer? Know what to say because your brother is a fag?”
Spencer slapped him hard, with all of her might right across his cheek with uncontrolled fury—that he would ever even consider saying that to her made her insane with anger.
His head snapped back, but he looked her dead in the eye when Spencer exploded like a cherry bomb. “You fucking, selfish bastard! Don’t you ever say something like that to me! Not ever, do you hear me? I had no clue you were gay or otherwise and you didn’t think that I was important enough to share that with. Don’t you go throwing labels around at me like daggers! I didn’t know what was wrong when you left, Ethan, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have cared if it was because you were gay. How dare you come back here and say something like this to me without giving me a chance to even understand what was going on. We’ve always told each other everything and this—this very important facet of your life has been a secret that you didn’t think I’d be understanding about—sensitive to? Screw—you!” she roared at him.
God damn that hurt—like an open wound with a pinch of salt thrown in it. To think he didn’t tell her because he thought…What did he think? How dare he do her thinking for her.
She jumped up out of her chair and headed for the door, but Ethan grabbed her and held her tight. “I’m sorry, Spencer, that was crappy of me.”
Spencer’s body shook with rage as she struggled against his hold. “You’re Goddamn right it was. How dare you judge me!”
He gave her a light shake. “I’m sorry, Spencer. I’m sorry. It’s a knee jerk reaction.”
“To what, Ethan? To strangers, maybe. But not your damn sister.”
“Then listen to me, okay? Let me tell you about this. Let me tell you about Alan.”
Spencer took deep gulps of air to calm her. Alan. Oh, Jesus. Ethan had been involved with Alan. The knowledge sank like a bar of soap in water. “Okay, I’ll listen. Let me go.”
Ethan let her free of his arms and tugged her with him to the chairs. He ran a hand through his sandy, blond hair. “Alan and I were lovers.”
“Yeah, I heard that part. Get to the point.” She wasn’t ready to let her anger go just yet.
“We met a few months ago at a club.”
The Hole. She’d bet her fangs on it.
“At a place called the Hole,” Ethan continued. “We were pretty heavily involved, but Alan wasn’t cool with the gay thing. We were always sneaking around and I was sick of it. So I gave him an ultimatum and told him either we came clean or it was over. Alan chose over and I gotta tell ya, I didn’t think he was that much of a phobic. I really believed he loved me enough to come out of the closet.”
Spencer narrowed her eyes. “The way you loved us enough, Ethan?”
Cupping Spencer’s chin, he pierced her gaze with his. “I do love you all, Spencer, but I can’t think of a single one of us who’s gay. Not a single vamp in the clan. Mom and Dad are always talking about life mates and the girl of my dreams. How the hell was I supposed to tell them it was the ‘man’ of my dreams?”
Spencer’s anger vanished, dissipating into the pull of emotion that was their bond as brother and sister. She pushed the hair from his eyes. “Okay. I understand, but I think you know me better than to ever believe I would judge your choice of lifestyle.”
“It’s a freaky, alone thing, Spencer, and Alan didn’t make it any easier. He was always looking over his shoulder.”
“Which I’m sure perpetuated your feelings about telling us. So, you broke up?”
“Yeah and it was bad. Really bad. I felt like shit, Spencer.”
Her expression softened. “Because you were in love…”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t willing to hide from everyone and I left because I knew if I didn’t, Alan and I would fall back into the same old bullshit. It was a vicious circle, so I cut it off completely and now—he’s dead,” he croaked.
She heard the pain in Ethan’s voice. Saw the slight tremble of his bottom lip before he bit it. Most of his sorrow over losing Alan had been spent while he was away and now he’d come back home to more. “Did Alan know about you, Ethan—about us?”
Ethan nodded, his face a mask of sorrow. “Yeah, and what’s really messed up is Alan wasn’t as worried about the vampire shit as he was about the gay shit. He freaked out at first, but when I told him I had no desire to bring him to the dark side and gave him a couple of days to think about it—everything was cool. I just couldn’t live the way Alan wanted to live. I wasn’t going to sneak around for the rest of my life. Which we both know is long.”
