[English] HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE

Halfway to the Grave
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He outlined the plan quickly and I picked a place near the bar where Hennessey just sat, keeping myself within eyeshot. Actually, I still felt a little dizzy, not that I'd told Bones. He'd have pulled the plug on this for sure if he knew. God, had it been so long since I'd been kissed, a few smooches were enough to throw off my equilibrium? Just to be safe, though, I ordered a Coke instead of my usual gin and tonic. Maybe my resistance to alcohol wasn't as strong as I'd thought.

After about five minutes, Hennessey glided over. It amazed me how vampires seemed to be drawn to me. Certainly there were plenty of other pretty human girls milling about with veins just as big and juicy as mine. Bones told me once there was something about my skin that was eye-catching, some glow that still looked human but also a touch vampiric. He said it was like a homing beacon.

"I haven't seen you here before, Red. May I sit down?"

Wow, manners. Usually vamps just plunked down next to me, ready or not. After a faint inclination of my head in the affirmative, he sat next to me, regarding me with hooded blue eyes.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

Hmmm, two for two on politeness. With feigned regret, I smiled at him.

"Sorry, but I'm kind of here with someone. Wouldn't want to be rude."

"Ah, I see." He settled back into his chair but made no effort to vacate it. "Husband, perhaps?"

The thought of being married to Bones made me nearly choke on my next swallow of soda. "No. A first date, actually."

Hennessey smiled and spread out his hands in a harmless manner.

"First dates. They can be quite something, can't they? Either perfume or poison, with usually no in between. Tell me, if I may be so bold-which one is it for you?"

With a slightly embarrassed look to my face, I leaned in an inch. "If I had to answer now, I'd say poison. He's a bit...arrogant. Full of himself. I just hate that, don't you?"

My smile was all innocence as inside I laughed at my chance to disparage the man who was going to kill the vampire opposite me at the earliest opportunity.

Hennessey nodded in agreement.

"That can be bothersome. It is always better to speak less and not more of oneself, don't you agree?"

"I couldn't agree more. What did you say your name was?" This one would have to be handled delicately, no crude potty-mouth with him. Boy, for someone that Bones had described as practically sprouting horns, Hennessey seemed almost...charming.

He smiled. "Call me Hennessey."

"Don't mind if I do, mate. Been a while, hasn't it?"

Bones appeared behind me, leaning down to kiss my cheek. I flinched out of genuine habit and it was perfect. The picture of the bad-first-date syndrome. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hennessey's mouth tighten.

"Bones. What an unexpected...surprise. This lovely young woman can't be with you. She's far too well mannered."

Well, score one for the bad guy.

Bones gave Hennessey a look laden with threat. "You're in my seat."

"Bones," I chided him as if aghast, "you're being rude. This nice man was just keeping me company while you were away."

"Yes," Hennessey purred, looking at Bones with a gleam. "Can't expect to leave such a pretty thing alone for long, old chap. Some monster might just...snatch her up."

"Funny you should say that." There was an ugly under-current in his voice I hadn't heard before. Whatever had happened between them, Bones really didn't like him. "I hear that's your specialty."

Hennessey's eyes narrowed. The tension between them thickened. "Now, where would you ever hear something like that?"

Bones smiled with coldness. "You'd be amazed at the things people can find if they dig deep enough."

I looked at both of them. It seemed like any second, they'd quit the verbal exchange and go right for each other's throats.

Logan leaned across the bar and tapped the edge of my forgotten glass. He'd apparently picked up on their malevolent vibe as well.

"Not here, gentlemen. You know the rules."

Hennessey looked at Logan and waved an airy hand. "Yes, I know. Pesky ordinance, that, but one must abide by the rules of the house when one visits."

"Cut the fancy talk," Bones said sharply. "It doesn't suit you. That is my chair and she is my date, so back off."

"Excuse me." In a perfect imitation of outrage, I stood up and faced Bones. "I don't know how you're used to talking with other girls, but I will not be referred to in the third person as if I'm not even here! You don't own me, this is our first date. And I wouldn't have even gone out with you if you hadn't kept begging me." I bit back a grin as Bones blanched in indignation at that. "Our date is over. I'll call a cab. In the meantime, you can get lost."

Hennessey laughed. "You heard the lady. You know the rules. Only willing companions here, and she is clearly not willing. As she said, get lost."

Bones took it with thinly concealed wrath.

"Let's be men about this. Why don't we go outside and settle this, you and me? Been a long time coming."

Hennessey's eyes gleamed. "Oh, we'll settle this, mark my words. Not right now, but soon. You've been meddling where you shouldn't for too long."

What did that mean? I wondered. I'd have to ask later.

"Oohhh, I'm shakin' in me boots," Bones mocked. "Another time, another place, then. Looking forward to it."

With those last threatening words, he stalked off.

Pretending to be shaken, I grabbed for my purse and began to throw money on the table.

Hennessey stopped me with a beseeching hand on my arm. "Please, stay and have a drink with me. I feel responsible for what happened, but I must tell you it was for the best. That is a ruthless man."

As if reluctant, I sat back down.

"Okay, a drink. Maybe I owe it to you anyways for getting rid of that creep for me. My name is Cat, by the way. Bones forgot to introduce us." My smile wobbled for effect.

He kissed my hand.

"A true pleasure, Cat."

Hennessey coaxed me back into ordering alcohol, and so I had another gin and tonic. After three more, I pleaded to be excused to the ladies' room and left him at the bar. That residual dizziness still clung to me. Everything around me looked slightly altered, almost fuzzy around the edges. Time to switch back to Coke.

The bathroom was on the other side of the club, and once exiting it I saw Bones on the imitation balcony. His back was against the glass wall that separated us. I wanted to give him an update while I had the chance, so I quickened my pace and crossed through the people until I came to a door on the opposite side of the balcony he was on.

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There was a woman in front of him. Her arms hung loosely at her sides and Bones gripped her shoulders. His mouth was on her neck, and the glow of vampire green shone from his eyes. I froze, transfixed, and watched as his throat worked, swallowing occasionally. The girl didn't struggle. In fact, she was half sagged against him.

His eyes suddenly lifted to look straight at me. Helpless to glance away, I stared as he continued to feed. After a few moments, he pulled his mouth from her neck. Surprisingly it was only a little red. He must be a dainty eater. With his gaze still locked to mine, he sliced his thumb on a fang and then held it to her neck. The two holes closed at once, and then vanished.

"Off you go," he instructed her.

With a lethargic smile she obeyed, walking right past me without batting an eye.

"Didn't your mum tell you it's rude to stare at someone when they eat?"

The casual tone to his voice shook me from my stupor.

"That girl...she's okay?" She certainly hadn't looked mortally drained, but then again, I was no expert.

"Of course. She's used to it. That's what most of them are here for, I told you that. They're the menu, with legs."

Bones came closer, but I retreated a step. He saw it and frowned.

"What's wrong? Look, the girl's fine. It's not like you didn't know I was a vampire. Did you just think I never fed?"

The thought was so repellent to me I'd never dwelled on it one way or the other. Witnessing the scene just now had been the bucket of icy water I needed.

"I came to tell you we're hitting it off. Probably be leaving in about twenty minutes." Absently, I began to rub my head. It had started to spin again.

