Netherworld: Drop Dead Sexy (24 page)

He turned his attention to the big
werepanther. “Any luck on that front?”

Gerald’s triangular nose wrinkled and
his fangs appeared in a show of frustration. “The witch hasn’t been
found. The weres all have their noses to the ground but we haven’t
located her. No doubt she’s spelling her scent to keep hidden.
Also, her last known address has been abandoned for
months.”

Tristan’s hands tightened into fists
momentarily before his control re-asserted itself. “Lovely. Coming
up empty on all fronts.”

The Judge’s gorgeous baritone eased
through the dejected group. “I may have something, Tristan. There
are reports of an unknown vampire around the Okefenokee Park in
Waycross. With your permission, I’d like to spend a few days
investigating this lead.”

Dan and I exchanged an excited look.
The Okefenokee Swamp was located one county over. The protected
wetland sat close enough for the killer to find Fulton Falls a
convenient hunting ground. And its vast, wild expanse would be a
great hiding place. Finding the Ripper in the huge park would be
difficult in the extreme for human law enforcement. But a vampire
of the Judge’s age and wisdom might have a chance.

Tristan finally had a reason to look
pleased. “Excellent, Judge. Good work. Use whatever resources you
need.” He considered a moment before adding, “Catching the Ripper
is of paramount importance, but I would like you in town for the
coming press conference if possible. A united front on that issue
is essential.”

The Judge bowed. “I will make all
efforts to be available.” A rare smile quirked his death’s head
features. “I have great interest in how it goes.”

“Friday then. And again, my deepest
appreciation for your hard work.”

The Judge gave him another slight bow
and swept out, his cape flapping behind him like a crow’s
wings.

The moment he left the room, Patricia
visibly relaxed. “Good. I’m safe to be female again.”

Tristan snorted a quick laugh. “His
personality leaves much to be desired, doesn’t it dear? But he gets
things done and he does them well. He hasn’t allowed his dislike of
the vile race of women to impede his investigations.”

Patricia wasn’t amused in the least.
“That’s the only reason I put up with him. Otherwise I would have
staked him to the ground and left him for the sun years
ago.”

Her glamour disappeared, leaving her
red-eyed, fanged, and completely bestial. Even during his feed,
Tristan hadn’t looked so inhuman. I couldn’t help but gasp at the
display.

Dan turned to me. “Ready to go,
Brandilynn?”

“You’d better believe it.” I couldn’t
take my eyes off Patricia as she stalked back to her desk, Gerald
in her wake. She’d recovered her semblance of civilization, but I
knew I wouldn’t be fooled by that face again. I’d seen the
manipulator hidden behind the curtain, and Oz would never be the
same.

I took Dan’s hand and let him do the
driving.

Chapter Thirteen

We arrived at the library, and I
immediately flopped in a most unladylike fashion onto the sofa with
a weary sigh. I wasn’t physically exhausted; after all I wasn’t
physical anymore. But in my mind and heart, I was a battered
soul.

A witch wanted to catch me and hand me
over to the monster who had killed me. My safety lay in the hands
of bloodsucking fiends. I’d disappointed Augustus. Two men I really
liked played a barely polite version of one-upsmanship. And one of
those men spent half his time chewing on young, nubile
maidens.

Dan sat next to me and proceeded to
make my mood worse. “So you watched Tristan feed. Did it bother
you?”

I shot him a look. Well duh, Sherlock.
When he didn’t react but remained by my side waiting patiently for
a response, I finally growled, “Watching other people have vampire
sex is not my idea of a fun evening.”

“
You’re kind of prudish for
a woman who likes BDSM, sold sexual favors while you were alive,
and refuses to have a monogamous relationship.” Dan’s mouth
twitched.

If he started laughing, I would hurt
him. “Why can’t I be a good person and still have kinky
sex?”

He sobered, perhaps finally recognizing
I was in a foul temper. After a moment, he put his arm on the back
of the sofa behind me. At least he was smart enough to not touch me
this second. “I never said you weren’t a good person, Brandilynn.
You are very confusing however.”

