Netherworld II: Blood Potion No. 9 (28 page)

I went back to check on Bane. One
ambulance and Bottle were gone, and C.K.’s body was going into a
bag. A bunch of male shifter cops stood around gossiping (if you
think men aren’t as bad as women on that, I’m telling you different
right here and now). Despite looking perfectly fine and dandy
following his shift back to nearly human, Bane sat on another
ambulance’s stretcher, shapeshifting paramedics checking him out as
men with ATF jackets crowded around him congratulating him and
catching him up on other goings on.

One agent, a were I couldn’t readily
identify the species of but looked pretty ferocious with his pointy
face and wicked sharp teeth, said, “The witches had to put a sleep
spell on that baby dragon. England is flying a team out to take
custody of it.”

Oh boy. I’d completely forgotten the
dragon imprisoned in that crappy little storage unit.

“It’s from the British line?” Bane
asked.

“Not sure. It’s definitely a European
breed, not Asian. They usually have a pretty good handle on their
population, so there’s a big bitchfest stewing over how an egg got
smuggled out of Europe at all. Germany, Italy, Greece, and France
are checking on their populations as well.”

Bane shook his head. “I’m surprised the
parents aren’t crisping the countryside searching for their child.
That Hazel was a badass witch.”

I had to forgive Bane of his language
since he didn’t know I was there. And goodbyes on bad terms were
never a good idea. I considered giving him farewell kiss, but I
thought better of it. He and I had been personal enough. No more
questionable behavior from me.

“I guess this is it, Bane. Good luck,
my big, bad wolf.”

It was a lame farewell, but I was done
juicing up just to be seen and heard. It would have to be good
enough. It was time to leave the handsome but troublesome agent
behind.

I wanted to find one or both of my
boyfriends in the worst way now. Since Dan had planned to bring
help to the storage unit, I supposed he might still be there. So
that’s where I went.

I found Dan just hanging out, watching
as cops and ATF agents and some of Tristan’s shifters milled
around. Tristan’s gang was apparently being interviewed, but all
they could tell the authorities was the county commissioner had
sent them here to stop the Beasts from killing an agent and using a
dragon to taint bottles of blood.

Dan gave me a big kiss. “Hey, baby
girl. I’ve heard a little about an ATF agent taking down the leader
of the Beasts and the cops having a shootout with a witch. Do I
dare ask which party you attended?”

“Both, and I’ve had my fill of the
whole secret spy thing, I’ll tell you.” I brought him up to date on
all I’d done and seen.

Dan shook his head at me. “Girl, if I
was alive you’d be giving me another heart attack.”

“Yeah well, it didn’t do much for me
either. Where’s the dragon?” Peering into the storage unit, I could
see the little reptile was gone.

“SPCA’s dangerous animal division came
and got it.”

My eyes widened at that. “Its parents
will be pissed it was treated like a common animal.” Dragons are
very proud beings, from my understanding. They don’t take insult
well.

Dan shrugged. “North America doesn’t do
dragons. It was the best they could come up with. Para Patrol
witches spelled it into a deep sleep. It’s small, but it’s
lethal.”

Gosh, I was exhausted in my head. “I
guess that wraps everything up, huh? The bad guys are out of
commission, blood supplies go back to being safe, Bane got the job
done, and Tristan gets to keep a campaign promise. Cue the
credits.”

That earned me a laugh. “It’s going to
be boring after all this, isn’t it?”

“I can do boring for a good while now.”
I arched an eyebrow at him. “But if you’re anticipating fading from
the monotony, I can think of a few things that will liven you
up.”

“I just bet you can.” His grin lit that
rugged face. My goodness, Dan was just too yummy when he smiled.
And the kiss he gave me had my knees knocking and my guts melting.
“Library?” he suggested.

“Like, yesterday.”

Hand in hand, we left the crime scene
to the authorities. The instant we materialized in the library, Dan
went total caveman on me. He tore my pretty dress off, ripping it
from my body like a wild man. Oh yeah. Him Tarzan, me Jane. And
keep that darned smelly monkey out of our treehouse.

