Shadows of Fire (15 page)

“Someone’s
been systematically slaying vampires to make it look like I’m a killer.” She
waved at the pages of notes spread across the table. “They killed my friends
and neighbors, murdered my only family …” Sorrow ripped open the raw wounds,
bringing a fresh sting of tears behind her eyes, but she refused to give in to
them. “They stole my father from me and now have done who-knows-what with my
best friend. What have I got left?”

“Me.”
His strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her up, pulling her into the
security of his body. “Someone’s setting you up and I intend to find out why.”
She wanted to fight him, but the look in his eyes said he had enough faith in
his convictions for the both of them.

“I
have to warn you, hanging with me could be hazardous to your health,” she
whispered.

“It’s
a chance I’m willing to take.”

His
mouth came down hard on hers. No soft exploration. No gentle probing. Just raw
male lust devouring her mouth. His hands fisted in her hair and she opened
herself to him, wanting to fill the void Glenn’s death had left in her mind and
heart. She needed to feel alive in the midst of so much death. Her lips parted
and welcomed the heat of his tongue. It tangled and danced with hers, teasing
and tasting.

“Alex
… we’ll figure it out … later.” His lips wandered her face, kissing her lids,
her nose and trailing fire down her neck. “Right now, I need your body
thrashing hot and wild beneath me.” His teeth scraped across the tender flesh
of her throat, his fangs stretching long. “I want your soft cries of pleasure
to fill the missing voice in my head.”

Her
world spun and shifted as he lifted her into his arms and covered her mouth
with his. She was dizzy with need and had no idea where he was taking her until
his body shifted and his foot kicked closed a door. Without preamble, Reese laid
her on the soft mattress of a bed and came down heavy on top of her. Reveling
in the sensation of his hands on her body, she didn’t open her eyes. The
essence of him permeated the air. The pillows around her head were filled with
the thick male scent of him. She wanted to drown in its heady aroma.

Their
hands were everywhere at once, tugging at clothes, ripping away buttons,
clawing at zippers. The desperate need to have flesh searing flesh was all that
drove them until they lay naked and gasping in each other’s arms. Their lips,
teeth and hands moved in frantic hunger to taste and touch. She couldn’t get
enough of him.

Alex’s
palms slid down the hard muscles along Reese’s spine, pressing into the well of
his low back before curving up the rounded arch of his taut ass and digging her
nails in deep. Air hissed through Reese’s teeth, a low moan vibrating through
the wet heat of his mouth at her neck. His teeth dragged down her throat and
his lips replaced his hand at her breast. His mouth suckled and bit first one
aching nipple then the other. The sharp thrill of pain shot straight to her
core, clenching her muscles.

“I
want you, Reese.” Her words came out on rasping breaths. He acted as if he
hadn’t heard her, so she fisted her hands in the thick curls of his hair and
pulled his head from her breast. His eyes were clouded with lust and heavy
lidded, searching her face. His fangs, long and gleaming white, jutted from the
deep red of his full lips. “I need you now,” she whispered. Rolling slightly,
she pressed her thigh against his erection. “You. I want you.”

As
if emerging from a sexual fog, his eyes brightened to the soft green of a
summer ocean. A slow smile slid across his mouth and his fangs retracted. “I’m
acting like a horny teenager.” He kissed between her breasts. “What am I
thinking?” He scraped his teeth down her breastbone. “We have all day,
Alexandra.” Several slow kisses dragged down her tummy. “Silly me. There is absolutely
…” his tongue stroked her belly button, “no rush.”

“Make
love to me.” The words came out unchecked and Alex held her breath, hoping he
hadn’t heard the emotion behind the statement. But Reese simply nibbled his way
to her mouth and plunged in greedily, stealing her breath. This was only sex to
him. That was fine. It would make leaving so much less complicated. Alex pushed
the thought from her mind. The heat of Reese’s body surrounded her, and she
wanted to remember every detail of his glorious angles.

