[Kassandra Lyall Preternatural Investigator 03] - Bloody Claws (6 page)

*

The club Lenorre owned had once been a hotel. I don't know what it used to be called, but now it was The Two Points and the only vampire club in Oklahoma City. Lenorre and I walked through the lobby and the double doors that led to the converted ballroom. The song, "Vampyre Erotica," by Inkubus Sukkubus played over the sound system as we passed a small group of gothly clad folk chatting amongst themselves.

It was slow right now, but in an hour or two the place would be packed and difficult to walk through. Then again, I'd never noticed Lenorre having any difficulty navigating the floor, whether it was packed or not.

I recognized one of Lenorre's vampires whispering orders to a young blonde who was wearing a crimson satin vest cinched over a black blouse. The girl walked by on her way out of the ballroom and Stanley's blue, Siamese cat eyes met mine. It wasn't just his eyes that made him stand out. It was the outfit he wore-a black leather vest and a pair of white skinny jeans and boots. Unlike the other employees, Stanley didn't wear the red on black uniform.

His labret piercing caught the light, twinkling beneath his lower lip as he mouthed the words, "Evening, lovely," and blew me a kiss. If I didn't think he was batting for the boys' team, I would've raised my brows at him. As it was, I shook my head and silently thanked Lenorre for her presence. Had I been alone, I had a feeling Stanley would've approached, and I wasn't in the mood to socialize.

Lenorre led the way up the winding stairs, through the lounge area to one of the employee rooms where I could wait for her. The room was spacious, with candles on stands lining each of the four walls. Two couches created a small sitting area.

I made myself comfortable and tried not to feel irritated. I hate waiting for people, but after the crime scene, I took the opportunity to relax. You tend to miss a lot of sleep when you're dating a vampire. In an attempt to somewhat balance my schedule with Lenorre's, I didn't go into work until well after one in the afternoon on most days. The time of the year really depended on how late I was going to be up. Since Yule was quickly approaching, the nights were getting longer and the days shorter. Which meant I was going to be up later if I wanted to spend as much time as I could with her.

The arm of the couch had enough padding to use as a pillow. I curled my legs under me, rested my head in the bend of my elbow, and covered my face with my other arm. The room was completely silent; not even the sound of a heater whirred to life. The walls were blessedly soundproof.
Sleep,
my body said, and I didn't disagree with it.

*

A massive black and white Great Dane gazed at me from where it lay in the grass. I reached out to pet the dog and it whimpered. Its fur was slick and wet where I touched it.

"It's okay," I murmured. "You're okay." The sky overhead was dark as I continued to pet the dog, trying to offer it some form of comfort. What was wrong? Why didn't this feel right?

The grass was high like it hadn't been cut in several months. The dog whimpered when I stroked its stomach.

Its furred body moved like some great hand was following mine from the inside, and I jerked my hand away.

There was so much blood it looked as if I had dipped my hand in red paint. Something rolled again beneath the dog's fur. I watched as it moved and pushed against the skin, threatening to break free.

The dog gave a loud cry of pain as its skin split with the thick sound of things that shouldn't be torn, tearing.

A wave of maggots, blood, and thicker things spilled out across the grassy ground. Horrified, I scrambled to my feet.

"Kassandra," a woman's voice rode the night breeze.

"No," I said, looking at my hand in horror and shaking my head. "No."

"Kassandra!"

The world wobbled in a dizzying spin. For a moment, the dream superimposed reality. The golden brown eyes of the wounded dog began to fade, replaced by a startling sea-green.

"Kassandra?" Eris's face was swimming in my view. Her sable hair fell around her pale skin in untamed waves down her body. Her fingers were digging a little too roughly into my shoulders.

"Are you awake now?" she asked.

I tried to move and realized she was sitting in my lap, pinning my legs with her weight.

"Yes."

Gently, she used her hands on my shoulders to guide me back down. The movement put her weight more solidly in other places.

"Eris." The breath caught in my throat, but I managed to say her name.