I loved this animal Dan, and I
encouraged his ferocity with little helpless gasps and whimpers
that seemed to make him even crazier. He put me up on one of the
polished wooden reading tables, plunging his cock deep in my pussy
without so much as a pleased-to-meet-you. I swear I almost came
right then and there. He was so hot.

Dan grabbed hold of my wrists in one
manly paw and pinned them over my head. Then he was stretched over
me, looking me over like I was prime beef he couldn’t wait to sink
his teeth into. I squirmed beneath him, nervously expectant of
being ridden rough and hard, the way only he could do
it.

He grinned at me. “Looking good, baby
girl,” he whispered. His free hand rubbed my breasts, mauling them
so that the waves of pleasure were fed by little darts of pain. I
shuddered, mewling with eagerness for him to move, to give me that
hard, demanding friction I craved.

Melding his mouth to mine, he pounded
himself into me, taking me as strongly as I’d wanted. Our bodies
slammed violently together, and that sweetness was coming at me in
no time. I was so primed for him that foreplay would have been an
irritation rather than a delight. I screamed into Dan’s mouth as I
ignited, my body rumbling with earthquake intensity, bucking and
heaving with vehement force.

He released the kiss as soon as I
stopped shrieking holy heck. “Better?” he asked.

“Oh my. Thank you,” I whispered. “What
can I do for you now?”

“I’m in a vanilla state of mind,” he
answered. “Can we be just man and woman, no Dom and sub stuff this
time?”

I smiled. “There is nothing wrong with
vanilla, especially when it’s with you,” I said. And it was true.
Like I had told Tristan a few days ago, sometimes vanilla is the
most delicious flavor of all.

So he carried me to the couch, our
fronts still plastered together, my arms and legs wrapped around
his oh so delectable torso, keeping him right where he belonged: in
me. Dan laid me down gently, and I moaned with delight when he
started moving in and out again, this time slow and
steady.

“Honey, I’m home,” my Marlboro Man
sighed.

His kisses were soft, wet, and
luscious. I sucked on his tongue, twining mine around it. Feeling
him stroking inside my flexing pussy, hitting all the sensitive
spots, his groin rubbing my clit … oh heavens to
mergatroid.

Without hesitation I told him, “I love
you, you know.”

Dan lost his rhythm for only an
instant. His rugged face lit in a full blown smile, probably the
most genuine smile I’d ever seen his face utter. “I thought so, but
it’s good to hear you say it.”

I held him closer than ever, making
love to him with all I had. At some point we reversed positions,
and I rose and fell over him, my hands greedily claiming that taut
belly, his chiseled chest with its sprinkling of dark hairs, his
wide shoulders, his neck, his strong jaw, his unabashedly masculine
face. I couldn’t get enough of caressing him.

He also devoured me with touch, his
fingers trailing through my hair, following the coppery strands
down to where they ended at my nipples. He traced the areolas,
making the tips pucker tight. Down, down his hands drifted over my
ribcage. One cupped my hip while the other positioned to allow his
thumb to rub my clit.

“Nearly there, baby girl,” he whispered
to me as I rocked over him.

I moaned in response, because the
calloused digit he used on me was bringing on the tiny spasms that
preceded full-on orgasm. I moved faster, my hands braced against
his chest. He gasped, his thumb moving rubbing harder and harder,
sending tiny explosions through me until the big one hit, shredding
me completely.

Dan grabbed my hips with both hands,
yanking me up and down on his cock as my insides continued to
pulse. His face creased with tension for an instant, then it
relaxed all at once. His deep moans filled the room as he found
release.

Afterward I lay on top of him, my face
snuggled into the hollow of his shoulder. His fingers traced lazy
circles on my back and buttocks, and I felt happy. Safe.
Home.

I told him, “I’m going to make a
decision soon. I just need to figure a few things out.”

