“Just how long are you going to be visiting?”
“I have to give you a date?” She accepted the coffee and poured in a smidgeon of creamer. “I was planning on a week, if you must have a time frame. I’m thinking of relocating.”
Oh no. No, no, no.
“I guarantee you wouldn’t like living here in Bedlam, Mother. It’s too provincial for your tastes, and I doubt if you would find much here to interest you.” I held her gaze, wondering if it was too soon to shoo her over to Ralph’s.
“Well,” she said softly. “I suppose that answers one of my questions.” She paused, then glanced around. “So where’s this new boyfriend of yours?”
Feeling simultaneously like a heel, yet also relieved, I let out a long breath. “Aegis will be home tonight. His band has been on a regional tour for the past week. They’re actually doing very well.” I took a sip of my coffee, so wired by now that I would never get to sleep.
Another awkward pause. Then Zara let out a soft laugh.
“I suppose you still have that fluffy ragamuffin of a cjinn?”
“Yeah, Bubba’s around here somewhere. He’s really a sweetheart, if you would just give him a chance.”
She put down her cup and leaned back. “I have some things to talk over with you while I’m here. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on moving to your little hamlet here. But there are subjects we need to discuss. I won’t wear out my welcome, Maudlin, since I see it’s on such thin ice. Why don’t you take me over to this inn now, so I can relax and unwind from the flight.”
Startled by her forthrightness, I led her out to the car and, loading her luggage into the trunk, drove over to Ralph’s. We got her situated in her room and I left, relieved to have a moment to think. By nine o’clock, I was home and drowning myself in a bag of sprinkle-covered animal crackers.
At nine-twenty, my phone rang. It was Aegis. We didn’t bother with Skype or video, since I wouldn’t be able to see him.
“Hey love, I’m about to head for home. It will take me a couple of hours, but I’ll be there as soon as I can. How’s Sandy doing?” He sounded a bit sleepy, which didn’t surprise me, given he had just woken up for the night.
“She’s pretty banged up, but she’ll survive. Which is more than I can say for me. Guess who came into town this evening?”
“Uh-oh, I don’t know who but by the tone of your voice, I have the feeling it isn’t someone on your list of favorites.”
“My mother. She texted earlier today that she was coming in tonight, and sure enough, she showed up. I farmed her out to Ralph’s. Thank gods we have new guests coming in tomorrow so I have a good reason for not letting her have a room. Delia’s relatives are coming to town and they’ll be staying here.” I let out a sigh. “I miss you. In more ways than one.” Aegis was the best lover I’d ever had—even surpassing Tom. We meshed in a way that neither one of us understood and didn’t even try to explain. It just worked.
“I miss you, too. I’ll be home as soon as I can. Hold on till I get there. I love you.”
“Fly safe.”
“You know I will.” He hung up. Aegis would travel home in a mist, though once he reached the ferry, he would have to take form in order to travel over the water to Bedlam, but that would be the longest leg of his journey. Luckily, Bedlam’s ferry ran once an hour, every hour, until two a.m.
I glanced at the clock. It was going on nine forty-five and he would be home by midnight. I decided to take a bath and lie down for a nap before he got home. Leaving Kelson to lock up, I headed upstairs, weary and ready to call it a day.
“MADDY? MADDY? COME on, love, wake up.”
I blinked, confused at first. Aegis was sitting on the bed, leaning over me as he whispered my name. As the realization that he was home washed over me, I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him down beside me. His lips met mine and I sank into the kiss, in a blur of sleep haze, desire, and relief.
“You’re home,” I whispered after a long, luxurious kiss.
“I’m home,” he whispered back, kissing me again. Aegis was tall, six-two, with long black hair that waved down to his mid-back. He had deep brown eyes that were ringed with crimson, and he was muscular and trim, with abs so chiseled you could grate cheese on them.
I shifted, turning fully on my back as he pressed down on me, his hips slowly moving against mine. He kissed me again and again, and then pulled back, stripping off his T-shirt and unbuckling his jeans as I pushed back the sheet. I was naked. I had managed to fall asleep while I was lying on the bed to dry off after my bath.