Spencer shook her head, sharing his sorrow. “I’m so sorry, Ethan. I don’t know what to say, but you have to tell someone Alan wasn’t involved with a woman.” She held back sharing the absolute and utter dread she felt because she knew she had to tell Larkin.
Ethan let his head hang low, but his voice held a tremor. “You don’t think he killed himself over me, do you?”
Spencer squeezed his hand. “Brother, I have a lot to tell you. Come feed with me and we’ll talk some more.”
Chapter 10
“Jesus, Spencer. I don’t know what to say…”
“Going all Neanderthal on me is what you shouldn’t do. I’m being honest with you because I believe Ethan.”
She and Larkin were in her apartment, sitting at her kitchen table, trying to hash out the mess that was now a relationship between her brother and Alan.
Their bare feet were intertwined under the table as they tried to put their heads together and come up with an answer. She’d told him everything Ethan had told her, including the fact that he’d told Alan he was a vampire.
Larkin pinched the bridge of his nose. “I never once suspected, and Alan sure as hell never said a word.”
Spencer shook her head. “Well, I didn’t have a clue about Ethan either and the only thing I do know is Ethan was gone when Alan died.”
Larkin fought to take a sensitive approach. His tendency to pile drive his thoughts onto others needed to be curbed with Spencer. “Where did he go?” he asked cautiously.
“He was with my aunt and uncle at their funeral home. Cathy’s parents live in Tucson and no, before you ask he didn’t bite Alan, even during lovemaking.”
Good thing she couldn’t read his mind or he’d ask if Ethan could prove it. He’d have Sweeney do some sniffing around in Tucson, but his gut told him Ethan didn’t have anything to do with it. Why kill a guy because he didn’t want to come out of the closet? “So we’re back to square one? Alan is dead and he might have done himself in over his lifestyle.”
“But that doesn’t explain the note, Larkin,” Spencer reminded him.
Larkin shrugged his shoulders in helplessness. “Maybe he was talking about Ethan, but even before his death he couldn’t bring himself to tell Adelaide the truth?”
Spencer’s thickly fringed eyes closed then opened in obvious frustration. “Ethan said he was pretty freaked out about it. He didn’t want anyone to know. Not anyone at work or any of his family.”
“Did he call Ethan at all while your brother was at your aunt and uncle’s?”
She shook her head. “Nope. And Ethan didn’t tell him where he’d be, according to what he told me. Alan sure as hell wasn’t going to call the parlor if he was too scared to come clean about being gay.”
“Well, that sucks. I’m so damn pissed that Alan didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”
Spencer’s ponytail bobbed at him and her full lips pursed, making his cock stir and his brain fog. “It’s not like you’re Dr. Phil, Larkin. You aren’t exactly the kind of guy I’d like to sit on a couch with and expect to hear soothing words from.”
“Oh, really? That’s interesting. Wasn’t that you on the couch with me just last night, Miss Therapeutic?”
She stuck her pink tongue out at him, the very tongue that had bathed his rock-hard cock last night. Larkin shifted in his seat as his straining bulge pressed against his tight jeans.
“Was
that therapy, Detective? I wish I’d have known that long ago. When counseling became a way of life, I’d have been the first in line.”
Larkin circled her wrist, rubbing her palm with his thumb. “Hey, I’m a counseling expert,” he teased.
She tilted her head and smiled coyly. “Yes, you’re a real Oprah. Now, back to the business at hand. Alan.”
Larkin cleared his throat. “The coroner’s office says they have nothing and they’re pretty tweaked that I made them go back over this again.”
“I imagine so. They didn’t find the bite marks?” Her hesitance to ask and the fear on her face as she waited for the answer made his intestines twist into a knot.
Larkin scoffed at her. “Those yokels? I’m surprised they could find the scalpels.”
He saw the relief on her face when she said, “It’s a small town, Larkin. Not much happens here. I don’t know that they’re equipped to handle vampires.”
“So that’s it, I guess. The ruling is Alan bled out due to his wrist wounds. Suicide. End of story.” He waited to see her reaction. Maybe just a hint that she wanted him to hang around, because it was all he needed at this point in his life.