"Are you feeling all right?"

The absur***y of the question made a bark of laughter escape me.

"No, I am not all right. Very far from it, actually. Earlier I kissed you, and now I just watched you make a Slurpee out of a girl's neck. Add to that a headache and it makes me not in the least all right."

He moved closer, and again I backed away. "Don't touch me."

Muttering a curse, he clenched his hands but stayed put.

"Fine. We'll talk about this later. Go on back, before he starts to get antsy."

"We won't talk about it later," I coldly stated while walking back toward the door. "In fact, I never want to speak about it again."

I was still rattled when I sat back down next to Hennessey, but I plastered a smile on my face and promptly ordered another gin and tonic. Damn the Coke, full speed ahead!

Hennessey reached out and grasped my hand. "What's wrong, Cat? You look distressed."

I debated lying but then thought better of it. He might have glimpsed me speaking to Bones, although he wouldn't have been able to hear us in this racket, so I didn't want to make him suspicious.

"Oh, nothing, really. I ran into Bones on my way back from the bathroom, and he said a few less-than-gentlemanly things. Guess it just upset me, that's all."

Hennessey withdrew his hand and stood, a smile of perfect politeness on his face. "Would you excuse me? I suddenly feel the need to renew an acquaintance."

"Please don't," I blurted, not wanting to have started a fight. Well, not yet.

"I'll only be a few minutes, my dear. Just to let him know his rudeness wasn't appreciated." He left me there with my mouth still forming protests. Annoyed, I swallowed the rest of my tonic, and was about to order another one when Ralphie and Martin sidled up.

"Hey, there! Remember us?"

Their smiles were so genuinely artless I felt a reluctant answering tug of the lips.

"Hello, boys."

They stood around me, one on either side again.

"Is that your date?" Ralphie asked, goggle-eyed.

"No. Yes. Well, he kind of is now. My other one didn't work out, so this guy is keeping me company." I was as vague as possible on any details that could somehow endanger them later. "He just went off for a little macho showboating, probably be gone about ten minutes. When he comes back, you scatter, okay?"

"Sure thing," they chorused.

Martin held out a drink in his hand with a shy smile.

"It's a gin and tonic, like you ordered before. After you had one, I tried them. They're good!"

The boyish delight on his face was infectious, and my smile broadened.

"Here," he said importantly. "It's a fresh one. I'll wait for the bartender for another."

"Why, thank you."

After raising it in salute, I took a long draught. It was slightly more bitter than the other ones I'd had. Maybe it was made by a bartender not as skilled as Logan.

"Delicious." Hiding my grimace, I took another drink so their feelings wouldn't be hurt.

They glanced anxiously at me and back and forth between themselves.

"Do you want to see my car?" Ralphie asked, eyes wide and intent. "It's a new Porsche, totally loaded. It's so cool."

"Yeah," Martin chimed in. "You gotta see it, it's really trick!"

From out of his pants Ralphie pulled keys, one with the Porsche insignia. "I'll let you drive it."

Their combined glee at the vehicle made me wistful. When had I ever been so excited over a car? Then again, I'd never owned a Porsche. Money must be a neat thing to have.

With a firm shake of my head, I set my glass down. My mind had begun to whirl again. It was definitely time to go back to the soda.

"Sorry, guys. Can't leave my date. Wouldn't be proper."

Complete sentences were something I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around. I was anxious to get on with the plan so that I could go home and sleep. Sleep sounded wonderful to me right now.

Ralphie tugged my hands, and Martin gave my shoulders a push. I blinked at them in confusion and sat up straighter. Or tried to.

"Hey. Don't get pushy. Sorry, but I said no."

"Come on," Ralphie urged, still pulling at my hands. "Just for a second! Hurry, before he comes back!"

"No!"

Now I was pissed. Everyone was trying to get me to do things I didn't want to do. That I should never be doing, no matter how good they felt...

I pushed Ralphie off with enough force to make him stumble backward.

"You have to leave now."

They exchanged glances again, surprised. Apparently girls really must like the Porsche. They were stunned they'd been refused.

"Go." Putting more threat into my voice, I swiveled in my seat to turn my back to them. "Bartender," I called out wearily, and Logan appeared after a minute. "Do you have any Tylenol?"

Hennessey and I left fifteen minutes later. When he'd finally returned, I felt like complete ****. All I wanted to do was sleep, and I couldn't until we finished him off. Abruptly I suggested we leave and go to a different club, saying that I wanted to avoid another run-in with Bones. He accepted without hesitation and we were soon driving out of the narrow parkway in his loaded Mercedes. Was it a vampire thing, to own a Mercedes?

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My head spun, and I could barely keep up with his pleasant conversation as he drove. In the back of my mind I wondered what my problem was, but it seemed too hard to concentrate. My eyes fluttered closed for a moment before I snapped them open. What was wrong with me?

"Too much to drink, Cat?"

For once, I wasn't faking when I answered him with slurred words.

"Y-you don't understand..." Talking became difficult, and the first pangs of warning shot through me. Something was very wrong. "I can hadddle...handle my drink."

Hennessey smiled.

"I disagree. Perhaps we should journey to my place, where you can lie down and rest. You look too indisposed to go to another club."

"No...noooo..." Vaguely I knew that would be bad, but I was having trouble remembering why. Who was this man in the car, anyway? How had I gotten here? My mind drifted away.

"I think so. You'll feel better for it."

Ignoring me, he was ignoring me! He was going to take me to his house, and something bad was going to happen. What was bad? Where was I? Had to get him to stop, to pull over. Then...I'd run away. Yes. Run away. And sleep.

"You have to stop," I slurred, horrified at the dark colors encroaching on the edge of my vision. A dull ringing began to sound in my ears.

"No, Cat. We'll stop at home."

He continued on the same route. We were nearly out of the country roads and would soon be on the freeway. Something inside me knew to prevent him.

"I'm going to throw up," I warned, and it wasn't an empty threat. My stomach heaved dangerously. Gagging, I leaned toward him.

The car screeched to a halt so fast the air bags should have deployed. "Not in the car!" he gasped, leaning over me and opening my door.

At once I spilled out onto the ground, retching as promised. Some of it splattered my dress and I heaved until my stomach felt stripped of its contents. Above me, I could hear Hennessey make a sound of disgust.

"You've gotten it all over yourself! Now I can't let you back in the car. You'd ruin the seats!"

This pleased me, but only a little, since I couldn't remember where I was or why I didn't want to go back into the car.

Suddenly I was moving, and painfully. He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me off the road into the trees as I tried to struggle. This was bad, it was very bad. My legs felt like boulders. Too heavy to move. My arms weren't much better, but I futilely slapped at him with no strength. He finally came to a stop and reached behind my neck to unfasten my halter. The dress dropped to my waist, leaving only the strapless bra covering my chest.

"Beautiful," he sighed, and undid the strap to bare my br**sts.

"Don't."

I tried to scoot away, but my legs wouldn't work. Hennessey knelt over me, careful not to get dirty, and pushed my hair aside. At once his face transformed into glowing eyes and fangs. One hand cupped my breast, squeezing roughly, while the other held my head. Slow tears leaked out of my eyes as I sat trapped, unable to move or think. There was something that could help me, something...if I could only remember what it was.

