Something Wicked: HarperImpulse Romantic Suspense (13 page)

“Last thing.” She stepped up and poked his chest. “I like you. Maybe more than like you, and I don’t know what the heck to do about that because you keep pissing me off with your stupid assumptions about what kind of person I am. Plus, I’m not planning to stay and that’s a problem. Maybe not for you, since you’re a stud who probably can’t wait to jump into bed with the next —”

He tugged her forward so fast, her words got lost in a gasp that he quickly swallowed with his mouth. His hot breath brushed her cheek when he pulled his lips away just as quickly.

“Anyone ever told you that you make a lot of assumptions yourself?”

Her breath hitched and she stiffened in his hold. He chuckled at her reaction, then thrust his tongue right back inside her pliant mouth. Oh, wow. He was good at that. So good. She curled her fingers into the silk of his hair, pulled him down, deeper, and lost herself in the sensation of his kiss. What had they been talking about? She had no idea.

Shifting away, he used his lips and teeth to nibble a path down the column of her neck. Grabbing her ass, he lifted her and took them to the nearest wall.

“I really like this dress.” His voice was raspy as he managed to tug the top half down, exposing her naked breasts. She was suddenly very grateful she’d taken her bra off before coming here. “I like how you look in it.”

“Really?” She was practically purring now. The man had barely kissed her and she was already ready for him. “Would have never guessed.”

He blew a hot breath over one rigid nipple before tasting it. She was so distracted by that sensation she almost didn’t catch him sliding one of his hands between them, struggling to free his erection. She heard the rip of a zipper, felt her hips and legs jostled as he shoved his jeans down. Oh, my. Someone was in a hurry. Maybe she should have left her panties at the hotel too. He lifted her higher, sucked her breast inside the moist cavern of his mouth, and she groaned.

“Dylan.”

“Shhh.” His tongue tangled with hers again. She moaned and was practically breathless when he pulled away. “I need to be inside you. Now.”

“Panting here. Pretty good sign I’m okay with that.” She’d be a hypocrite after calling him promiscuous if she let him go much further without, um, “Protection?”

He laughed quietly against her neck then licked the shell of her ear. Pulling back for a second, he framed her face with both hands and met her gaze. He brushed the hair away from her cheek.

“I don’t sleep around, Alexandra. I’m no monk, but I’m careful who I take to bed. Always careful to use something.”

Why was he telling her this now? Trying to ruin the mood? Couldn’t he see how desperate she was for him at the moment? She tried to pull him closer, but he held back.

“I don’t have any more condoms.”

Oh. His gaze never left hers, but she could feel how hard he was against her. There were other ways of taking care of that little, er,
big
problem, but his husky plea haunted her.
I need to be inside you.
She needed him inside her, too. Like, soon.

“One, I’m on the pill.” She pointed at her bag on the floor behind him. “Two, you left an unused condom beside my bed. I stuck it in my purse.”

His eyes lit up with a happy, naughty gleam right along with his smile. He set her on her feet, swiped her purse from the floor, and watched as she fumbled like a virgin on prom night until she found it for him. Flicking her hair out of her face, she tossed the bag down with a clunk and yanked him forward again by the material of his shirt. She slid the condom into his hand as his mouth hovered over hers. “Only one. Better make it count.”

A gasp stalled in her throat as he pressed her to the wall again, kissing her hard before pulling back again. He slid the condom on in record time.

One of his very talented hands found its way up her dress, between them, his fingers teasing the skin at the edges of her underwear before sliding beneath, inside her.

“Mmm, already wet.”

No kidding. She wrapped one of her legs around the back of his thigh and pressed him into her. “Don’t stop.”

“Like this?” He whispered the words against her lips, slipping his fingers under the elastic of her panties, inside her. Her head fell back against the wall as he drove hard against her clit.

She was almost there when he jerked at the material at her hips, shoving the panties down and out of his way. His fingers bit into the back of her thighs as he lifted her higher. Her arms and legs knew exactly what to do. They held on tight as he positioned his cock at her opening and pushed inside. She bit her lip so hard, feeling him throbbing there, she almost drew blood.

He shoved into her. She pushed back. On and on, they rocked together.

“Dylan.” She breathed into his ear. “I’m almost there.”

He drove harder until she came, and then answered her cry with a moan.

Panting, he buried his face in her neck, squeezed his arms around her waist. “Man.” He lifted his head and kissed her. “I wasn’t lying. I’m safe.”

“Better be.”

His chuckle vibrated against her ear. “Did you really imply I was a man whore?”

