Love Bite (Just One Bite #1) (8 page)

“It’s been six
weeks,” Diandra said. “And I’ve missed you. Let’s make up for lost time.” Both
women went to their knees, facing each other on the bed. Diandra leaned in and
kissed Lizbeth hungrily, all searching tongue and biting teeth. Her hands
reached out and grabbed Lizbeth’s breasts, kneading and rubbing them, caressing
the tiny nipples into hardened peaks.

Lizbeth
responded in kind, and slid Diandra’s robe down her shoulders, pinning her arms
to her sides. She kissed Diandra’s collar bone and shoulder, first one side,
then the other. She kissed her neck, working her way down to take one of those
ripened nipples in her mouth. Diandra stayed passive, enjoying the game.
Lizbeth ran her hands down Diandra’s body as she licked and nibbled at the
nipple in her mouth. Her fingers found that tight, hard bud and she ran her
fingernails lightly over it. Her fingers left that bud of pleasure and slipped
into Diandra’s wetness, expertly stroking her up and over that first climax.

Diandra then
pushed Lizbeth onto her back, propping her hips under a throw pillow. She
proceeded to lick and bite her way down Lizbeth’s body until she reached the
source of all that moist heat. She gave one long, slow lick from front to back,
then a second. Without hesitation she plunged her tongue inside as deep as it
would go, flicking her tongue back and forth, and her thumb made the same
movement over Lizbeth’s clit, driving her up and over first one peak, then
another, and still one more. Just as Lizbeth reached the top of that third
climax she felt a sharp pain where before there had only been pleasure. In the
haze of their lovemaking the pain was all wrapped up in the enjoyment. Diandra
drew back, breathless, while Lizbeth lay feeling boneless, replete. Diandra
leaned down for a kiss and Lizbeth was surprised to taste blood mingled with
her own sweet taste on Diandra’s tongue.

“Did you bite
me while you went down on me?” Lizbeth asked, unsure whether to be angry or
scared.

Diandra hung
her head. “I could smell your blood there, and I just couldn’t resist a small
sip. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t
hurt me, damnit, but we don’t know the rules here. How do you turn someone? You
were bit. We don’t know exactly what the hell happened to Jonah. What if taking
‘a small sip’ is all it takes to turn me? Don’t you think that’s something we
should discuss before you make the decision for me?” Lizbeth could see that she
was hurting Diandra’s feelings but she couldn’t help her own.

“I’m sorry! I
know you’re right, but this is all new to me you know! Lizzie, honey, I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to do it. But would it be so horrible? Being like me, I
mean. Would being with me, forever and always, be that bad?” Tears glistened in
Diandra’s eyes, and she hastily wiped them away. She didn’t know what had come
over her, and if there was one thing she hated, it was being out of control.

Lizbeth
gathered her into her arms and stroked her back, soothing her as best she could
while mulling over what might happen from one tiny sip of blood. “Dia, it’s not
that. I don’t like my choices taken away from me, and even though it was
accidental, that’s exactly what you just did. And as for being with you
forever, well, nothing sounds better. But I don’t know if I want to make this
change. You had no choice in the matter, but I don’t know if I could choose
that life willingly.”

“You’re right,
and all I can do is
say
again how sorry I am. I
certainly know better than do something so risky with no idea of the outcome. I
don’t know what came over me, but I’ll make sure not to do it again.” Lizbeth
nodded, and Diandra continued. “Would you mind getting dressed and coming
downstairs to the parlor with me?”

“Of course
not, what did you need?” Lizbeth asked.

Diandra got up
and pulled a cotton nightgown over her head. “I was going through the filing
cabinet in the basement while you were at work today and I came across some
paperwork that concerns me. I’d like you to take a look at it and see what
jumps out at you.” With that she walked out of the room, leaving Lizbeth to
slip into a robe and follow, puzzled. What could she have possibly found that
would concern her this much? She had a bad feeling that she was about to find
out, and that she wouldn’t like it once she did.
 

