“Looks like you’ve got a groupie.” Doug gave Miranda a sidelong glance. “I never met a medical examiner who had a fan club.”
“He’s one of my best interns, but I kind of like groupie better.” Miranda put her hands in the pockets of her long white lab coat and headed to the door. “I’ll text you as soon as I get some answers on what attacked Ronald, okay?”
“I’d appreciate that.” Doug opened the door for her and took one last look at Ronald’s body. This case was getting stranger by the minute, and instead of answers, all he had was more questions.
They walked down the sterile hallway in another awkward silence. Doug squinted against the glare of the fluorescent lighting. As he turned the corner, the familiar squeak of a door swinging open caught his attention, and he glanced back, expecting to see someone, but to his surprise, the hallway was empty. He stopped as a tickle of awareness tripped up his spine and kept his eyes on the door to the autopsy room.
“Paxton,” Miranda called to him from the waiting elevator. “Ronald isn’t going anywhere, and I need coffee, so come on.”
“Coming.” Doug went to the elevator but glanced over his shoulder. He couldn’t escape the sense that someone was back there. As the elevator doors closed, one image filled his mind—Olivia.
* * *
Olivia stood inside the doors of the autopsy room and waited. She glanced at the wall of stainless steel refrigerated compartments, knowing she could take refuge in one, if necessary, and slip into the tunnels. She managed to get in without Doug seeing her, but she could still hear his heartbeat at the other end of the hallway, and it took major willpower not to get closer. She closed her eyes and forced herself not to move, not to fly down that hallway and sink her fangs into the tender flesh just below the jaw.
Her fangs emerged, and her head buzzed with need. His heartbeat, strong, steady, and surprisingly distinct, called to her, but a few moments later, it faded and finally vanished.
Olivia let out a sound of relief and sheathed her fangs.
She picked up his phone call when she was flying over from the club and answered as soon as her feet hit the roof. She recognized the number from his business card, and since curiosity got the better of her, she answered, even though it was against her better judgment. Olivia sat on that roof talking on the phone with him like some silly teenager. She could tell within five seconds that he used the question about Maya as an excuse to call. He wanted her. There was no mistaking it, but getting involved with a human was less than smart—especially one who happened to look exactly like, and quite possibly could be, her long-dead true love reincarnated.
She felt his presence as he moved along the sidewalk far below, and she resisted the urge to fly down there and talk to him in person. Her sense of duty and the looming mess with Ronald’s murder drowned out her raging hormones, and she held back. Although, she did peer over the side of the building to get a peek and found him as desirable from six stories above as he was from six inches away.
It would not have been the end of the world if he saw her as she slipped down the hallway and into the room. She could glamour him and the medical examiner, easily erasing any memory, but she didn’t want to do that.
Well, at least, not to him. The doctor was another story entirely. Olivia went to Ronald’s body and tried not to think about drinking that doctor dry. The woman was intensely attracted to Doug because the room was full of the distinct scent of female arousal. Jealousy reared its ugly head again, but Olivia shook it off. No time for bullshit.
She sensed the sun starting its slow ascent, and if she didn’t hustle, then she would have to take the tunnels all the way to the Presidium’s New York offices. No sane woman, living or undead, would want to wear an Armani suit into the tunnels that led to the Presidium’s underground network. She wrinkled her nose at the thought.
Olivia snagged two glass specimen tubes from her pocket, removed the long swabs, and ran them along two of the wounds, first from the neck, and then from the wounds on his arm. She shook her head and cursed. This was most definitely a vamp killing and a vicious one at that. It was sloppy and savage, which gave it the clear markings of a youngling attack.
Someone turned a new vampire, let him or her loose with no training, and didn’t bother to clean up the mess. Great.
After securing her samples, she snagged the travel-size bottle of bleach from her other pocket and squirted it over the wounds, removing traces of vampire DNA. She smirked as she capped the bottle, knowing what a shit storm this would bring on for the doctor. It was petty to take satisfaction in a human woman’s discomfort, but she really didn’t care.