“You love him too.” Said
matter-of-factly. No judgment or anger colored his voice. “So
you’re not going to string one of us along?”

“It’s not fair to you two. He’s giving
up live donors,” I offered, wanting Dan to know how serious Tristan
was about me.

“That’s big. Huge difference between
bottled and the warm stuff.”

“Yeah.”

Those big, muscular arms wrapped tight
around me. His lips touched my forehead. “I want you to be happy,
baby girl. I’m not going to lie; I hope that means you choose me.
But if you’re happy, I’ll deal with it.”

My strong, steady Marlboro Man. What
wasn’t there to love about him?

Chapter 16

Tristan lay on his former employer’s
bed in Sanderson Cottage, laughing fit to split his guts and tears
pouring down his face. I’d never seen him hysterical, but by God,
he was right now. You’ve never seen a man laugh so hard.

I was showing him the strip routine I’d
attempted when stuck in Fizz’s body. At least he didn’t boo or
throw things at me. Instead, he nearly fell off the bed, so
mirthful was he at my embarrassing failure.

I got the last of my clothes off and
tottered on ridiculously high heels. I grabbed the nearby
nightstand to catch my balance. “I know! Now imagine that in front
of completely unsympathetic and hostile strangers. It was totally
humiliating, even in someone else’s body.”

Tristan wiped his streaming eyes. “Two
left feet, most definitely. I’m amazed, considering all the
wonderful things you’ve done in that body with me.”

“Well, it wasn’t my body first of all.
And these heels!”

“I love you in those heels.” His eyes
turned almost vampire dark. “In fact, I want to see those stilettos
up in the air.”

“You say the sweetest things.” I turned
my back to him and bent over, pretending the strap affixing one of
those terrible shoes to my ankle needed adjusting. I heard
something like a growl come from his throat as he took in the
view.

The sound of footsteps on the creaking
stairs outside the bedroom door was barely acknowledged. The living
could come and go as they pleased for all of our
concerns.

Tristan said, “Get over here, beautiful
woman.”

I straightened and cast my gaze over my
shoulder at him. Now he was just as naked as me … more so since he
wasn’t wearing high heels, ha ha. And boy, he wanted me to join him
in the worst way. That was obvious.

Hearing that pair of footsteps coming
down the hall, the first of many I was sure that would grace the
haunted Sanderson Cottage on this eve of All Hallows, I
concentrated hard to walk gracefully the two steps that separated
me from the bed. I made it without stumbling once. I slid next to
Tristan, and his body covered mine, his mouth descending to give me
one of those toe-curling kisses he did so well.

The footsteps stopped outside the door
as Tristan’s tongue flicked my parted lips. We both froze when a
deep voice called, “Brandilynn? Are you here?”

Tristan rolled off me, and we stared at
Bane as he peered into the room. The werewolf, looking almost
respectable in a white polo shirt and khakis, peered around the
room uncertainly. Looked yummy, in fact. Would look even better
naked on this bed with me and Tristan.

Okay, cancel the lusty thoughts
already. I so was not going there, especially with Tristan glaring
at the agent.

Of course Bane was completely unaware
of how incredibly furious Tristan looked. “I’ve been searching
around for you. I ran into Patricia Keith last night, and she said
you might be here.”

Tristan gritted his teeth. “Remind me
to disown my sister. She knew you and I had a date.”

I could only chuckle. “You don’t mean
it. You love her.”

He crooked an indulgent smile. “She
always was more into tricks than treats. Bane interrupting us would
be her idea of a Halloween prank.”

Bane was held back from coming into the
room by the velvet rope just inside the door. “Is there any way you
can let me know if you’re here? Brandilynn?”

I sighed and concentrated on the
earth’s magnetic pulse. Pulling just enough into myself, I
concentrated the power into one hand and knocked twice on the
ornately carved headboard of the bed.

Bane smiled, his golden eyes lighting
up. “Hey, girl. Just to be sure that’s you, can you do it
again?”