Heat crept into her face. “I was angry. I’m sorry. That was pretty…unforgivable.”

“I wonder why I can’t ever seem to take things slow with you. For the record,” he lifted his gaze and met her own, “I like you too. More than I should.”

“Oh.” She swallowed. “What are we gonna do about that?”

His cell phone sang out the first strands of an annoying rock song. He groaned and pulled away from her, reaching to tug up his jeans. She found her feet but couldn’t seem to leave the support the wall offered her limbs. Completely satiated. That’s how she felt. A good, long nap would be Nutella.

She straightened her clothes as Dylan snatched up his phone and shot her an apologetic look over his shoulder.

He went still at whatever the person said. “Which one? Where?”

Her happy mood began to evaporate. Oh no. Not another murder.

He ended the call. “It’s Reedus.”

“Reedus?” She’d seen him a couple of hours ago. He’d been on his way to talk to the medical examiner.

Dylan moved past her. “He’s in the hospital. I’m sorry, Alexandra. I’ve got to go.”

“Here. Coffee?” Alexandra nudged Dylan’s shoulder with her elbow and indicated the extra cup she’d gotten for him from the vending machine.

It was after midnight and it had been a long day. She was sure he needed the caffeine as much as she did to stay vertical at this point.

Glancing up from the hospital’s waiting room seat, he smiled sheepishly and took the cup. “Thanks.”

She reclaimed the chair beside him. “Relax. The doctor said he’d let us in to see him after they got him settled in his room.” Reedus had been ambulanced to the hospital after collapsing during his visit with the ME. When Dylan had gotten the call about it, Alexandra had assumed his partner had been the latest victim of the Grim Reaper, but not quite.

“When he started coughing the other day, I told him to go to the doctor.” Dylan swore softly. “Pneumonia? Does it come on that fast? How did it get into his bloodstream?”

Alexandra shrugged. She didn’t know. She’d never had the stuff, thankfully.

She glanced around the waiting room sparsely decorated with people. One man had spread himself across a row of seats in a sort of makeshift bed. Another couple sat closer to the television. Since Reedus’s children lived outside the state, she and Dylan were his only visitors. Alexandra was glad she’d insisted on coming. Not only had she grown fond of the gruff older man, but it was obvious Dylan was uncomfortable being here. His knee bounced to some unheard rhythm, and every two minutes, he would shift in his seat. The only time he hadn’t seemed preoccupied with his thoughts was when his phone rang. It had been blowing up with calls from other officers seeking information throughout the night, so she expected the older detective would have a roomful of cops visiting him tomorrow.

Alexandra reached out and placed her hand on top of his.
He hates hospitals because they bring back bad memories of seeing his mother in one.
It was as if someone had whispered the words to her, but she knew only she had heard them. And she knew they were right.

Dylan turned his hand up and linked his fingers with hers. “I’m glad you came. Sorry you’re not getting any rest.”

“I’m worried, too.”

Several more nail-bitingly slow minutes passed before the lanky man in blue scrubs who’d identified himself as the doctor treating Reedus reappeared. “He needs his rest, but he did ask to see you before we turned you away,” the doctor told Dylan. “Try not to get him too excited.”

The man led them to a two-bed room where Reedus was the only occupant. His complexion was pale and he looked more haggard than he had only a few hours ago. Hanging back in the doorway, Alexandra placed her hand on Dylan’s arm. “Why don’t I give you a few minutes with him? I’ll wait right here where you can see me.”

His expression was so vulnerable when he met her gaze it almost broke her heart. His eyes looked sad and stressed. His mouth was pulled tight with worry. Oh, Dylan. He obviously cared for his partner a lot. “All right, but stay where I can see you.”

She nodded and found a spot against the hallway wall to lean against. She cradled her coffee between her hands and smiled when Dylan made sure the curtain on the glass window looking into the room was pulled all the way back. She waved through the glass and winked at him. Nope. She had no plans to leave this spot.

It was interesting how much you could learn about a person from their body movements when you were watching them. Dylan had his hands on his hips as he looked down at his partner. His forehead was crinkled. Every now and then he’d nod. In her experience, that pose meant the person was a good listener. That he was open and willing to hear what you had to say.

“Alexandra King?”

Alexandra started at the unexpected voice and turned to see a man in blue scrubs pointing and smiling at her.