He was drifting and investigating Alan’s death had given him purpose. Looking into it made him feel useful, but so did Spencer. He didn’t know why and he didn’t much care for a reason to examine it right now. It just made sense.
Her eyes flashed lightning at him. “That’s it? Oh, c’mon Sherlock! Surely there’s more to this than meets the eye. What’s the matter, McBride? Is this case too hard for you?” she mocked in a childish voice.
Now that’s exactly what he wanted to hear. A sort of invitation to stay and dig until he found China or at least why his fascination with all things Spencer was unsettling him like nothing else. Larkin perked up. “I’m sorry. Do I hear skepticism in your tone? What are you, one of Charlie’s Angels?”
Spencer giggled, that tinkling laugh that did some fucking stupid thing to his chest that he hadn’t quite put a finger on yet. She loved television and he knew mentioning one of her favorite seventies shows would get a rise out of her.
“I always wanted to be Farrah…and yes, you do hear skepticism because this isn’t over. Some freak is out there biting people, whether he’s a real vamp or not and I’ll be dipped in shit before this happens again and my family comes to harm as a result. So, whatcha plan to do about that, Columbo?”
Larkin yanked her from her chair and pulled her to his lap. “Well, for right now, I plan to do you—we’ll talk murder and chaos later.”
“Can we talk about you later too?” Her soft lips found his and nipped at them.
Larkin felt the heavy thud of his cock and the need to have her naked and beneath him shot to his gut, hurried and hungry. “Depends on what you want to know…”
Spencer tugged her shirt off and pressed the cool skin of her upper chest to his cheek. “I want to know all about you, Detective. All of it.”
Larkin’s tongue burned to feel her silken nipple beneath it. He unclasped her bra and let her lush, full breasts fall free. Cupping them he thumbed her nipples to pebbly hard peaks.
He brought a nipple to his lips. Surrounding it he tugged, licking the hard bud. “There isn’t much to tell, but if you shut that luscious yap of yours now I promise to spill my guts in all my therapeutic glory later.”
Spencer hummed a long moan as he suckled her, rubbing her lower body against his enticingly. “Oh, all right,” she whispered huskily. “I guess I can wait…”
Larkin chuckled as he tugged the straps of her bra off her shoulders and ran a finger over the crease between her legs. She moaned low and he took the opportunity to unbutton her jeans, standing her up and shoving them off. Spencer stepped out of them and kicked them aside, standing in front of him unashamed.
She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen naked or otherwise. Long and curvy, with full hips and an ass his hands burned to clutch. The soft swell of her belly led to her smooth pussy, a pussy he could spend forever with his tongue in. She was tangy-sweet, cool and hot all at once, and his cock throbbed to ram into her.
“I somehow find it terribly unfair that I’m the only naked one here, Detective.” Larkin pulled his shirt off and popped the button on his jeans, rising to shrug them off.
He sat back down in the chair and turned her to sit forward on his lap, letting his erection caress the flesh between her legs. He pulled her back against him with his arm around her waist and let his fingers splay over her smooth pussy. “Spread your legs, Spencer, so I can touch you.” He felt her shudder as she did as he asked, spreading her legs wide, bracing her thighs on his own and hooking her feet around his ankles. Her soft skin scraped against his own, making a friction of tantalizing cool and warm.
Spencer leaned back against him and wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting her breasts high so he could just see the tips of her nipples over her shoulder.
He swore to himself he’d try to be gentle as he trailed a finger between her breasts and down over the smooth skin of her belly. He dipped a finger into her with slow ease, resting against her clit, and Spencer jerked in response against him, making him smile at how wet she was as he slipped into her and thumbed her clit. “Christ, Spencer, you’re tight—wet…”
Her moans were heavy and labored and her hips rolled against his fingers, pushing him deeper. She was hot inside, clenching his finger with her muscles and whimpering as he drove into her with slow, wet strokes.
Jesus he loved to hear that. It made his cock strain, but he refused to rush. He wanted to savor her cries of delight. “Do you like that, baby?” he asked as he nipped at her neck.
