HUNTERS OF DARKNESS
Chapter 8

Sebastian’s beach house was as extravagant as Wendy expected it to be, and about as isolated. Located at the end of a long road, it was the only house for many miles in any direction and outside of the manicured yard that was surrounded by black wrought iron fences was wild growing bushes and grass that one would expect to see in the sand dunes of any beach. The stonework of the house was very elaborate. Tall columns flanked the front door and the lawn and flower gardens around the house were perfectly kept and manicured. A circular driveway wound right to the front door and continued on to the three bay garage to one side of the house.

Wendy stopped the car right in front of the door and looked that way. The front door was very wide, about four feet and intricately carved dark wood told her that this place was meant to entertain and impress guests. It was a big house and she knew there was much more to it on the inside. She drew a breath, then nodded and mumbled, “Show time.”

They stepped out of the car and Wendy closed her door hard to announce that they had arrived.

Side by side, they strode toward the door and Wendy’s eyes darted from detail to detail. Two carriage lights flanked the door. The stucco ceiling above was a black dome. The black plastic orb about two feet over the door betrayed the presence of a camera.

As she raised her hand to knock, the door opened and both women took a step back.

On the other side was a tall, very big fellow with hollow, dark eyes, cruel eyes that shifted from one woman to the next. He was dressed in a dark suit, a very formal suit and his black hair was slicked back with some kind of gel.

Wendy did not allow him to study them for more than a few seconds and announced, “Uh, Wendy Shaw, party of two. Sebastian’s expecting us.”

The big man stepped aside and Sebastian strode out to them with his hands folded behind him and a smug smile on his pale lips. He was also formally dressed in a long dinner jacket, a white shirt and a black tie. His black trousers fit him tightly and were neatly tucked into formal, shin-high boots. The way he was dressed was something more reminiscent of a century ago and Vanessa’s warning that he meant to kill them with some ceremony echoed in Wendy’s mind.

Looking him up and down, Wendy set a hand on her hip and held her brow high as she nodded, observing with a southern belle drawl, “You clean up downright pretty, Mister Sebastian.”

"Master Sebastian,” he corrected.

“Yeah, okay. Whatever.” She met his eyes fearlessly and dared a slight smile. “So you promised us a party, Mister Vampire. You going to show a couple of hot girls a good time or what?”

He strode outside and stepped right up to her. “Oh, a good time is to be had, my dear, but this party will take place at the beach.”

Vanessa cringed and turned her eyes down.

“Sweet!” Wendy barked. She raised her chin and added, “Oh, but before we do any partying, I want to see that your other guests get home safely. We wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to them, would we?”

“I don’t think so,” he countered with hard words.

Other vampires had appeared behind her and she subtly turned her head, cutting her eyes that way as if to see them. “Sebastian, you need to know that I’m going to start tearing heads off of you and your people in about one minute until I see some people released.”

“That would be unfortunate,” he informed.

Her eyes found him again and this time they were more the eyes of the predator she had become. “You mean to kill us both anyway and we both know it. I came here to save the lives of the people—”

“Spare me the heroic rhetoric,” he interrupted with a wave of his hand. “I know others are coming. I know you wouldn’t just keep your word to give yourself and my other pet to me to have them spared.”

She closed the space between them with a half step, looking up into his eyes with no patience left in hers as she growled, “I kept my word, and if I’d had anyone follow us you would know about it through Vanessa. Now can the crap and release your hostages or I’m going to start scattering pieces of your colleagues all over the front yard!”

Sebastian set his jaw as he stared back at her. Usually, when he was looking down at someone, he felt a certain sense of power over them. He knew he had no such power over this woman. Drawing a breath, he nodded and said, “I’ll make the call to release them, but I’ll make if from the beach.”

Her eyes narrowed. The sound of the surf behind them was one that she had always liked, but now it filled her with a sense of foreboding.

“Okay, Sweetie,” she conceded. “We’ll go to the beach.” When she turned around she saw four other large vampire men, and two of them had Vanessa’s arms in their grips. Without even thinking, she bared her predapire fangs and commanded in some inhuman voice, “Back off her!”

They exchanged uneasy looks and released the slight vampire, and backed away from her.

Wendy slipped her arm around Vanessa’s and gently ordered, “Come on, girlfriend.”

