Seduced by the Night (32 page)

Feeling better, he peeled off the clothes he still wore and climbed into bed. Bethany stirred, but he whispered soothing words to quiet her as his body spooned with hers. The feel of her pressed against him almost caused him to moan aloud, but he held himself in check. Tonight, he wanted to hold her, nothing more. Tomorrow, when they woke, he'd begin the battle to win her over.

Across town, Miles pressed a hand against the pocket of his jacket. The vial of synthetic extract was a reassuring presence and though the solution was imperfect, he intended to keep that critical piece of information to himself.

It was early morning, hours before the sun would rise. He hurried down the park path toward the rendezvous site, fear and exhilaration filling him. What he was about to do was the most dangerous thing he'd ever done and while it was not without risks, he felt the payoff would be worth it.

He reached the curve in the paved walk and stopped to let a lone jogger pass. He shook his head, musing at the effort so many people put into trying to stay young. When the jogger disappeared, Miles left the path and continued his trek across the grass, past the trees, and down a small ravine to a little used area. Here he stopped and looked around. There was no one about.

He remained there almost twenty minutes before he heard a noise come from out of the darkness.

He whirled around and saw several figures approach. "There you are. I've been waiting."

"I had other things to attend to," Kent Patterson said, not bothering to hurry his pace. His fangs were visible when he smiled and his eyes glowed eerily in the moonlight. Miles swallowed forcefully. He mustn't show fear, he told himself.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the vial, holding it out to the vampire. "Here it is—as promised."

Patterson stepped forward, cocking an eyebrow. "Really? It's done—a perfect duplicate?"

Miles didn't even blink. "Yes."

Patterson took it and held it up. 'This is different from the others you brought me?"

Again, Miles nodded.

Patterson turned to the vampires with him. "Bring me someone. I want to test it"

This was an unexpected twist that Miles wasn't prepared for, but there was nothing he could do about it. He waited, not saying a word. One thing he'd learned in business was not to fill the silence with nervous chatter— that's when mistakes were made.

They didn't have to wait long before the vampires returned, blood dripping from their mouths and carrying a middle-aged man between them. He wore blue running shorts and a white Nike T-shirt and Miles recognized the jogger he'd seen earlier. Miles couldn't tell if he was unconscious or dead until they dropped his lifeless body at Patterson's feet.

Patterson reached into his pocket and pulled out an empty syringe, which he filled with the synthetic mixture. Then he leaned over and injected it into the dead man's heart. "We won't know for a few nights if this works or not." Patterson looked at Miles. "Do you have the formula?"

It was now or never, Miles realized. "Yes, and I'll give it to you after I collect my payment."

Patterson gave him a
skeptical
look. "You expect me to pay you now? Before we know if the formula works?"

"The way I see it," Miles explained, "I delivered the best possible synthetic. Whether it works or not isn't my fault."

Patterson studied him for several minutes and then shrugged. "Makes no difference to me whether I pay you now or later."

A rush of exhilaration went through Miles in anticipation. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. He stared at Patterson expectantly until a blur of movement distracted him. By the time he realized that Patterson had moved, white-hot pain shot through his neck. A single coherent thought wormed its way past his shocked senses— he was dying.

Bethany came awake slowly. She was warm, comfortable, and the last thing she wanted to do was get out of bed. She felt too good where she was. Like a cat, she stretched, and then froze when she felt a warm, muscled body behind her.

Opening her eyes, she recognized the inside of Dirk's room and the events of the night before came rushing back. Heat suffused her face at the memory of how she had practically come crawling to him with her nightmares and fears.

She should slip out of the bed before he woke, she realized. It was the right thing to do and yet she hesitated. It felt too wonderful to be in his arms again, for however long it might last. She closed her eyes and fell back asleep.

She awoke some time later to the feel of a hand lightly stroking the underside of her breast while lips teased the back of her neck.

"Good morning," Dirk whispered. "Or rather, good evening."

She smiled and squirmed when he hit a particularly sensitive spot. "Good evening." She let herself enjoy his touch as it both teased and aroused her. It made her think of the last time they had been together and she immediately sobered. "Dirk, t
hank
you for letting me stay with you last night." His hand stopped moving and she hurried on, needing to get everything out before it was too late. "I was really afraid and couldn't sleep and you always make me feel safe, and… t
hank
you."