A sharp pain in my neck made me gasp. Oh God, he bit me! He was drinking me! My legs kicked weakly, and my watch tangled in his hair as I tried to push him away. A dim flicker of memory remained, fading fast with every hurtful pull of his mouth. There was something about my watch...

My vision blackened, but before darkness claimed me, I pushed a button.

Chapter Ten

SOMETHING WAS PRESSED AGAINST MY MOUTH. Liquid spilled into it and rushed down my throat so fast I choked, coughing. From far off I heard someone speaking to me, shaking me, and the fluid pitilessly continued to pour. I swallowed to prevent drowning in it, then the voice became clearer and I could see again.

Bones was behind me, clutching me to his chest. We were sprawled on the ground. One arm held me to him and his other wrist was shoved against my mouth. It was his blood overflowing into me.

"Stop that, you know I hate that." Spitting out the remaining mouthful, I tried to push away, but he tightened his grip, twisting around so he could see me.

"Bloody hell, you're all right. Your heart slowed for a minute. Scared the wits out of me."

As my vision slowly cleared, I could see a dead vampire in front of me. His head was twisted mostly off, and one eye hung out of its socket. The flesh shriveled back against the bones in the tra***ional way after true death, but the face wasn't Hennessey's. It was someone I'd never seen before.

"Where's Hennessey?" My voice was only a murmur. Although my eyes and ears worked, my mind still rotated.

Bones gave a snort of disgust behind me.

"Blasted sod ran off. I was already on my way to you when I got your page. I pulled Hennessey off you, and we started to go at it when the bloody boot opens and this fellow pops out. He'd been hiding there as Hennessey's bleedin' bodyguard. Bloke jumped me and Hennessey took off. The bugger put up a hell of a fight, too. When I finished with him, I checked on you. That's when I saw that you were barely breathing and opened a vein. You really should have more, you're still pale as death."

"No." My response was soft but firm. Already I was afraid I'd had too much, remembering all the swallowing. Ugh.

"What happened back there? I thought you were just pretending and taking it far to goad me. Worked as well, that's why I was almost on him when your page went off. Did he catch you off guard?"

Although he no longer fed me, he still had his arms around me. A part of me protested, especially since I was naked from the waist up, but I was too exhausted to mention it. Forcing my mind to work, I thought back over the events. It was like cotton had replaced my brain.

"Um, I don't know. We got in his car and I started feeling sick... No, that's wrong. I felt sick before, at the club. It started when we were dancing. Somehow I felt drunk. Everything was blurry and the lights seemed far off... After a while it got under control, but when I left, it came back three times as bad. I couldn't move. My legs wouldn't work and my mind...I couldn't think. I even forgot about the watch until it got caught in his hair. Do you think he drugged me? Could he have known what we were up to?"

Bones pulled me back enough to look into my eyes. What he saw made him curse.

"Your pupils are dilated enough to belong on a corpse. You've been drugged, all right. You say you felt it before he showed up, when we were dancing? That doesn't make sense..."

His voice trailed off and like a brick, the truth hit me. Once again I saw the guileless smiles of Ralphie and Martin while holding out a glass.

"It wasn't him." Come see my Porsche, come on outside... "It was those kids. Ralphie and Martin, the ones you told to scram when we first arrived. They handed me a drink then and later when Hennessey went to find you. Those little pricks, they tried to pull me out to their car, they looked surprised when I wouldn't come..." Suddenly I was dizzy again, and my vision swam for a moment.

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"You need more blood." It was a statement, and through the fog I waved him off.

"No. No. I'll be fine. I just need to sleep."

The landscape tipped, and when I opened my eyes I was lying on the ground with a familiar jean jacket under my head. Bones was about a dozen yards away, digging a hole.

The moonlight illuminated his skin, and there was a lot to illuminate. He'd taken his shirt off, and it reflected on the diamonds-and-cream flesh it seemed to caress. Without his shirt he looked even more chiseled. Long lines connected his collarbone, his shoulders appeared broader without clothing, and the hard line of his stomach was interrupted only by pants. Hollows and muscles rippled with his effort, and it was the loveliest sight I'd ever seen.

"Where is your shirt?" Apparently I'd spoken aloud instead of just wondered it in my mind, because he turned and answered me.

"You're wearing it, luv."

Leaning over, he picked up the dead vampire with one hand and plunked him in the hole, piling dirt on top of him.

"You're absolutely stunning without it, you know that...?" My internal monologue was all off, since evidently I'd been audible again.

He paused to grin at me, teeth flashing in the night.

"It hasn't escaped my notice that you only compliment me when you're intoxicated. Makes you right more agreeable, it does."

He finished with a last slap of the shovel against the dirt and walked over to me. My vision still fluttered in and out.

"You're always gorgeous," I whispered, reaching out a finger and trailing it down his cheek as he knelt over me. "Kiss me again..."

Nothing felt real. Not the ground underneath me, or his mouth once again moving over mine. A noise of disappointment escaped me when he lifted his head, disentangling himself from my arms.

"Why did you stop? Is it because I taste bad?" Some part of me remembered I'd thrown up recently.

He smiled, brushing his lips across mine once more. "No. You taste like my blood, and I want you unbearably. But not like this. Let's get you safely tucked in. Up you go."

He lifted me in his arms. "Bones," I sighed. "Know something? I'm not afraid of you, but you scare me..." His outline blurred again.

"You scare me, too, Kitten," he might have replied, but I couldn't be sure. It was all black again.

My mother lay behind me with her arms wrapped around me, and I snuggled into her embrace. She never held me, and it felt good. She mumbled something and her voice was low and deep. Her arms were firmly muscled, and her chest pressed alongside my back...was rock-hard.

My eyes flew open, and for the second time in my life I woke up in bed with a vampire. This time was infinitely worse, because all I wore was a shirt and panties and he...

A scream tore out of my throat. Bones leapt up, head swiveling around to spot the danger. Immediately I looked away, because I'd spotted the danger, all right. Color rose in my face and I squeezed my eyes shut.

"What's wrong? Someone here?" His voice was insistent and deadly.

Mutely I shook my head, wracking my brain as to how I'd ended up here. The last thing I remembered was lying on the ground and kissing him...

"Bones." My teeth ground, but I had to know. "Did you and I...did anything happen between us? I don't remember. You have to tell me the truth."

He made an exasperated noise and I felt the bed give under his weight as he climbed back in. I scooted off at once and peeked at him through my lashes until I was sure the sheet covered him below the waist.

He gave me a look of thinly veiled annoyance. "You think I'd shag you while you were passed out cold? Think I'm no better than those two buggers who doctored your drink? Your dress was half ripped off and covered in vomit, no less, so I put a shirt on you and brought you here. Then I went back to the club."

"Oh." Now I felt foolish and wanted to defend my misassumption. "But then why are you naked?"

"Because after I was finished with your little boys and looked around futilely for Hennessey, it was dawn. I was knackered and had blood on my clothes, so I stripped them off and fell into bed. You certainly weren't doing anything but snoring and taking all the bloomin' covers again. Didn't really pause to think about it, sorry." The sarcasm dripped off every word, but his earlier sentence chilled me.

"How did you finish with the boys? What happened to Ralphie and Martin?"