Many torches burned stubbornly against the wind and other electric lights helped to light up the stretch of beach they approached. A hole was dug into the sand, a deep one about a foot across. In line with it between the water and the house was a cross made out of heavy wooden timbers, the tallest of which appeared to be about twelve feet long. It lay atop three cement blocks that kept it about a foot off of the sand. Here is where they all stopped. Wendy could feel the slight vampire cringe, as if she knew what was to come.

For a moment, only the wind and the sounds of the surf meeting the beach could be heard.

“Vanessa,” Sebastian ordered, “be a good girl and strip for us.”

The blonde vampire could not even look at her red haired friend as she pulled away and complied under the watchful eyes of the vampire men. While she slowly pulled her clothing off, Sebastian removed a cell phone from his pocket, dialed some numbers and then held it to his ear.

“Is everything ready?” he asked, waiting for a reply before he spoke again. “Good. If you should lose contact with me, or on my command, then you are to burn the house and all in it.” His eyes cut to Wendy and he lowered the phone. “It’s time to see how good to your word you really are.” He looked to one of the other vampires and nodded.

That one and one other took the now naked blonde vampire by the arms and escorted her almost gently to the cross. She was made to lay down on it and the other two stepped toward her. She was bound to it at the wrists, elbows, around her neck and throat. Her ankles and knees were bound together, then more of the thick, course rope was wound many times around the cross. Vanessa had turned her face away from Wendy, and she seemed to be weeping, and it was apparent that she knew why they were doing what they were.

Wendy folded her arms as she watched the ritual and observed, “Uh, this is all very kinky and stuff, but what exactly are you…” She trailed off as the vampire master raised a hand to her.

Three of the vampires picked the cross up, one guiding the bottom toward the hole. It was lifted into position and slid into the deep hole where almost four feet of it disappeared.

“Make sure she faces due east,” Sebastian ordered.

Wendy raised her chin. Due east. Slowly, a cold breath filled her chest and her eyes widened. “Um,” she stammered, “Sebastian, what is it…” She looked toward the dark horizon, seeing just the hint of an orange glow. “Oh, God,” she breathed, turning her eyes to the vampire master.

With that smug look of his, he raised the phone to his ear again and asked, “You still there? Good.” His eyes were locked on Wendy in a deadly stare. “The show should start in about twenty minutes, my dear.” He shifted his gaze up to the horrified vampire girl. “I really like the soundtrack to this one, and believe me, you will remember it as long as you live. Have you ever watched one of us burned to death by the sun?”

Dumbly, Wendy could only shake her head.

“It is the most painful way to go of all,” he explained, his gaze locked on the vampire girl who awaited the painful inevitability of her death. “No matter how strong or strong willed the vampire, the screams of agony in their death throws always emerge.” His eyes slid to Wendy, and he smiled again. “I think this is the part where you try to bargain for her life, perhaps the lives of my guests.”

“And then what?” she countered. “You kill us all, anyway. You do what you want no matter what I say. To be honest, I don’t think you have any intention of letting those people go.”

“I most certainly will,” he assured, “but I can’t risk you running amuck before I have what I want, now can I? You will stay here on the beach and watch poor Vanessa fry, and then you will come inside the house where we will all be waiting for you and I will attend to you.”

Wendy looked up to the crucified vampire girl, her brow low over her eyes as she demanded, “I want to see the hostages before anything else happens.”

“Just as soon as you come inside,” he assured.

Her eyes cut to him. “Will I see them in the house?”

“Of course,” he replied with a patronizing tone.

Slowly, she turned her face toward him. “And as soon as I’m where you want me to be, you’ll let them just walk out of there?”

“You have my word, Pet.”

She nodded in slight motions. “And if I don’t cooperate, you’ll burn the place and kill everyone inside. Does that sound about right?” He seemed to grow uneasy, and she smiled ever so slightly. “Go ahead then. Burn the place and kill everyone in there. I dare you.” She turned fully and strode toward him with sultry steps. “Come on. Burn it. Burn it and take out your only cover from the sun for ten miles in any direction.” As she reached him and stood with almost no space between her chest and his, she smiled a little more. “You know, you don’t screw up very often, Sweetie, but when you do it sure is like magic. Oh, I’m about to have the mother of all orgasms right now.”

He glared back for long seconds, then he lowered the phone, closed it, and ordered, “Kill her.”

