Toxic

“Apology accepted. Good night.” I wasn’t sure what he was sorry for. Sorry for kissing me? Sorry for not being able to fuck me without dying? Did it matter?

He sighed. “You’re really not like human women are you?”

It was a rhetorical question so I didn’t bother answering. Besides, even among my own kind I was considered different.

“I’ll see you tomorrow evening then.” I heard him turn and move towards the door.

“Wait.” I really hated the way my mouth had a tendency of talking before I knew what I was going to say. “How about we go on a fieldtrip tomorrow?”

“Sure. Where to?”

“Somewhere possibly dirty, so wear dark clothes. Oh, and skip the aftershave.”

“Why?” he queried.

I lowered my reports and looked him in the face. His blue eyes met mine and I smiled the toothy grin of a hunter. “Because where I’m taking you, you don’t want to smell too edible.”

He didn’t blanch, just nodded his head and, with a ghost of a smile hovering on his lips, turned on his heel to leave.

As for me, I flattened the last report I’d perused.

I’d found a daemon, or so I thought given the sketchy details. Humans missing. Strange sounds and lights. And the most telling tidbit, blood splatters. All kinds of clues that made me think I’d found a beast, and not too far from the house either. Excellent.

Tomorrow, I’d catch the foul one and bring him back to Rafe. My version of candy and flowers for a human I couldn’t have.

Chapter Six

I spent another day barely sleeping, too caught up in my fantasies revolving around the untouchable doctor. I’d thumbed through my black book looking for a fuck buddy to call, but none of them had the tousled blond hair, blue eyes and geeky look I craved.

I made do with my vibrator, but even though I climaxed, I found myself more sexually frustrated than ever. I decided I needed better toys. I left a note for Annabelle to invest in some heavy duty hardware, anything to help scratch the erotic itch I couldn’t shake.

I was disgruntled and on my third pair of panties by the time I met Raphael in the front hall. As requested, he wore black from head to toe, and he even had a black leather bomber jacket that made me arch a brow. He looked like a good boy turned bad, in other words, totally freaking hot!

“Did you go shopping with a biker?” I asked to mask the fact I wanted to peel him and eat him.

Rafe looked down at himself then up at me with a grin. “You said black. And weren’t you the one who told me leather is easier to wipe the filth off.”

Actually I’d said blood, but I wouldn’t split hairs. He looked good, damned good, and when I approached and sniffed him, he smelt even better.

I growled.

“I didn’t put any aftershave on,” he said raising his hands.

“Doesn’t matter, you still smell like food,” I grumbled, heading out the door and into the fresh air, away from his tantalizing scent.

“Where are we going?” he asked as he followed me out.

“Hunting,” I said swinging a leg over my motorcycle parked out front. I patted the seat behind me. “Think of it as an up close look at how a vampire takes down prey.”

“Are you going to kill someone?”

Humans and their morals-what a drag. “Who me?” I batted my lashes at him. “I’m not after a human if that’s what you’re worried about. Now, are you getting your ass on here or not?”

“I guess this is your way of telling me you can’t fly,” he said, swinging onto the bike behind me.

“I wish,” I said, gunning the throttle. “Hold on tight.” His hands came around my midsection and with a chuckle to myself, I peeled out of my driveway. His grip tightened and I wondered if my curious doctor was frightened. A moment later I revised that thought as his erection poked my backside. More like excited.

He leaned forward and yelled in my ear. “How good are your reflexes on this thing?”

I smirked at his challenge. I poured on the speed and as the speedometer crept higher and higher, weaved in and out among the traffic. I was in perfect control of my machine and loved the speed.

He shouted again to be heard over the motorcycles engine noise. I should have told him not to bother. I could hear his heartbeat still with my enhanced senses.

“Not bad, but what if you’re distracted?”

I meant to ask, “Distracted by what?” but I almost crashed us when he showed me. He slid his hands down to rest on my spread thighs. And then he went between them, the heel of his hand rubbing at my crotch.

“Holy fuck! What are you doing?” I yelled as molten heat shot through me.

“Just checking,” he whispered in my ear followed by a wet swipe of his tongue which had me wetting my panties.

What had happened to my shy doctor? I pinned my lips tight-both sets-as he chuckled behind me. The pressure on my crotch lessened, but he kept his hands on my thighs. Something I was all too aware of. I’d have to have another talk with him about the dangers of rousing me. A woman, and a vampire at that, could only take so much before she snapped, and if that happened, the brief bliss we’d both enjoy would be tinged with regret as I buried his lifeless body. Or I could turn him, a thought that should have had little to no appeal given my dislike of blood thirsty fledglings. But considering how Rafe affected me, the idea had merit. I stowed the thought for later perusal.

We drove for about two hours before I reached the place in my report. An industrial area that at this time of night was vacant of humans, most of them anyway.

I stopped the bike and stepped off, instantly missing the warmth of Rafe’s body hugging mine.

“So you going to tell me what you’re after?” he asked peering off into the darkness.

“How familiar are you with the concept of daemons?”

I thought I heard him choke and I whirled to look at him.

He returned my stare placidly. “I know of them in theory and from fiction. Why do you ask?”

“Because tonight, if we’re lucky, we’re going to find the reason why vampires came out of the closet.”

“I don’t suppose you’re going to elaborate.”

I grinned in reply as I headed off into the darkness. He followed behind and I grudgingly had to admit, for a human, he moved almost as quietly as I did.

I wasn’t sure where the daemon might be hiding, or even if it had stayed in the area. But given their territorial tendencies and the secluded nature of this area-plenty of hiding spots-I had a hunch it hadn’t moved on.

I just needed the right bait to get it to come out. “Hey Rafe, we need to split up so we can cover more ground. If you see something, don’t engage it, just holler for me.”

I could have sworn I saw his eyes twinkle, but he turned to lope off into the darkness and I chalked it up to the light glinting off his glasses.

I paralleled him, leaping up to the top of the containers and silently tracking behind him. I drew my power around me to cloak me even further and watched my libido disturbing doctor as he peeked around corners, searching blindly.

Given the daemon taste for human flesh, I figured Rafe would tempt the beast out of hiding and then I’d soar in for the rescue.

At least that was my plan until something hit me in the back and sent me tumbling to the ground. I hit the packed earth hard, but immediately rolled in time to miss being impaled by the sharp claws of a daemon.

Holy fuck. The beast was huge, bigger than the daemons we’d faced previously. And uglier, too. He sported a pair of curling alabaster horns with sharp points, a perfect match for his filed teeth. His