As Midnight Loves the Moon (6 page)

****

He couldn’t stop the thirst that
hit him. He’d tried to ignore it. He’d tried to appease it with animals and
bagged blood, but it wasn’t the same and he was so hungry.
Always
hungry.

So he tore through the night,
heading to the area that would provide a lot of human traffic but would allow
him to stay in hidden in the shadows.
Westrin
Park
offered him a smorgasbord of
options and he sat in the darkness with his eyes closed as he dragged in deep
whiffs of the people walking by. He could smell the blood and his fangs
painfully descended as the craving clawed at his gut. Even his fingers turned
into talons, ready to rip open the throats of everyone who passed by. He could
revel in their terror, bathe in their blood. Satisfy the hunger that never left
him.

Instead he waited. Some far,
distant corner of his mind still remembered that attacking and killing humans
was wrong, but the need inside of him over rode any moral instinct. He waited
for the right person.

And then he found her.

Chapter Eight

Daphne turned on the television the
next afternoon as she began to clean the living room. As she dusted, the news
came on, talking about another killing. She paused and turned up the volume.

“The body of another woman has been
found near
Westrin
Park
. Although the police
haven’t made any statement yet, sources claim the victim is like the other two
women found around the area.”

She saw Alex behind the reporter,
standing with the other police as a covered body was loaded into an ambulance. Sadness
for the poor woman washed through her, as well as a chill of awareness. It
wasn’t safe for women on the streets at night, and if Wayde hadn’t taken her in,
she’d be walking them after her shift.

Rising, she wandered into the
kitchen and looked at Alex’s card she’d taped to the refrigerator. Making a
split decision, she picked up the phone and dialed his cell number.

It rang twice before he picked up.

“
Malden
,” he answered.

“Hello, Alex, it’s me, Daphne,” she
said.

There was a slight pause.
“Daphne?
Are you all right?”

“Yes. I saw the news, though, and
thought of you. Are
you
all right?”

“You called because you’re
concerned about me?”

“I am,” she confirmed. “Was that
silly of me?”

“No,” he answered quickly. “That’s
actually sweet of you. I’m working on this case and it’s…bad.”

“I can imagine,” she murmured.

“How have you been?”

“I’ve been well, Alex. I’m on the
last of my antibiotics, so I’ll probably be leaving Wayde soon.”

“What about Mr. Wallace? Has he
stayed with you? What about last night?”

“He worked last night and came in
late.”

“Do you stay up for him?”

“I’ve always been a night owl,” she
said. “I usually find nighttime jobs—”

“No,” he interrupted. “Don’t do
that, not until I catch this maniac. I don’t want anything to hurt you.”

Her breath caught and through the
phone connection she heard his concern.

“Do you hear me, Daphne?”

“Yes,” she answered softly. “I
heard you. And I
promise,
no night work until you
catch the murderer.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Daphne…may I
come over and see you?”

“Today?”

“Yes. Just for a visit. I like that
you called me.”

“Okay. How about I make you a
sandwich?”

“That would be nice. See you in an
hour?”

“All right,” she replied and hung
up the phone, her heart thumping in her chest. She had to take a deep breath to
calm down and then hurried into her bedroom to change into something a little more
attractive than a sweatshirt and yoga pants. Wayde had so kindly gone to her
apartment and picked up clothes and her toiletries and she made sure to repay
his kindness for all he’d done for her by cleaning and cooking meals whenever
he was home.

Once she freshened up, she went
back into the kitchen and began to prepare Alex’s food. When the doorbell rang,
she quickly opened and smiled at Alex. Once again, his sexy grin knocked her
for a loop and she stumbled back a step to allow him to enter. Alex quickly
grabbed her and pulled into his body to steady her, which made her mind go
blank as she stared up into his amber gaze.

It was as if a volcano had erupted
and lava was flowing through her veins. She could barely think, and couldn’t
say a word as she watched his head slowly lower toward hers. And then his lips
touched hers, so slight and gentle that she wouldn’t have believed he was
kissing her at all, except she watched him. He watched her back, judging her
response, waiting to see if she would accept him or push him away. One kiss led
to another, and he nibbled on her mouth, light little kisses that made her
yearn. She wished he would deepen them and kiss her properly.