Olivia went to the computer, noticed the doctor had neglected to log out, and deleted all of the files related to Ronald’s case. She grabbed the folder that the doctor had shown Pete and slipped it beneath her jacket.
Olivia tucked the samples in her pocket and listened at the door. Satisfied the coast was clear, she made her way swiftly and silently down the hallway to the stairwell, up the cement staircase, and seconds later arrived at the door of the roof. Even if someone glanced through one of the windows on the doors, they would not have seen her. The surveillance cameras were more of a nuisance, but as long as she moved swiftly, all they would pick up was a blur.
Most people would see the anomaly and brush it off as the light playing tricks. Humans were quick to dismiss anything outside the norm, and those who didn’t would post their videos on YouTube as proof of the existence of ghosts.
The sun was starting to crest. Even if she really hustled, she would never make it back to the Presidium’s offices without getting toasted. Damn it. Olivia popped the lock on the door and swung it open. She stood for a moment in the cool, late spring evening and watched as the pale golden glow emerged along the edge of the horizon.
She missed watching the sunrise and basking in the warmth of it on her face, however, not enough to take a chance of turning to ash. Olivia strode across the roof and glanced at the empty alley six floors below as a grin cracked her face. An eternity of darkness sucked, but the ability to do Superman-type stunts was pretty freaking cool and balanced out the whole no-daylight thing.
Olivia took off her shoes. While she may be unbreakable, the Louboutins weren’t. She dropped soundlessly to the dark alley below and landed on her feet as sure as an alley cat.
As she slipped her shoes back on, the growing noises of the city streets washed over her, and moments later, a distinctly familiar sound snaked into her mind, surrounding her.
Something strong, steady, and enticing.
It was him.
Doug’s heartbeat thundered through her mind, drowning out the rest of the sounds, and captured her full attention. She heard heartbeats of the humans in the surrounding area and had grown so accustomed that over the years it had become white noise.
Not Doug’s. His rose above the din, clamoring to be heard.
Why was his heartbeat so clear and enthralling? It called to her like a siren song, willing her closer and taunting her. Confused and aroused, she struggled to keep her fangs at bay. In all her three hundred years, she’d never shown such a lack of self-control or intense reaction to anyone, and she hadn’t even tasted him yet.
Was this connection a lingering effect of the dreams she had? Was Doug her bloodmate? Or was it an echo from their human life together? They only made love once, that one fateful night, but in the dreamscape it happened over and over.
Memories of them entangled were burned into her mind, her heart, and her body. Images of them in the dreamscape—Doug falling to his knees, burying his face in her breasts, and teasing her to the edge of oblivion with his nimble fingers. Through it all, neither of them ever spoke, and as the dream faded, one word wafted through her mind on a whisper.
Eternity.
Olivia groaned as the sun rose, along with her driving need to taste him. She had to get out of here. Now. Olivia glanced down the alley and spotted the manhole, which was her key to freedom, and
promised relief from the taunting, enticing sound of his heart.
She didn’t care if anyone saw her.
Already feeling the weakening effects of the approaching daylight, Olivia ran down the alley as Doug’s heartbeat called to her like a beacon. Her head was fogged with desire and desperation, which was probably why she didn’t see him as he stepped off the sidewalk and directly into her path.
Olivia swore loudly as she knocked him backward toward the street. In a blur, she snatched him in midair and flew with him back into the alley to safety. She pressed his tall, hard body against the wall of the building, using the shadows and a dumpster for cover. The blow knocked him out, but his heart still beat strong and steady beneath warm flesh.
Olivia glanced at the sky and noted it was getting lighter by the second. The sun was rising, and time was running short. She took his face in her hands and brushed her thumb over the stubble on his cheek. The feel of his sun-kissed flesh beneath her fingers had her aching with—what?