Aegis slid between my legs, leaning down to take my nipple in his mouth, worrying it as he circled it with his tongue. He slid one hand down my stomach, to between my thighs where he began to stroke me. I moaned, placing one hand over his as he circled my sex, rubbing gently at first, then starting to speed up.
“I want to fuck you,” he whispered, looking up from my breast. “I want to fuck you hard.”
“Yes, yes, please.” My body ached. It had been a week, and Aegis and I were still hot and heavy after nine months together. I slid up beneath him to sit, propped up by the headboard. “What do you want, my love? You want to watch?”
Aegis liked to watch me—he had a touch of the voyeur in him. He knelt back on his heels, staring at me. “Touch yourself.” His voice was low, commanding. “Run your fingers over your breasts.”
I began to stroke my nipples, tracing the aureole with my fingers, then cupped my breast—what I could fit of it in my hand—and squeezed. Letting out a little moan, I shifted, holding Aegis’s gaze as I did so, pursing my lips.
“What now?” I asked, my voice raspy.
“Slide your hand down,” he said, his eyes glittering.
I slid my other hand down, running one finger over my clit, stroking slowly at first, then increasing my pace as I moaned again. Then, I lifted my finger to my lips and flickered my tongue out, very lightly licking my finger.
Aegis let out a low growl and pounced, dragging me into his arms. I put my hand on his chest and shook my head. “No. On your back, vampire.”
He rolled over, stretching out, his erection strong and firm. I reached down and grasped his cock, squeezing just hard enough to make him gasp. It was odd, loving a man who didn’t breathe, who was silent as the grave unless he spoke. His skin was cold like silken snow, but not clammy. I leaned down, taking his shaft in my mouth, gliding my tongue around its considerable girth. I pursed my lips at the tip, then let him force his way through them, parting them with the width and strength of his passion. At first, I ran my tongue around him, then began long strokes, taking the length of him in my mouth time and again.
Aegis moaned, reaching to run his fingers through my hair. “Oh, Maddy…”
I speeded up, my tempo increasing as he clenched his butt, his balls and dick thrusting upward. Another moment and he reached down to tap my shoulder.
“Stop,” he said with a ragged voice. “Ride me, Maddy. Ride me.”
I crawled up his body, my breasts pressing against him. I straddled him, arching to shake out my hair, and then, with his hands guiding my hips, I slid down his length, taking him into my body as he filled me up. He began to stroke me with one hand as the other rested on my hip. I rocked, moaning as the flames between us built. He thrust upward to meet me, and we fell into a rhythm as he grabbed hold of my waist and rolled me over, shifting his weight between my legs as he penetrated my body, driving hard with his hips.
I bent my knees, bringing them up and wide so he could have the best leverage possible, and then raised them over his shoulders. He stretched me, his shaft driving deep. My breathing was the only sound in the room—I was panting, moaning as he silently ravished me, his eyes burning crimson and triumphant.
“Faster,” I said, my teeth chattering from hunger.
He responded, plunging into me time and again, his weight heavy against my body. “You want to come? Tell me you want to come!
”
“Yes, I want to come.” I could barely breathe now, the words coming out in ragged pants.
Aegis laughed then, and reached down with one hand to stroke my sex again, and his touch—icy cold against the heat of my body—was enough to set me off. I couldn’t hold back any more. I let out a small shriek as the orgasm rippled through my body, and then, with one last thrust, he held himself taut, coming with me, growling low and deep.
I dropped back, my body shaking with the aftershock, and closed my eyes.
Aegis began to laugh softly. “You made it rain roses again, love. I guess you really are happy to see me.” He stroked my face.
I opened my eyes. Once again, as happened every now and again, as I came a shower of rose petals drifted lazily down over the bed, their touch caressing our bodies.
“Oh love,” I whispered, “you don’t know how happy I am to see you.” And I closed my eyes as, without a word, he began to move again, this time making long, slow, love to me in the quiet of the summer night.
Chapter 5
I PULLED ON my robe as Aegis sprawled under the sheet. It was almost one a.m., but I wasn’t about to go to bed without a long talk first. I had missed him too much.
