Crimson Vengeance (12 page)

The others waited as well and she’d promised to be right along.

To stop long enough for a meal was okay, but that was all. She didn’t want the kids to get restless.

Destiny ran her tongue over her lips to wipe away the last of the blood. Tasty.
Oh, what the hell
. She bent down, picked up the trooper, who hung from her hands like a rag doll, and sank her teeth in one more time.
No sense letting a good man go to waste.

Colin jumped when Ivy grabbed his hand. It was like a woman had never touched him before. Granted, it didn’t happen often, not in his line of work. Most women cringed when, or rather if, they found out what he did. What he was. All that aside, he wasn’t even close to virgin territory. His focus on the hunt hadn’t been quite that strong.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she snatched her hand away.

Great, not only did he make himself look like a jumpy geek, he now managed to make her feel bad as well. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong.” He took her hand again. She was cold and shaking.

“Tell me what she’s after.”

For a moment he thought she’d pull away again. Her dark eyes studied him and then she relaxed. “She’s after Riah.”

“It could be coincidence.” He didn’t believe in coincidences.

Ivy shook her head, dark hair swirling around her face. “No.”

“How can you be so certain?” The spiral
was
headed toward Spokane, which was Riah’s home, but he wasn’t so sure it was all because of Riah. If he didn’t know about Riah before this, how could Destiny? She was a lone vampire and he had the power of the church at his disposal.

“Here.” She pointed at the map with her free hand. “Each of these locations is where you found a victim, right?”

He nodded. He could recall every one. With each death, his resolve strengthened. The bitch left a long and bloody trail, and his inability to stop her frustrated him immensely.

“I’ve been friends with Riah long enough to know some of her past.”

“And that means what exactly?”

“Riah worked in each of these places before she came to Spokane. I’m telling you, Colin, this vampire is tracking Riah.”

Son of a bitch
. “You’re sure Riah was in each of these cities?”

Ivy nodded. “Crystal.”

“So why?” he murmured. Now that she’d pointed it out, it was clear. What bugged him was finding himself this far behind the destructive vampire. He should have seen the pattern himself and, more important, sooner than tonight.

Ivy studied his face, her dark eyes unreadable. “You’re the hunter, what do you think?”

Damned if I know
. This new piece to the puzzle threw him.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. From what you tell me, Riah’s pretty quiet. She works, keeps a low profile, and doesn’t feed off humans.

It doesn’t seem like she’d be an obvious target, vampire or not.”

Ivy was adamant. “But she is.”

“I’m inclined to agree.”

“So, what can we do?”

That was the rub. Destiny had managed to stay one step ahead of him. Even with this new information, would she slip through his fingers yet again? He’d like to simply kill her and be done with it.

Not likely to happen right away.

“Warn Riah and wait.” It was the best option he could see.

She pulled away, her eyes full of fire. “That’s it! With all your training and experience, that’s the best you can come up with? Some kick-ass hunter you are.”

What exactly did she want from him? A miracle? He still wasn’t quite sure what they were up against. Destiny was an old vampire, and why she’d be so intent on this Riah was anybody’s guess. Oh, it bothered him all right. Something was at work in the dynamic with the bitch he needed to understand. He just didn’t know what it was and didn’t believe Ivy did either. Riah was a different story. He had a pretty damn good hunch that Riah held back.

“Yes.” He touched her hair. “It’s the best I can do until we know more.”

She let out a breath and her shoulders sagged. “Shit.”

He laughed. He expected more of a fight. “Shit, indeed.”

“Come on.” Ivy took his hand. “Grab your map and let’s get out of here. This place is too noisy and I can’t think. Let’s go somewhere quiet and try to puzzle this through. Maybe together we can come up with something brilliant.”

He folded the map, stuck it in his pocket, and followed her out.

“Where to?”

She didn’t even pause. “My place.”

“Okay.” It was all he could think of to say.

Once they reached Ivy’s house, she left him in the entryway while she disappeared into the kitchen, only to reappear a minute later with two bottles of beer. She handed one to Colin.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not quite done drinking yet.

Beer’s all I have.”