"Fretting about them, are you? So typically American, more concerned about the criminals than the victims. Didn't ask if they found a new friend to play with, did you? Didn't ask about what happened to her. No, you're too anxious over their welfare."

"They drugged someone else? Is she all right?" If he meant to shame me, he'd succeeded.

His eyes drilled into mine.

"No, pet. She is not all right. Since you didn't go down after two doses of their juice, they tripled the quantity. While you were off getting your neck munched on, they were merrily picking out another lass. It was their stupi***y to drive her only a mile away from the club. When I went back, I came upon them in a van in the trees and smelled the filthy sods inside. One was shagging the poor girl while the other waited his turn. Course, they didn't realize she was already dead from too much drugs. I tore the doors off and snapped the spine of the lad doing the rooting. This scared the other one right good, as you can guess. I spoke to him a bit first to make sure he'd nothing to do with Hennessey. He sang, said he and his pal made sport of slipping girls drugs and then shagging them before dumping them wherever. Liked to pick vampire clubs and such, because girls who frequented those places tended not to report any crimes. He got real upset when I told him the girl was dead. Cried and said they weren't supposed to die, only lie there. Then I ripped his throat out and drank what was left. After that, I went to the club and reported them to the owner. They don't take to activities like that around their place, it draws unwanted attention. Did those snits a favor by killing them quickly. The owner would have drawn it out for weeks as a warning to any other human stupid enough to try that trick."

Feeling ill, I sat on the edge of the bed and lowered my head. That poor girl, what a tragedy. Hearing how Bones had killed Ralphie and Martin still put a chill through me. Did they deserve it? Yes. Should Bones have done it? I didn't have the answer.

"What did you do with her?"

"Drove the van away after dumping the lads' bodies at the club and parked it off the highway. Someone will find it, see who it's registered to, and make the assumption that after they'd raped her and she overdosed, they split. Well, one of them, as it were. There was blood inside the interior. Coppers will reckon the same bloke who killed them both ran off. It won't be the first time something like this has happened."

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"At least her parents will find out about her and not have to wonder for the rest of their lives."

I grieved for that unknown family who would get that terrible phone call. My head dropped to my hands, pounding with a headache. After all that happened, it was a small price to pay.

"Hennessey. What do you think he'll do? Do you think he'll try something, or keep running?"

Bones gave a humorless laugh.

"Hennessey knows I'm after him now. He's suspected it, but he's finally got his proof. He'll try something, all right. But when and where, I have no idea. He might lie low for a bit, or he might come after me straightaway. I don't know, but it's not over."

"It's my fault Hennessey got away. God, I was so stupid not to notice that something was wrong until it was too late..."

"It's not your fault, Kitten."

Hands settled on my shoulders as he slid nearer, and belatedly, it occurred to me that one of the ways I'd acted oddly was to make out with him. Now here we were in bed, with him naked and me nearly so. Not smart.

I got out of bed and turned my back to him, wanting to put more distance between us. It was the drugs that had made me kiss him, the drugs. Repeating it over and over made me feel better.

"Bones, I-I have to thank you. You saved my life. I passed out right after pushing that button, and he would have bled me dry. But you know the only reason I...was so forward with you was because of the chemicals they slipped me. You know that, right? Of course, I don't blame you for taking me up on it. I'm sure it meant nothing to you. I just wanted you to know it meant nothing to me as well."

My back was still to him, and I desperately wished for more clothes. It was too dangerous to be trapped with him without thirty layers of armor on.

"Turn 'round." His voice was filled with something I was afraid to decipher. Whatever it was, it wasn't happy.

"Um, can you move that stone so I can get out of here and just-"

"Turn around." Now I knew what was in his voice. Threat.

Slowly I faced him.

Without warning he was in front of me, only inches away, still totally nude. My face flamed, but I kept my eyes determinedly upward. That was almost as bad. The expression in his made me tremble.

"I'm really not comfortable with you being naked," I said, struggling for a normal tone and failing.

His brow arched. "Why should it unsettle you, pet? After all, you just said I meant nothing to you beyond mere gratitude. And you've seen a man's body before, so don't pull that blushing act with me. What could be bothering you, then? I know what's bothering me." The smoothly bantering tone changed to a low, furious growl. "What's bothering me is that you dare to stand there and tell me what I do and do not feel about last night. That kissing you and holding you meant nothing to me. Then, to top it all off, that you were only reacting to me because you were impaired! That's rich. You know what those drugs did to you in the first dose, before the second one made you comatose? They killed the bug up your arse!"

With that, he yanked the stone off its setting and opened the passageway. My mouth hung open in outrage, and he pointed an emphatic finger at the exit.

"Out you go, before I lose my temper and we'll see how much you don't like to kiss me."

Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, I left. Quickly.

Chapter Eleven

DID YOU GET THE NOTES FROM THE LECTURE today? I slept in and didn't wake up until half an hour ago! Was it really boring like last time?"

Stephanie was in my physics class. At least, she was when she showed up. She had missed two days out of the past five, but whenever I got out of class, she'd be there waiting for me. She liked to hang around campus, it was my guess. Found socializing much more interesting than the actual courses.

Stephanie was a petite brunette with an outgoing personality, and she'd spent the last five days pulling me out of my antisocial shell. College began on Monday. Today was Friday, and so far, she was the only person I'd spoken to on this huge, overwhelming campus.

With my friendless track record, I'd been hesitant to engage in normal, amicable small talk. If it didn't have to do with dead bodies, school, or the cherry orchard, I generally didn't know what to say. Stephanie didn't let that faze her. She was cheerful and ebullient enough for both of us, and for some reason, she seemed to take a liking to me right off.

"Yeah, I have them. Do you need to make copies?"

She grinned. "Nah. I probably won't read them anyway. Studying is so boring. Besides, I'm never going to use this crap again, so who needs it?"

Stephanie was a freshman, but in many ways, she was far more sophisticated than me. During our second conversation after class, she'd informed me that she had been dating since she was twelve, lost her virginity at fourteen, and considered men as entertaining and convenient as fast food.

"Tell me why you registered for college?" I asked in amusement.

She nodded pointedly at an attractive male who passed by us.

"The boys. This place is crawling with them. It's like an all-you-can-eat buffet!"

She and Bones had something in common. He would find the campus an all-you-can-eat buffet, too, just not in nearly the same way.

I had avoided him since waking up in bed with him Sunday morning. Wednesday, I was supposed to meet him at the ****, but I didn't go. I was too confused. My feelings for him had undergone a drastic metamorphosis. Somewhere along the past seven weeks, I'd gone from hating his guts to being inexplicably drawn to him.

"So, do you want to go out tonight and do something?"

I simply stared at her for a second. Twenty-two years old and I'd never gone out with a girl just to have fun and do normal things. Hell, to be more truthfully pathetic, I'd never even had a girlfriend to go out with.

"Um, sure."

She grinned. "Cool, we'll have a blast. How about you meet me at my place? We'll go from there to this great club where I know the bouncer. He'll let you in."

"Oh, I'm over twenty-one," I said, used to people thinking I was younger. "In fact, I'm twenty-two."

She gave me such a sharp look that I shifted uncomfortably. Okay, I was a little older than the typical college junior, but I'd had to help out at the orchard after my grandfather's heart attack...