Desire? Love? Loss? Regret?
Her gaze skimmed over his masculine features as she threaded her fingers through his short blond hair. That was the only real difference between her memory of him and the man in front of her. His hair had been long and silky smooth, and she recalled the way it tangled temptingly between her fingers.
Olivia leaned closer and reveled in the way his body melded so perfectly with hers. Her breasts crushed against the hard planes of his chest, and the pounding of his heart reverberated through her, invoking memories of what it felt like to have a heartbeat.
She tilted his head to the right and breathed in his clean, masculine scent. Olivia pressed her cool lips along the smooth, warm skin of his throat that fluttered as his blood pumped through his veins. Her fangs vibrated, begging to be freed, but she clung to her last ounce of self-control.
He smelled like the ocean. Clean, fresh, and wild. She bet a year’s worth of blood that he tasted that way too. Just like she remembered.
Doug groaned as he wrapped his large hands easily around her waist. Olivia tensed as he pulled her close and held her against him. She glanced up to find his blue eyes peering down at her fiercely beneath furrowed brows.
“What happened?” he rasped. His fingers dug into her hip as he wavered, letting his weight lean into the wall. “What are you doing here?”
She should glamour him. She should do it and get in the damn tunnels.
But she didn’t.
“I—I bumped into you.” She blinked and barely noticed that her hands were now resting on his broad shoulders, and he was standing without her assistance. “I have to go, but I wanted to be sure you were okay. You hit your head on the edge of the building when we ran into each other,” she lied.
He never touched the building, but the force of her body slamming into his had been enough to knock him out for a minute. She was grateful he didn’t break anything.
Olivia stepped back and glanced down at the shadow line, which crept closer every second. With surprisingly fast reflexes, his hands snaked around her waist again and tugged her against his muscular body. She could have eluded him easily, but she didn’t want to; all she wanted was to press her cheek against his chest and stay there.
“You did a hell of a lot more than that,” Doug murmured as he pulled her tighter against him, while his hands spanned her waist. “Don’t go.” His voice, edgy and full of need, washed over her, while his thumb brushed the curve of her hip, heightening her desire and testing her strength. “Are you really here with me now, or is this just another dream?”
Heat emanated from him and covered her like a blanket. The truth was it could have been the sun getting ready to fry her, but she didn’t care. All she cared about or could think about was the man in her arms and getting one, sweet taste. It had been so long since she kissed anyone. But he wasn’t just anyone.
Olivia moaned, a sound that hung somewhere between lust and warning. She shook her head and meant to lean back, but before she could stop herself, she was leaning into him.
His mouth crashed down on hers with a groan of pleasure. She opened to him and sighed as his tongue tangled with hers, and she fleetingly noted that he did taste like the ocean. Salty, clean, wild, and full of life. Olivia held his head with both hands and angled hers, deepening the kiss. She licked and nibbled at his lips, desperate to get closer, as one strong hand slipped down her hip to cup her ass, and the other tangled in her long hair.
The dam broke.
Lust clawed at her. The rest of the world fell away as she allowed herself to revel in the taste of him on her lips and the feel of his body pressed against hers. She forgot how exquisite it felt to be cradled in the arms of a man and devoured as if she were the most desirable creature on earth. The sweep of his tongue along hers and the brush of his fingers against her scalp as he sipped from her lips, sent licks of fire through her body.
In the swell of lust and swept up in a moment of weakness, her fangs emerged. Holding him against the wall, tangled in his arms, the knifelike points of her fangs scraped his tongue as it explored, and then… the world exploded.
Light. Heat. A heartbeat.
His blood touched her tongue and danced through her body in life-giving electric pulses. It was like getting shocked by a defibrillator, and for the first time in close to three hundred years—her heart actually beat. As his blood shot through her veins, she clung to him in shocked desperation, wondering what it meant, and at the same time, not caring.
All she could do was feel.