“Beer is great.” He took a big swig from the ice-cold bottle. It did taste good. Even better than at the bar. Or maybe the surroundings and the company that came with it made the difference.

Ivy took a sip from her bottle, then licked her lips. “I better call Riah.”

It was hard to pull his gaze away from her mouth. “Yeah, you better.” God, his own mouth felt dry even though he’d just taken a good long pull off the beer. It was like a flashback to junior-high school—sans the beer.

Colin waited on the leather love seat in the front room while Ivy made the call in another room. An office, maybe? The house was nice, a brick two-story with big windows and tall ceilings. The walls were painted a pale shade of yellow with a collection of black-and-white photos on the far wall. He stood and walked over to the pictures. Family and friends, he guessed, relieved to see none of Jorge.

He went back to the love seat and sat down again. Resting an arm on the back, he gazed out the window. It was dark, and no cars traveled the street at this time of night. He couldn’t see lights in any other house on the street. It was almost as though they were all alone.

He should go back to Spokane and to his hotel, except he didn’t want to. He should be here. No, that wasn’t right either. He needed to be here. To put a hundred miles between himself and Ivy seemed wrong. So, he didn’t. He leaned back, finished the beer, and waited.

“You reach her?” he asked when Ivy walked in a few minutes later.

She nodded and sat beside him. The love seat wasn’t big so she sat very close. She smelled great.

“Yes. I explained what you discovered and told her my theory.

She agreed.”

“Good,” he muttered, not listening as close as he should, though pleased that she’d gotten through to Riah.

It was foolish for him to be concerned about a vamp. His job was to put them down, all of them, yet here he was worried about keeping one alive. What was happening to him lately? It’d be a really good idea not to let Monsignor know about this most recent turn of events. They’d pull him in a heartbeat. He might be the only hunter still on the job, but that didn’t mean others couldn’t step into his shoes if need be. Yeah, he’d keep this little tidbit of info nice and close to the vest.

“She’s one of the good guys,” Ivy said softly, almost as if she could read his thoughts. Her hand covered his where it lay on his thigh.

He turned his head so he could see her face. The lighting was soft and her features were delicate, beautiful. Her skin was gorgeous, her lips full, kissable. She smelled like vanilla, sweet and fresh.

“I know,” he said quietly, shocked because he actually believed it.

Her dark eyes studied his face, then she surprised him by pressing a kiss to his lips. Her tongue touched his—hot, demanding.

He groaned and shifted, the crotch of his pants suddenly very snug.

Riah was still fretting over the disturbing phone calls when she heard a soft knock on her front door.

“What now?” Looking through the peephole, she wrinkled her brow. Adriana stood on the front steps, a long, black coat pulled tight against the cool night air. Not good.

“Hey.” Adriana smiled when Riah opened the door.

“Is there a problem?” Something must be wrong with the samples from Jorge. Why else would Adriana be here? But she didn’t give off the vibes of someone who was worried or upset. In fact, her beautiful dark eyes seemed to dance.

Adriana stepped past Riah and into the house. “Yes, there’s definitely a problem,” she said in a happy voice.

Despite Adriana’s cheerful demeanor, Riah’s heart sank. She’d hoped they were close to the breakthrough they’d been spending so much time and energy on for so long. She closed the door. Might as well get the bad news over with.

“The problem,” Adriana said as she slid the coat slowly from her shoulders to reveal her naked body beneath, “was there I sat at home, all alone and really, really horny.”

The coat dropped like a puddle around Adriana’s feet. Her nipples grew hard as the cool air reached them.

“I…I…” Riah’s throat was dry.

Adriana took Riah’s hand and placed it on one of her breasts.

Her erect nipple pushed against the palm of her hand, hot against her cool skin. The sensation was heart-stopping. She swallowed.

“Shhh.” Adriana kissed against her lips. “I’m horny, I’m wet, and I want only one woman. Please don’t make me go.”

Riah should pick the coat up from the floor, make Adriana put it back on, and send her home. No lasting good could come if they were to take this further. No good at all…

God, she tasted good though. Riah caressed the breast in her hand while she pulled Adriana close with her other arm. She was so hot.

“You should go,” she whispered.