Finally she smiled. "Well. Aren't you full of surprises?"

Stephanie lived in an off-campus apartment not far from the place I'd soon be renting. With the money Bones had given me, I could move out sooner. No more having to hide my bloody clothes from my grandparents or dealing with the shunning pettiness of our neighbors. Yeah, I was looking forward to it.

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I knocked on her door politely. "It's Cathy."

That was my school name. I was up to four now. At least they were all similar enough.

She opened it a moment later, clad only in her bra and a skirt.

"Hey! I'm just getting dressed. Come on in."

I followed her inside, waiting near the door as she disappeared into what I presumed was her bedroom. Her apartment was surprisingly nice, not like the usual college digs. She had a plasma TV across from a leather sofa, a large entertainment center, a high-end computer notebook, and several other expensive-looking items arranged for decorative effect.

"I like your place," I said sincerely. "Do you live here alone, or do you have a roommate?"

"Come in here, I can hardly hear you," she called out.

I repeated the question while I went down the short hall into her room. Stephanie was in front of her closet, pursing her lips as she considered its contents.

"Huh? Oh, no roommate. So, tell me more about yourself, Cathy. I know you live at home with your mom and grandparents, but where's home?"

"In a tiny town an hour north of here that you've probably never heard of," I answered, thinking her bedroom was even nicer than her living room. Rich parents, obviously.

"You never talk about your father. Is your mom divorced, or did your dad die?"

"He ran off before I was born, I don't even know who he is," was all I said. Well, it was kind of the truth.

"Got a boyfriend?"

My response was immediate. "No!"

She laughed. "Wow, that was emphatic. Do you bat for the other team?"

"What other team?" I asked, confused.

Her mouth quirked. "Are you a lesbian? I don't care if you are, but the 'no' on the boyfriend thing was so strong, it begs the question."

"Oh!" Duh! "No, I'm not. I, er, just didn't know what you meant before-"

"You know," she cut me off with a pleasant smile, still rifling through her closet, "you're very pretty. But you dress like a troll. Let's see if we can't find something of mine for you to wear tonight."

Jeez, she sounded just like Bones. Switch her accent to an English one and I'd swear it was him talking.

I glanced down at my jeans. They were so comfortable. "Oh, you don't have to do that."

"Here." She filched some more and then threw a navy dress at me. "Try this on."

Not wanting to appear too modest, since she was still only partially clothed, I kicked my boots off and started to undress where I stood.

Stephanie looked at me with cool evaluation as I peeled off my jeans. The way her gaze swept over me made me feel odd. Like I was being appraised. She's probably just mesmerized by how pale you are, I told myself, trying to shake off the unease that had taken hold of me. You're like a snowman with tits.

"You've got a great body, Cathy. I wasn't sure, from those baggy outfits you wear, but lo and behold, you do."

Her voice was flat. Almost indifferent. That feeling of disquiet grew. I hadn't had any girlfriends before, true, but there was something about this that didn't seem right. She wasn't acting like the bright, bubbly girl from class. She seemed like an entirely different person.

"You know," I said, putting down the dress I'd been about to don, "I think I'll just wear my jeans. I'd hate for something to happen to this, and you know how clubs are. Someone could spill a drink on me or it could get ripped-"

"You really are just another clueless farm girl, aren't you?" That little smile never left her face. "I had you pegged the first time I saw you on your way to class, with your head down and your shoulders hunched. No friends, no connections, from a poor family...you fly totally under the radar. Someone like you could just"-her fingers snapped-"disappear."

My mouth had dropped after the first insult. It continued to hang open until I shut it in disbelief.

"Is this some kind of joke? Because it's not funny."

Stephanie laughed. It was so cheerful, for a second I relaxed. She'd been kidding. Okay, it wasn't funny, but maybe she just had a weird sense of humor-

She reached back into the closet. This time, instead of another dress, she pulled out a gun.

"Don't scream or I'll shoot."

What the hell? "Stephanie, what is wrong with you?" I gasped.

"Nothing," she replied affably. "Just making my rent, and you, cookie, are just what the landlord likes. Here. Put these on."

She tossed a pair of handcuffs at me. They landed near my feet. I was still so stunned, I didn't move.

She ****ed the gun. "Come on, Cathy. Don't make this messy."

"You won't shoot, your neighbors would hear," I said, keeping my voice calm while wondering what in the name of God was going on.

Her finger tapped the side of the barrel. "Silencer. They won't hear a thing."

My gaze narrowed as a thought occurred to me. "Did Bones put you up to this?"

"Who?" she asked in annoyance.

From her expression, she'd never heard of him, and that chilled me. If this wasn't another of his little tests, or if she wasn't pulling some kind of twisted sorority prank, then this was the real deal.

I picked my words very carefully. "I don't have any money or drugs, so you're wasting your time. Just put the gun down and I'll walk out of here and not call the police."

She came closer. Only about six feet separated us. "College girls, you're all the same. You think you're so smart, but when the time comes, I have to spell everything out like I plucked you from preschool. I should just tape-record myself and play it to you bitches so I don't have to keep saying everything over and over again! All right, listen up, stupid! I'm going to give you to the count of three to put those cuffs on, and if you don't, then I'm going to shoot you. First round goes in your leg. One...two...three."

The gun went off, but I lunged away before she'd finished speaking. Holy ****, whatever this was, she meant business! If I hadn't moved, she would have plugged a hole in me!

Stephanie fired again with a curse, clearly not expecting my speed. I jumped her, grabbing for the gun. To my shock, she was far stronger than I'd anticipated. We fell to the floor, rolling, the gun in between us, each of us tugging roughly for it. When it went off again, I froze.

Her eyes were as wide as they could be, and staring straight into mine. Something warm spilled onto me. I pushed back, letting the gun slide from my numb fingers, and watched as the blood spread in a widening pool around her chest.

My hand came to my mouth in horror and I scooted back until I felt the wall behind me. Stephanie made a noise that was half grunt, half sigh. Then she stopped moving altogether.

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I didn't need to check her pulse-I'd heard her heart stop. For a few moments that seemed to stretch into forever, I stared at her. In the apartments around us, no one noticed a thing. She was right. The gun had a silencer. Its muffling abilities had worked as described.

In a daze, I went over to her lovely wicker nightstand and picked up the phone, dialing the only number I could think of. When I heard his voice, my composure cracked, and I started to shake.

"Bones, I-I just killed someone!"

He didn't ask any of the questions that would have been first on my list. Like, What's wrong with you? or Did you call the police? Bones only asked where I was and then told me not to move. I was still holding the phone when he arrived ten minutes later. I hadn't moved, all right. I was barely even breathing.

The sight of him coming into the bedroom filled me with profound relief. If Stephanie had been a vampire, I would have been just fine. I'd wrap up her body, drive her out into the woods, and bury her in a deserted spot without missing a beat. This, however, was different. I'd taken a life, and I had no idea what to do about it.

"What have you touched?" was his first question as he knelt in front of me.

I tried to think. That was asking a lot at the moment.

"Um...the phone...maybe the edge of the dresser or her nightstand...that's it. I'd just gotten here when she started acting nuts and saying these awful things..."