“Of course I am. You are a mere man,
and men don’t get women.”

Dan raised an eyebrow at me. “You’re
more perplexing than most, baby girl. You had sex for money in
life, but you act like someone killed a kitten when they use
profanity. And seeing someone else have sex has you all
squeamish.”

I got madder, but I wasn’t sure why. I
needed him to back off in the worst way. “Well, I’m sorry my being
a whore doesn’t jibe with the rest of the picture. If I bother you
so much, it’s a big room. You can go to the other end of
it.”

Dan’s face darkened, and now he was mad
too. He seized me by the shoulders and made me face him. The show
of strength made something in me wobble, and I inwardly cursed the
submissive in me that got stupid every time he went Tarzan, King of
the Library.

The dangerous note in his voice made me
go very still. “I killed a man, so stop thinking I’m throwing
stones. Damn – darn it Brandilynn, I’m not one to be sitting in
judgment over you. I’m just trying to figure out what makes you
tick.”

And there it was, the cocktail that
turns me giddy every time. Concern mixed liberally with strength.
Dang him.

I sighed, knowing I’d lost this battle.
I adjusted his collar and smoothed his rumpled hair. “I can tell
you a sad story about how my parents wouldn’t let me live my own
life until I’d do anything to escape them. How they withheld love
when I didn’t do things their way. I can put on my pathetic face
and cry over the fiancée who broke off our engagement as soon as I
let him in my pants. No doubt those issues had a hand in making me
who I am, but let’s be honest shall we? After all, I’m dead and
there’s no point in lying about my life.”

Dan eased his grip on my shoulders and
rubbed up and down my arms. His voice a soft rumble, he said,
“There’s nothing wrong with honesty.”

I smiled, unable to help myself. Dan
was just too yummy to stay mad at. “Fine then. First thing. I don’t
trust men, not enough to hitch my cart up to one for a long period
of time. I got burned bad, and I can’t make myself feel better
about it. Second point; I love sex. Especially kinky sex. It feels
good with the right guy and I’m not going to apologize for wanting
to do it or making a few bucks doing what I enjoy.”

Dan nodded. He didn’t look disgusted.
He was dealing with the worst of me. Gold stars for him. “Third
point?”

“I don’t like cussing because the
world’s ugly enough without unnecessary vulgarity. Pussy and cock
are fine when we’re in the bedroom, but the rest is just plain
unattractive talk.” When he opened his mouth, I pointed a finger in
warning. “I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense to you. It makes
sense to me.”

“Fair enough,” he drawled. No humor
marred his expression. He took me seriously. More stars.
“Fourth?”

“I like watching people who put on a
show. I like putting on a show myself. What I don’t like is seeing
what should be private business, especially when it’s creepy
vampire business.”

There. I had answered everything he
asked. It was up to him to decide what to do with it.

Dan took his time doing that, still
rubbing my bare arms with his big, strong, calloused hands. Jeez, I
loved the feeling of his hands on me. Despite my best efforts, I
was falling into sensual stupidity, wanting to discard my dress and
bare every inch to that rough touch. I thought of him clenching my
breasts, squeezing hard—

“Do you like me?” He brought me part
way out of my fantasy.

I knew he referred to more than being
friends. The candid way he stared into my eyes told me exactly what
he wanted to know.

I swallowed. Fear of monogamy, of
putting all my relationship eggs in one basket didn’t change the
fact that I didn’t want to lose Dan as a sweetie. “I like you a
lot, but I’m still not good with the commitment thing. I’m
sorry.”

Dan’s hands moved up my arms, over my
shoulders, up my neck and cupped my jaw. He leaned in close, and
his mouth captured mine. The kiss was a gentle caress and he took
his time with it. He made love to me with lips and tongue, making
my insides flare with overwhelming heat. A spasm took my pussy, and
I moaned into his mouth.

When Dan released me, I rubbed my
thighs together in need. He pretended not to notice. “We’ll take it
day by day. A friends with benefits plan to start with.”