But clearly, he wanted her to give
him permission. So she did. She took the initiative, her hands reaching up to
his wrap around his neck as her body arched against his hard, muscular one. Her
eyes closed just as his did and when he pulled her closer into his body, her
lips parted. His tongue surged in, tangling with hers, moving in and out as her
mind spun out into bliss. Whimpering a little, she arched her back as her hands
buried into his thick, silky hair.

Finally, when he lifted his head,
she stared at him through dazed eyes.

“Oh my,” she whispered and licked
her lips.

His gaze followed her tongue and he
groaned.
“Oh, Daphne.
I wish I could take you into
your room and show you how much I want you. But that would definitely be the
wrong move right now.”

“It would?” she asked, wondering
why it would so wrong.

“Yes,” he answered firmly. “We know
nothing about each other. And you’re living with Wayde Wallace.”

Wayde
.
The name poured ice over
her heated body, and she jerked back from Alex’s arms and smoothed her hands
down her pants.

“Right,” she said. “I have your
lunch ready.”

She turned and walked away, leading
him into the kitchen where she had a plate ready for him at the bar.

“Daphne,” Alex said and grabbed her
arm, halting her further retreat. When she looked up at him, she saw all the
yearning she was feeling in his beautiful whiskey-colored eyes. “Please don’t
feel like you did something wrong.”

“But I did do something wrong,” she
replied softly. “Wayde took me in. He takes care of me. And I kissed you like I
haven’t done the exact same thing with him. You do something to me, Alex, something
profound. But Wayde deserves my loyalty. And I can’t betray that. I’m sorry.”

“So am I, Daphne,” Alex said with a
sigh of frustration.

****

The club was in full swing when Wayde
arrived. Music blaring a techno beat, smoke lightly filtering over the dance
floor. Overhead lights of rose, blue, and green brought out multicolored hues
of the people bumping and grinding together. Wayde immediately felt lust fill
his blood. He could feel the chaotic energy of everyone around him and he
breathed deeply, letting the ecstasy give him a nice buzz. He didn’t want to
fall into punch-drunk love too quickly.

Tartarus was perhaps the only club
around that acted as a sort of neutral ground for the Shade and humans to meet.
Although, technically, it was a human dance club the people who came knew what
sort of creatures partied with them. Wayde spotted a few warlocks, werewolves,
and fairies mingling. He met their surprised looks and gave each a polite nod
of greeting, knowing they were wondering what he was doing out and about. Like
most vampires he was known to keep to himself, but his attraction to Alex and
Daphne had changed everything. Something strange was going on and Wayde wasn’t
sure what it was, but he needed to calm his libido the fuck down before he went
anywhere near them again.

He moved onto the dance floor and
let the music flow into him. Before long, he was moving his hips to the beat,
dancing with men and women alike. Wayde felt his thirst roar to life and his
cock sprung to life, turning to steel behind his zipper. God, he wanted to
fuck.

No, he
needed
to fuck.

His pupils elongated as he began to
search for a partner. Male, female, Shade or human…shit, none of that mattered
right then. But as he searched through the dim interior, through all the faces,
his gaze landed on one half of the duo who had driven him to Tartarus in the
first place.

Alexander Malden.

The Shade cop stood still in the
center of the dance floor, only a few feet from him, staring at Wayde as if he
wanted to suck him down and lick him clean. It made
Wayde’s
cock ache with desperation and before he knew what he was doing, he rushed
toward Alex. He cupped his face and pulled him down to kiss him.

The kiss was not gentle. It was
rough, raw. Wayde lips pressed Alex’s open and his tongue slipped, seeking his,
twisting with it, dancing. He pressed his body more firmly into Alex’s, needing
to feel every inch of him. With surprise, Alex’s hard cock pressed back,
pulsing.