Bones took the phone from me. "It's not safe here. One of them could return at any moment."

"One of whom? She doesn't have any roommates," I protested, watching as he unhooked the phone from the wall and put it in a large garbage bag.

"This place stinks like vampires," he said shortly. "We have to tidy up and leave."

That got me to my feet. "Vampires! But she didn't...she wasn't-"

"What did she say about Hennessey?" he cut me off.

Now I felt completely lost. "Hennessey? Hennessey? He has nothing to do with this!"

"Like hell he doesn't," Bones growled, stripping Stephanie's comforter off the bed and wrapping her in it, cocoon-style. "He's one of the people I smell. Him, or someone who's had contact with him. His scent's here."

My head started to pound. This was like a bad dream. Bones finished rolling up Stephanie and then began filling that garbage bag with her stuff. Schoolbooks. Folders, papers. He rifled quickly through her drawers and added other various items. I wasn't much help. I just stood there, making sure my hands didn't stray to leave any incriminating fingerprints.

He left me to check the living room and returned with the bag even bulkier.

"Take this, luv."

The garbage bag was handed off to me. I had to hug it to hold it, fearing the plastic would rip from its weight. Bones then took one of her shirts and began briskly rubbing down the dressers, doorframes, end tables, and doorknobs. After he was satisfied, he hefted the lump of blankets that was Stephanie and threw her over his shoulder.

"Nice and quick to your truck, Kitten. Don't look around, just march right to it and get in the passenger seat. I'll be right behind you."

Chapter Twelve

WE STOPPED ONCE ON OUR WAY TO THE ****. Bones made a call on his cell, and then he pulled over off by the side of the road near the darkest, most wooded part. It wasn't five minutes before a car pulled up behind us.

"Hiya, buddy!" Ted called out.

"Prompt as ever, mate," Bones greeted him, getting out of my truck. He went around to the trailer bed and I heard his motorcycle being moved. He'd laid it over Stephanie's body. She wasn't going to blow off with that thing holding her down.

I stayed in the truck, not in the mood for chitchatting.

"Whatcha got there?" Ted asked, giving me a friendly wave over Bones's shoulder.

"Dinner for whichever ghoul you feel like rewarding, but make sure they clean their plate. I don't want any part of her resurfacing," Bones replied.

My stomach heaved. God, talk about disposing of a body! I'd assumed we would bury her. Serving her up to a ghoul had never occurred to me.

Ted didn't share any of my qualms. "You betcha, bud. Anything I should warn them about?"

"Yeah." Bones handed the bundle over and Ted plopped her in his trunk. "Tell them not to chip a tooth on the bullet."

That was it for me. I opened the truck door just in time, the evening's events slamming into me and heaving out of my stomach in a rush.

"She all right?" I heard Ted ask as I coughed and drew in deep breaths.

Bones made a sound similar to a sigh. "She will be. Have to be off, mate. Thanks."

"Sure thing, bud. Anytime."

I closed my door just as Bones climbed back in. Ted's headlights flashed as he backed up, and then he was gone.

Bones reached inside his jacket and handed me a flask. "Whiskey. Not your favorite, but it's all I've got."

I took the bottle gratefully and gulped until there was no more. The liquor's artificial warmth began to thaw the ice in my limbs.

"Better?"

"Yeah."

My voice was scratchy from the lingering burn of the alcohol, but it had helped in more ways than one. That numbing shock was fading, replaced instead with a slew of questions.

"No more cryptic ****, Bones. Who is Hennessey, and what's he got to do with a gun-toting psychotic from my physics class?"

Bones cast me a sideways glance as he began driving. "Physics? You met her at college?"

"I think you should answer my question first, since I'm the one who was nearly shot," I snapped.

"Kitten, I will answer you, but please. Tell me how you met and what happened tonight."

My jaw tightened. "She took physics with me, as I said. From the first day, she'd wait for me after class. She started off by asking me lecture questions when she'd miss class, etc., and then she talked about herself. Inconsequential, funny things, like guys she'd dated or other stories...she seemed so friendly and nice. Then she asked about me, and I told her the truth. That I'd just transferred from a community college, didn't know anybody here, came from a small town-the bitch was casing me!" I suddenly burst. "She told me tonight she was looking for someone disposable, and I practically slapped a big red bow on my ass!"

"What about tonight?" he prodded.

"Oh, she did one better than dig into my background." I outlined the invitation and the whole clothes charade briefly, finishing with, "And then she pulled a gun on me."

"Did she mention anyone's name at all?"

I retraced our conversation in my mind. "No. She said something about paying her rent and me being what her landlord liked, then she said college girls were all stupid and she should tape-record herself...but no names."

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Bones didn't say anything. I waited, tapping my finger. "How is this related to Hennessey? You said you smelled him and other vampires there. Do you think somehow he found out who I was from the other night? That he wanted to finish what he'd started?"

"No." His response was instant. "She'd been coddling up to you all week, you said. If Hennessey had found out who you were, believe me, he wouldn't have been patient about things. He'd have come at you in force straightaway, the minute he knew your name. Snatched up you and anyone unlucky enough to be around you. That's why I asked you what you touched and then wiped her place down. Though I doubt you have prints on file, I want no trace of you left for him to follow."

"If not because of last weekend, then why would Stephanie be involved with him and try to kidnap me? It doesn't make any sense!"

He gave me a hooded look. "Let's sort this out inside. Gives me a chance to go through her things while we talk."

I followed him determinedly into the ****. No way was I letting him get away without telling me everything. Hennessey might have struck me as a typical scumbag, but there was obviously more to it than that. I wasn't leaving until I found out how much more.

Bones and I picked our way through the narrow entrance and back to where he'd made his living quarters in the high-domed part of the ****. He emptied the garbage bag's contents and I sat on the couch in front of him, watching as he opened Stephanie's laptop first.

"Have you ever heard of the Bennington Triangle?" he asked, powering up her computer.

I frowned. "No. I've heard of the Bermuda one."

His fingers flew over the keyboard. My, but they were limber. After a second, he let out a disgusted snort.

"Bloody girl didn't even bother to password her files. Just pure sodding arrogance, but that's in our favor. Look, there you are, Kitten. Under 'Potentials.' You should be flattered. You were first on her list."

I gaped over his shoulder and saw 'Cathy-redhead-twenty-two' with other names and similar short descriptions under it.

"Are you kidding me? Who are those other girls? Potential what?"

More blurring movement over the keys, and then he leaned back with a smile.

"Well, what have we here? Charlie, and Club Flame on Forty-second Street. Sounds like a contact. Here's hoping the twit was thick enough to write the actual name of the place and not just a code for it."

"Bones!"

The sharpness in my voice made him set aside the laptop and meet my eyes.

"The Bennington Triangle refers to an area in Maine where several people disappeared back in the fifties. To this day, no trace of them has been found. Something similar took place in Mexico several years back. A friend of mine's daughter disappeared. Her remains were found a few months afterward in the desert, and when I say remains, I mean they only found pieces of her. She had to be identified by dental records. At the autopsy, it was discovered that she'd been alive for months before she was murdered, and when I investigated further, it turned out not to be at all uncommon."

"What do you mean?"