Relief washed over me, but I had to be
sure. “You’re okay with that?”

He took up one of my hands which traced
the flat disk of his nipple through the shirt. He pressed a kiss to
my palm then laid it on his very hard crotch. “What do you
think?”

I ignored the bolt of desire, letting
my true feelings for him have sway for the moment. “I think you’re
a really good guy and I wish I’d met you in life before my head got
screwed on so weird.”

Dan grinned and pulled me onto his lap.
He brushed an errant lock of my hair back from my face to kiss me
again. “You’re weird but good, Brandilynn. I think I can handle
that.”

My clothes disappeared with a wish, and
that rough, caressing hand fell on my breast, just as I’d wanted.
His thumb rubbed my nipple, and his mouth seized mine. I melted
against him, becoming the warm puddle of goo he turned me into so
easily.

Dan laid me on the sofa, and his gaze
roamed my body. The stark desire on his face made me wet. The heat
of that stare was almost as palpable as his hands on me. I could
see him weighing his options and waited breathlessly to find out
what he had in store for me.

“Hands over your head and keep them
there like they’re tied.”

I obeyed, thrilled when I felt the
memory of a quickening pulse thrum through my body. Dan grasped my
ankles, draping one leg over the low back of the couch and planting
the other foot on the nearby table so that I spread wide
open.

“You’re very wet, Brandilynn,” Dan
murmured, his thumb tracing over my intimate folds. I hissed in
reaction to his touch, my hips jerking. He grinned. “You’re also
mine to do with as I please. Do you understand?”

“Yes Sir,” I whispered. And whimpered
when his thumb ran up my slit again.

“Good girl.”

I warmed at his praise almost as much
as I warmed at his touch. I would make him happy with me. I would
do whatever it took to please him.

He wet his fingers in my pool, playing
over the petals of my sex until his digits were slick with my
juices. Then he rubbed the moisture on one brazen nipple. With a
grin, Dan put his mouth to my honeyed peak and sucked hard, his
tongue lapping harshly against my flesh.

I groaned as pleasure zapped from my
breast to my clit in a lightning flash. Dan gripped my breast in
one hard hand, squeezing just to the border of pain as he sucked at
its tip. Despite the wave of heat suffusing my body, I shivered
when his teeth scraped the reddening nipple.

Nipping to service me with darts of
pain, then gently licking and kissing the hurt away, Dan had me
tossing in a maelstrom of sensation. Pain and pleasure mixed until
I got lost in the intensity of feeling, unable to separate the two.
And he was just getting started.

Once he’d brought that breast to
swollen tenderness in which even a slight whisper of breath made me
writhe, Dan moved to the other. He slapped one side of the mound
then the other, pinking my ivory flesh nicely. Then he sucked hard
on it, drawing as much of it into his mouth as he could. I arched
in helpless delight, feeling the joy of heat, wet, tongue and teeth
on my soft skin.

He set my breast free in slow degrees.
Dan’s teeth seized on the tight peak, and he whipped his tongue
over the tip. When I writhed uncontrollably, he settled his weight
over me, holding me still. I realized he was still dressed. Being
naked and at his mercy while he remained clothed increased my sense
of powerlessness. Oh, I was in so much trouble with this
man.

He punished and rewarded my breast in
turns until the peak was as rosy and swollen as its neighbor. Only
then did Dan seem satisfied with his handiwork. He considered my
breasts with the air of a man who had built a great deck on his
house. He looked very pleased with himself.

“Nice, baby girl. Very, very
nice.”

He sat up, kneeling between my thighs,
and looked me over. I trembled under his gaze, wondering what he
had in store for me next. The anticipation tortured me as much as
any harsh touch he’d given me. I lay at his mercy, and I wasn’t
sure he had any. My rugged Marlboro Man looked very dark and
dangerous right now, as lawless as any desperado who’d ridden into
town at high noon.

Dan ran his hands down my ribs to my
tapering waist. Then he let one palm drift lower until it settled
on my mound. With the heel of his hand pressed against my clit, he
rubbed hard, slow circles.