The Royal Occult Bureau

by Barbara Russell

  “Boring, and I can’t stop worrying about Charlotte. Any news?”

  “Yes.”

  The tone held enough gravity to make me sit. “What?”

  He sat in front of me, chin resting on his closed fist. “There’s a pleasure house not far from De Luna House that has the statue of a boar at the entrance.” He rummaged in his pocket and produced a map. “There.” Paper cracked when he spread a map of London on the coffee table between us.

  Red dots were scattered on the outskirts of the city, but a few of them were close to Seven Dials where brothels thrived.

  “These dots are the places where we found a body,” he said, tapping them. “I added a number to indicate the chronological order.”

  I leaned closer, our elbows touching. As Fanny had noticed, the killings started in the northern part of London and moved anti-clockwise south-west.

  “Why is Bertie doing this?” I twirled a finger over the dots. “Starting from here to go anti-clockwise? Does it have a meaning?”

  “My guess is that the first place he visited is closer to his lair. When he started feeding, he was still weak and couldn’t travel for a long time. Hence his first choice. After that, if he went east, he would’ve risked being too close to our headquarters in Clerkenwell. If he went too deep south, he would’ve prowled around the streets close to the parliament, too heavily guarded for comfort. He couldn’t go north because once outside London, brothels aren’t so common. His only choice was south-west, and anyway, all dark creatures have an affinity for anti-clockwise movements.” He drew an anti-clockwise circle over his chest. “Their blood circulates only anti-clockwise.”

  I frowned. “How odd.”

  “We’ll patrol the Fair Maiden, the house with the boar, starting from tonight. It’s possible Bertie has already ensnared a girl from that house.”

  I slouched back in the armchair. “When will he stop?”

  Evander regarded me from underneath his long lashes. “I’ve never met an incubus so hungry. I’m not sure I believe to the theory that he’s a recently awakened incubus.”

  “Why?”

  He gave a shrug. “Just instinct, although the explanation is the best we have so far.”

  “Hellfire.” Don Quixote slipped from my grip when I pinched the bridge of my nose. I put the book on the coffee table.

  “By the way.” He rose and took the brown parcel he’d left on the drum table. “For you.” Smiling a dazzling smile that made my toes curl, he handed me the parcel.

  “What is it? The anti-vampire kit? I wouldn’t mind that.”

  A laugh erupted from him, a vibrant, happy laugh that spread a fuzzy warmth within my chest. “I’ll bring you an anti-vampire kit next time.”

  “What is it then?” I unwrapped the parcel, ripping the paper like a cat would scratch a curtain. The gasp that rasped out of my mouth was almost painful. “Jane Eyre,” I whispered.

  It was the first edition I’d seen in the bookshop when I’d followed him. Shock punched through me. I stared at the leather cover and the golden letters, unable to say anything.

  “You seemed in love with it.” He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

  I was frozen with surprise.

  “Did you like it?” He cocked his head.

  My brain registered the words, but I could only swallow.

  He shifted. “I thought you would’ve like—”

  I sprang up and circled his neck with my arms. Hot tears burned my cheeks as I held him tight. A quivering sob escaped me. His arms closed around me, and I buried my face in his chest.

  “Thank you,” I managed to croak out.

  I wanted to say more, that no one had ever given me anything more precious. Charlotte had bought me presents, once she’d started to save money, but as much as I loved her, no bottle of perfume or silk scarf could compare to this gift. My tongue was in knots though, and I was fighting the awful choking noises coming out of me.

  He stroked my hair. “Asia.”

  The sweetness with which he said my name brought a fresh rush of tears to my eyes. It was amazing how kindness could hurt when one wasn’t used to it.

  His lips brushed my temple. Once. Twice. Thrice.

  My sobs calmed, leaving shame in their wake. He must think I was a hysterical woman.

  I wiped my face with the kerchief in the pocket of my gown but didn’t leave his embrace.

  “I gather you like it?” he asked, his breath caressing my ear.

