As Midnight Loves the Moon (3 page)

He got a kick out of that.

His shop was heavily fortified, the
vaults under the building containing some of the most expensive security systems
known to man. He had first editions that were worth millions of dollars, gold
lithograph religious tomes from the Middle Ages, and even one woodblock
printing on a piece of silk from the Han Dynasty.

He worked on the book until his
eyes crossed and his hands ached. He glanced at the clock and was shocked to
see that it was only an hour until daybreak. At that moment, his stomach
growled. He sighed and withdrew his hands form the incubator, sealing it up
before shutting off the special light used for fragile paper and covering the
case before turning on the overhead fluorescent lights. He made his rounds
through the shop, checking his books before heading into the basement and
checked the temperature and humidity levels. Then he locked up and activated
the alarms.

Living in
Washington
, on the coast, gave the city a
lot of fog. Tonight was no exception. Wayde burrowed deeper into his coat as he
walked slowly home. Now that his mind wasn’t occupied with work, it immediately
returned to Daphne. What the hell was he supposed to do now? He’d revealed his
sexual desire for her, but how did he tell her he also craved her blood? His
stomach growled again,
so on
his way home, he went on
the hunt in the back alleys and caught a stray cat. Animal blood wasn’t that
tasty, like a carnivore eating tofu, but it satisfied his hunger. The cat had
taken the edge off, but he had to satisfy the sexual need clawing at his
insides soon, and if not with Daphne, then with someone of his own kind.

For a moment, the image of the man
from last night appeared in his mind. He hadn’t had a clear view of the
shadowed man, but Wayde had the impression the man had been built. Tall,
muscular, hot, just the way he liked them. Need rose sharply through him. And
when he saw the man standing before him, he blinked, wondering if his
imagination had decided to play tricks on him.

Shade Rock was a large city with
several outlaying suburbs and a bustling night life, plus it was a nod to where
he was born. Several blocks away lay music row and he could faintly hear a
mishmash of styles, everything from jazz to rock and roll. This time of night
the area was mostly abandoned, so happening upon the man who had appeared in
front of his home wasn’t just coincidence.

“Stop right there, vampire,” the
man said, his voice deep and sexy as hell.

Wayde blinked and cocked his head. The
man moved forward, out of the shadows and Wayde felt the air whoosh from his
lungs. The brief glimpse from last night hadn’t done the man justice. He had a
Jake
Gyllenhaal
thing going on, ala Prince of Persia,
with his shoulder length dark hair and close cropped goatee. He had sculptured
lips that begged to be kissed and a chiseled jaw that could probably cut glass.
Wayde snapped his mouth closed and had to remember not to drool.

“There’s blood on your coat.”

Wayde looked down at himself.
“Yeah.
It’s cat blood.”

“You expect me to believe you
settled for cat blood?”

“I don’t expect you to believe
anything,” Wayde said. “I don’t know you.”

“I’m Alexander Malden,” the man
replied and held up a Shade badge. “I’ve been searching for a rogue vampire.”

“And you think I’m the rogue?”
Wayde asked. “I assure you, I’m not.”

“You’d be surprised how often I
hear that.”

“You think I’m lying?”

“I think I need to question you.”

Alexander was dressed as a bad ass
in black leather, and he reached around himself to pull out two swords. Wayde
blinked.

“Swords?
Isn’t
that kind of archaic?”

“What were you expecting, a gun?”

Wayde gave a one shoulder shrug. “Well,
yes. They’re a little more frightening for interrogations, aren’t they?
A little more modern.”

He saw Alex blink and frown. Wayde tried
to figure out what color his eyes were, but he stood too far away to see them clearly.

“I’m not used to this,” he went on
before Alex could reply. “I guess you could use the old human expression ‘I’m a
lover, not a fighter.’ I mean, I
am
a
vampire, but I only drink from willing donors and, as this blood on my coat
shows, the occasional stray.”

Alex didn’t answer, but his mouth
dropped open a fraction. Before he could say anything, Wayde continued.