She
guided him to her opening and lifted her hips, offering herself to him. He pushed
in slowly and with exquisite leisure. The sublime pressure drew a sigh of
euphoria from her lips. When he was buried to the hilt, he ground his pubic
bone against her, jolting her system with sparks of delirium. Alex wrapped her
legs tightly around his thighs, digging her nails into his ass and pulling him
deeper.

Reese
released her mouth and she stretched her neck long, offering him once again,
every part of her. She wanted his fangs to bite deep and drink of her soul. His
hips moved faster, skin slapping skin. Her body matched him thrust for thrust.
Her muscles quaked, her orgasm building to a crescendo.

“Take
all of me, Reese,” she whispered, just as her body fell headlong into the wild
abandon of release.

He
bent his head and sank his fangs deep. She gasped out his name. The fire of
ecstasy wrapped around her, stealing her breath, consuming her in its heat. She
writhed beneath him, not in pain, but in total surrender. Sharp pulses of
electric pleasure burned over every muscle until she thought she would liquefy
in its heat. Alex felt the hot surge of Reese’s seed fill her as he gave in to
his own release. His cries of pleasure muffled in her neck.

This
is what Alex had wanted—one last chance to feel Reese buried inside her and to
know she’d fed every part of this man.

Chapter
Seven

Reese
inhaled, filling his lungs with the heady mixture of Alex’s shampoo and their
lovemaking. She lay comfortably in the crook of his shoulder, her hand over his
heart. He wondered exactly when she’d taken possession of it. Despite the fact
they’d done little more than flirt and sneak a kiss or two, he suspected he’d
given it to her long before their lovemaking in the wine cellar yesterday
morning. A man didn’t live for two centuries without knowing what he found
appealing in a woman. Of course, all the other women he’d ever allowed to come
into his life had been temporary—save for one.

The
last two days had proven to him he was ready to open his heart again.

Kissing
the top of Alex’s head, Reese ran his fingers over the bruised and raw flesh on
her neck. She’d given herself to him and he’d hungrily taken that part of her. Hers
was a unique flavor that lingered on his tongue, making him hungry for more of
her. It was strange that the bite marks hadn’t healed.

Though
they’d spent the afternoon in each other’s arms and he’d offered himself to
Alex, he hadn’t been able to coax her fangs to lengthen enough to pierce his
skin. Maybe she found it too intimate to share that part of herself with him.

Reese
shifted and stretched. He’d like to stay this way with Alex’s silky leg snaked
around his, her breasts pressed softly into his ribs, and her scent filling his
nose. It would be so easy to ignore everything outside of this room, the fires
… his assignment … the people who had died at the hands of a monster.

He’d
watched the pixie vampire carefully for signs of deception as they’d gone over
the details of each fire. Though he had no doubt Alex was hiding
something
from him, he was fairly certain it had nothing to do with arson. He prayed he
hadn’t read her wrong. His muscles tensed at the thought.

“Reese?”
His name dragged sleepily over her tongue.

“Yeah?”

“You
regretting this?” Alex’s hand slid down his stomach, the wet heat of her lips
caressing his nipple. She came up on her forearm, her long fingers combing
through her silky strands of hair that had tickled his thighs earlier.

“Regret
is the farthest thing from my mind, Alexandra.” Reese held her gaze, sucking on
her full bottom lip. Sliding his hand the length of her body, he felt her relax
beneath his palm. She opened for him and his tongue swept her mouth. The ballet
was as familiar as if he’d been kissing her his whole life. Pulling back, he
stared at her heavy-lidded eyes. He couldn’t get enough of this woman. He
scooped her hair from her neck and kissed the bruises. “Sorry about that. I
seemed to have lost myself.”

“I
liked it,” she whispered.

“It
should have healed by now. It’s not that deep.” Reese searched the blue pools
of her eyes. A man could drown in their lovely depths.

“I
haven’t been feeling well. They’ll be fine. I thought it was very sexy.”

