Eternal Pleasure (4 page)

“Westheimer. We’re almost there. Then you can…” Then you can what? “Umm, you don’t have any luggage. Where’re your clothes?”

“Stop.”

She didn’t think as she stomped on the brake. He braced himself against the dashboard. What? Where? A quick scan revealed no red lights, no other car barreling toward her, no late-night drunk staggering into her path. Then why…?

“Something’s wrong. Stay here.” He flung open the door, leaped out, and sprinted across an empty parking lot, disappearing behind the back of a furniture store.

Déjà vu. Kelly was left sitting in her car in the middle of the street with her mouth hanging open.
Stay
here? Beg, lie down, roll over? Uh-uh. Angry, she whipped the steering wheel around and pulled into the parking lot. Once again, she loaded herself down with pepper spray, flashlight, and cell phone.

Mumbling complaints about strange and unusual on-the-job idiocies, she climbed from the car, locked it, clicked her flashlight on, and headed toward the back of the building.

This time she didn’t hear screams or animal sounds. She didn’t hear anything. In a way, that was even scarier. Since
she hadn’t taken her stupid pills this morning, she moved slowly, skirting the shadows thrown by the building. Silence.

“Ty? Finished hunting souls in there?” Okay, that was dumb. God, it was so quiet she could hear her courage tiptoeing away. She swallowed hard. Fine, so she was scared. If he didn’t answer right now, she’d—

“Too late. Soul’s gone.” His voice was hard with a sharp edge of threat in it.

Without thinking, she aimed the beam of her flashlight at the narrow alley behind the store.

At first all she saw was him standing there. She couldn’t read the expression on his face. Then she glanced past him and saw the body on the ground. She sucked in her breath.
Oh, no. No, no, no
.

Ty answered the question she couldn’t force past frozen lips. “Yeah, he’s dead.” He turned back to the body. “Come take a look and tell me what you think did this.”

He was kidding, right? She’d never seen a dead body. When she was a kid, she’d refused to go to any and all funerals. Her parents hadn’t forced her.

She must’ve made some kind of strangled sound because he glanced back at her. Narrowing his eyes, he studied her for a moment, then nodded. “Two holes in the throat. Blood drained. Must be a neat freak. No blood splatters anywhere.” His voice was cold, dispassionate. “What kills this way?”

Holes in throat? Blood drained? Hysterical laughter bubbled just below the surface. This could not be happening. But she’d better find her voice soon or he might decide to bring the body to her so she could give him her expert opinion on cause of death.

“Vampires.” Good. She’d managed one word; maybe
she could force out a few more. “Mythical monsters.” Why was she explaining vampires to him? Everyone knew the legends.

“Mythical. So they don’t really exist?”

“No.” Everyone knew that except Ty Endeka. None of this made sense. She shouldn’t be standing here in the dark explaining vampires to someone while a man’s body…Kelly willed herself to stop shaking.

“Got it.” He didn’t look horrified at the murder, just thoughtful.

Well, he could be as detached and analytical as he wanted. She’d fall apart for both of them. “Omigod…the poor man.”

“Police.” She pulled her cell phone from her pocket with shaking fingers. “We have to report this.” Kelly faced away from the body as she punched in 911. If she didn’t see the man’s face, he wouldn’t be a person to her.

She was just about to press send when Ty reached over her shoulder and lifted the phone out of her hand. “No police.”

“What?” Outrage fueled false courage and got her coherent again. “Look, I play by the rules. You find a body, you report it to the police. That’s the law.” She narrowed her eyes to angry slits. “You don’t want to obey the law, then I don’t want to work for you.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “So what do we tell them? That I told you to stop the car and then ran back here only to find a dead body drained of all its blood? Yeah, that won’t make them suspicious. If we walk away now, someone will discover the body in the morning when the store opens.
They
can call the police.”

Kelly could feel a line forming between her eyes as she thought it out. He was right. They had no logical reason
for rooting around behind this building after midnight. And Ty had just entered the country. The police might try to make something of that.

“I don’t like your idea. Someone has to report the murder now, not in the morning. The sooner the cops get here, the better chance they have of catching the killer.” She wasn’t sure she really believed that, but she didn’t want to leave the man lying there in the dark for the rest of the night. Not that it’d matter to the corpse, but it mattered to her.

Ty put his arm across her shoulders and guided her back to the car. “I’ll call Fin. He’ll take care of reporting it. No one will associate the murder with us.”