Wendy’s hand moved swiftly, too swiftly to see and her palm slammed into his chest so hard he was knocked from his feet to land flat on his back some twenty feet away. This was predapire strength that she was truly feeling for the first time, and predapire awareness was speaking loudly to her as well. She could feel that the two behind her were charging and she took a step back and turned to the left just slightly as she sent her elbow hard into one’s gut. This would not normally hurt a vampire, but this blow was so hard that he was doubled over and slammed down on his back about ten feet away. Wheeling around, she swung her hand hard, the side of her fist crashing into the head of another charging vampire and snapping it over with such chilling force that she could feel his skull crushed as she struck. Two others charged and she proved to be more than a match for both of them, merging her predapire strength and police combat training. Grabbing the forearm of one as he reached for her, she twisted sharply and hard, squeezing hard enough to crush even the bones beneath and snapped his arm in three places as she threw him into the second.

As they fell to the sand, she spun to face another, she realized too late that he had a gun trained on her. This one fired at very close range and Wendy could feel the bullets pass through her. Shock lanced through her with each hit and she could feel the impacts and the projectiles ripping through her, but she could also feel her body healing from them almost immediately. However, she could also feel each one draining her strength. She staggered backward a few steps and finally held her ground until his weapon made an empty click. With her brow low over her eyes, she bared her teeth and fangs and strode toward him. She could feel her body healing quickly from the inside and the blood that oozed from her slowed to nothing as her skin closed.

The vampire retreated, his wide eyes on hers as he fumbled with another magazine.

Before she reached him, two of the others took her arms from behind and twisted them behind her, holding her as tightly as they could. Wendy screamed furiously, her voice more of a wild animal than a woman and she fought to free herself even as another vampire took her around the throat. Someone kicked the back of her legs and she was forced down to her knees. Still weak from the many gunshots, Wendy continued to struggle for a moment, then her struggles ceased and she turned furious eyes up to Sebastian as he approached her.

Standing a few feet away, he smiled as he stared down at her and folded his hands before him, shaking his head as he consoled, “A gallant try, my dear. A gallant try.” He drew a breath and sighed, “But, I’m afraid it is time for you and your little traitor friend to meet your ends.” Looking to one of the vampires holding his captive, he ordered, “Stake her out here on the beach and make sure she is chained down good this time.” His eyes strayed to back to her. “I want to be sure she can see and hear Vanessa’s final moments as she is burned to death by the sun. It will take a while, my dear, often as long as a half hour so early in the morning when the sun is still new.”

Wendy could hear Vanessa starting to cry and she felt horrible about what was to come. Her strength was returning slowly, but she knew they would be able to rip it away again before she was back to full strength.

Then she raised her head. Even over the sounds of the nearby surf, the seagulls crying overhead somewhere and the weeping vampire girl, her sensitive predapire ears picked up another sound, a familiar growl and drone, and a smile overpowered her lips as her gaze lanced into the vampire master. With a little nod, she observed, “Okay, Sweetie. You lied to me. You never had those hostages. I get it. I’ve been had.”

“Yes you have,” he confirmed.

Her eyes narrowed and she assured, “So have you.”

His eyes widened slightly and he raised his chin, then he swung around, looking toward the house as the roar of an engine drew closer.

Ryan’s big old truck, with all four headlights on full beam and its off road lights also cutting through the night, hurled from the driveway of the house and onto the beach with its engine growling like some enraged bull. Vampires fled as it slammed into the sand with all four wheels spinning. A group of three tried to circle back toward the house, and it was this group that the truck chased as if to run them down. The vampires holding Wendy abandoned her and fled in three directions, one toward the water.

The truck turned hard, directing its many lights toward the cross that Vanessa was bound to and it finally slid to a stop. All four doors opened and four predapires leapt out. Ryan charged from the driver’s door and headed toward Wendy as she stood. Leon jumped from the door behind his and Clifton and Merrill jumped from the passenger’s side, and both of them had assault weapons in their hands.

The fight was on, but the vampires were not interested in fighting, more in escaping, and once again Sebastian was leading the way as several of them fled toward the house.

Most of the vampires did not get away.

“Wendy!” Vanessa screamed, her wide eyes locked on the orange glow over the horizon, the glow that grew brighter and brighter with each passing moment.

Wendy turned that way, clinging to Ryan as he reached her, her attention fixed on the crucified vampire girl.