“I guess I can kind of see your
side of things,” Wayde said. “I mean, fuck, who can you trust, right? You don’t
know me from this rogue vampire, and I’m out this late because time simply got
away from me at work.”

“Shut up,” Alex said, sounding
annoyed.

Wayde held up his hands. “Sorry!
Habit.
Nerves, you know? It’s why I work alone. I don’t make
my own self nervous. And right now, I’m staring at a guy with two big swords in
his hands, while I’m weaponless. I guess I should be carrying something, but
truthfully a vampire doesn’t really have to worry about being mugged. Actually,
I was just pondering about hitting up a donor club since Daphne doesn’t really
know about me—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Alex yelled
more forcefully.

“Oh,” Wayde said. “I guess I
shouldn’t have mentioned Daphne.”

“Don’t start talking again,” Alex
warned. “I don’t have all night.”

“Actually,
I
don’t have all night.”

“Who’s Daphne? Is she human?”

“Yes.”

Then, before Wayde could say
anything more, Alex moved and appeared before him in the blink of an eye, the
swords crossed at his throat. Wayde gave a small, bright smile before punching
Alex in his side, a kidney punch that had him buckling. As the swords fell,
Wayde bent himself backward, evading the blade by inches as Alex tried to
recapture his advantage by swinging them.

Alex righted himself and advanced,
thrusting his sword forward. This time Wayde did a back flip and when he landed
he spun, kicking high. His foot connected to Alex’s left hand and he lost his
grip on the sword. Wayde lunged and caught it. He swung with it and the two
blades met in a clash of metal on metal.

“Weaponless, my ass,” Alex
muttered. “You failed to mention your little karate skill.”

“You expected me to divulge all my
secrets?”

“I suppose talking your opponent to
death is another tactic?”

“I’m very good at a lot of things.”

“Yes, I’m starting to understand
that.”

Alex feinted back, then parried
with a half turn. They faced each other and then started sparring.
Easy at first, light and quick, but eventually moving into a more
complex rhythm.

Alex’s
movements were precise, perfectly positioned, the footwork sure and strong. He
kept his eyes trained on the man in front of him and seemed to anticipate each
thrust or jab with his own unique movement. As muscular as he was, it was not a
hindrance. In fact, he glided around as if on a cloud.

Wayde matched Alex
thrust for thrust. He wielded the blade with grace, even when Alex’s blade came
down a little more forcibly.
Wayde’s
muscles tensed
as Alex’s thrust and ducked, jabbed and swiped. He was after vital areas and
was doing a damn fine job of repelling
Wayde’s
attacks.

Alex suddenly
bent and kicked out in a sidekick that caught Wayde in the stomach. He expelled
a lungful of breath and buckled slightly, leaving himself open to let Alex
swing around with another kick, trying to knock the blade out of his hand. At
the last second, Wayde managed to jump back.

Wayde returned
with a greater leap and a more forceful comeback, placing both hands on his
sword and going on the attack. He ducked another kick from Alex and did one of
his own as Alex was recovering, hitting the warrior in the back and causing him
to stumble. Alex recovered quickly and threw his sword up.

Steel met
steel, the sound of striking metal ringing with its own brand of musical
foreplay through the shipping yards. Then, everything abruptly came to a halt
as Alex pivoted, then did a duck-spin, striking out with the wooden handle of
his sword right into
Wayde’s
jaw and sending him
spinning. And as he whirled, his blade spiraled downward, and the tip caught Alex
on the very edge of his jaw, where the cheek curled downward.

The wound was
not deep, but blood ran.

The coppery
scent hit Wayde sharply and he felt his fangs descend. Hunger roared through
his body and the need to lick Alex’s blood almost had him buckling under the
force of his desire. Whatever Shade species Alex was made his blood smell sweet
and mouthwatering. Wayde walked backwards, his sword held high, in an effort to
escape the gut-clenching craving. Both paused, staring at each other, breathing
heavily. Alex reached up to touch the wound with a finger, staring into
Wayde’s
eyes.

“You’re better
with that sword then I thought you’d be.”

“I was in
China
for a
while,” Wayde replied, panting slightly.