"It's okay, Bethany. I'm glad you came to me."

She nodded and took a deep breath. This was the hard part, she thought. "It's just that I didn't want you to think I came down here to seduce you. I didn't want you to think I was using you again." He'd grown still and she felt mortified, humiliated. "I should go," she muttered, trying to move away from him.

He was forceful, but gentle, when he rolled her onto her back. His expression was serious when he looked down at her. His hand brushed the hair from her forehead and then the back of his fingers caressed her cheek. "How did things get so messed up?"

She traced the line of his furrowed brows with her fingertip, wanting to wipe away his worries. He captured her hand with his and brought it to his mouth where he kissed her fingertips.

"I'm sorry I doubted you. If there was some way I could make it up to you, I would—I just don't know how." His voice was gruff with emotion.

"Then let me show you." Gently, she pulled his head down and kissed him, tenderly, not wanting to assume too much. His response, however, was filled with hunger and passion, releasing her own pent-up desires until they raged out of control.

He held her to him with one arm beneath her while his other hand grazed a path from her hip to her waist and then up farther, moving beneath the fabric of her shirt. His hand molded her breast and she nearly came unglued. When he broke away long enough to pull her shirt over her head, she lifted her arms to accommodate him, gasping aloud when he wrapped the material around her arms so they were bound together.

Then his mouth was at the fleshy mound of her breast, the tips of his fangs teasing the skin. The tempo of his breathing grew faster and she knew he was fighting the temptation to bite her. The thought of his doing so should have frightened her, but it had the opposite effect and she arched into him.

"Yes," she whispered.

His fangs pierced her skin and she rode the thin line that separates pleasure and pain until the sucking motion of his mouth as he drank from her sent her crashing over the edge, into waves of ecstasy.

When he finally raised his head, his eyes shone like brilliant neon lights. She felt a small burn as he ripped her panties from her body and positioned himself between her legs. Already wet with desire, her body welcomed him eagerly and she wrapped her legs tightly around his hips as he made love to her.

Fighting against the shirt binding her arms until she rid herself of it, she clutched at his shoulders, holding on for the wild and furious ride. When her climax came again, she let the explosion take her. Moments later, Dirk went  rigid above her and his primitive cry of release was music to her ears.

Much later, Bethany went downstairs alone. The truth of her situation—engaged to Miles one day and sleeping with Dirk the next—was too strange. Even she had a hard time believing it To expect everyone else to accept it was perhaps asking too much, so she and Dirk decided to wait before revealing to the others the exact nature of their relationship.

Walking into the kitchen, she was greeted by the aromatic smells of dinner cooking.

"Hello," Julia said as she closed the oven door and placed the mitt on the counter. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did. How about you?" Bethany thought she looked tired. "I hope you didn't stay awake too long."

Julia smiled sympathetically. "No more so than you, I would imagine." She waved to the table. "Sit down. I'll bring you a cup of coffee."

"It smells wonderful in here," a smiling Admiral Winslow said as he walked in to join them. "Bethany. Julia." Bethany thought the admiral's face lit up when he turned to the older woman.

"Good evening, Charles," Julia greeted him, her own smile seeming a little brighter now. "Sit down with Bethany. I'll bring you a cup of coffee." She brought the filled cups over to the table, handing one to Bethany and the other to the admiral, then sat down with her own.

Lanie
and Mac wandered into the kitchen then, smiling at each other at a shared joke. "Hello, everyone,"
Lanie
said as she motioned Julia to remain seated while she got then-coffee. Taking their cups to the table, she sat beside Mac.

"That was some adventure we had last night, wasn't it?" Mac asked. Bethany studied his face, thinking he looked particularly vibrant and alive. She was at a loss to explain it.

Then Dirk walked into the kitchen, greeting everyone with a smile, though his gaze lingered on Bethany.

"Coffee?" Julia asked him.

"No, t
hank
s. I'm good." He smiled and took the last seat.

"Fighting vampires must agree with you and Mac," Julia observed. "I don't think I've ever seen either of you look so healthy and alive."

Mac and
Lanie
exchanged a quick look and then their surprised gazes flew to Dirk and Bethany, who couldn't understand why until she remembered what Dirk had told her about the effect on changelings of blood freely given—and the circumstances under which Mac usually took blood from
Lanie
. Then her cheeks burned with embarrassment and she couldn't bring herself to look at any of them.