It was Clifton who broke off his attack and charged toward the girl, getting there in seconds. Crouching down as he reached her, he wrapped his arms around the base of the cross and growled as he wrenched it from the ground. Slowly he laid it back toward the sand, and he was very gentle with it as he settled the cross and Vanessa to the ground. Reaching to his belt, he withdrew a huge hunting knife and easily cut the coarse rope that bound her ankles to the wood, then he darted to one arm and cut her wrist loose, then reached over her to the other.

Vanessa looked to the horizon as an orange ball began to peek over the water, and her pupils were tiny pinpoints as she whimpered, “It’s too late.”

Clifton put his knife away and scooped her up, countering, “No it ain’t!” As he began to run toward the house with the girl cradled in his arms, he shouted, “Merrill! Leon!”

The two other predapires looked his way, then they abandoned their pursuits of the vampires they had not already killed and turned toward the house as well.”

“Come on!” Ryan ordered as he took Wendy’s hand and followed them.

As they got to the yard, the first rays of sunlight began to lick at the girl’s exposed skin, blacken it, and she cried out as smoke began to rise from those places the sun touched.

“We’re almost there,” Clifton assured. “Just hang in there.”

The front door was predictably closed, but it was on the other side of the house from the sun and Clifton paused there to await reinforcements, which arrived seconds after he did. Merrill had his submachine gun in his hands and positioned himself right beside Clifton, aiming at the door. Leon charged at a dead run, lowering his shoulder as he slammed into the door and crashed right through it.

Inside, the house was lavishly decorated and clearly meant to entertain and impress. The floor of the living room was sunken down a couple of feet and was surrounded by built in seating that formed a twenty foot diameter circle which was broken by two gaps, one to allow entry from the front door and another into the back of the house. They were like continuous couches of deep red covered cushions that swept around the room in two semi-circles. The carpeting was red with ornate designs right in the middle. A chandelier hung right over the middle of the room and the light coming from it was rather dim, clearly to set a certain mood in this comfortable place. Paintings were distributed evenly behind the seating and all were of a sensual nature featuring many nudes and many scenes of intimacy.

The house was dark beyond, a foreboding place that seemed very deep as the light from the chandelier did not penetrate it.

As Leon and Merrill strode to the center of the entertaining area with their weapons ready, Clifton laid the vampire girl down on the deep cushions and knelt down beside her. Even when she was safely down she still clung to him, and he allowed her to.

Looking down to her burnt leg, he watched as it slowly healed before his eyes, then he nodded and assured, “I think you’re going to be okay now.”

She had her head buried in his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck, and just nodded in slight motions. Slowly, she pulled away from him, just far enough to stare into his eyes, and she offered in a very small voice, “Thank you.”

He smiled and nodded back to her.

Wendy and Ryan finally arrived and she stopped right inside, looking around her for a moment before she turned and slapped Ryan’s arm with the back of her hand, barking, “Now why can’t you have a place like this?”

“On a cop’s salary?” he countered.

“You are such a caveman,” she snarled, walking around him toward Vanessa. She sat down beside the vampire girl and stroked her hair, asking, “You doing okay, girlfriend?”

Vanessa kept her eyes on Clifton and just nodded, assuring, “I’m fine, thank you.”

“Got a little cooked?” Wendy added.

“A bit,” Vanessa confirmed. Still clinging to the blue eyed predapire who had her full attention, she informed in a vulnerable voice, “The sun is up and it’s time for me to sleep. There are rooms in the back that are blacked out for that purpose.”

“I’ll make sure you get back there okay,” Clifton assured.

With a little nod, Vanessa looked to her legs, still bound at the knees and ankles but already healed of the burns the sun had inflicted. “I can’t walk tied up like this.”

“No problem, he assured. As he stood, he scooped her from the long couch and turned to carry her to the back of the house, and as they reached the hallway at the other end, Vanessa’s hand reached out and gracefully swept the wall, turning on the lights to illuminate where they were going. Right before they turned the corner, her hand grasped his neck and their mouths met in what would be the first of many kisses between them that evening.

Wendy folded her arms and one leg over the other and watched them disappear to the back of the house, then she crooked her jaw and heaved a heavy breath.

Merrill strode to Ryan, slinging his weapon as he assured, “I think the house is empty except for us. The van and car that were here when we arrived are gone and I’m sure they’ve fled to a safe place by now.”

Looking around him with his big arms folded, Ryan nodded and suggested, “We should probably have a look around and see exactly where it is that we are and what we have to work with.” His eyes found Wendy.