“No, I shouldn’t.” Adriana began to unbutton Riah’s blouse, kissing each inch of skin she bared. Pushing the blouse aside, Adriana kissed Riah’s nipple through the fabric of her bra.

Riah sucked in a breath. “You’re making me insane,” she murmured.

Adriana’s laughter was light and happy. “Oh, baby, the last thing I want to do is send you over the edge.”

“What do you want to do?”

Adriana pulled back and smiled. “Now you’re talking. How do you feel about toys?”

Riah raised both eyebrows and studied Adriana, who almost glowed with happiness. She finally hedged. “They can be fun.”

When was the last time she’d even seen a toy, let alone used one?

Of course, sex hadn’t exactly been high on her to-do list for quite a while.

From the floor, Adriana picked up the purse she’d had slung over one shoulder when she came in. She pulled out a strap-on, complete with a purple cock, wagged it in the air, and giggled.

“Trust me, girlfriend, this’ll be fun. Now how about you get out of those clothes?”

A purple cock? Ah, why not—Adriana might be right. Fun could come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. “You’re full of surprises,” she told Adriana as she shed her clothes right where she stood.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” Adriana ran her hand down Riah’s body, pausing to rub her clit. One finger slipped inside and Riah sighed, pushing her hips against Adriana’s hand.

“You’re something,” Riah said, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. Adriana’s hand felt incredible. If she lived forever, she’d never tire of her touch.

“And you’re wet.”

“Can you blame me?” Riah said on a sigh.

“I was more worried.”

Riah opened her eyes and looked at Adriana. “Worried?”

All the merriment went out of Adriana’s face. Her dark eyes were serious and her lips trembled a little. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want me again.”

It would probably be better for them both if Riah lied. The problem was—she couldn’t. She couldn’t lie and she couldn’t let her go. “Oh, Jesus, Adriana, I want you so much I could come right now.”

Adriana smiled and moved her finger in and out of Riah. Once again, her eyes danced. “Really…”

“You’re driving me insane.” The words came out in a breathy whisper.

“Well, I told you I don’t want to do that. How about I just fuck you instead?”

Riah put a hand behind Adriana’s head, drew her close, and kissed her hard. “Oh, yes.”

As polite and conservative as Adriana was in the real world, inside the bedroom, she was just shy of being a dominatrix. It was a fantastic change for both of them. After some five hundred years, Riah was always confident and in control. Except with Adriana. It seemed so natural to give herself over to this woman who made her feel fresh and alive.

Enough reality seeped in for Riah to take stock of her position.

They couldn’t stand in the foyer and make love. Well, they could, but there were better places than the hardwood entry. Riah hesitated only a moment before she took Adriana’s hand and led her down the hallway. She refused to think too hard about what she was going to do. Instead she pushed open her bedroom door and waved Adriana inside.

It was time for a change.

Adriana told her to lie across her big, comfortable bed on her stomach with her feet still on the floor. Once again, she tied Riah’s hands, then walked around to stand between her legs. She tingled from head to foot and, so far, Adriana hadn’t even touched her.

There was no blindfold this time, but all she could see with her head turned to the side was the beautiful carved footboard.

Adriana pushed Riah’s legs until she was spread as far as she could be before her fingers slid between Riah’s ass cheeks. If it was possible, she became even wetter. Adriana’s fingers continued to move, sliding in and out of her, touching, and stroking. Riah moaned and quivered, the restraints on her wrists and Adriana standing between her legs hampering her movements.

“Do you like this?” Adriana kissed her ass.

“Yes,” Riah whispered.

“Do you want more?” She flicked a finger over her clit.

“God, yes.”

Adriana stepped from between her legs and Riah stiffened.

“Don’t go.”

“Not to worry, my love.” She kissed Riah’s lower back.

A moment later, Adriana stepped back between her legs and slipped several fingers inside her. She moved them slowly as Riah pushed against her, a volcano building heat and intensity.

“Hmmm, I think you’re ready.” Her fingers pulled away.

The sensation of the cock sliding into her had Riah shuddering and very nearly climaxing. She moaned louder and thrust her ass even harder against Adriana.