Tracking the Tempest (2 page)

“Sexy?” she asked, arching an eyebrow at me.

“Incredibly,” I answered. “Slightly bizarre caveman-style monosyllabic dialogue in some of the sex scenes, but other than that, they are
hot
.”

“Mmmm. Sex scenes,” Iris purred, her eyes glowing gently in that trademark succubus manner. I laughed as Amy, our local nahual waitress, came to take our orders.

“What can I get you fine ladies this evening?” she asked.

“The usual,” I said, which meant a lemonade and a tuna melt.

“Can I have this?” Iris asked in her honeydew voice, holding up one of the novels I'd bought her so that Amy could see the cover.

“Sorry, hot man is all out at the moment. We have some corpulent taxi driver and a slice of crazy cat-lady left, but we ran out of hot man hours ago.”

Iris tsked, her luscious lips pouting adorably. “Then I'll have a Diet Coke and the chef's salad. Dressing on the side.”

“You got it,” Amy said as she ambled off.

“Now, Jane,” Iris said, her brilliant blue eyes fixing on mine like spotlights. “Tell me what you and Ryu have planned for Valentine's Day. Maybe a ménage à trois?”

“Why?” I asked suspiciously. “Has Ryu said something to you?”

“No,” Iris laughed. “I was trying to make a joke.”

“Never joke about Ryu and sexual experimentation. Ever. My heart can't take it.”

Iris grinned a particularly feral little smirk. “If he weren't a waste of my time, I'd take him for a spin. Share trade secrets and whatnot.” Iris wasn't calling Ryu a waste of time because she didn't like him but because, for whatever reason, only humans and some halflings created the right type of magical essence that succubae, incubi, and baobhan sith needed to feed.

I shook my head at Iris. “The thought of you two together terrifies me. You'd burn through the floor. You'd probably smash your way to China. The friction would start a cold-fusion reaction.”

Iris laughed. “Unfortunately, he's like celery to me. I'd burn more energy eating him than I would get from digesting.” I cocked my head at her metaphor, trying to decide if it was sexy or just bizarre as she continued. “And besides, except for feeding, he's got eyes only for you, Jane.”

At her words, my whole body froze. The thing is, the situation between Ryu and me was really complicated. I liked him, a lot. But he lived in Boston, where he was based. He was kind of like a supernatural detective, and it was a big deal to be in charge of a city so large and important. Meanwhile, my life was here, in backwater Rockabill. My dad would never move, as he was convinced my mother would someday reappear. He also had a bad heart, so I had to be around to help take care of him. I wasn't about to abandon my father, and Ryu wasn't about to abandon his career. So, even though we'd been dating since we met, we were still in this delicious honeymoon stage. We had our heady weekend flings, and we never had to deal with real life.

But I still knew damned well that “real life” meant Ryu's being with other women. He was a baobhan sith, the beings that had inspired our vampire mythologies. He drank blood, but not much. He only needed essence, not food. Nevertheless, Ryu couldn't do his job without expending a lot of energy. Therefore, he couldn't do his job without consuming a lot of essence from human veins. As my veins were in absentia, in this scenario, two plus two equaled him getting a little nookie on theside. He couldn't just find any old neck and sink in his fangs, or rob a blood bank, or drink synthetic blood like vampires did in the movies. After all, it wasn't the actual blood Ryu fed on, but the emotions. So he had either to scare the shit out of someone or arouse them. He had either to become a creature of nightmares, the kind of creature I wouldn't
want
to date, or stick with arousal and do what, in human terms, would be considered cheating.

But just because I could do the math didn't mean I wanted to. Ever. As Iris kept pouring lemon juice in my wounds, my face went all blank and weird, and I knew my friend could sense how uncomfortable she'd made me by bringing up Ryu's sanguinary infidelities.

“Oh, gods, Jane, I'm so sorry. That was so stupid of me to say. I'm really sorry. I know Ryu cares for you… I shouldn't have mentioned the feeding… I'm sure he'd just feed off you if he could. And I can tell you from experience that the sex really doesn't mean anything…”

I tried to take deep breaths as Iris plied her shovel, digging herself deeper.

“I mean, he probably doesn't have to feed
that
often anyway, and you do see each other quite a bit, so it's probably only a few times a week that he needs to go off on his own…”

Before Iris could apologize any more, I forced my throat to work. “No, Iris, it's stupid of me to get upset. It's just all so
fucking complicated.
” My stressed, already overly loud voice rose on those last two words, causing old Mrs. Patterson of the randy Yorkies to glare at me from over her bowl of clam chowder before she went back to staring in rapture at Iris. “Let's just change the subject,” I begged. “Tell me about
your
plans for Valentine's Day.”