Bones leaned back. "Hundreds of women were murdered or went missing in Mexican border towns around that time. Today, there's still not a speck of any real idea who did it. Then, several years ago, a number of young girls started to go missing in and around the Great Lakes area. More recently, it became centered in Ohio. Most of them were presumed to be runaways, prostitutes, addicts, or just average, little-known girls who had vanished with no signs of foul play. Since most of them were in high-risk categories, there wasn't much of a media fuss. I think Hennessey's involved. It's why I came here. He was near all three places when the disappearances started."

"You think Hennessey did all that?" The sheer numbers appalled me. "He can't eat that much if he wanted to! What is he, some kind of...undead Ted Bundy?"

"Oh, I think he might be a ringleader, no doubt about that, but he's not a tra***ional serial killer," Bones said crisply. "Serial killers are more possessive in their motives. From the bits and pieces I've gathered over the years, I don't think he's keeping these people to himself-I think he's made an industry out of them."

I almost asked what kind of an industry, but then I remembered what Bones had said to Sergio last weekend. Knew you couldn't pass up a pretty girl...You're his best client, from what I hear... Did you grow short on funds so you had to go out for dinner instead of order in?...And then tonight, with Stephanie. Just making my rent, and you, cookie, are just what the landlord likes... College girls, you're all the same...

"You think he's running a takeout service," I breathed. "Turning those people into Meals on Wheels! My God, Bones, how could he get away with it?"

"Hennessey was sloppy in Maine and Mexico, but he's gotten smarter. He now chooses women society doesn't hold in high regard, and if they don't fall into that category, then he sends vampires to prevent them from even being reported missing. Remember those girls Winston told you about? He wasn't wrong, luv, they are all dead. I wanted confirmation that there were more girls missing than had been reported, so that's why I sent you to Winston. A ghost knows who's died, even if those girls' families don't. I went to see them, and they'd all been bitten into believing their daughters were off pursuing an acting career, like you'd been told, or backpacking across Europe, or moving in with an old boyfriend, whatever. They'd been programmed not to question their absence, and only a vampire can have that much mind control. Hennessey's had his people rounding up even more girls for him lately. At colleges. On street corners. In bars, clubs, and back alleys. How could he get away with it? Have you ever really looked at the faces on your milk carton? People disappear all the time. The police? There's enough crimes involving the rich, famous, and powerful to make it easy for them to put the disappearance of some derelicts on their back burner, and they don't know about the others. As far as the undead world goes, Hennessey's covered his tracks very well. There's only suspicion, but no proof."

Now that I knew what was going on in my own state, what Stephanie had been doing made perfect sense, if you had the ethics of a crocodile. A huge, crowded college campus had been her all-you-can-eat buffet; she just hadn't been the one eating. No, she was someone hired to stock Hennessey's refrigerator. And I, with my background, had been the perfect dish. Stephanie had hit the nail on the head with that. I could disappear very easily, with few questions being asked, and it would have worked just as planned. Except for the one thing about me she hadn't counted on.

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"How long have you suspected this? You told me before you'd been chasing Hennessey eleven years. You've known what he's been doing that whole time?"

"No. It's only been the past two years that I've gotten specific information. Mind you, I didn't know who or what I was chasing at first. Took me a few dozen blokes to get a whisper of what was going on. A few more dozen to get a name of who might be running it. As I said, he'd covered his tracks. Then I hunted down those under his line who had prices on their heads. Sergio was one of them, for example. I've been picking apart his people for years, but only doing it to those who had bounties on them. That way, Hennessey didn't know I was on to him. He just thought it was business. Now, however, he knows I'm out to get him, and why. And so does whoever else is involved, because he can't be doing this alone."

I digested that for a minute. "So, even if you take Hennessey out, it still might not end. His partners could start right up where he left off. You don't have any idea who they could be?"

"I've come very close a few times to finding out, but-well. Things happened."

"Like what?"

"Like you, actually. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were one of Hennessey's. You have an incredibly bad habit of killing people before I can get any information out of them. Remember Devon, that bloke you staked the night we met? I'd been tracking him for six months. He was Hennessey's accountant, knew everything about him, but you plugged silver through his heart before I could say Bob's your uncle. I thought Hennessey knew I was getting close and sent you to silence him. Then you went after me the very next night. Why do you think I kept asking you who you worked for? And tonight-"

"I didn't mean to kill her!" I cried, lashing myself over that for a different reason this time. What information had Stephanie died with? We'd never know.

Bones got up, speaking to me as he disappeared behind one of the ****'s natural walls.

"Believe me, luv, I know that. You wouldn't kill a human unless it was by accident or they were wearing a Vampire Henchman badge. You didn't seem to know Stephanie had any such connections-and from the look of scene, I'd reckoned you were wrestling for the gun when it went off. She probably had a good grip on it, too. From the smell of her, she'd been hyped up on vampire blood. Would have made her quite a bit physically stronger and she'd need that, for what her job was."

So that explained why she'd had the strength of a linebacker in her petite feminine frame. I'd underestimated her all the way around.

"Why haven't you told me about all of this before? You trained me to fight, and then you kept me out of the real battle."

He answered while still out of eyesight. "I didn't want you involved. Blimey, I'd just as soon you not risk your life going after vampires to begin with, but that's what you want to do, so I trained you to be better at it. Not like you'd listen to me if I told you to stay home, is it? Still, Hennessey and his blokes are different. Your part with them was supposed to end after Sergio, but your little physics chit ruined that tonight. You should be patting yourself on the back for killing her. Those other 'potentials' certainly would, if they knew what she'd had in store for them."

"Was safety your only reason for keeping this from me, or is there more I don't know about?"

There was the sound of water being poured. "No, there's one more reason I kept it from you. I didn't want to give you another reason to hate vampires. It's not like you aren't already predisposed to it. You tend to judge people for what they are, rather than what they do, if they don't have a pulse."

I was silent for a moment, because I had no defense to that. No truthful one, anyway.

"You should know something, Bones. I lied to you when we made our deal. I was going to kill you the first chance I got."

I heard a dry chuckle. "I already knew that, luv."

"About Hennessey...I want to help. I have to help. My God, I was almost one of those girls who never would have been heard from again! I know it's dangerous, but if you find out where this Club Flame is, if you get a lead, I want to be there. Hennessey has to be stopped."

Bones didn't reply.

"I mean it," I persisted. "Come on, I'm the perfect wolf in sheep's clothing! Really, do you know any other half-breed girls living in an area that's currently being harvested? You're not talking me out of this!"

"I can see that. Here." He returned with a bowl of water and a cloth, setting it near me and then handing me one of his shirts. "You've got blood on the front of you. If you go home like that, you'll scare your mum into thinking you've been hurt."

I looked down at myself. The red smear of Stephanie's blood stained my stomach in a wide circle. In yet another example of my prejudice, even though I didn't mind killing her so much anymore, I snatched my blouse off and immediately began to scrub my skin.

It was only after I cleaned the last of the blood from me that I felt the weight of his stare. When I looked up, his eyes were fixed on me and laced with green.

"Hey." I slid back a few inches on the couch. "Dinner's not served. Don't go all glowy at the blood."

"Do you think blood has anything to do with the way I'm looking at you now?"

His voice had a strange timbre to it. Thick with things unspoken.