  I half-laughed, half-snorted. “I love it.”

  “Good.” He cupped my face and wiped the last tears with the pads of his thumbs. “I didn’t want to make you cry.” His thumbs stroked my skin again.

  “You can kiss it better.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  If he’d wanted to kiss me, he would’ve done it already, and I was making myself ridiculous.

  But his intense gaze held me captive. Emerald fire swirled in the depth of his eyes that seemed to mirror the light like those of a tiger.

  Another stroke of his thumbs sent butterflies fluttering in my belly. My spine wilted under his touch. He bent his head, and my breath caught.

  The moment his firm, gentle lips touched mine, a shock of sensations lashed at me. It was like being kissed for the first time. I didn’t move for fear to do the wrong thing and make him stop.

  He pulled me closer and lifted me until my breasts were squashed against his broad chest and I was rising on my tiptoes. The tip of his tongue traced the seam of my lips, and I opened my mouth, trembling with anticipation like a virgin.

  The first lash of his tongue against mine tore a moan from me. His hands holding my face travelled lower and took my waist. Hard muscles tensed in his arms and chest as if he were restraining himself. I sprawled my fingers on his chest, pressed my mouth harder against his, and grazed his bottom lip. It was a sweet, chaste kiss, but it ignited a dark desire deep in my abdomen.

  And then something changed.

  Hunger surged to the fore. He pushed me against the wall and with one hand trapped my wrists above my head. Then he devoured my mouth. The sinful, punishing rhythm of the kiss stole my breath. A frisson of need started between my thighs and spread through me like fire. I tried to wriggle my hands, but he held me in place. The pressure of his hips against mine made my desire burn fiercely. I gasped when he broke the kiss and traced his lips on my jaw, neck, and collarbone. The gentle scraping of his teeth on my skin made me squirm with pleasure.

  His hand on my waist caressed my body through the fabric of the gown. I reclined my head and arched my back until he cupped a breast, fondling it and rolling my nipple between two fingers. Lord, I might come like that. His heady scent thickened the air, and I could taste it on my tongue. Tension built up inside me. I was so close.

  A low growl rumbled from him. His body shook, and he paused, breathing heavily on my neck, as still as a gargoyle.

  “Evander—”

  “Shush.” He pressed a finger on my lips and stayed there.

  Moments of stillness passed.

  Slowly, he released my wrists and stepped back from me. I missed the heat of his body.

  “I’m sorry.” He stared at the floor, chest heaving. “It shouldn’t have happened.”

  “I’m not sorry,” I spoke in a low, sweet tone.

  Evander’s tense body and wide pupils meant he was teetering on the edge of self-control. A nagging sensation tugged at the back of my head. It was the sensation that had saved my life countless of times in the street, the same one that a prey experienced in the presence of a predator and that suggested fleeing.

  I’d learned from experience to not push a man when he was struggling to contain his lust, strength, or wrath. Right now, Evander seemed to have problems controlling all three of them.

  He dragged a hand through his hair and let out a sharp breath. “I’m sorry.”

  His footfalls thudded along the corridor a
s he ran away from me. I touched my trembling lips where I could taste him. My wrists still felt the pressure of his fingers. He’d gifted me more than a precious book. He’d given me my first kiss, the one I truly, desperately wanted.

  Fifteen

  DR JESSICA BLACK examined my eyes with a candlelight so close, the heat warmed my cheeks. If she’d noticed the traces of the ravishing kiss I’d exchanged with Evander a few hours ago, she didn’t show any sign. We’d been locked in my bedroom for a while, and she’d prodded and examined my head a few times.

  “You’re fully recovered,” she said, blowing off the candle, thank goodness. “Even the strained muscles of your neck are better.”

  “I’m surprised I healed so quickly.” My head didn’t hurt, and the bruise on my cheek was reduced to a faint blue dot. “What did you give me?”

  “A special tonic we give to our agents to help them heal fast.”

  The sharp click of her medical bag sounded like thunder in my quiet room.