Wayde’s
hand roamed over Alex’s hard body, over the tightly defined shoulders down a
corded back. Sweat slicked his skin. He pushed Alex’s shirt up far enough to
lick his way down his neck to suck on the erect nipples. Alex was moaning,
although Wayde couldn’t hear it over the roar of the music.
They
grinded against each other, humping on the dance floor.
No one watched
them. No one cared. The decadence of the situation only added to heat
surrounding them, consuming them.

Wayde felt his fangs come down and
push against his lips, felt his skin begin to burn at Alex’s touch. His cock twitched
and he knew he was going to burst soon, spew inside his pants like a fucking
green boy unable to hold it together. He undid the top button of Alex’s pants
to allow his hand to slide inside. He found Alex’s hard dick leaking and used
the moisture to play with the tip. The jeans prevented more of his arm slipping
inside, so he could only tease Alex.

Fuck!
Why didn’t they go
outside? Go his place? Go anywhere other than stay on this fucking dance floor?
He began to lead Alex off the dance floor, directing the other man locked in
his arms until they were in a dark corner, hidden by shadow. Then he unzipped
Alex’s pants and slipped his hand further inside.

Alex gasped and he moaned as
Wayde’s
hand found the hard shaft inside. Wayde felt his
insides melt as he grasped a cock that was fucking huge. How did the man walk
around with such a monster in his pants? It made
Wayde’s
mouth salivate with temptation. He wanted to sink to his knees and suck him
down, taste his cum, drink every drop. But he couldn’t do that here. The most he
could give Alex was the best damn hand job possible.

But soon, Wayde promised himself,
soon he’d have Alex in his bed, fucking his brains out. In the meantime, he
used the
precum
leaking from the slit and offering a
little moisture to coat his hands, so he could jack off Alex with ease. Up and
down his hand worked, alternating pressure as he went, loving how the rigid
cock filled his hand. Apparently, so did Alex, by the breathy moans spewing
from his mouth. Even though the music was loud and the bass thumped the floor,
Wayde could still hear Alex as he panted out his pleasure.

Wayde straddled Alex’s leg and
began grinding his groin, and the friction and pressure of the material revved
Wayde up even more. The tantalizing scent of Alex’s musk wafted up, hitting his
nostril and making him salivate.

Mine.

The word kept repeating through his
head, driving him crazy. His hips humped Alex’s leg faster, his pumping hand
following along. He wanted to come, so badly, but even more, he wanted Alex to
come with him.
Exploding together in bliss.
Holy fuck!

He felt Alex swell in his hand,
felt his balls draw up. Alex gripped
Wayde’s
shoulders so tightly he knew he’d have bruises. He was going to spew any second
and Wayde felt his own
body prepare
, doing the same. A
second later, Alex cried out as his jizz spurted out, warm and sticky. Wayde sank
his fangs into Alex’s shoulder and blood burst upon his tongue, so exquisite
that he immediately exploded in his pants and he drank deep as they each rode
the crest of ecstasy.

And then he was done and his fangs
retracted, slipping from Alex’s body. He licked the puncture wounds closed just
as they collapsed upon each other, breathing hard. Sweat glistened off their
foreheads. Wayde pulled his hand out of Alex’s pants and proceeded to lick off
Alex’s cum, loving the salty essence. Then he captured Alex’s mouth in a tender
kiss before pulling away.

Alex looked at him through his
lashes and Wayde wanted so much to take him by the hand and lead him to a nice
soft bed. But he sensed Alex wasn’t quite ready for that. The hand job was one
thing. A long night of fucking was something else.

“Why you?”
Alex whispered.

Wayde knew exactly what he meant. Damned
if he ever thought he’d fall for anyone, let alone a Shade cop.

“What about Daphne?” Alex asked.

“You’re both mine,” Wayde replied.

Alex pushed him away and they
stared at each other, breathing hard, although Wayde suspected Alex was more
pissed now than turned on.

“I’m not yours,” Alex told him. “And
Daphne has no idea what you are. Don’t delude yourself, rogue.”

He stormed away, leaving Wayde
watching after him. He wanted to shout out his frustration. He wasn’t the
rogue. But no matter what he thought, he knew Alex didn’t believe him.