"Since, my privates have been a subject of some scrutiny by this group, I didn"t think you"d mind,"
Quentin replied to Max, but his gaze didn"t leave Darcy. Max cleared his throat. "We"re having steak and potatoes before we head out for the night. That artist will be over here shortly to get your description of our perp."
"Yummy," Quentin replied.
"The steak or the artist?" Darcy asked, her chin lifting.
"Neither." His gaze swept over her, telling anyone who looked he"d much rather have her.
Every male back in the room stiffened.
Darcy turned to the door and opened it wide. "Come choose your steak," she said between gritted
teeth.
Quentin moved to follow, but Joe stepped into his path.
"The lady invited me," Quentin said.
Joe"s gaze narrowed. "I"m in charge of the fire. I"ll be right behind you."
"Going to make sure I fall on a stake?"
Following Darcy"s straight back through the kitchen and into the back yard, Quentin knew the two had a
bone to chew. His hopes for a rollicking night between the sheets with the lady cop were dwindling.
When the outside door closed behind Joe, Darcy rounded on Quentin. "I"d appreciate it if you"d keep
your s.e.xual innuendoes to yourself."
Quentin stepped close to her. "Why so bothered, Darcy?"
Her glower could have scorched the sun. "I have to work with these guys. If they knew-"
Quentin caught a whiff of an aroma other than steak coming from Darcy"s person. He stepped closer
and inhaled. "If they knew what? That I f.u.c.ked you senseless in the shower, and then you crawled in bed with your partner?"
Her eyes widened. "I didn"t-" Quentin raged. She"d turned to another as soon as she"d left him. A human male, at that! "In case youdidn"t know, vampires can"t impregnate a human. We have other means of procreation. We also don"tcarry disease. The ultimate safe s.e.x, wouldn"t you agree?"
"What the h.e.l.l does that have to do with any of this?"
"I"m just reminding you there are certain advantages to a vampire lover." Quentin"s face hardened to stone. "How could you go to him with the scent of me still on you skin? And my c.u.m dripping from you?"
"That"s enough," Joe said, shoving Quentin away from Darcy.
"Joe." Darcy"s stricken gaze held her partner"s for a long moment.
Disgust was written in the sour curl of his lips. "I"ll be in the kitchen. Yell if he needs killing." Without a
backward glance, Joe left Quentin and Darcy alone in the back yard.
Darcy"s eyes narrowed and she pointed her finger at him. "Now, look here. We f.u.c.ked. That doesn"t give you any hold over me. I could screw an entire football team, and it wouldn"t be any of your d.a.m.n business."
Quentin drew in a deep breath to let loose on her, then realized he was angry-over a woman. He"s shared dozens, no hundreds, of women in his lifetime. Why not this one? Then he realized what she"d just said. "While I share your bed, there will be no footballers anywhere near you."
"Footballers? Football players, jerk. And I didn"t say I was going to share your bed."
Quentin stepped closer and caught her by the waist, pressing his lower body hard against hers. "Aren"t you?"
"You arrogant a.s.s-"
"Such language! Mustn"t let your temper fly, love."
She wriggled to escape his hold, but he held her fast. "That"s it! I"m gonna take you down. You and the batwings you flew in on!"
Quentin kissed her. Her hands pushed at his chest, but her lips told a different story. They melted beneath his.
He lifted his head. "Are we having our first row?"
"You bet your a.s.s!" Her hands tugged at his hair and pulled him down for a second kiss. Her lips parted beneath his and her tongue lapped the tip of his.
Quentin grabbed her arms and held her away from his rapidly hardening body. "I won"t share you with your partner."
Darcy"s gaze fell from his. "Nothing happened." She looked up. "Nothing."
He raised one eyebrow. His sense of smell never let him down.
"Not really," she said quietly. "He stopped it."
Disturbed that she hadn"t been the one to halt the love play, Quentin"s hands tightened around her arms.
"You"ll share my bed."
"Only until the investigation is over. And the bed"s mine, by the way."
Satisfied she"d surrendered to his will, he said, "Not while I occupy it. I"m in charge of that particular fire."
CHAPTER FOUR.
Later, armed with the sketch of Nicholas Powell, their serial-killing target, the SU team hit the known vampire haunts-the "blood bank" bars and the streetwalkers" corners. Joe, Quentin, and Darcy however, were headed to the seedier destinations-accessed by invitation only-vampire escorts required.
Places the team had only dreamed of entering before Quentin provided entry.
The first was a nondescript house in a subdivision. Pa.s.sing swing sets and manicured lawns, Darcy exchanged a glance with Joe. This could be her neighborhood. Suburban Vero Beach hid dark secrets.
"How"d you find this place?" Joe asked, as he turned onto a long gravel drive. The house wasn"t visible from the road. Chain-link fencing surrounded the yard, which was overgrown with vines and the occasional palm tree. The drive ended in a circle with vehicles parked b.u.mper to b.u.mper in a long row.
"Tessa told me where I could find a meal," Quentin said, quietly.
Darcy fumed. Tessa had been the blonde-haired vamp who rubbed her body all over Quentin"s while they"d danced in a dark corner of the Piki Tiki bar.
"What do we need to know?" Joe asked, all business as he parked the car.
"Just follow my lead and do whatever I tell you." Quentin glared at Darcy for a moment.
She wondered what that glare meant.
