Unquenchable Desire (17 page)

“And it
would have been if I hadn’t gotten pregnant before our love and sacrifices
lifted the afflictions against us.”

His jaw
twitched and hardened. “And now I have to worry about the same thing happening
to our girls. I wish I could lock chastity belts on both of them.”

“They’re
grown women. I’m sure my mother wished that for me, too.”

“We’re so
close to—”

Angela’s stomach
knotted. “Don’t! Do you realize you’ve been saying that for nearly a quarter of
a century? I understand why the girls are starting to believe you’ll never
release that serum to them or anyone else.” She gasped inwardly. The demeaning
words had slipped from her lips without conscious thought.

His eyes
darkened. “But now I have a willing volunteer.”

She closed
her eyes against the pain that using Brian might cause her daughter. “Valerie
loves him. We all love him. Are you sure it’s safe?”

He blew
out a gust of air.
“Unfortunately, no.
I don’t know
his background, anything about his curse, or how he’ll react to the composite
of substances.”

“Could it
kill him?”

“I
wouldn’t give it to him if I thought it would, but…”

“God,
Damon. Do you hear yourself?”

“Come on,
Angela. You fault me for the years it’s taken, and now that we believe we have
a reasonably safe product that might work, you fault me for trying to test it
and get it on the market.”

“I just
know that you’re not confident enough about it to give it to our daughters or
Hugh. Think about that.”

He frowned. “I will. No doubt all
night.” He paced some more,
then
slid into bed. “Could
we have a truce until morning? I think better after a little loving.”

Without hesitation, she slipped out
of her black lace gown and willingly went into his arms. They both deserved
what little happiness they could eke out between the attacks against them and
their sanity.

Pressed against Damon’s hard, muscled
body, she barely noticed the flashes of lightning or the trees whipping the
concrete walls of the mansion. A hot passion soared through her. In Damon’s
powerful arms, she felt safe. Even if it was only for the time being, for now
that would have to be enough.

She drew him close. His glinting
gaze met hers and he looked deep into her eyes, searching a moment. Then he
lowered his lips to hers, his mouth open, moist and faintly tasting of coffee
and rum. He sought her tongue. His heat surrounded her, seeping into her bones,
spreading waves of flames until every inch of flesh was on fire and begging for
release.

She wildly raked her long fingers
through his hair and drew him on top of her.

Suddenly, she was oblivious to
everything but his powerful thrusts. Wildly, she lifted her pelvis, wanting
more, wanting to forget their troubles…at least for tonight.

****

Hugh tossed and turned and tried to
count the seconds between the flashes of lightning. He heard a roll of thunder.
The sky Gods were angry tonight. He laughed bitterly. He wasn’t deliriously
happy himself. Sometimes he hated his king-sized bed. It made him too aware of
how alone he was. But then, the angel hadn’t resurrected him and left him on
Earth to indulge his own secret passions. He was here to help his brother save
his family and defeat their half-brother, Reeves.

He’d always wondered what made him
see things so differently from Reeves. They’d both been denied the Lamont name
and dwindling fortune. But the denial had apparently blackened Reeves heart,
whereas he merely accepted it along with his once hunched back and servant-son
existence in the mansion.

Although their father denied them,
with Damon’s mother’s permission, their dad let them live in the mansion, paid
their medical, and gave each of their mother’s a generous subsistence. But he
never held Reeves or him, never played with them. His mother said it was
because their birth had not been a result of love, only shameful werewolf
passion. A secret affliction his father carried to his grave. They wouldn’t
have known as much about it was it not for their mothers’ diaries. His mother
had written in one of her entries: In Master Lamont’s right mind he would never
have touched his servants and disgraced his loving, long suffering, faithful
wife. He adored her.