  After the kiss, Evander had shut himself in his room, and not a sound came from it. His behaviour left me puzzled and bothered. He obviously had problems when it came with dirty-puzzling, but dashed if I knew why. I considered myself, if not an expert, at least a connoisseur of men, but he made fun of all my years of experience.

  I cast a hopeless glance towards his room. “So I can leave the house for a walk?”

  Her grey eyes narrowed. “Where do you want to go?”

  “Evander and the other agents of his team are going to patrol the Fair Maiden, waiting for the incubus. I want to go with them.”

  “Absolutely not!” Her fingers flared to her chest. “As your physician and as a member of the bureau, my advice is to stay here. It’s too dangerous, and you need rest.”

  “I’m not going to sit here, waiting for news or for the incubus to find me.”

  “The incubus will not find you.” Evander’s booming voice came through the closed door. “And you’re going to stay here.”

  He was giving me orders, was he? “You can open the door and order me to stay here while looking at me.”

  The door swung inwards, and he swept into view in all his magnificence enhanced by black leather trousers and a matching tight jacket. Daggers were strapped on his powerful thighs. His size and menacing build dwarfed the room and started an illicit frisson between my legs. I shouldn’t be aroused by his predatory attitude.

  “You’re staying here.” There was nothing of the passionate yet gentle man who had kissed me in this battle-hardened, harsh warrior. And why was it so deuced exciting?

  “I’m a free woman.” I stuck out my chin. Come on, fight me.

  “Under my protection.”

  Oh, I wanted to be under him all right.

  Some of my desire must’ve transpired because his lashes fluttered down and he turned to Jessica.

  “I need my shot,” he said, dismissing me.

  “Of course.” Jessica unrolled a leather sheet on the bed and took out a syringe and a vial of a dark green liquid.

  My anger and lust evaporated. “Are you sick? What’s that shot for?”

  He rolled up a sleeve and showed his arm where fat veins stood out. “The shot is to make sure I don’t fall sick.”

  “Healing potion?” I asked while Jessica tapped a finger on Evander’s veins.

  “Power enhancer,” she replied as if the answer made sense.

  Evander’s mouth twitched when the needle pierced his skin. “It’s a serum that gives me strength and speed matching those of the Unnaturals we fight.”

  “Is this how you climbed that wall?”

  He tilted his head. “Yes and no. Aside from strength and speed, the serum has the effect of multiplying a natural gift, in my case, climbing.”

  Jessica chuckled and extracted the needle. “He’s being modest. I still have to see a wall or cliff he can’t climb, and he can light a fire in a moment.”

  Oh, I knew that.

  “Sirius’s memory changing power comes from the serum.” He gave me a pointed look, perhaps to remind me that soon Sirius would do his trick on me. “Jasper’s touch can send you to sleep. Damon can change memories too and he’s our fastest fighter.”

  He opened and closed his hand a few times. Dark green tendrils spread in his veins, glowing under the skin of his arm before fading.

  I eyed Jessica’s leather sheet. There were a few green vials peeking from the pockets. “So if I take a shot of that serum—”

  “Absolutely not,” Jessica said at the same time that Evander growled, “Forget it.”

  “But, I could defend myself and help the agents catch Bertie.”

  Jessica put the needle into a metal box. “The serum must be tested before being injected, and it’s for the agents only, not for civilians. Besides, sometimes it doesn’t have any effect while in other cases it causes a severe allergic reaction, even death. So no, you aren’t allowed to have a shot.”

  I sank into the bed and sagged. I hated being useless.

  The front bell rang, and after shooting a warning glance at me, Evander ran to the door.

  “Don’t be disappointed.” Jessica patted my shoulder. “I know you feel anxious and impatient, but the agents know what they’re doing.”

  “I don’t doubt that. I doubt the ethical purpose of the Priority Protection Act. Apparently, lower-class people are expendable, and as a lower-class woman and a prostitute at that, I find it quite worrying.”

  She stiffened and withdrew her hand, a peach colour blossoming in her cheeks. “Are you a . . . Fallen Woman?”