“Yesss,” she hissed out.
He pulled out of her and she cried out in protest, but he needed to taste her, make her come on his tongue. Putting each of his hands at her waist and lifting her off him, he winced when the heat of her ass left his lap. It was almost painful. “Lean over the table, Spencer.”
She did as he asked and it screwed with his guts at how she trusted him enough to comply. He stood behind her and held her close, rubbing his skin against hers as he trailed kisses along her spine, kneading the flesh of her round, sculpted ass.
With her bent over the table as she was, he had to close his eyes and swallow hard to keep from slamming into her. The place between her legs was slick with desire and glistening.
As his mouth roamed over her ass, he took in her scent, inhaled and savored the sweet smell that was all Spencer, parted her thighs wide, smiling when they trembled at his touch, making him that much more hungry for her. It burned his gut, settled low in his abdomen, ripping through his balls, heavy with lust.
He kissed the sensitive skin of her inner thighs as he knelt behind her and watched her toes curl into the carpet. “Don’t move, baby. Try to stay still when I lick you.” He heard her muffled sob against the wood table, but she didn’t move.
Spreading her pussy, Larkin took a long, heated swipe of her wet, swollen flesh and she whimpered again. He let the heat of his tongue absorb her taste and then he rolled his tongue over her clit, anchoring his hands on her thighs to keep her from moving.
He felt her strain against his hands as she fought not to budge. Laying his open mouth against her smooth flesh, he licked her again, angling his head as his tongue flicked over her in quick strokes.
She bucked against his lips, grinding against him as best she could with her limited ability to move. Gliding over his mouth she screamed when she came. Larkin let her legs free and Spencer jammed against his tongue wildly. He pressed her close, clutching her ass and keeping her flush with his mouth as he let her ride out her orgasm.
He heard her gasps as she struggled to breathe and he slid out from under her to pull her to his chest, taking her back to the chair and sitting her once again on his lap. He ran soothing, slow hands over her, cupping her breasts, caressing her belly as her body relaxed, moving her hair aside and letting his tongue rim the shell of her ear. “I
wish you could taste yourself on my lips…”
Spencer groaned as he spoke, her nipples tightening beneath his touch. Lifting her ass, she positioned herself over his burning cock and, grasping it with one hand, stroked him as she sank onto him, slick and tight.
Larkin’s head spun on contact, as her heat enveloped him, making him lose his breath. Then she leaned forward, bracing her hands on his thighs and using her feet as leverage, she began to ride him, slow and steady.
His hands gripped her hips, digging his fingers into them as he let her control the pace of their thrusts. As he watched Spencer’s ass move against him, his cock swelled in her. The muscles in her back, sleek and supple, strained and tensed with each upward stroke.
She rolled her hips, her moans increasing as she contracted around him, milked him, clenching his cock with fire. It took every muscle, strained and at the ready, to keep from ramming into her until he heard her say his name, felt the spasm of her slick passage before he couldn’t keep himself from lifting his hips and thrusting harder.
Fiery heat ran along the length of his cock, sizzling and rapid, threatening to explode, but he held on until the next cry she made was of victory and then he let go too, plunging into her over and over until the hot spurt of release slammed into him, tearing oxygen from his lungs.
Spencer leaned back against him, arching against his chest.
Larkin began to chuckle. “Well, well, vampire. That was quite impressive.”
“For a virgin?” she responded teasingly.
He tweaked the side of her bottom. “Quit that, would you? Do you know how guilty I felt over that?”
Spencer wiggled against him. “Well, I’ll tell you what. If you tell me all about Detective Larkin McBride, I promise to never mention you stole my virginity again.”
“Bribery.”
She nodded against him. “Yep, and I ain’t afraid to use it.”
He didn’t want to talk about him. He especially didn’t want to talk about why he was suspended, which they’d get to if Spencer had her way. “Okay. Larkin McBride in thirty words or less. Born in Chicago, raised there, too. Became a cop. Been a cop for eight years. Have an apartment. Come from a big, Irish family.”
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