The last time I'd seen her, she hadn't understood why, if I was attracted to her, I wouldn't share blood with her. I thought my reasons were kind of sound, considering.

She touched the side of my face tenderly. "You were having a bad dream."

The dress she wore was black and covered in so many straps and buckles I probably would've gotten tangled up in it just trying to put the damn thing on. Two straps crisscrossed high on her chest, creating a black X and disappearing at the back of her neck like a halter. My gaze fell to the fitted bodice of the dress and the gleaming white mounds of her breasts.

"Eris," I tried again, making my voice a little firmer. Her skirts pooled around my lower body, bustled by tiny black buckles that extended, dangling from her hips. The buckles raised her skirt, leaving her slender thighs bare.

Eris's night job was as a dominatrix and she looked every inch the role.

She looked down at me and a smile tugged at the edges of her mouth. The expression seemed to say, "Go ahead; take a good look."

A little voice in my head said
Push her off
, and whether it was my conscience or the wolf, I didn't. I didn't want to touch her. Somehow, that seemed like a bad idea.

Eris watched me, smiling and calm, knowing the effect she had on me. She was a vampire; how could she not? Every subtle betrayal of my body, she caught. My pulse, the change in my breath, things I couldn't hide. I lay there, completely still, and utterly unsure what to do.

Eris didn't seem to want to climb off me anytime soon.

She gave a low laugh. "Oh, Kassandra," she said, cupping my jaw in such a delicate grip that one might not have thought she had the supernatural strength to inflict quite a bit of damage, even to a lycanthrope.

A little flicker of nervousness went through me.

"You're straddling me," I said, forcing my voice to sound smooth and even and less like she was unsettling me.

"So I am," she smiled softly, stroking my hair.

I wanted her to stop touching me.

I closed my eyes, because it was easier than looking at her. "Get off."

"Mmm, is that what you want me to do?" she asked.

The voice in my head went from saying
Push her
to
Oh shit.

"You know what I mean, Eris. Get off of me."

She moved and I released the breath I'd been holding. Her hips swayed forward as she drew herself up the length of my thigh.

The movement brought her dress up high enough that I could see the edge of her black lace boy shorts. I thanked the Gods the slacks I wore were a thick material.

"You look a little uncertain, Kassandra."

"Eris," I tried for what seemed like the thirteenth time. "I'm serious."

Her mouth was suddenly close to my neck.

"Tell me you're not thinking about
it
," she whispered in my ear. "Tell me you don't want
it
and I'll stop."

"I don't want it, Eris. Get off me."

Her tongue traced the curve of my earlobe, sending tiny jolts of sensation down the back of my neck and arms.

She moved against me again and this time the muscles in my thigh went rigid.

There was
way
too little clothing between us.

Desire and fear made my throat tight. My heart gave a fierce thump against the side of my neck. I felt the pulse beating between my legs, a distant echo.

Not good, so not good.

Why was her smell so intoxicating?

I curled my hands into fists and dug my nails into my palms. The pain helped me to focus, but my entire body was thrumming with energy, her energy. The promise of it swept across my shields like something soft and gentle.

Where the hell was Lenorre?

Her hands moved, threatening to raise both my jacket and blouse.

"Say yes," she whispered, staring intensely at me. "I can smell your desire, Kassandra. Say yes to me. All you have to do is say yes."

I drew a slow breath, trying to steel myself against that coaxing breeze, against the weight of power and will in her gaze.

"Eris," I whispered, "stop."

Her hands slipped under my blouse. She splayed her fingers across my waist and her energy was stronger, like cool water. The muscles in my stomach jumped at her touch.

"Why do you fight your desire?" she asked, looking perplexed.

"Eris," Lenorre's voice dripped command.

Eris's hand flexed a second before she drove her nails into my skin.

I cried out, my spine bowing. Her energy hit me like a thrust, rough and sudden, pleasure and pain. A wave crashing against me and threatening to take me under.

Shit.

Her voice was as cool as her power. "Yes, Countess?"

"Leave Kassandra alone, Eris," Lenorre said, but instead of sounding angry she sounded tired.