Lizbeth
studied the papers in her hand over and over again. She couldn’t quite believe
what she was reading. In her hands was all the proof she’d ever dreamed of
having, and poor Diandra didn’t even realize what this was. The papers that had
been hidden away in the basement filing cabinet held the answers she was seeking:
exactly how the drug import operation was run and where the deliveries were
stored prior to delivery. There was also a list of every individual involved,
in hierarchical order. There was just one big problem with this list- Diandra’s
husband, Jonah, was right near the top of it. He was one of the people involved
with framing Lizbeth, one of the ones who cost her her job as well as her
apartment, her friendships, her whole support system. He had done his damndest
to ruin her life, and had very nearly succeeded.

A slow, steady
rage burned up through Lizbeth and she fought to tame it. This man had done so
much to ruin both their lives. Now she knew just how much he had had a part in
ruining hers, and she was furious. She bit back as much of her anger as she
could because she knew she was needed. She could indulge in her fury later all
she wanted. Right now Diandra had questions that needed answers, and she was
the only one here who could answer them for her.

“What do you
make of all this?” Diandra asked, confusion written across her features. “I
recognize some of these names and places, but the monetary amounts and the
locations mean nothing to me.”

Lizbeth sucked
in a deep breath and prepared to shake Diandra’s world once more. “This is a
list of the locations of drug deliveries, the amount of money made off of each
sale, and a list of the people involved. Dia, honey, Jonah was one of the
people who conspired to have me kicked off the force last year.” Diandra was
shaking her head, refusing to believe. “I’m betting when you check your bank
records you’ll see deposits in these amounts. This is where his wealth came
from, not from inheritance or from his job with the police. I’m sorry, honey,
but he was a criminal.”

Diandra
continued to shake her head, but Lizbeth pressed on. “Do you see this name right
here? This is my boss, the one who actually handed in the paperwork framing me.
This is the name of an assistant district attorney I knew was involved. This is
the name of the man I’ve been watching for the last several months. I just
never had the proof. I’m sorry, Dia, but I need to turn this over to Alexar.”

Diandra paled.
“You’re going to turn in evidence incriminating my husband to his best friend
and former boss? You’ll ruin him.”

Lizbeth took
her hand. “Honey, as far as everyone knows he’s dead. You can’t ruin the life
of a dead man. There’s no way he can come back, no way to prosecute him. I
wouldn’t be ruining anything but his legacy, but I’m not even doing that. No
one will know he was involved because Alexar won’t expose him, and neither will
I. He received a hero’s burial. No one can change that. But Alexar has been
helping me, so I have to call him and let him know what I’ve found. He needs to
be told now, tonight, not tomorrow at work. I want to keep this out of the work
place.”

Diandra didn’t
like it, but she grudgingly agreed that was the right step to take. She went
through the desk in the den to locate the bank statements, her eyes drawn to
the deposits. The amount staggered her. She had always laughed when people
talked about how little cops made a year. She secretly thought that those cops
must not be as good as her husband if they were making so little money. Her
blood ran cold, knowing in her heart of hearts that her upstanding cop husband
was smuggling drugs.

Diandra sat
down on the foot of the stairs and cried. How did her life come to this? Her
husband died. She moved on. That should be the end of it. Instead she was
trapped in this God awful horror movie life that she couldn’t begin to comprehend.
It didn’t make sense. Drinking blood twice a day, a baby, a corrupt husband who
wasn’t six feet under where he belonged… life was so unfair!

She wiped her
eyes and stood up. She knew nothing would make her feel better in this moment
than to peek in at her sleeping infant. She crept into the nursery quietly and
tiptoed to the crib. RaeLynn wasn’t there. She drew a deep breath but shoved
down her panic. Obviously Lizbeth had her downstairs. She headed back down to
the parlor where Lizbeth was just hanging up the phone. “Where’s RaeLynn?”

Lizbeth just
blinked at her. “In her crib when I last checked on her. Why?”

Diandra let
out a short scream of terror and maternal rage. She flew up the stairs faster
than she had ever moved before, running back into the nursery. She peeked into
the crib once more and saw a crocheted blanket and a stuffed teddy bear, but no
baby. She tore through the upstairs
,
then back down
again. The two women looked all over but there was no sign of her anywhere.

Diandra moved
to the phone, preparing to dial 911. Her heart beat faster, almost as fast as a
human heart would. She pondered that in the back of her mind- her heartbeat had
been sluggish ever since the change. She punched in the 9, then the first 1
when she heard a baby’s cry from upstairs. She slammed the phone to the desk,
not even bothering to hang it back on the hook. Lizbeth emerged from the
nursery holding a fussing RaeLynn in her arms. “Diandra… she was in the crib.
What’s going on around here?”