“What the fuck
does that have to do with anything?”

“There were
many battles during the Three Kingdoms era,” Wayde explained.
“Right around when Buddhism was introduced to the Chinese.”

Alex backed
off even further. “This isn’t over, rogue.”

And then he
was gone, and Wayde was left holding a sword. He looked at it and licked off
the blood.
Alex’s blood.
It was so sweet, so heavenly,
like ambrosia.
Fae
, maybe.
It made him want the man and not just his blood.
Wayde’s
cock was hard and it pulsed with Alex’s name.

But first things first.
How the hell was he supposed to get this
sword home inconspicuously?

Chapter Four

“Shit!” Alex muttered as he
examined his wound in the bathroom mirror. Though it wasn’t too deep, the blood
wouldn’t stop. He was going to need stitches. Holding a towel to his chin, he
left the bathroom and headed down the hallway. He turned the corner from his
wing of the house and head downstairs, to Josiah and Tommy’s room. They had the
bottom right half of the house, where the library was located, because all Josiah
did was research. He’d joined their team not long ago, but it was clear from
the beginning that Josiah was an unusual enforcer. Instead of fighting, he read
about fighting. He knew tactic and strategy more than any other person, but
only because he’d memorized the damn manuals.

Alex knocked on the closed door. A
second later Josiah answered. He wore glasses and had a tendency to forget what
day or month it was.

“You’re bleeding,” Josiah observed,
one eyebrow
raised
.

“Glad those glasses are working,”
Alex managed to mumble despite the towel. “Can you sew me up?”

“Why me?”

“One, you’re the only one home. Two,
I have a feeling you’ve probably read a book about suturing.”

Josiah pursed his lips. “You’re
right. Meet me in the kitchen.”

He closed the door in Alex’s face.

Alex turned and made his way to the
kitchen. He pulled out one of the large leatherback dining chairs and sat. Josiah
walked in a moment later with an old fashioned doctor’s bag.

“What is that?”

“Medical supplies,” Josiah answered.
“Now be quiet, so I can sew you up.”

Alex gritted his teeth through the
pain as Josiah stitched the wound closed. Finally, after what seemed an hour
but probably was closer to ten minutes, Josiah stepped back and examined his
handiwork.

“Good as new,” he said.

“I need something to drink,” Alex
muttered. “That fucking hurt!”

“Well, that’s what happens when you
get cut,” Josiah stated as he started putting things back in the bag. “By the
way, who did this?”

“A vampire.”

Josiah gave him a surprised glance.
“That’s not a bite wound. What did he cut you with?”

This time, Alex squirmed. “One of
my swords,” he muttered.

He expected derision, but Josiah
said nothing. He only turned back to close his case.

“Get the Blessed Blade.”

“I would if I could find where Sebastian
put it,” he said with a sigh.

“Oh. You should check his bedroom. But
if I see him, I’ll tell him you’re looking for it.
G’night
.”

“Night, Josiah.”

He watched his friend retreat and
gently tested the soreness of his jaw. Damn that vampire. He had to figure out
his next move.

At that moment, all the adrenaline
he’d been flying on crashed and burned. His eyelids drooped and all he wanted
was to go to bed. Grabbing a bottle of whiskey, he headed upstairs.

****

Daphne woke up late the next day,
but she didn’t care. She’d spent the majority of her life sleeping the day away
because of her problem. Her foster mother had home-schooled her because Daphne
couldn’t participate in any outside activity. She’d lived mostly at night,
under the bright
midnight
moon, letting her mind play out fantasies that only a healthy body could
utilize. As she’d gotten older, she’d dreamed of a man sweeping her off her
feet and loving her despite her limitations.

And now, Wayde was in her life. Had
he been serious last night? Despite knowing she basically asked to trade room
and board for sex, and how that made her sound, she didn’t regret it, because
she had this feeling that time was running out for her.

The intercom buzzed and Daphne hit
the connect button.

“Hello, there is a Detective
Alexander Malden here to speak to Mr. Wallace,” the front desk man said.

“Oh,” she said. “Please send him
up.”