Hugh shook his head. His father’s plight
only made him feel sorry for the man. He constantly fought the same lustful
desires himself. And later when the dwindling, almost bankrupt heritage passed
on to Damon, his hard-working and resourceful brother saved the family export
business and built it into stable, wealth producing conglomerates. When their
mothers died, Damon allowed him and Reeves to stay on. He gave
them
exceptionally well-paying jobs, as well as lavished
cars and other gifts on them. How could you hate a brother who was so generous?
But Reeves did. He wanted it all for himself—thought it was owed to him for
what he considered the rape of his mother. But he never spoke of his vengeful
hatred to Damon. He pretended to be the faithful, half-brother butler and
friend.

Ahhh
…what
horrors the sins of the fathers brought down like a plague on the family…and
their families into perpetuity…unless this generation found a way to stop the
evil.

He was ashamed of his personal
failure. So far, he hadn’t held up his end of the bargain as well as he would
have liked. The only thing, so far, that made his existence worthwhile was he
had managed to save Valerie a few times. But now she had Brian. Everyone had
someone but him.

He slammed his fist into the
mattress. He shouldn’t lay here reliving the past and rolling in self-pity. He
needed to come up with a permanent plan to defeat the evil that resided within
the spirit of Reeves, the walking dead.

Chapter Fourteen

Valerie awoke to bright sunlight
and swung her feet over the side of the bed with new determination. The storm
had passed, but the problem of the evil werewolf remained. Maybe if the whole
family put their heads together, they could jointly come up with a solution. She
would call a meeting, just like she did at work and they could jointly kick
around ideas. She would ask Kyle to feed
Kindra
in
the kitchen and keep her amused for a while.

An hour later over breakfast they
began throwing out ideas. None of them got to the crux of the matter.

“Look,” Brian said, “nothing can be
accomplished until we identify the werewolf. I suggest making a list of
possible contenders. And I put Rory on the top of the list.”

Victoria
frowned. “Like I said before you
can’t hang a guy for being a jerk. What real hard evidence do you have against
him?”

“None yet.
But if he’s at the top of the list, we can assign people to watch him. If
watched constantly, he’s likely to do something that will either prove our
suspicions wrong…or strengthen them.”

Dad rubbed his chin. “I’ve got a detective
on the payroll
who
is for all practical purposes
invisible.”

“Invisible? How do you know that?”
Mom asked.

Dad grinned slyly. “You haven’t
seen him on your tail, have you?”

“What?” Mom asked, looking stunned.

“Never mind,” Dad said, heading for
the den.
 
I’ll call him now.”

“We aren’t through with this
subject,” Mom called to his retreating back.

Valerie shook her head. Obviously,
Dad had a bodyguard watching Mom when she was out alone. She wondered if that
made an independent woman like Mom feel cherished or on a short leash. “A list
of one doesn’t give us much to work with,” Valerie said.
“Who
else?”

Brian met her gaze and in his
devastating low voice said, “We know the host body is a muscular male, about my
age. Probably someone familiar with the family and who knows enough about you
to be confident that you wouldn’t call the police, and that you’d put yourself
in jeopardy to save a child.”

Rick leaned forward. “Hugh, if it
is your half-brother, then he has the ability to morph into a host body. What
if he changes bodies?”

“I don’t know if he has the ability
to do that on his own,” Hugh said. “But it’s possible.”

Brian frowned. “For now, we have to
go with the description we have or we’ll get nowhere.”

“I know someone with that description,”
Mom said. “But with his strength of character I can’t imagine anyone taking
over his mind and body.”

“You’re thinking of
Deeto
aren’t you?”
Victoria
asked.

Mom shrugged. “I don’t really think
it’s him. He’s been a great friend to the family. Anyway, I think he’s working
down in
Mexico
.
It’s just that the description matches. And then there’s you, Brian. And you,
Rick.”

“Rick’s not in the lineup,”
Victoria
said. “For
cripes sake, he’s been with me constantly.”

“Same with Brian.
He’s battled the killer wolf in front of me several times. I’d be dead was it
not for him.”

“Rory is looking more and more like
a top contender,” Mom said.
“Unless there’s someone at the
foundation with that description?”