  Oops. “I thought you knew. Didn’t Evander tell you?”

  “No. Why would he?” She fiddled with her hands, blinking a few times.

  I recognised the signs of the allergy to Fallen Women. Being in the same room with a whore made people uncomfortable. Fidgeting, sweating, and gaze-darting-around were common symptoms.

  “I guess you regret having healed me,” I said, trying to not show my disappointment.

  “Don’t be silly.” She flushed more fiercely. “It’s that—”

  “Jessica, come here!” Evander’s voice boomed from the foyer.

  “Oh, God.” I jumped off the bed, but Jessica stretched out an arm and stopped me.

  “Wait. Let me see first.” She snatched her bag and darted out of the room . . . and left the vials on the bed.

  Well, opportunity makes a thief, and I’d been a thief long enough to have learned to always seize an opportunity.

  I picked one vial, a clean syringe, and a needle, then stuffed them in the drawer of my nightstand, hoping Jessica didn’t remember how many vials she had.

  Voices sounded from the other side of the house, and I hurried out of my room.

  Sitting on the couch of the sitting room, Jasper pressed a blood-stained cloth against his face. “It’s nothing.” His voice sounded weak and pained.

  “I’ll decide if it’s nothing or something.” Hands balls into fists, Jessica towered over him.

  He lowered his hand, showing a deep cut that ran from his left eyebrow down to his chin.

  “Oh, Lord.” I stepped closer.

  If Jasper hadn’t worn the same black outfit of Evander’s, his jacket would be stained in red.

  Jessica paled, her fingers clenching on the handle of her bag. “Jasper,” she whispered, and something deep and strong rang in the single word.

  “What is it?” I asked as Jessica opened the bag and took out gauze and vials. The cut was deep, but not fatal.

  Evander leaned closer, and I fought the urge to put my head on his shoulder. “Jasper was patrolling the Fair Maiden when he was attacked by a cryptid.”

  “Which is?”

  “Hard to say. Cryptids hide in the dark and change form constantly. No one knows how they really look like.”

  Jasper winced when Jessica applied a lotion to the cut. “This cryptid appeared as a bat, a large bat. It was bigger than an
eagle and scratched me with a talon.”

  “A poisonous talon,” Jessica said, spreading a cream on the cut.

  Crimson coloured her pale cheeks now, and her breathing came faster.

  “Do you have an antidote for the poison?” I asked.

  Jessica nodded. “But Captain Forrest needs some rest. Jasper, you shouldn’t go out tonight.”

  Jasper stiffened and withdrew from her touch. “Thank you, but I’m perfectly able to fight.”

  Evander shifted his stance. That pair of leather breeches did wonderful things to his long legs and muscular rear. Not that I was staring.

  “With due respect, Captain, I think the doctor is right.”

  The comment earned Evander a blazing glare from Jasper. The injured side of his face was swelling, and red vines spread from the cut under his skin.

  “I can take care of myself,” he gritted out.

  “Jasper.” Evander scowled. “Why don’t you stay here with Asia? I’ll feel better knowing she’s with you.”

  A warm, fluttery feeling sizzled in my chest. It was the first time someone worried about me, aside from Charlotte.

  “The syrup I gave you will probably make you sleepy,” Jessica added. “I doubt you’ll be fit for a fight with an incubus.”

  Groaning and scoffing, Jasper slouched back in the couch and ran a hand on the good side of his face. “There’s something that worries me about the cryptid.”

  Evander gave a nod. “I was thinking the same.”

  “What?” Jessica and I asked together.

  “Cryptids are rare.” Evander turned towards the hearth. “Fire.”

  The stupid fireplace lit up like one of those electric lights that turned on with a switch. Bright orange flames cast a soft glow in the room.

  I returned my attention to Evander, mentally cursing the hearth. “You were saying.”

  “What is the chance of finding a cryptid roaming around a place an incubus targeted?” He chewed his bottom lip, and the gesture distracted me for a moment.