I shuddered as Eris's nails tickled my skin.

"One day," she whispered, removing her hands from my stomach.

"Don't get your hopes up," I said.

"We don't have to do anything you consider to be cheating." She touched my cheek and I flinched.

Eris stood and I turned to meet Lenorre's silvery gaze. If there were any thoughts behind Lenorre's eyes, I couldn't read them. She was too contained.

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Eris reach out to touch me.

I caught her wrist. The borrowed blood in her veins made her pulse leap against my fingertips.

"Stop it," I said. "Seriously, stop fucking with me." I meant it.

She frowned, shaking her head. "I do not understand you, Kassandra."

"No," I said, "you don't. So stop trying."

"I want to," she said and this time there wasn't any teasing to her tone.

I shook my head, letting go of her wrist. Her pulse beating against my fingers was distracting. "You've got a funny way of showing it."

"I show it in my own way," she said. "By the way." She smiled secretively. "You've forgotten all about your little nightmare now, haven't you?"

I tried to remember the nightmare, but all I could remember were bits and pieces. Too much of Eris overshadowed the remembrance.

"Next time, just slap me."

Eris made a noise in her throat. "And risk rousing an angry werewolf? I think not."

I gave her a narrow-eyed look to let her know she was already toeing that line.

"I don't like being played with, Eris."

Eris looked to an empty corner of the room. "I got carried away," she said, but not like she was happy about admitting it. "But should I apologize for something you felt as well?"

"Your little problem has been taken care of," Lenorre said with a vacant expression.

Eris inclined her head. "My thanks, Countess."

"I think it would be wise if you left."

Eris reached out like she was going to touch me again, and this time I growled. She tilted her head to the side, almost thoughtfully. "Consider my offer."

I opened my mouth to speak and she slipped past my guard, placing a finger against my lips. Her face hovered only a few inches from my own. "No, Kassandra. Do not decline just yet. I want you to consider what I offer. I will not cross the line if that is what you desire, but there may come a day when you are not so afraid. When you wish to explore your darker cravings more thoroughly, remember me."

"Don't hold your breath," I said.

"Even if I do," she said, rising to leave, "it will not hurt."

I watched her go. The back of her dress had a panel of fabric that covered her shoulders, leaving a small crescent of her back bare. As if she felt my gaze on her, she looked over her shoulder and offered one last dark and questioning look.

I blew out a deep breath.

"Are you well?" Lenorre asked, coming to me.

"Well enough."

She nodded and held out her hand and I took it, rising and letting her snake her arms around me.

"You do not wish to speak about this yet, do you?" she whispered the question against my hair.

"No," I said. "Not yet. Right now, I just want to go home."

Her lips met my forehead. "So, we shall."

"Thank you," I said.

Lenorre leaned back, looking down at me. "For what?"

"For being you. Most girlfriends would've had a conniption had they just walked in on…that."

"Ah well." She stroked my hair affectionately. "Most girlfriends do not understand the complexities of metaphysics."

"Half the time, I don't," I admitted. "Just remind me never to fall asleep here again."

"I could have told you that in the first place," she said with a hint of amusement.

"Apparently, I could've used the heads up."

Her lips met mine in a chaste kiss, warm and silky, her breath like sweet cinnamon against my mouth. "We should leave."

"I can't leave if you keep touching me."

She laughed and let me go.

"What?" I asked at the amused look on her face.

"Would you like me to drive?" There was a devious glint in her eyes.

"What are you thinking, Lenorre?"

Her shoulders gracefully rose and fell in response.

"Lenorre…"

"Let me put it this way, I do not think you should be driving after the, ah, energy exchange between you and Eris."

"Thanks," I said, "I appreciate your confidence in me." The corner of her mouth twitched. "I have confidence in your head, Kassandra. Your groin, at the moment, is an entirely different matter."

I gaped at her. "What on earth is that supposed to mean?"

She cupped my face in her hands. "Oh, nothing as bad as you seem to be thinking. I know from experience you are not easy or casual by nature, but your groin does have a tendency to override all other mental processing."