“There are a couple of accountants,”
Valerie said, “but they were in the office when the call came in.” She blew out
a gust of air. “Darn, we’re spinning our wheels and getting nowhere.”

Victoria
buttered a piece of toast slowly. “At
least we’re eliminating suspects. Did you actually talk to the werewolf on the
phone?” she asked.

“No. But I could hear him
whispering to
Kindra
, and telling her what to say.”

“So,” Hugh said. “He’s someone who
has knowledge of the area.”

“Or maybe he’s just a guy who read
about the barrio condemnation project in the newspaper.” Valerie blew out a
gust of air. “We’re back to square one.”

Rick shifted in his chair. “I know
only one person who fills the bill in all categories— size, access to the
family, and someone no one would ever suspect. But, as a new member to the
family and someone who admires this man greatly, I hate to even suggest such a
ludicrous thing.”

Valerie frowned. “Don’t even say
it, Rick.”

Uncle Hugh’s jaw muscle tightened
and he shook his head. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been under suspicion, but
I love this family and wonder how many times I have to prove it.”

Victoria
stood and went to Uncle Hugh and
hugged him. “Never again,” she said.

“When that wolf attacked me the
first time, you helped run him off. But don’t get mad at Rick. He wasn’t there
and didn’t know that. He’s just trying to help.”

After a few minutes, Dad came back
into the room. “All set.
Any other contenders who need
watching?”

Valerie shook her head along with
the rest of the family. “If that’s all for now, Brian and I have to get to the
foundation office. Unfortunately, I need to make an appropriate arrangement
with Child Welfare for
Kindra’s
care. Of course, if
they’d let me, I’d keep her with me.”

“We’d love that,” Dad said. “But
you don’t need Brian to handle that. “I want you to give him the morning off and
part of the afternoon. I’ve set up his appointment in our LA lab to be tested
by one of my scientists, Dr. Frankston, a licensed doctor.”

Valerie gasped. “Couldn’t you get a
doctor with a name that doesn’t sound so much like Frankenstein?”

Without answering, Dad dug his keys
out of his trousers pocket and turned to Brian. “Ready?”

“I’m going with him,” Valerie said
in her firmest tone. “Mom, can you take care of
Kindra
until we get back?”

Mom smiled.
“My
pleasure.”

Dad frowned. “We don’t know what’s
going to happen, so it’d be better if you go on to work and we’ll call you when
it’s over. Hugh can stay at the office with you until Brian gets there.”

Valerie stood and placed her hands
on her hips. “Because you don’t know precisely what’s going to happen is
exactly why I insist on being there. No argument, Dad.”

Mom stood too and folded her arms. “She
has a right to be there. Let her go!”

Victoria
stood as well. “If it were Rick,
I’d want to be there. Let her go, Dad.”

Dad was silent a moment, his face a
dark cloud. He met Mom’s determined stare.

“All right, but I don’t like it
when you ladies gang up on me. Rick, do you see what you’ve gotten yourself
into.”

Rick’s mouth worked as if he were
trying to conceal a smile.
“Yes, Sir.
Female power is
an amazing thing. And the Lamont women display an overwhelming abundance of it.”

****

Dr. Frankston, the middle-aged bag
of bones, hooked Brian up to several machines while Valerie watched, her heart
thundering,
her
mouth dry. His stethoscope hung
loosely around his neck and lay against his white coat like a sleeping snake.

She, the doctor, and her
tense-faced Dad hovered around Brian like ghouls waiting to see what Dr.
Frankenstein’s
serum
would do
to him. Four attendants in white coats worked nearby on
computers. Two were burley males. Tension sizzled in the air, like loose,
arcing electrical wires.

The doctor glanced at her tightly
clasped hands. “I understand why you might be nervous about the procedure, Miss
Lamont, but these gadgets will record every change in Mr. Jones’ body. He’s
healthy, we’ve charted his essential body data, and we don’t expect any
problems.”