With every beat of their synced pulses came a picture, a memory from his life now, his life with her centuries ago, and his dreams with her. As memories of this life and the last collided in a flurry of images, she realized that she was as much a part of him as he was of her. The floodgates had opened, and there was no going back.
Olivia gasped and broke the kiss, abruptly tearing her mouth from his, and she blinked as her heart beat in her chest almost to the point of pain. He looked at her through hooded, lust-filled eyes and tried to pull her in for more. As the sensations faded and reality came roaring back into focus, the sun rudely intruded and demanded an end to their stolen moment.
Breathing heavily, Doug pressed a kiss against her forehead as his heart raced with the clear cry of desire against her now silent chest. She lingered, allowing herself to lean into his embrace and float in the tender feel of his warm lips against her skin for one minute more.
A million thoughts raced through her mind, but one cried louder than the others.
Bloodmate.
His heated gaze was the last image she saw as she slipped from his arms and flew down the alley like the wind. The instant she left the shelter of his embrace, the sun blazed over her, and she waited, expecting to feel and hear the familiar sizzling as it burned her skin. Olivia tore off the manhole cover and dropped silently into the safe darkness of the sewer tunnel before securing the cover tightly behind her.
She stood in the dank space and touched her lips as they curved into a smile. She didn’t notice the rats that ran over her feet because she could still taste him on her tongue, and the lingering, brilliant effect of his blood echoed through her body. She held up her unmarred hands and touched the smooth skin on her face with genuine awe. For the first time since she had been turned, the sun had not damaged her. Not even so much as a tan.
In that brief moment, Doug had given her life, and as she inspected the undamaged skin, one word escaped her lips on a whisper. “Bloodmate.”
She didn’t know how or why it could be true, and she didn’t care. In fact, after getting that taste, she knew that all bets were off, and the dreams would no longer be enough. Now she craved more than flesh and blood. She craved him.
Chapter 4
Olivia moved through the tunnels with the ease of experience, although not as quickly as she hoped. The Presidium’s New York office was located directly beneath the Cloisters, a museum full of medieval artifacts, and Fort Tryon Park, which wasn’t that
far from the medical examiner’s office. For a human it would be one hell of a walk to the Cloisters. As a vampire using the underground network, it was less of a trek, but since she hadn’t fed in almost twenty-four hours, she was dragging ass a little.
She whipped around the turns effortlessly and with such speed that the stone and cement walls became nothing more than a blur. Even though she was tired, she pushed herself and moved as swiftly as she could. Heightened vampire senses were great, unless you were running through a sewer tunnel. Then it was just an extra dose of gross.
As distasteful as her surroundings were, and regardless of the vermin that scurried through the tunnels to get out of her way, a smile lingered on her lips. Doug didn’t just look like the man she loved as a human or strongly resemble the man in her dreams. He was one and the same, reincarnated, and larger than life. She saw his memories from three hundred years ago; memories of their shared dreams flooded her, trimmed with his emotions, his desire.
But if he had these memories, why didn’t he know her? Why not recognize her? Were they simply buried so deep in his unconscious mind that he was unable to see what they were?
Her smile faltered as the dank air blew over her face, and the din of human life on the streets above filled her head. She had fed from countless humans over the years, and not one gave her life, albeit briefly, the way a drop or two of Doug’s blood had. She had tasted demon blood and Amoveo blood, but neither had that kind of effect.
So what was it about Doug’s blood that jump-started her heart? She knew the answer before she even asked herself the question. Doug was her bloodmate. He had to be. It was the only explanation that made sense, and while the thought thrilled her, the reality didn’t. The only way he could truly be her bloodmate would be if she turned him, and that was the last thing on earth she wanted to do.
Olivia arrived at the main entrance of the Presidium, in the catacombs beneath the Cloisters, and let out a sigh of relief. She brushed at the droplets of moisture and dirt on her suit that she’d picked up along the way.
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