She was just staring down the hall where Clifton and Vanessa had disappeared, and she observed, “He’s not coming back, is he?”

“Probably not,” Ryan confirmed.

Planting both feet on the floor, she loudly slapped her hands onto her knees and stood, shaking her head as she barked, “Well that’s just freakin’ peachy. Everybody’s getting laid but me!” She huffed another breath, grumbling, “I need a shower. They do have bathrooms in this place, don’t they?”

“They should,” Merrill confirmed. “It seems like they have loyals living here at least part time.”

“That’s where I’ll be,” she informed as she strode with heavy steps toward the hallway. “No calls.”

The bedroom she found turned out to be a master suite and she clicked the light on and paused to look around her. It was a huge room with a huge, canopied bed at the far end. Around the canopy was draped dark red satin. The posts were ornately carved black timbers and the bedspread that covered it was a fiery red. Thick pillows were at the head of the bed and a chest was at the foot. There were matching furnishings around, ebony wood with the same type carvings as the bedposts, mirrors, and a red carpeted floor. Mirrors were distributed along the ceiling as well. The dark panel walls added a sense of foreboding and lust to this place.

With a nod, Wendy said aloud, “Part Honeymoon Suite, part sacrificial chamber. I like it.” Looking to her right, she saw the door for the bathroom standing open and strode that way, pulling her shirt off as she approached.

The bathroom was much the same as the bedroom. The floor was black marble, as was the vanity top to her left which had to be six feet wide. The mirror above the vanity spanned the whole thing and was framed with more of that carved ebony wood. At the far left was a big, corner shower, to the right a huge, sunken bathtub that looked like it could accommodate three or four people. To her immediate right was an antique looking makeup dresser with a small chair pushed under it and a large mirror on the wall behind it. This is where she threw her shirt, then she reached behind her to unfasten her bra.

Her eyes shifted from the shower to the tub, the tub to the shower, and she asked, aloud, “Okay, so what do I want to do first?” Venting a deep breath, she finished undressing and walked to the tub, replaceing bath beads, fragrant soaps and a bottle of cherry bubble bath sitting on the rim, and a smile found her lips. “Score, big time. Hell with it. I’m doing both.” She reached to the gold plated roman faucet and turned on the hot water first, letting it run over her hand until it was hot, then adding in cold to bring it to a hot but tolerable temperature. Then, in went a few bath beads and some bubble bath. A linen tower was between the vanity and the shower and she found many very plush towels there, both red and black, and she removed two of them.

Laying the towels on the rim of the bathtub, she sat beside them and watched the foam build on the top as it filled, and when she was happy with the level, she turned the water off, then she looked to the shower. The walls of the shower were clear glass and it was more of that black marble within. Several massaging showerheads were in there and she would put them to good use.

The shower would not disappoint and she discovered that all of the showerheads could be turned on at once! The biggest of them had the best pressure, the best volume, and it was under this one that she soaked herself, leaning her head back as she allowed the water to cascade through her long, fiery locks. Slowly, and with fluid movements, she soaped and lathered her entire body, taking advantage of Sebastian’s extravagant tastes. After taking her time to rinse her body thoroughly, she set the main shower head to massage, leaning her head back again as she let it work on her chest for a moment.

When she tried to redirect the spray, strong hands grabbed her wrists and she was pulled brutally into a very solid body, an unclothed male body. She shrieked, and a hand clamped over her mouth as the other arm wrapped around her, pinning both arms to her chest. She struggled and was pushed into the wall, pinned to the wall, and the hand over her mouth slowly slid down her chin, down her throat, to her chest. Her heart thundered in fear and she found herself aroused on a level she had never dreamed of.

He stepped away from her, grabbed her shoulder and brutally turned her, slamming her back into the cold marble, and before she realized, his powerful hand grabbed onto her throat and forced her head back. She was pinned to the shower wall, and though her arms were free to do what she wished them to do, she could not act as he pressed his solid body to hers, crushed her against the wall, and finally took her mouth with an animalistic passion that was beyond her wildest dreams. This was her fantasy, to be taken by some barbaric lover who would offer no quarter, show no mercy and take her to the heights of ecstasy and beyond.

Wendy opened her eyes and just stared across the shower for a moment, then she turned around and pulled her hair over one shoulder, bowing her head to allow the massaging jets to work some of the stress from her. She closed her eyes again and immersed herself in that sensual daydream again, this time imagining a silken touch and incredible power and strength that was kept in check, but ready to be unleashed on her. A little moan escaped her as she reached to her neck and massaged there for a second, then she slid her hands down her body, just feeling her curves and allowing them to feel the touch of a phantom lover. Her whole body was electrified and craving the touch of another.