Reese
pulled her into a soft, slow kiss, love washing over him. It had been a long
time since his heart had felt this full. Pulling back, he let his gaze roam
hotly over her body. Damn, she made him want. “How could I possibly regret the
best decision I’ve made in a long time?”

“I
was just wondering why?”

“Why
what?”

“Why
me? Why now?” She smiled, the expression lighting her eyes. “It’s not like I’m
complaining about this. It’s been wonderful.” She leaned over and kissed him. “But
why in hell has it taken you so long to do more than steal a kiss or two?”

He
laughed. “Stupidity. Maybe a little stubbornness.”

“It’s
not like I wasn’t sending out signals.” She swung to a sitting position, her
knees against his ribs and her fingers teasing the hair on his chest. “I was
pretty sure I made my interest clear.”

“Flares
couldn’t have been more obvious.” Reese came up on his elbow, brushing the hair
from her face and she kissed his palm. “Alex, I love who you are.” It wasn’t
exactly what he wanted to say, but it would do for now. He didn’t want to
frighten her. She hadn’t lived long enough to trust that fate had brought them
together.

Alex
laughed, a brittle sound that rasped across his ears. “Right. You know nothing
about me, Colton.

“Then
tell me something you think I don’t know,”

“You’re
a very old and wise vampire and I’m …” she toyed with his fingers, measuring
her words, “let’s just say I’m not happy with who I am.”

“Everyone
loves you, Alex. You’re the reason half the firefighters hang out at
O’Malley’s.” He smiled. “Including me.”

“I
bet you can’t even name my favorite color.”

“Green.”

“Lucky
guess.”

It
was, but he’d take it. “Alexandra Flanagan. A young vampire of a quarter
century. Co-owner …” Grief came hot and hard and he had to clear his throat
before he could continue. “Co-owner of O’Malley’s Tavern and vampire winery.
Cutest pub mistress in Plumas County and the best damn mixologist in the state
of California. I know who you are. Hell, every vampire within one hundred miles
knows you, Flanagan.” He brushed his knuckles playfully across her chin.

“Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Every firefighter trying to get into my pants uses those lines.”
Alex inhaled. Their moment of levity obviously passed. “Reese, you know you
don’t owe me anything. I’m a big girl. I came here this morning knowing exactly
what I wanted. This has been wonderful, but—”

He
put a finger to her lips. “But nothing, Alex. This didn’t happen today just
because Glenn died and we needed to comfort each other. It happened because we
both want this.
I
want this.” He brushed his fingers across her cheek. “I
never intended for yesterday to be a one-time fling. I’ve wanted you for a long
time.”

“Then
I ask again. Why have you waited?”

It
was time to let it go. Someone besides Josh needed to understand the guilt Reese
had carried for nearly seven decades. “I thought I had to keep a foolish promise
I’d made myself a very long time ago.” He inhaled against the agony of his past
loss, stumbling headlong into fresh grief that weighed on his heart. “I hadn’t
realized until you came along how stupid it had been.”

Alex’s
hand smoothed down his arm, linking her fingers in his. Her touch grounded him,
gave him strength to endure reopening the wound. Perhaps she was the one who
could help him heal.

“I
loved a vampire once, decades ago,” he said. “She was beautiful. Brilliant. A
veterinarian ahead of her time.” Reese swallowed the anguish pressing hotly in
his throat. “She owned a farm. Treated the local livestock in the area. It was
during my cowboy phase when ranch hands with a good horse and a strong back
could find work anywhere—and a vampire had an unlimited supply of lost
pioneers.” A cold snake of revulsion slithered over his muscles. Alex bent and
tenderly kissed his cheek, her breasts brushing his arm, bringing him back to
the present.

“She’d
only been turned a decade earlier, but she’d learned how to live on the blood
of animals. She sought out other vampires and taught us. Helped us become more
human.” He closed his eyes and allowed himself a moment to remember her. “We
fell in love. It was fast and raw and meant to last forever. We were married.
Ran the ranch together. Vampires came from all over under the guise of ranch
hands and we continued to show them how to live off animal blood. For nearly a
decade, our life was idyllic.”