SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits (44 page)

Her body trembled against him and she grabbed at his thigh with one hand while holding herself upright with the other against the wall. He braced a hand beside hers and wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting her as her release swept over her, weakening her knees. Rolling over his body and pulling at the demon inside him to come out and play, but he forced that back.

He'd already fed from her that day and he needed to stay human now. He needed to have control until he knew more about what was happening inside him and what her dhampir slayer blood might do to him.

Those thoughts pulled him back from the edge of his own release and try as he might to recover that pleasure, it failed him.

He grunted his disgust and stroked a few final times, prolonging her climax until she relaxed in his arms and he slipped out of her.

* * *

Diana eyed Ryder warily, wondering about what had cooled his passion. She searched his features and met his dark hooded gaze.

“Ryder, talk to me,” she said, but her husband shook his head, sending droplets flying off his soaked locks.

“We should dry off,” he said, averting her scrutiny as he reached behind her to shut off the water and quickly stepped out of the stall.

She followed him and he handed her a towel. That was when she noticed the abrasions along his knuckles. She grabbed hold of his hand and gingerly ran her finger across the reddened skin. “What happened?”

“Lost my temper. I guess you'd call it an altercation.” He rubbed the towel across his sculpted chest and she noticed the pinkened skin on both his biceps, like hand prints on his flesh.

“Looks like someone got their licks in as well,” she said and motioned to the marks.

Ryder tracked her gaze and cursed under his breath. “I guess you could say that.”

“That's a lot of guesses there, Ryder. Why don't you make my life easier and tell me what happened,” she said, but he did an about face, tossed his towel into the hamper, and marched out of the bathroom.

She wondered if he was intentionally trying to push her buttons or if he was truly so caught up in his own darkness that he didn't realize the distance he was creating between them.

Counting to five, because she didn't think she could really muster the patience to hit ten, she walked back into the bedroom, her pace measured and unhurried. Her stance as relaxed as she could make it to avoid escalating the situation.

He was in bed, cuddling Charlie against his naked chest.

Damn if her heart didn't do a major flip flop at the sight of him with their daughter.

She walked to his side and sat on the edge of the bed, her thigh pressed to his. She leaned forward and skimmed her hand across Charlie's head before reaching up and brushing back the wet locks of his dark hair so she could see his face.

“She was fussing,” he offered in explanation and the baby squirmed a bit in his embrace, but then quieted again.

“She probably just needs to be changed,” she replied, but then gently steered the conversation back to what had to be discussed. “Charlie's going to be just like a human child for awhile. She'll need both of us to be just like every day parents.”

“Do you really think that's possible?” he said, his gaze still fixed on their daughter. Holding her tenderly in his large hands which made her look so so small and fragile.

“I'm trying to make it possible, Ryder. I'm trying to be a mom and do my job. Be your wife—”

“Are you saying I'm not doing the same? That I'm not trying?” he shot back, his voice growing louder which caused Charlie to fidget against him.

She laid a hand on his arm and rubbed it up and down across the faint outline of the hand print. Beneath her palm, she registered a weird vibration of power. “This tells me that you're not sharing something with me. Something that could make a difference with us. With our family.”

He finally met her gaze directly and calmly said, “Ben and I went to Richard for his help. He refused and I lost my temper. He zapped me with some weird ass slayer power so I beat the crap out of him. Then I went for a drink and Foley pissed me off. So I gave him a shot or two while we shared a glass.”

She narrowed her gaze and examined him. Convinced that he was telling the truth, she tried to lighten the moment. “Foley probably got off on it. He likes the pain, you know.”

“He's still into you, which is why I popped him. Twice,” he said with a satisfied smile and a chuckle.

Diana shook her head. “Poor Daniel. We’re going to have to find him a girl of his own.”

Ryder’s smile broadened and he reached out, wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and tenderly urged her close. “Yeah, we are, because you’re my girl, right?”

She was surprised at the hint of doubt in his tones, so she sought to reassure him. She rested her arm along his where their baby was cradled and said, “I’m yours, Ryder. Heart and soul. Brain and bone and muscle and sinew. There isn’t a part of me that isn’t yours, my love.”