Even with a dead man lying a few feet away, she couldn’t ignore the pressure of Ty’s arm. It was…disturbing. Actually, it felt dangerous and strangely intimate at the same time. She forced her thoughts away from his arm. “What if someone drove by and noticed our car parked here? Maybe they could give the police a description or plate number.” She pressed two fingers against her forehead to hold the burgeoning headache at bay. “Tell me I’m not thinking of agreeing to this.”

“You’re making a rational decision. We didn’t kill him. And we’re doing the right thing. We’re seeing that his murder is reported.” He opened the car door so she could slip in. “And exactly one taxi has passed here since we stopped. He had a fare, and neither one glanced at the parking lot. Even if they had, your car is registered to Fin. Let Fin deal with it.”

When did you have time to notice all that?
She wanted to say it, but she didn’t have the guts. He was freaky. Everything he’d done since she’d picked him up from the airport had been freaky. But he was also fascinating, exciting, and sexy. And even though the freaky part might make her want
to quit, the fascinating, exciting, and sexy tags would keep her at the wheel. He definitely wasn’t boring. She hated boring.

Since he didn’t look as if he was about to pull out his own cell phone, she handed him hers as soon as he climbed into the passenger seat.

He did exactly what he’d said he would. She waited until he finished talking to Fin before asking the question.

“Want to tell me how you knew that guy was behind the building?”

Ty yanked at the tattered edges of his self-control, trying to close the gaping holes. He wasn’t ready to deal with explanations right now. Not when he could barely think.

As he’d stood over the body, the scent of an unknown predator in
his
territory had triggered his hunting instincts. Ty’s aggression had roared back to life. Whatever had killed the man wasn’t human, but human or not, he’d find it and destroy it.

Unfortunately, he was also busy dealing with that other equally demanding need, the one that couldn’t understand why he wasn’t already running his fingers over Kelly’s bare body, tasting every inch of her smooth, soft skin, and burying himself deep inside her. So far he’d controlled the “broadcasting” Fin had complained about, but only because he was concentrating like hell.

“Well?”

She threw him a glance, intense and so tempting he had to dig his nails into his palms to keep from touching her. Kelly’s scent teased and tortured, almost making him forget where and what he was. Almost.

Taking a deep breath, he stared straight ahead. “I can sense when something’s wrong. Don’t ask me how. I just know.”

Kelly nodded as though his explanation made perfect sense. “So it’s like a
bam
moment? Interesting. I’ve never met anyone who could do stuff like that. I didn’t think it
could be done, but you made me a believer tonight. And what about earlier? You said you went into the woods to hunt, not to help those people.”

Crap. Didn’t she forget
anything?
“Guess I didn’t make myself clear. I
was
hunting. For those lost souls who thought they could gain material goods by taking from others.”

Hallelujah and pass the bullshit. Damn Fin and his stupid excuses for what the Eleven did at night. Why couldn’t they be undercover cops working to lower crime in Houston?
That
made sense. Ty thought about it. Okay, so maybe Fin was right. Undercover cops didn’t hire clueless, sexy drivers.

“Uh-huh. Got it.”

She didn’t say anything for the rest of the drive. Probably analyzing everything that had happened tonight and deciding whether she still wanted to be a part of Team Weird. He hoped she did. And not because of the sexual attraction he felt or what Fin had said about her having a “special skill.” He grinned. Who was he kidding? It was
all
about the sex.
Wasn’t it?
He stopped smiling.

The apartment was in a three-story block of ordinary brick buildings. Parking in the rear. He guessed this was one way Fin hoped they’d blend in. Fin, on the other hand, didn’t give a shit about blending in as he lived the good life in his penthouse condo. Jealous? You bet.

As they climbed the stairs to the third floor, Kelly looked worried. “What about clothes? Do you want me to drop you off at the Galleria tomorrow?” She frowned. “You never said why you didn’t have any luggage.”

“I was doing some missionary work in Africa, and the airline lost my bags on the flight back to Dublin. Didn’t have time to buy new stuff before I had to catch the Houston flight.” He paused to glance down the hallway. Only
four doors. Two on each side. He hoped Fin had rented the whole top floor. “No problem, though. Fin said everything I’ll need is in the apartment.”

“Tough luck about your luggage. I’m in the apartment across from yours. Let me know if you need coffee or anything.” She pulled a key from her pocket and handed it to him. “This is for your place.”