The good thing about succubae was that they were
wonderfully easy to distract. Wiping away her sad expression, Iris started telling me about the marathon of debauchery she had planned for the weekend. I let my mind start to wander when she got to the part about her intended visit to Eastport's fire station.

“… so the good part is they can just hose me off at the station and I won't have to worry about showering. Get it? Hose me off? Since it's a fire station? Jane, are you listening?” Iris's syrupy French-toast voice finally interrupted my inner critique and I snapped to attention.

“I'm sorry, Iris. I'm here. And you're talking about hosing. Again.”

Right then, Amy came with our food and I managed to veer Iris toward more innocuous subjects as we ate. We talked about her boutique and some new stock she wanted me to try. When we were finally finished, I insisted on picking up the check, so she insisted on paying the tip.

“Should we head out to the Sty?” Iris asked when we were in the parking lot. I shuddered. Not because I didn't love the Pig Sty, our local bar that was owned by a pair of nahuals whom I adored. It was just that the Sty was also usually home to Stuart Gray, Jason's cousin and Rockabill's self-appointed made-for-TV bully. Stu hated me, and I hated him right back.

“Sorry, Iris, but I'm gonna pass. I don't want to deal with Stuart.” Not tonight, with my self-control just about shot. One word out of Stu's obnoxious mouth and I'd probably zap him with a lightning bolt. If I could zap lightning bolts, that is.

“How about a ride home?” she asked.

“Make it the beach and you got a deal.”

She nodded and we ambled over to her little pink hybrid. “I don't see your wet suit,” she said, casually, as we got in her car.

I ignored her as I buckled my seat belt.

“Are you just going to leave your clothes in the sand?” she asked, trying a different angle. “Don't they get dirty?”

I blinked at her, and she started up her car.

“I could hold them, you know. For you. Make sure they stay dry.”

I fiddled with her car's stereo.

“Just a little sex? Please?” Iris's voice was like caramel apples. I burst out laughing.

She laughed with me. “I'm sorry. I can't help it.”

“I know, Iris. I know,” I said, still giggling as I patted her hand affectionately. “But those lines do put the
suck
in ‘succubus'.”

CHAPTER TWO

A
fter work the next day, I went home before going to train with Nell. The screen door on our little house creaked alarmingly when I opened it, and I made a mental note to oil the hinges. My key stuck, as usual, and I jiggled it the way I knew it liked to be jiggled until I was allowed inside. My dad was sitting in our little living room to the right of the door, watching poker.

“Hey, Dad!” I said, surreptitiously checking on his condition before I hung up my coat.

“Hey, honey,” he answered. He sounded, and looked, really tired.

“How you feeling? Can I get you anything?” I knew he'd hate that I fussed, but I couldn't help it. I was good at fussing.

“Oh, I'm fine. Just tired.”

I ignored him, walking over to give him a good once-over. Despite his obvious fatigue, he didn't look too bad, and whatever new medicine the doctor had prescribed seemed to be helping. He'd looked decidedly rosier recently, and he was sleeping better.

“Really, I'm fine. I just stayed up too late watching that stupid movie.”

I grinned at him. “I hope you didn't tell the guys you stayed awake to watch
Steel Magnolias,
” I chided.

He groaned. “Are you kidding me? I'd never hear the end of it. I'd have to go out and chop down a tree or change a tire to prove my masculinity. But I do love that damned movie,” he confessed finally.

“And that's why I love you, Dad,” I said, leaning down to kiss him on his stubbly cheek.

“I love you too, honey. And I don't want you to worry so much. I really feel good. That new treatment seems to be helping.”

“You do look better,” I said, as much to myself as to him.

He nodded, closing the subject. “So, what's for supper?”

“I thought I'd make that ginger fish and some rice and salad.”

“Sounds good, honey. And there
might
be something in the kitchen waiting for you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of something?”

“Oh, just something,” my dad answered casually.

Well, it couldn't be a naked vampire or my dad wouldn't be so calm. But I still crept into the kitchen warily, knowing my lover's penchant for taking the Hallmark holiday to a whole new level of gratuity. I was terrified fireworks would explode or the naked vampire would jump out of a massive cake.

My mouth started watering suddenly, although I wasn't sure if it was over the thought of Ryu naked or the idea of cake.