Diandra
wrapped the hungry baby tight in her arms, horror painted across her features.
She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew damned well she never wanted to
go through this heartache again. She pressed a kiss to the baby’s forehead and
moved off to prepare a bottle of formula. It was a long time before she could
shake the feeling that went through her when she saw that empty crib.

Alexar knocked on the door and Lizbeth moved to let him in.
Diandra was on the loveseat in the parlor, the now sleeping RaeLynn held
securely in her arms. She just couldn’t bring herself to set her daughter down
just yet. She’d carried the child with her from one end of the house to the
other, terrified that is she were to let her go she would disappear once again.
Of course, a baby couldn’t just disappear. Somehow Diandra must have overlooked
her. She had no idea how that might be possible, but that had to be it. Nothing
else made any sense.

While Alexar
and Lizbeth moved off to the dining room to go over the paperwork she had found
today, Diandra carried RaeLynn back up to the nursery. She changed her diaper,
rubbed her down with a sweet-smelling lavender lotion, and dressed her in a
footed sleeper for bedtime. Then Diandra lovingly cradled the baby as she ran a
soft-bristled baby brush through RaeLynn’s curls. She sat in the rocking chair
and sang to RaeLynn to calm her own nerves.

Downstairs,
Alexar took a seat at the dining room table and Lizbeth spread the paperwork
out before him. She quickly explained how Diandra had come across all this
information in one of Jonah’s filing cabinets in the basement. The color
drained from his face bit by bit as he read each sheet, once, twice, even three
times. When he was finally finished he took a deep breath, pulled a
handkerchief from the breast pocket of his suit coat, and wiped the tears from
his eyes.

“So much
trust,” Alexar said. “So many years of friendship, and this was going on behind
my back. We discussed this case over many a beer, and the whole time he was
just garnering information. I just cannot believe this.” He wiped at his eyes
again, and then visibly pulled himself together. “How is Diandra taking this?
This had to be hard on her.”

Lizbeth sighed
then rubbed wearily at her own eyes. “She says she’s fine, but you know as well
as I do that she’d say that even if she’s fallen to pieces on the inside. This
shattered her illusions of the perfect marriage she truly believed they had.
I’m betting she’s sitting there considering how many things she overlooked
through the years now make sense with this new information.”

“I wouldn’t
wish this on anyone, but hopefully this will make his loss a bit easier to
bear. Plus she has RaeLynn.” Alexar paused and looked at Lizbeth shrewdly. “And
you, of course.”

Lizbeth
blushed, averting her eyes from his keen gaze. “Well of course she has me.
She’s my best friend, and she saved me from a life of so much pain. You both
did.”

“I know better
than that. I see what’s going on between the two of you. It can stay between
the two of you, I’d never presume to stick my nose in. I merely want you to
know that I see what’s going on, and I’m here for both of you. You make her
happier than Jonah did, although she’ll never admit that,” Alexar said with a
quick grin.

Lizbeth
studied his face, verifying that he believed everything he had said. Apparently
satisfied with his honesty, she nodded. “I’m doing all I can to make sure she’s
happy. She deserves it. She’s been wonderful, and very quickly she and RaeLynn
have become my whole world.”

Diandra
cleared her throat from the doorway, RaeLynn now sleeping once more in her
arms. “If you two are done talking about me behind my back, I have a few things
to say. Then I never want to discuss this again.” Alexar and Lizbeth exchanged
guilty looks. “First of all, my marriage may not have been perfect, but it did
seem that way. Second, you’re right, Alexar. Lizbeth does make me happier, and
a part of me feels guilty for that. But she tries so hard, and she doesn’t have
a dishonest bone in her body. She’s home every night at a decent time, and
always has time for RaeLynn and I, no matter how tired she is. I love her,
Alexar. I love her very much. I’m glad for your support, and I’m sorry for
Jonah’s betrayal of your trust. All I can say is that I was as blinded by him
as you were.” She wiped angrily at her eyes with one hand, the other arm still
cradling the sleeping baby.