“How was the tour?” I asked, brushing my hair back into a ponytail.
He patted the bed. “Come sit by me.”
“Shoo fly, I want to talk. We’ll have sex again tomorrow night.” I grinned. “Or maybe later tonight. After the week I’ve had, I’d need to talk about something fun.”
Crossing his arms behind his head as he leaned against the headboard, he said, “Well, for one thing, we met with an indie producer who is interested in signing the band to his label.”
I froze, then slowly sat down the brush. “What? You’re kidding, right? I thought you were going to release it yourself?”
“So did we, but this would make it easier to get airplay. The company is called DreamGen Productions. They’re seriously interested in signing us. One of their reps will be coming up here in a week or so to discuss the possibility.” His eyes were practically glowing. “This could mean a nationwide tour, sweetheart.”
My heart lurched. Just a little. “How…would that work? How long would you be gone?” Then, I caught myself. I wasn’t ready to play the clingy girlfriend. “Never mind. Talk to them first and see what happens. Tell me about the shows.”
Aegis didn’t seem to notice my hesitation, because he plunged right in to telling me how the shows had gone—mostly good—and how the boys in the band were all fired up. The Boys of Bedlam played industrial medieval music. Hard-core darkwave gothic sounds, as well as a number of reworked folk songs. It had been yet one more odd point of synchronicity between Aegis and me—with me being the subject of the folk song and his band named for that song.
“So, come here and tell me about your week. I know it’s been rough.”
I hesitated, not wanting to burst his bubble, which seemed filled with all sorts of happy news. But that’s what being part of a couple meant. You listened to the highs and the lows.
“Oh, ‘rough’ doesn’t describe it. As I told you last night, somebody targeted Sandy and tried to kill her. Then my mother came to town.” I dove in, filling him in on all the details of everything that had happened.
Aegis shifted from delighted to worried in five seconds, tops. “Is Sandy okay? Have you any idea of who might be after her?”
“No.” I shook my head. “That’s the weird thing—everybody likes Sandy. Well, she has enemies just like I do, but it’s been so long since she’s done anything that pissed anybody off. At least that we can think of.” I was about to go on when my phone jangled. By the ringtone, I knew it was either Sandy or Max.
I grabbed it up off the nightstand. “Yes? Everything okay?” I normally didn’t start out my conversations so abruptly, but given what had happened lately, I was on edge.
“No, not really.” Max’s voice echoed over the line. “We just got word that the Oyster Bar’s burned down. Delia’s down there now. She said there’s a strong smell of gasoline in the area and, while they won’t be able to tell until the fire marshal investigates, she suspects arson.”
“Crap. I’ll be over right away.”
“Can you go down and talk to Delia first and check out the damage? I don’t want to leave Sandy and Jenna alone in the house.” Max lowered his voice. “Somebody’s out for blood, Maddy, and I want to know who.”
“I’ll go. Aegis just got home. He’ll come with me. We’ll drop by after we talk to Delia.” Hanging up, I jumped out of bed and raced for the bathroom. “Grab me out some clothes, please. I’m going to take a really quick rinse-off. Somebody burned down Sandy’s new restaurant. Max doesn’t want to leave Sandy and Jenna alone, so he asked me to go talk to Delia before heading over there.”
Aegis was off the bed in a flash. “Sure.”
I hopped into the shower, quickly lathered up with a cucumber-melon bath gel, then rinsed off, taking care not to wet my hair. Toweling off, I hurried back to the bedroom where Aegis, back in his clothes, had a pair of jeans and a tank top ready for me. He handed me panties and a bra.
“Thanks. Will you let Kelson know we’re going out?”
“Will do.” He swung out the door and I heard his boots thumping on the stairs.
I slipped into my underwear, then yanked on my jeans. As I was zipping them, Bubba entered the room.
“Hey, Bubs. Aegis and I have to go out. Sandy’s in trouble. We’ll be back as soon as we can. Help Kelson hold down the fort, will you?”