Mmmmm… cake…

My cake-and-sex fantasies were foiled, however, for neither lurked in my kitchen. Instead, there sat on our counter a perfectly normal bouquet of red roses. All right, there were a
lot
of roses—at least three dozen—but they were just roses. I checked to make sure the vase was a standard-issue florist vase and not diamond encrusted. It had taken Ryu a while to understand that I just wanted him, not his money. Where was
I
going to wear designer clothes or jewelry? In the Old Sow? So I was happy to see the roses, as he knew how much I loved flowers. Hopefully, Ryu would follow up his gift with a visit—Valentine's Day wasn't until tomorrow—but the roses were an excellent start…

…
and quite a finish,
I thought as I finally found the card attached to the flowers. Which was no card at all,
but an open-ended ticket to Boston. For the next day.

I giggled, just as the heavens cued our phone to ring.

“Hello?” I answered, knowing damned well who it was.

“Hey, baby,” purred out the voice that, no matter how familiar it had become, still sent shivers down my spine.

“You,” I said. “You…” I continued, unsure whether to thank him or just give in to temptation and lick the mouthpiece.

“Are amazing? Extraordinary? Sexy? Yours? I can continue—”

“Ryu,” I interrupted.

“Jane,” he breathed, as my womb did something involving a roundoff and jazz hands. “Do you like your gift?”

“The flowers are beautiful, babe. Thank you.”

“Not nearly as lovely as you, my sweet. But they aren't the real gift. Can you come?”

I smiled at how he drew out that last word, feeling my bosoms commence their familiar Ryu-related heaving. If I hadn't been excited to see him before, he'd just catapulted me to positively gleeful.

“Yeah, I can come. I'll still have to check with Grizzie and Tracy, but I'm sure it will be okay. The store is dead right now, with the holiday. I'll also have to make sure the boys check up on my dad. But that shouldn't be a problem. I'll just make a few calls and then I'm all yours.”

“
All
mine, baby?” he purred. “Because you know I'll take you up on that offer…”

I laughed. “Easy, killer. If you make me self-combust, I won't make it to Boston. But I
am
really excited to see you. I've missed you.”

“I've missed you, too, honey. I always miss you. I've talked to you about this…”

I fell silent. Ryu had been intimating we move our relationship up to the next level since the last time we saw each other. But I just didn't see how that was possible. So I handled the situation with my usual, very mature tactic of ignoring him completely.

“Well, you're lucky; you had good timing,” I said. “This is a perfect time to visit. But next time, you might want to check with me first. What if I
had
been busy?”

Ryu chortled his funny trademark laugh, and the lust in my belly spread through my limbs like Greek fire. “You're never too busy for me, baby. I
know
you.” Before I could protest that claim, he moved on. “And you're going to love it. I've got an amazing weekend planned. You'll never want to leave.”

“You always have amazing things planned,” I said gratefully. “You're Ryu.”

“And you're Jane. For Jane, I'll move mountains.”

I laughed. “I'll be happy with dinner, darling.”

“Then I'll just move your legs. Around my waist, while you're up against the wall and I'm standing. After I've removed every last stitch of your clothing…”

I blushed, as my nearly immortal beloved attempted to engage me in phone sex while I stood in my well-lit kitchen, my dad in the next room watching poker in his battered recliner.

“Ryu.” I gulped, my voice husky. “I'm in my
kitchen
—”

“Then you can spread yourself out on the table while you listen to me. You know what we like to do on tables—”

“Ryu,
” I interrupted desperately. I couldn't take it. Maybe
I
had the bad ticker. “Tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow. Then we can—”

“Yes.” It was his turn to interrupt me. “Then we can. And we will. I've missed you, Jane. It's been, what, two weeks?”

“Yes.”

“Too long. I hate missing you.”

“I do too, Ryu.”

“Well, tomorrow you'll be all mine. For the entire weekend, and longer if you like. The return ticket can be used whenever.” He knew I was going to tell him I had to come back, so he didn't let me break in, this time. “But this weekend, for certain, you're mine.”

“All yours,” I agreed.

“Think about me tonight, Jane. When you go to bed.”

There was no chance of me
not
thinking of him, not after this evening's phone performance. “I will, Ryu. Believe me.”

“Good. And tomorrow you'll be in
my
bed.”

I shivered, silent.

“Bye, baby.”

“Bye, Ryu. See you tomorrow.”

He was wrong, of course. It felt like an eternity till I was in his arms.

But then, just like that, I was.

One minute I was craning my head trying to figure out which carousel my luggage was on and the next my feet were dangling as I was swept up into a tight embrace.

“Jane,” Ryu purred into my ear. “Gods, it's good to see you.”

Pressed that tight against him, I could feel just how good it was.

I rubbed my cheek against his short-cropped chestnut hair and then pulled back slightly so that my skin dragged across the slightly rougher texture of his smooth-shaven jaw. Wrapped up in his arms, I was blanketed in his signature scent of warm skin and balsam soap, with that hint of cumin that made my mouth water. As I inhaled, I continued on my mission until I found what I'd been searching for and my lips met his. The heat that had been pooling in my gut exploded through my body with palpable force.