The subtle tension in his body evaporated like morning dew and he released a heartfelt sigh. He tucked her tighter and they lay together in silence for long moments, peace surrounding them. The kind of peace they didn’t have in their lives often enough.

A peace that was shattered by the vibration of her cellphone against the wood of the nightstand.

Diana snagged the phone before the noise could wake Charlie. Annoyance flared in her that Jesus would be calling at such a late hour, especially since she was officially on maternity leave. She knew that eventually she’d spend her share of nights over a dead body, but not yet. Not until she’d been able to gather up a lot more moments like the one that had just passed to remind her of why she did what she did.

So that others might know peace as well.

As she glanced at the screen, she realized it wasn’t Jesus calling, but Michaela.

At this time of night it could only mean one thing.

Major otherworld trouble.

Vampire Reborn
: Chapter Eight

Ryder stood hand-in-hand beside his wife, who had had refused to let him come alone. Despite the late hour, they had taken Charlie down to his ex-keeper Melissa Danvers and Diana’s brother Sebastian, Melissa’s husband. He would have preferred not to have Diana here either, facing possible danger. He wanted Charlie to have at least one of her parents to watch her grow.

His gut clenched at those thoughts and he risked a glance at the others who flanked his wife. To his left were Michaela and Jesus. Both were outfitted with enough weapons and gun power to hopefully make someone think twice about starting a fight that night. To Diana’s right, Benjamin stood uneasily, clad in black leather and chains. Along one arm he sported a vambrace filled with an assortment of knives. A telltale bulge beneath one armpit hinted at the fact he might be packing a gun as well.

Across from them stood most of what was left of the Slayer Council. Evangeline with her new boy toy second-in-command Anthony. Evangeline’s ex-lover and ex-second-in-command, Xander. Two other lesser Slayers whose names he couldn’t recall, mostly because they tended to stay silent and kowtow to Evangeline.

Missing from the mix: Richard.

His absence created an even more uneasy feeling in his gut.

At either side of the five Slayers were half-a-dozen slayers-in-training. He could tell they weren’t full slayers from the lack of power he sensed in them. In fact, he sensed no unique energies from at least four of them which meant they were truly novitiates to the slayer fold, untouched by even a scintilla of immortal power.

Each of them wore an assortment of weapons, mostly medieval in nature, although Anthony, like Benjamin, appeared to have a more modern weapon of some sort.

About time they got with the program
, Ryder thought. It wasn’t easy to fight either mortals or immortals in this day and age without some kind of firepower.

“Why did you call us here, Evangeline?” Benjamin said.

“Richard is dead,” she replied, no hint of emotion on her face or in her tones, although her hand tightened noticeably on the hilt of the immense sword at her side.

Every inch of his body tensed and he turned his head to glance in Diana and Benjamin’s direction. His wife looked up at him, before quickly peeking at Benjamin and then swinging her gaze to the head Slayer.

“How and when, Evangeline?” Diana asked.

Evangeline laughed harshly. “Why not ask your
husband
,” she said with a sneer and then quickly added, “or your new friend Benjamin. They were the last to see him alive.”

“He was alive when we left him,” he said and Benjamin seconded it.

“He was alive. Have you spoken to his colleagues at the hospital? With his lover?”

“His lover was the one who found him, his throat slashed open. His body drained of blood.”

“So he was home? Clearly alive well after Ryder and Benjamin met with him,” Diana challenged.

“You don’t deny they met with him then?” Evangeline pressed and looked back and forth between Anthony and Xander. Evangeline’s ex seemed uncomfortable and Ryder wondered why, but he didn’t have time to think about it further and delay an answer. He’d seen Diana interrogate possible suspects often enough to know delay was a sign of deception.

“We met with Richard at Lincoln Center. It didn’t go well. In fact, Richard and I fought,” he admitted.

“Then there's no question that you had a reason to want him dead,” Xander said confidently, much as he might have when he had been second-in-command.