She leaned her head back to allow the water to power its way through her hair and over her scalp, and she could swear she felt another hand slip around her neck.

Someone took her lips with a gentle touch and she purred, “Mmm…” as this kiss became harder and more passionate.

Her eyes flashed open and she pushed away and retreated.

Ryan pursued and grabbed her wrists, outstretching her arms and pinning them to the shower wall. He would not give her the opportunity to protest or speak and he took her mouth again with the animalistic passion she had just been daydreaming about, and she whimpered behind his kiss.

Wendy’s eyes closed as he forced his urges upon her, and she found herself surrendering to them. When he released her wrist and pulled away from her, she looked to him and sucked a hard breath as he grasped her under the jaw and forced her head back.

His eyes narrowing, Ryan growled, “Do you remember when you told me you’ve been a bad girl?”

“Uh, huh,” she confirmed in a gasp.

He reached around her head and grasped her hair, pulling her to him with strength that was beyond human strength. His other hand slipped around her back and he crushed her to him in his powerful grip, his mouth taking hers yet again, and she whimpered this time as he pushed her back against the wall.

She allowed him to take her mouth and then explore her neck and throat with his, but a wicked little smile claimed her lips and she twisted away, forced her hands between them and brutally pushed him back a step. Shaking her head, she informed, “I don’t think so, Sweetie. You want this? You’re not going to get it that easily.”

“Outstanding,” he said under his breath as he advanced on her again.

She eluded him by simply sliding away, but there was nowhere to go in this shower and his grasp found her wrist again, and even as she giggled and fought to free herself, he jerked her toward him, only to turn her toward the wall, take her wrists and pin her palms to the marble. She still squirmed in his grip, feeling him press his body to her back. It was all too clear that her struggles simply aroused him more and this was just great! It had much the same effect on her.

He dared to release one of her hands and the next thing she realized was her head being jerked over to one side by the handful of hair he had grasped, and he did not give her any time to respond. His mouth took the nape of her neck and chills and many other sensations fired through her body like lightning. She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes as her body surrendered to him. She felt his hand slide slowly down her arm and his other glide along her back and around her side. Demonstrating their strength, both of his hands slid around her body and pulled her mercilessly closer to him. As his lips made their way toward her ear, she reached back around him, her hands clawing at his body.

He turned the shower off and they did not bother with drying.

She swept the veil aside as he carried her to the bed. Their mouths never separated as he laid her down right in the middle of the huge bed and lay over her. He grabbed the back of her knee and pulled her leg back toward her and she cried out in savage ecstasy as he plunged into her with some primal, animalistic passion, and she grasped his hair and pulled him down to her as hard as she could. She felt his lips on her neck again, but this time she also felt his teeth, and they were much sharper than she had imagined. That little bit of pain and a hard thrust into her was more than she could bear and her entire body was electrified and every muscle seized as she cried out again. He finished her with all of the power she had dreamed of and more.

Her head fell back and she gasped for breath, and in a moment realized everything had just stopped. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked to him, and he seemed almost disappointed as he stared back at her.

“Already?” he barked.

“You made me wait three years, Dude,” she countered. “How long were we doing that, anyway?”

“About a minute,” he replied, sounding a little irritated.

“Wow,” mumbled. “Seemed longer.” She slid her hands up to his shoulders, looking at his powerful, muscular physique as she asked, “So, you okay to go again?”

“I’m nowhere near done,” he informed.

Her hands slid around his back again and she could only say, “Bathtub.”

A couple of hours later they lay in the bed again, this time half covered with the black silk sheet and red blanket. He was on his back and she was curled up beside him, her arm over his chest and her head lying on his shoulder as his arm was curled around her, his fingers gently caressing her shoulder.

Silence had passed between them for some time, and finally he broke it with, “Wendy?”

She slowly drew a breath before answering, and replied in a sigh, “Yes, Master?”

With a soft laugh, he shook his head. “Just seeing if you were asleep.”

“No,” she whispered. “Just… I so want to die impaled on your manhood.”

He nodded in slight motions and observed, “Okay. That was a little creepy.”

“So this is predapire sex?” she asked.