I struggled not to show any reaction, but my heart had just sped up, and it wasn't from fear. "Green eyes, fangs peeking out...pretty incriminating, I'd say."

"Indeed?" He sat down, moving the bowl aside. "It seems I've neglected to inform you of what else draws such a reaction, but I'll give you a hint-it isn't blood."

Oh. I drew in a breath. "Considering last weekend, I don't have anything you haven't seen before, and I doubt you're overcome with desire by seeing me in my bra."

"Kitten, look at me," he said flatly.

I blinked. "I am."

"No, you're not." He slid closer, his eyes all green now. "You stare straight through me as if I'm not even there. You look at me...and you don't see a man. You see a vampire, and therefore accord me less substance. One of the few exceptions was last weekend. I held you and kissed you, watched your eyes light up with desire, and knew for once you were truly seeing me for all I was. Not just a non-beating heart with a shell around it. I dare you to look at me that way again, now, with no excuse of chemicals to fall back on. I want you." A slight smile twisted his lips as he made the blunt statement. "I've wanted you from the moment we met, and if you think sitting next to me in your bra doesn't overwhelm me with desire, you're very wrong. I just don't force myself where I'm not invited."

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For a few stunned seconds, I was speechless. So much had happened tonight, my brain was having a hard time sorting through it all. I looked at Bones and it was almost as if scales dropped from my eyes, because suddenly I did see him. Those high cheekbones, dark brows framing eyes turned to emerald, a curving mouth, straight nose, and etched jawline. Crystal skin stretched over those features and tightly wrapped around a lean, rippled frame. His elegant hands and their long, tapered fingers. My God, he was beautiful. Absolutely, incredibly beautiful, and now that I'd finally allowed myself to notice, I couldn't stop staring.

"Kiss me."

The words left me without any thought, and I realized I'd secretly wanted to say them for a while. Bones leaned over and his lips closed over mine softly. Gently. Giving me every opportunity to change my mind and push him away, but I didn't. I slid my arms around his neck and brought him closer.

He ran his tongue along my lips until I opened my mouth. His touched mine for a moment before retreating, teasingly, back into his mouth. Another flickering touch and back again, and again. Coaxing me, persuading me. Finally I traced my tongue into his mouth, feeling the answering rub and then the unbelievable sensuality of him sucking on it.

I moaned, unable to help it. The graze of his incisors should have bothered me, but they didn't. They didn't seem to hinder him, either, because he kissed me with the same passion he had last weekend. My senses ignited, and I maneuvered my hand from his neck and brought it to his shirt. One by one, I undid his buttons. When it hung open, I ran my palms along his bare skin and, oh God, it did feel as incredible as it looked. Like silk stretched over steel. Bones reached behind him and flicked the collar off his shoulders. The whole garment fell onto the floor. All the while he kept kissing me until my breath came in gasps.

With a mind of their own my hands traveled from his chest across his back, fingers feeling out the ridges and muscle. His flesh vibrated with power, making me feel like I stroked lightning encased in skin. Bones groaned low in his throat as I touched him, sliding closer until our bodies were pressed together.

His lips trailed down to my neck, finding my pulse unerringly. He drew it into his mouth, manipulating my vulnerable artery with his tongue and lips. It was the most dangerous position to be in with a vampire, but I wasn't afraid. Instead, the feel of him sucking on my neck aroused me unbelievably. The waves of heat sweeping through me had me quivering.

His lips came up to my ear, and he licked the shell before whispering into it.

"I want you so much. Tell me you want me. Say yes."

To deny that I wanted him would be an obvious lie. Just one thing held me back, and it was the memory of Danny.

"Bones...I didn't like it before. I think...something's wrong with me."

"Nothing's wrong with you, and if you change your mind or say stop, no matter when, I'll stop. You can trust me, Kitten. Say yes. Say yes..."

Bones swooped his mouth onto mine and ravaged the inside with such hunger that I sagged against him. His arm supported me, and I tore away long enough to speak one word.

"Yes..."

It barely left my mouth before he kissed me again, lifting me up and carrying me into the bedroom. The mattress gave under our weight as he stretched me out on it. In one motion, he unclipped my bra and pulled it off while his palms cupped my br**sts. Then he lowered his mouth to my nipple and sucked strongly.

A clench of pure desire gripped me between my legs. He gently squeezed my other breast and worried the nipple between his fingers. My back arched and I clasped his head. The sensations were too much-the tug of his mouth, slight scrapes of teeth, until I thought I'd faint.

Bones unzipped my jeans, tugging them down until they were off and only my panties remained to clothe me. He traced his hand along them, pressing inward. The friction of the cotton and his fingers made my nerve endings jump. A groan escaped him when he pulled my panties off, baring me to his gaze.

"Oh, Kitten, you're so beautiful. Exquisite," he breathed before kissing me with a thoroughness that left my head spinning. He trailed his mouth to my br**sts again, drawing on each nipple while his hand sought my center. Those fingers caressed me knowingly, as if I'd told him secrets, and I bit my lip to stifle the cries. When his thumb circled the ball of my flesh and a long finger rubbed inside me, I trembled in uncontainable need.

A harsh noise of protest escaped me when he stopped. He moved his hand away, his mouth left my br**sts, and he dragged his lips down my stomach. It wasn't until he was past my navel that I realized his intention.

"Bones, wait!" I gasped, shocked.

He paused at once, mouth still on my belly. "Stop?" he inquired.

Color flamed my cheeks and I couldn't articulate my objection. "Er, not stop all of it, just...um, I don't think that's appropriate-"

Something like a snort escaped him. "I do think," he muttered, and lowered his mouth.

At the first touch of his tongue my mind literally went blank. A long, slow lick probed me, leaving seared flesh in its wake. Another wet stroke and another, deeper this time, and my modesty washed away in waves of pure heat. He spread my legs farther, shifting until they straddled his shoulders, all the while plying and delving into the soft pink flesh.

I didn't tell him to wait anymore, because I couldn't speak. Moans I didn't recognize as my own rose from me with increasing volume and wrenching, twisting spasms of pleasure curled inside me. I writhed under him, feeling him explore every nuance of me with shocking intimacy. My hips arched helplessly, and an aching emptiness inside me grew with each stroke of his tongue. I was being pushed to an edge I'd never experienced before, and it approached faster and faster. Bones increased the pressure, ratcheting up the intensity, and when his mouth finally settled on my clitoris and he sucked, I screamed.

Shards of ecstasy burst from me, traveling from my center to my extremities in a flash. My heart, which I thought would simply erupt, seemed to slow in its beating and my breathing lost its jaggedness. That previous fire was suddenly replaced with something warm and euphoric spilling all through me, causing my eyes to fly open in astonishment.

Bones slid up my stomach, framing my face in his hands. "You have never looked more beautiful," he said, voice vibrating with passion.

My body still shook with aftershocks, but this was the part I feared. I tensed as he moved between my legs.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered, and kissed me.

For a split second I was embarrassed, considering what he'd just been doing. Then I found the new, salty flavor to his mouth provocatively stimulating. His tongue twined with mine as his hardness slid along my wet crease. I shuddered, but he only swept the outside before pulling away and doing it again. And again. He matched his tongue to his body as he stroked me, bringing that previous ache back with reinforcements.