“He does me no good dead.”

Xander turned his attention to Benjamin. “And you, Ben? All torn up that Richard’s gone? He took over your spot on the Council.”

Disconcertingly, Ben chuckled and shook his head. “Anything that leaves people like you and Evangeline in charge worries me, Xander.”

Anthony took an aggressive step forward, but Evangeline laid a hand on his arm and stayed him.

“Let’s admit it, Ben. You hate us as much as we hate you. This truce between us,” Evangeline said and gestured between the two groups with her hand, “is one none of us wants, but all of us have to live with.”

“We didn’t break the truce,” Ryder said.

“And yet one of us is dead and drained. How do you explain that?” the head slayer shot back.

“We can’t, but we can help you figure out what happened. Find out who did it and why,” Diana replied.

Her boss and friend, Jesus, added “We can help bring them to justice.”

Evangeline laughed harshly again and jabbed a finger at each of them to emphasize her point. “You and you and you. All of you? You expect me to believe a word you say?”

“The same could be said of you, Evangeline,” Michaela finally chimed in. She’d been abnormally silent for someone who was usually quick-tempered and in a rush to fight. This was more true to form, but then she continued in a more measured and cautious tone. “As much as we both might hate it, we’re stuck with each other. You keep the vampires under control and we help keep you in existence.”

“You’re right that we hate it, Michaela. We hate that half-breeds like you and Benjamin stain the Council with your undead blood.”

“But you have no choice. If you don’t trust us, what about other FBI agents?” Diana asked.

“You want to expose our secrets to others?” Evangeline challenged.

Diana glanced past him to Jesus, who nodded in seeming agreement. “The agents we have in mind have secrets of their own to keep. They’ll guard your skeletons well,” Diana advised.

“You cannot trust them,” Anthony urged.

To Ryder’s surprise, another of the slayers, one of the usually silent ones, said, “What choice do we have? If Richard’s death poses a threat to the Council, we
must
act.”

“Silence,” Evangeline barked.

“What will it be?” he said and faced Evangeline directly, tired of the discussions and worried that despite them, Benjamin and he were still the most likely suspects in Richard’s death.

“Do not think that because we agree to this, you are off the hook, vampire,” Evangeline replied.

“Not for a moment, slayer.”

He gripped Diana’s hand tightly and she said, “I'm assuming you've sealed off Richard's home.”

“We have. Michaela and Anthony can take you there and after, make arrangements with us so we may attend to his disposal,” the head slayer said.

Disposal
, he thought. So clinical and inhumane a word from a person supposedly dedicated to maintaining humanity.

“Are you okay with that?” he asked his dhampir friend, not wanting to assume Michaela was on board with their plans.

“I'm game, Ryder.” After a quick look at her lover, who nodded his agreement, Michael said, “J, too. We need to get this solved before it creates even more friction on the Council.”

He dipped his head, understanding that Benjamin and she were only reluctantly allowed in the Council ranks. Michaela because she had earned her spot and Benjamin because he had been one of them before being turned.

He glanced at his wife and saw nothing but determination on her features. “Are you ready, darlin'?”

“I'm ready. We'll call Sanchez and Alexander and ask them to meet us there.”

“That's the plan. Let's go.”

* * *

It won't be the first time or the last that I spend a long night with a dead body
, Diana thought. She paused for a moment to silently add, “or an undead one.”

For now, Ryder, Benjamin, and Michaela stood guard in the hallway outside Richard's apartment. Plus, it was best to keep Ryder and Benjamin out of the crime scene to avoid any inference that they had tampered with it.

Anthony angrily paced back and forth by the door as Sanchez, Alexander, Jesus, and she took in the scene and prepared to gather evidence.

As murder scenes went, it was routine. In fact, she'd seen far worse.

Richard lay sprawled on his back, his throat ripped open. The arterial spray from the wound stained part of one wall and a nearby leather couch. A goodly amount of blood had soaked into the beige carpet beneath his body, which made her question Evangeline's statement that he had been drained.