“No,” was his reply. “I took it easy on you tonight.”

Slowly, she raised her chin and turned her eyes to him, and he looked down to her.

“Four of the best orgasms in the history of woman, and you took it easy on me?”

He raised his brow and nodded.

“Next time,” she ordered, “I want the whole damn menu, ’kay?”

“Can you handle it?” he asked.

“Or die trying,” was her reply. She nuzzled into him again and snarled, “Took it easy on me.”

“Well,” he sighed, “I didn’t want to scare you the first time.”

“After the week I’ve had,” she assured, “I don’t see you scaring me with sex. Next time I want primal, animal, savage monster sex, no holds barred and absolutely no holding back.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Red,” he warned.

“Yeah, okay,” she countered.

“We should go check in with the others,” he suggested, “then we should get some sleep.”

“I didn’t hear Nessa at all,” she pointed out. “Apparently Clifton’s not all that after all.”

“Feel free to tell him that.” He turned his eyes to her again and informed, “We should talk.” When she tensed up, he assured, “I’m not dropping you, so just relax. You’re most definitely a keeper.”

Relaxing again, she nuzzled into him and smiled slightly. “Thanks. You’re a keeper, too.”

“We just have something to talk about,” he said.

“Like what?”

“What we started talking about in the truck a couple of days ago,” he reminded.

Wendy closed her eyes. “We’re having such a nice time here. Can’t we just—”

“No,” he interrupted. “Let’s get it out of the way. I told you about me now it’s your turn.”

She drew a long breath, then turned her face more toward his chest and whined, “I don’t want to.”

Squeezing her to him, he assured, “It’s okay, Wendy. Just get it off your chest. Tell me what happened.”

Her eyes opened slowly and just stared straight ahead, not really even seeing anything, and for a moment she remained quiet.

He pulled her closer to him again and kissed her head. “Come on, Babe. Just get it out.”

“I don’t know why it’s even important,” she breathed.

“Yes you do,” he countered.

“I was orphaned,” she barked. “Okay? My folks were killed in a car accident because I convinced them they deserved a night out. They went out, drunk driver hit them and killed them. End of story.”

“No it’s not,” he corrected. “Where did you go from there?”

She huffed a breath and replied, “My mom’s sister. She was the only family I had left and I moved in with her, and she wasn’t happy about it.” She blinked back tears and continued, “I guess she blamed me or something, I don’t know. When I was younger we got along pretty well, but when I was about thirteen…” Breathing became difficult, her jaw quivered slightly. “Her husband… I was at their house one day and we were all in their pool and her husband got a little inappropriate with me, and I told my dad. After that things just weren’t the same.”

“And then you went to live with them,” he continued for her.

“I thought the day my parents died was the worst day of my life,” Wendy said in a small voice, “but it managed to get much worse after that. My aunt ragged on me all the time. She acted like I was some kind of huge inconvenience to have around. About a week later, he came into my room and found me crying, and he sat down on my bed beside me and… He put his arm around me and let me cry. She didn’t and I didn’t have anybody but him to turn to.” She turned away from Ryan and hugged the pillow to her, tears flowing from her wide eyes as she recalled something she had tried so hard to suppress for so long. “She wasn’t home and I felt like I could just… I started to trust him. He was letting me mourn for my parents and he was listening to me. And then…” Her voice became very meek as she whimpered, “Oh my god!”

Ryan rolled toward her, laying his arm over her and replaceing her hand with his. He slid his other arm under the pillow and pulled her to him, holding her tightly as she started to cry.

She composed herself enough to speak, and did so almost in the voice of a little girl. “That was the first time he raped me, and he justified everything he did every time. He had ways of making me think it was my fault, and it went on for years.”

“Sounds like he needs a good ass whoopin’,” Ryan observed.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “As soon as I graduated high school I got the hell out of there. I worked my way through college, busted my ass at everything I did…”

“Became a police officer,” he concluded for her, “started working with troubled teen girls, volunteered at the battered women’s shelter, got bitten by a vampire, got turned into a predapire three days later… Sounds like you’ve had it kind of rough.”

She shrugged. “I can’t complain. I had a really good career until you screwed that all up.”

“It’s fixable,” he assured. “All I have to do is get Leon to go in and talk to the chief and you’re in again. Hell, with what we’ll come up with, you’ll probably get promoted.”

She smiled. “I could see being your boss.”