“You probably don’t remember me. I’m Dr. Jeffrey Watkins. I’m one of the medical examiners at MUSC. Last time I saw you, you were—”

“Oh, right. I fainted on your floor.” Heat spread across her cheeks as she laughed self-consciously. Pushing away from the wall, she reached out her hand to formally introduce herself. “Yes, I’m Alexandra.”

Instead of accepting the gesture, he stepped back and held up his hands. “Sorry. Probably don’t want to do that.” He gestured toward the room. “I was kind of in hurry to come check on Reedus, I can’t remember if I properly washed my hands if you know what I mean. You’re not the only person lately who’s passed out in my presence.”

“Don’t take it personally. Doctor says he has pneumonia. Me, well, I’m just not good around blood.”

He nodded and gave her kind of a funny look. “Yeah, I saw you on the news last night. Sorry. I had no idea who you were when you, uh, came to the autopsy room the other day.”

A sour feeling started churning in Alexandra’s stomach. She didn’t know why exactly, but she knew it wasn’t because of anything she’d eaten. She tried to make herself more open to whatever was causing it, but nothing else was coming through. Was that stupid hex bag keeping her so closed to the other side she couldn’t pick up on anything?

It was so frustrating.

She glanced toward Dylan and saw that his gaze was focused on her now. He said something to Reedus and moved away.

When Dylan moved, that’s when Alexandra saw her.

Saw
it
.

The old woman with the creepy black eyes sat in the chair beside Reedus’s bed. The spirit’s expression was void of any emotion. She just sat there, staring back at Alexandra.

Waiting.

Someone touched Alexandra’s shoulder, and she jumped about three inches off the ground. “Hey, you okay?” Dylan asked.

Sucking in air, she nodded and looked between the two men. “Yeah. Fine.” The poor medical examiner was probably going to go home and tell his family about how utterly weird and neurotic that lady psychic helping the police was.

Dylan didn’t look as though he believed her, but all he said was, “I need to talk to Watkins for a few minutes. Why don’t you go say hey to Reedus? Maybe he’ll listen to you if you tell him to stay in that bed and get well.”

She glanced back toward the bed Reedus occupied. The chair beside him was empty.

No one else can see this thing. Only you. You’re the only one who can fight it. Now buck up and go in there.

She nodded and moved slowly into the room, hesitating when she came to the small bathroom right inside. It was eerily dark. Was the old woman hiding in there now?

“Still wearing that dress, I see.” Reedus croaked out the comment. “Looks a little wrinkled. Guess you and Collins—” He started coughing, so Alexandra hurried to his bedside. His left hand was extremely warm when she lifted it in hers. “Sorry, doll. Can’t talk too much.”

“Good.” She smiled down at him. “I can’t imagine what kind of things you’d say on medication with that dirty mind of yours.”

He chuckled and began coughing. Right. No jokes. Couldn’t make him laugh.

She glanced around the room, that weird feeling gone from her belly. Her muscles relaxed. It was gone now.

She squeezed Reedus’s hand and met his droopy gaze. “I’m sorry, Reedus. I didn’t realize you’d been sick.”

He coughed into his other fist. “Snuck up on me a few days ago.”

A few days ago.
“When did you first notice it?”

“When did we find that body in the cemetery?” He looked over her shoulder and frowned. “Right around when you showed up, I guess.”

Seriously? Alexandra knew certain spirits, even the good ones, could make people physically ill. She’d seen it time and time again. The old creepy demon had just been in Reedus’s room, so maybe…?

Holy crap.

Was the demon making Reedus ill? On purpose?

“What’s goin’ on inside that pretty head of yours now?” Reedus asked.

She bit her lip, reached down into her purse and pulled out the pouch Barbara had given her. Should she? Giving it to him would leave herself exposed again. Maybe that had been the demon’s plan.

Alexandra steeled her shoulders. She had to give him the bag to see if her theory was correct, had to see if she could help him. His condition had gotten so much worse in only a few hours. She couldn’t be selfish.

“Reedus, I know you think a lot of this is hocus pocus, but will you please do me a favor?” She put the pouch in his palm. “Keep this on you. I think it will help you recover a lot faster.”

He lifted the pouch. “What’s in it?”

She really needed to find that out for herself. “It wards off negative spirits. Just promise me you’ll try it.” At the very least, hopefully it would keep him safe from Creepy Black Eyes.

He started coughing, but nodded. “Where am I supposed to put it?”

Good question. “Just keep it near you. That’s good enough.” She hoped.

“Might as well.” He put the bag on the table beside him. “Ain’t got nothin’ better to do.”

Dylan came back into the room and asked if she was ready to leave. She nodded and tried to give Reedus a hug. “Let me know if I can do anything for you.”