The trio exited the car and approached the front door illuminated by a single naked bulb. A low thrumming rhythm sounded from within the small, square one-story house.
Quentin ignored the doorbell b.u.t.ton and pushed opened the door. Joe raised his eyebrows and shrugged, and then indicated Darcy should precede him.
The smell within the house was pure sin.
Sickly-sweet opium, cannabis smoke, and stale s.e.x hung in the warm air. Music with a heavy, grinding Latin beat emanated from deep within the house.
Darcy"s fingers itched for her bow, but they had come weaponless.
A woman approached them. She wore a pareo, knotted at one hip and nothing else. Her gaze raked over Quentin and she flicked her long, bleached-blonde hair over her shoulder to expose her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "Hey stranger. Need a pick-me-up?"
"As a matter of fact, I brought my own," Quentin murmured with a nod to Darcy and Joe.
Her lips formed a moue. "Well, if you need a foursome..." Her fingers trailed across his chest as she pa.s.sed them.
Darcy wanted to break her fingers, but Quentin"s sardonic glance kept her expression neutral, even as her chin lifted in defiance. She couldn"t really blame the girl. Dressed in a long-sleeved, cotton shirt, blue jeans and sandals, he was a sun G.o.d-golden-haired, golden-skinned. Too beautiful to believe.
They entered the living room, which was lit by a single table lamp. Most of the occupants were naked or in the process of losing their clothing. Wearing jeans and a halter, Darcy felt conspicuously overdressed. Most were also engaged in s.e.xual acts. "Quentin?" she began, uneasy with the tableau.
His hand pressed the small of her back, urging her toward a plaid-upholstered couch in the dingy room.
"Let"s play," he whispered in her ear.
Darcy sat on the edge of the seat, her eyes darting to the darkened corners. The couple on the sofa opposite theirs disengaged their lips, and the woman knelt in front of the male vamp to take his c.o.c.k in her mouth. Would he expect her to do that in front of everyone? "Quentin," she hissed. "If you expect me to-"
Quentin pressed a finger to her lips. "Do you know these people?"
She shook her head.
"Do you think they"ll recognize you on the street?"
She shook her head again.
"Then hush." He sat down next to her and indicated that Joe should sit on her other side. He leaned behind her and said, "Start to undress her. We have to look "engaged" or we won"t be approached."
Darcy glared at Joe who shrugged, then reached for the clasp at the back of her neck. He leaned into her and whispered, "We have to play by his rules. I won"t let this go too far."
She snorted. It was fine for him. He wasn"t about to be exposed to a group of vampires and s.l.u.ts with Double-D b.o.o.bs. The straps of her top loosened. Her hands caught and held the material to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s for a panicked moment, and then she let it slide to her lap. "Why is it you vampires can"t go to the drive-thru? Does everything come down to s.e.x?"
"Our bloodl.u.s.t feeds our s.e.xual hunger and vice versa. It"s just the way we"re made. Relax," Quentin whispered, and he turned in his seat to kiss her, his hand gliding over the breast nearest him.
With her eyes opened, she saw him nod to Joe. "Don"t enjoy this too much," Quentin warned.
Joe"s hand cupped her other breast, and he kissed her shoulder. "This is gonna kill me."
Darcy wanted to protest. She was the one dying here. Both men"s mouths worked on her flesh and mouth while their fingers tweaked her nipples.
Quentin glided his lips along her jaw. "I need blood," Quentin said, "or they won"t believe I brought you here to feed."
Darcy pushed the hair from the side of her neck, but he shook his head. "It"s too soon. Joe, give me your arm."
Joe knelt in front of her and lifted his arm to Quentin. Quentin licked once, and then pierced his wrist.
"f.u.c.k!" Joe hissed. Then his head sagged onto her shoulder. "Sweet Jesus."
Darcy understood the quickening of Joe"s body. Her gaze locked with Quentin"s as she pushed Joe"s head down until his lips grazed her breast. His mouth latched onto her nipple and drew hard.
While she told herself this was just for the job, her body exulted. Her eyelids fluttered and her legs opened to let Joe press against her. Quentin"s hand slid between their bodies and he cupped her s.e.x through her jeans. Mine! his angry gaze said.
Joe moaned and burrowed his head into her breast, alternately nipping her swollen flesh and licking to soothe. His thighs straddled her leg, and he pumped his erection against her. Darcy grew alarmed as tension built in her belly. Coming for the two of them wasn"t in her job description. And who the h.e.l.l would she give the credit? Knowing Quentin, he"d demand it.
Surrounded by both men"s scent and warm skin, she was overwhelmed. Sweat broke on her forehead and upper lip. Her hips rubbed against the heel of Quentin"s palm as he ground it into her c.u.n.t. Darcy"s hand curled around Joe"s head to encourage him to suckle. Joe drew her nipple between his teeth and suctioned hard.
The snap to her jeans popped open and the zipper eased down. Quentin"s hand slid inside, and his fingers found her c.l.i.toris. Darcy moaned and her head fell back against the cushion. Forgotten were the mission and the other occupants of the den. With her free hand, she pushed her jeans further down her hips to expose her p.u.s.s.y. Joe"s mouth left her nipple and licked a path down her belly. He stopped suddenly, and Darcy opened her eyes, ready to issue a protest. Quentin"s hand was fisted in Joe"s hair. "All right," Joe growled. Quentin disengaged his teeth from Joe"s wrist and let blood trickle down his chin. "Someone"s coming.