“Let’s not get cocky now,” he warned. “So, I’m guessing that this was all at the heart of you wanting to look out for Vanessa.”

“I guess so,” she replied in a slight voice.

“And all those other girls you’ve helped out,” he went on. “Sounds to me like you’ve gone way above and beyond the call, Shaw, and you never expected anything in return.”

“Didn’t expect it,” she confirmed, tightening her grip on his hand, “but I sure got it.”

“What’s that?” he asked. “An immortal life as a vampire killing predator?”

“No,” she replied with a smile. “I got you.”

“I think I got you,” he countered. “When this is all over, I think we’re going to pay your uncle a little visit.”

“We don’t have to,” she said softly. “I just want to leave it behind me.”

“He’s still got to pay,” Ryan assured. “Leon has some special connections in the FBI that can see to him, and believe me, he loves to take sleazebags like that down.”

She smiled again. “I’ll think about it, okay?” Drawing a deep breath, she asked, “Should we get out there and see what they’ve come up with?”

“I suppose,” he sighed as he pulled his arms from her and rolled over to stand. “Come on, my bitch. Let’s get moving.”

Raising up on her knees in the middle of the bed, she set her hands on her hips and barked, “Excuse me!”

He turned and looked back at her, his eyes scanning her curvy, naked form for a second before he explained, “Your beast form is a white wolf, remember?”

She looked aside, then raised her brow and nodded. “Oh, yeah.”

Dressed as they had been, they arrived back in the living area to replace the rest of the team lounging on the comfortable furnishings. Clifton was also among them and he had a beer in his hand as he was conversing casually with Merrill, who also had a beer. Leon was lying on his back on the couch near the door with his hands folded on his chest and his eyes closed, and was clearly asleep.

Wendy and Ryan strode into the room side by side, but showing no obvious affection toward each other as they approached the team in silence.

Clifton and Merrill looked to them, and Clifton raised his chin, observing, “Well look who made it back from the nasty side of the underworld.”

Wendy smiled and countered, “I see you’re back from the quiet side.”

“All things considered,” Merrill interrupted, “we may as well all get some shut-eye. We can probably expect them to make a move on us by evening.”

“We’ll also want to have a conversation with Nessa,” Wendy added. “I’ll bet she’ll be able to give us some insight into what to expect.”

“What’s the kitchen look like?” Ryan asked. “I could use a bite.”

“You won’t be disappointed,” Merrill assured. “I’d be glad to have my kitchen at the café to be half the kitchen that one is.”

Ryan looked to Wendy. “Hungry?”

“Oh,” she assured, “I worked up a pretty big appetite, Officer Scott.”

He slipped his arm around her and turned with her to the hallway, and they both stopped as the vampire girl, wrapped in a black bed sheet, strode from the darkness beyond.

Vanessa gave them but a glance and a little smile and nod as she turned around them, then she looked to the couch where Clifton sat and asked in a meek voice, “Are you coming back to bed?”

“Soon as I finish my beer, sweetheart,” he assured. “You want to come in here and join us?”

She turned her eyes down and shook her head.

“Hey,” Wendy said as she took the girl’s shoulder. “While you’re here—”

“He’ll come right after sundown,” Vanessa said, her eyes on the floor. “He’ll be much stronger and have more people with him. He’s really angry and he will want to end this.”

Merrill nodded in slow motions and asked, “You’re still connected to him, aren’t you.”

Vanessa shrugged her shoulders up slightly, and she nodded.

“Did his hold on you weaken at all?” he questioned.

She was a moment in answering, but with a glance at Clifton she finally replied, “It kind of went away a little while ago, but it came back.”

When all eyes went that way, Clifton had a proud smile on his face and settled against the back of the couch.

Vanessa looked to him again and asked again in that meek voice, “Are you coming back to bed?”

“Just take the beer with you,” Merrill ordered.

As Clifton stood, Wendy slipped an arm around the girl’s shoulders, and when she had her attention asked, “Okay, Nessa, this is really important and I need you to be a hundred percent honest with me, okay?”

Hesitantly, Vanessa nodded.

Wendy drew a deep breath, then asked, “Is there any chocolate in that kitchen?”

Vanessa glanced at Ryan, then she shrugged and admitted, “I’ve never actually been in there.”

Growling a sigh, Wendy bowed her head, then backed away and grabbed onto Ryan’s hand, ordering, “Come on, Stud. Find me some chocolate or this is going to be a really long day for everyone.”