His hearty chuckle suggested an inappropriate reply was swimming around that brain of his, but he didn’t say anything.

Once they were in the elevator, Alexandra took hold of Dylan’s hand. Poor man looked tired. He was rubbing his forehead, too.

“Got a headache?” she asked.

“Yeah. This case has been giving me lots of ‘em.” He forced a smile and squeezed her fingers. “How are you holding up?”

“Eh.” She shrugged.

He let go of her hand when the elevator stopped. He’d snuck out the back of his house earlier, and she’d told McCormick she’d gotten a call from Dylan letting her know about Reedus. The young man hadn’t seemed too suspicious about taking her to the hospital. Dylan had told McCormick to go grab something to eat when he’d dropped her off. Whether or not they’d fooled the young cop, she had no idea.

“McCormick will take you back to your hotel. Try to get some sleep.” She spotted the patrol car sitting at the entrance. Dylan must have called the younger officer when she’d been talking to Reedus. She guessed that meant they weren’t spending the night together.

Disappointment flooded through her. And fear. When she realized she’d just given away her best source of protection to Reedus, her heartbeat fluttered in her chest like a fly caught in a spiderweb. McCormick would be outside the hotel, but he could only protect her from what he could see. She’d be alone inside, and vulnerable to what he couldn’t.

“Alexandra?”

Dylan was watching her, his forehead crinkled in concern. She was tempted to admit how scared she was to be alone, but there were cleansing techniques she should perform. Things that might keep her safe. Things Dylan probably wasn’t ready to witness. “Sorry. Just tired.” She lifted her gaze to his. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Of course.” One side of his mouth lifted. “You’ll be riding with me tomorrow.”

Relief soothed away some of the disappointment she’d felt. “Good night then.”

“Good night.” But he walked her to the car, opened the door for her, and leaned down to tell McCormick. “I’ll be picking up Miss King around eight-thirty. If you have a chance, can you call in and have someone make sure that printout of ghost-tour employees is on my desk when I get to the office. We’re going to pay some of them a visit.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Appreciate it.” Dylan nodded and closed her door. McCormick probably didn’t see the sexy way Dylan winked at her when he stepped back, but Alexandra caught the gesture.

It gave her hope that he wasn’t completely pulling away from her again.

Eight-thirty couldn’t come fast enough.

***

Dylan couldn’t sleep, so he found himself staring inside his empty fridge sometime around three a.m. What he wouldn’t give for a cold beer and some chips right about now. Scratching his chest, he shut the door and glanced toward the mess he’d left in his living room. There’d be time for that later. He needed sleep, but it didn’t come easy.

A helluva lot had happened. His mind was on information overload, pinging from one subject to another. How had the Grim Reaper known his cell phone number? Did the killer have inside connections? Reedus had pneumonia. Would he be okay? Zach had left home because he was tired of being a punching bag for Ray. Was that true? Ray was dead. He couldn’t get his side of the story. Should he approach his brother now with questions about it, or let Zach make the first move?

And why the hell hadn’t he let Alexandra stay here for the night? He had a feeling having her next to him in his bed would have helped settle his racing mind. Funny, since he still wasn’t one hundred percent committed to believing everything she’d told him. He couldn’t argue with her effect on him though.

Strange how fate threw people together sometimes.

He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of relationship she had with his brother, but thinking about it too much made him feel agitated. Thinking of Zach always had that effect on him, but he really didn’t like the fact that Zach had known Alexandra first. Didn’t like thinking her loyalties would always sway to his big brother’s side.

But hadn’t his own, once upon a time?

His thoughts pinged back to the day Zach had run away from home.

Zach had used their mom’s truck to pick Dylan up from baseball practice. Dylan had been tossing his ball back and forth between hands as he complained to Zach about being made a short stop although he wanted to be pitcher when a loud
bam
had proceeded his entire body being thrust forward against his seatbelt. A second later, Zach had been right there, checking him over, his face shadowed with worry and concern.

Dylan’s brow furrowed now. Zach hadn’t had a black eye or bloody lip then, and it was past the end of the school day. Yet when Dylan had found Zach packing a duffle bag a couple of hours later, his big brother’s lip had been busted and there had been a wicked gash over his eyebrow.

“What happened, Zach?”

“Nothin,’” Zach had said. “Got in a fight today at school is all.”

Had Ray blamed Zach for the accident and taken it out on him even though Zach had been sitting at a red light at the time? Even though neither of them had been hurt?