We stood, necking like teenagers, as my fellow passengers claimed their luggage. They were oblivious to us; Ryu unconsciously sent out various glamours either repulsing or attracting attention, depending on the situation. Despite knowing we were unseen, I would normally have been uncomfortable with the bustle around us. But it
had
been two weeks, and I was losing myself in Ryu's clever mouth. Our kiss deepened and I pulled my legs up to wrap around his waist, until I gasped as Ryu's now well-extended fangs cut my lip deeply. I tasted blood, for just a second, before my lover's mouth found the pain. He sucked gently at the wound—making me moan—before his tongue swept across the gash once, twice, and then a third time, finally healing me.

We were both breathing heavily and I could feel him tremble. I unwound my legs, allowing myself to slide down the hard length of his body. Leaning back in his arms, I let my eyes scan up over his broad shoulders in their crisp white button-up to the strong column of his neck, to his handsome face, finally meeting his beautiful, golden-green gaze. I'd never get enough of Ryu's eyes. They were really hazel, but with only the barest flecks of green that gathered together right near his pupils, leaving the rest of his eyes a nearly unadulterated amber-gold. A surge of pure lust washed through my system. When I was away from him, I forgot just how gorgeous was Ryu, and the effect he had on me.

I knew my lover could read every sign of my arousal—my dilated pupils, my rapidly beating heart, my blood rushing through my veins—as if it were written on a billboard. But, just in case he had any doubts, I moved my hips in a firm little shimmy against his already straining trousers. He closed those lovely eyes and groaned, pulling me tighter against him before pushing me away.

“Unless you entertain a secret sexual fantasy involving Logan Airport, I suggest you quit torturing me,” Ryu said, his normally smooth voice delightfully lust-gruff.

I grinned at him. “You deserve torture after last night. I had to swim an extra hour to expunge the horny from my system.”

“Well, I hope you didn't swim off
all
your horny,” he said, running a hand over my backside to guide me toward the luggage carousel.

“I'm sure I'll manage to dredge something up,” I said drily as I made a grab for my heavy suitcase. Ryu pulled it easily off the belt, grinning at its size.

“Planning on staying for a while?” he queried, his voice hopeful.

“No, I've definitely got to get back on Monday, at the latest. But I made the mistake of asking Iris to help me pack.”

The succubus had driven over that night with a month's worth of stuff already packed in the massive suitcase. She'd taken one look at the little carry-on rollerboard Ryu had given me and burst out laughing. The carry-on had disappeared, the few things it already contained stowed into the last remaining corners of the behemoth sitting at our feet.

“Really?” Ryu asked slyly as he took the suitcase's retractable handle with one hand and my fingers with the other. He raised my palm to his lips in his signature gigolo gesture before leading me toward the exits. “And what, exactly, did Iris suggest you pack?”

I blushed. If my case sprang open at that moment, spilling its contents for Logan International Airport to see, most people would assume that Boston was hosting some sort of adult entertainment convention and that I worked for one of the big names.

“Socks. Vitamins. The usual,” I squeaked. I knew the succubus had gotten into my dirty drawer, where I kept all of Grizzie's presents. Grizzie gave dirty gifts for
every
occasion, and as I'd known her a long time now, the drawer in which I stored my unmentionables was a veritable cornucopia of fetish-tastic smut. I couldn't begin to guess at the intended usage of some of the vaguely phallic bits and bobs Grizzie had given me, and so they'd remained unopened, safely tucked away. But I'd come back from digging out my old toiletries bag from the hall closet to find the dirty drawer open and Iris patting my suitcase, her eyes glowing like high beams.

“Mmm-hmm,” Ryu drawled, arching one of his achingly expressive brows at me. The man had developed a form of communication akin to that used with fans by women in the nineteenth century; he could converse eloquently and at great length using just his eyebrows. Right now, the otherwise very sophisticated vampire by my side had a mouth saying “I'm so glad you're here, Miss True.” But what his
eyebrows
were saying was “I'ma rock yo' shit, shorty.” I liked what both his mouth and eyebrows had to say, so I strained up on my tippy-toes to kiss them each in their turn. Ryu obliged me by stooping into kiss range.

“I'm glad I'm here, too,” I told him, trying to get my own eyebrows to say “I'ma rock you right back, boo,” but I managed only to look constipated.

“Although, we may have to leave this suitcase here. I don't know how it'll fit in my car…” Ryu had every right to be concerned. The suitcase was enormous, and he drove a Porsche Boxster.