“Mrrr.” Bubba rubbed around my legs as I shoved my arms into my tank top and slid it down. Then, with another mew, he hopped on the bed and sprawled out.
I snorted. “Way to keep watch, dude.” But I laughed and kissed him good-bye on the end of his fuzzy nose before joining Aegis.
WE TOOK AEGIS’S Corvette. It was black, low, and purred like a kitten as we zipped along the streets toward the shore. I stared out the window, trying not to dwell on the fact that somebody was out to get my best friend.
“We’ll find out whoever is doing this, and trust me, they won’t ever try it again,” Aegis said grimly. He also considered Sandy, Max, and Jenna as part of our extended family. And when family was in danger, Aegis was there. He was so different from most vampires I had ever met. While he had the glamour and strength all of them do, and he made use of both, he also refrained from harming those he fed on. He had managed to keep from sliding into the top-of-the-food-chain mentality most vampires exuded.
Vampires really were at the pinnacle, as far as predators went. Although, put them up against one of the Aunties, and the Aunties would win out any day.
Aegis shifted gears, speeding up. He was one of the best drivers I had ever met, and I felt safer riding with him than just about anybody.
“If Max finds them first, they won’t have long to live. I guarantee you that.” I stared out the window, watching the lights of the houses go by. The night was balmy, and the smell of rain was in the air. Summer rainstorms in Bedlam were lovely, bringing a salty, clean note to infiltrate the breeze already full with the scent of flowers and trees. But even the relaxing kiss of the wind couldn’t take my mind off Sandy’s problems.
I decided talking was better than thinking. “Zara’s just waiting to pounce on you and analyze everything that’s wrong with you. Please, even though she’s a pretentious ass, don’t turn her into a blood bar.”
He laughed. “I promise. But if she makes you unhappy, we’ll tell her to leave. I don’t care if she’s your mother or not, I’m not going to let her browbeat the woman I love.”
“You’re just full of declarations tonight, aren’t you?” I grinned at him, trying to break the tension. Truth was, I loved that he was both decisive yet not overbearing. Well, he wasn’t overbearing when it came to me—not anymore.
Our first meetings had been rough. He had played the bad-boy card on me, or rather, bad-boy-vamp car
d, and it had worked, much to my chagrin. But really, beneath the tall, dark, and sexy exterior lurked a kitten-loving, mystery aficionado who loved to bake. He was the perfect mixture of exotic and domestic who just happened to have fangs and slept in a coffin.
“You said it, babe.” He swerved to avoid a possum crossing the road.
As we neared the turnoff to the Oyster Bar, the smell of smoke filtered through the air, and I opened the window. Sirens filled the night, along with the acrid scent of burning wood and plastic. Flashing lights strobed from the Strand, and Aegis eased into the swath set aside for parking, making certain he was out of the way of the emergency vehicles that were both already there, and incoming.
I gasped and fell back against the seat as we witnessed the glowing torch that had once been Sandy’s restaurant. “Oh great gods. It’s gone. I mean…totally.”
Aegis turned off the ignition and slid his keys in his pocket. He eyed the raging fire that the fire department was still trying to control. “Yeah, it’s gone, all right.”
We were on our way over to the scene when Delia saw us and waved us off to the side.
“Max asked me to come. He doesn’t want to leave Sandy alone right now.” I shivered. I had forgotten my coat and a cool gust off the waves swept past, showering us with ash from the fire.
“That’s probably wise, given the circumstances.” Delia glanced back at the burning restaurant. “Smell the gas?”
I inhaled a lungful of ash and air. Behind it, just on the tip of my tongue, I could smell the gasoline. “Yeah. You think it was torched, then?”
“I have no doubt, though the fire marshal will have to make the actual call. Joel’s on his way now. He was on the ferry, coming back from the mainland where he and his wife were attending a wedding.”
Joel Purdy was a werebear, and he was the fire marshal. He was also president of the Bedlam Arborists Society and he had hooked me up with the landscaper who turned my tangle of a yard into a lovely patch of gardens. This fall, we would go ahead with step two, which involved a gazebo surrounded by a rose garden.