She had no idea what he needed. If she did, she’d be burning rubber out of the parking lot right now.

“I’ll be fine. Go and get some sleep. You’ll hear from me tomorrow night.” He watched as she unlocked her door and disappeared inside.

Only after she’d closed her door did he let himself into his own apartment. Even though he knew Fin would’ve whipped up his own brand of security for this place, and even though all he wanted to do was strip and fall into bed, he couldn’t abandon the habits of a lifetime. He checked out the four small rooms—white walls, beige carpet, and windows overlooking the parking lot. Basic and generic. Nope, he wouldn’t be doing any bonding with this place.

Ty glanced around his bedroom. Okay, no Nine hiding under the bed. Kicking off his shoes, he pulled the CD Fin had given him from his pocket, then padded over to the desk where the promised laptop waited. For the next twenty minutes he matched faces with names. He had a good laugh at the end. It was the only time he’d felt like laughing all night.

No, wait. Kelly had given him a few cheerful moments. She’d be exciting in or out of bed. It’d be tough keeping her safe, though. Ty already knew she didn’t follow orders.

So what would happen if she found out about the Eleven? Had Fin thought all this stuff through? Probably.
Ty didn’t even try to figure out the twisted maze that was Fin’s mind.

He yawned. Maybe everything would be clearer after he got some rest. Fin had promised to feed them info while they slept. He dragged off his clothes, then pulled back the covers and was asleep as soon as he hit the mattress.

But when the dreams came, he wished they hadn’t.

Ty tossed and turned all night as Fin downloaded explanations along with battle plans. And when he finally woke, Ty thought nostalgically about his little plot of earth under Newgrange.

Kelly lay across her bed as she got ready to make the last of her calls before the sun set and Mr. Hot and Oh-So-Scary put in an appearance. She’d saved Jenna till last because her sister was way too nosy and always managed to hook an “extra” onto “ordinary” without even trying. Jenna could make vanilla into a sinister flavor. God knows what she’d do with Ty’s dark chocolate.

“Why didn’t you call sooner, sis? So what happened last night? Tell all.” Jenna didn’t waste time on ritual greetings like “Hello” and “How are you?”

“Nothing much.” Ha. Let Jenna find something interesting in that. “I picked my client up at Bush and drove him to the apartment.” No use leaving even the hint of an information trail for Jenna to pick up with her ultra-sensitive nose for news.

“Uh-huh.” Jenna’s tone said,
More info because I know
you’re holding out on me
.

Kelly sifted through last night’s events to find a few that would appease Jenna while telling her nothing important. “I’m just getting around to calling you because I got a late start. I stayed in bed as long as I could this morning because
the boss’s secretary, or whatever Shen is, said that Ty would do most of his prowling at night.”
Prowling
. The word fit the man. It took Kelly only an instant to realize it was also the wrong word to say out loud to Jenna.

“Oooh, sounds sexy and dangerous. You always liked large predators.”

“In the zoo, Jenna. With lots of walls and wire between us.”

“What’s he look like?”

“Umm, tall, dark hair.” Megalicious with a dash of deadly.

“How did he make you feel?” Jenna was into vibrations, auras, and emotional connections.

As God was her witness, Kelly hadn’t meant to tell her sister anything, but it just came rushing out. Her need to confide in someone overwhelmed her. “Scared. When I first saw him, he terrified me. No reason. The fear was just there. And then, wham, I took this major erotic hit. It wasn’t a smooth sensual feeling. It was all jagged glass and burning coals.” The words were barely out of her mouth when she realized what she’d said.

“Oh, wow, sis.” Jenna’s voice was filled with excited awe.

Damn, major blunder. “Yeah, it freaked me out too. But after a good night’s sleep I realized it must’ve been one of my crazy PMS moments. It’s the right time of the month. You know I’m the poster girl for mood swings. Sure it was bizarre, but I’ll deal.”

“Hmm.” Jenna didn’t sound convinced.

“Look, Ty is incredible looking, but he’s still just a guy. He didn’t say or do one thing to trigger what I felt.” How did she feel about his…gift, which she definitely was
not
mentioning to Jenna? Kelly frowned. She had no clue.

“Sure.” The wheels in Jenna’s head were making a whirring noise as they spun.

Panicked, Kelly tried to distract her sister. “Anyway, I had time to waste after I got up, so I tried to make this place a little homey. Couldn’t. These rooms are Bland and Boring Central. Then I played the flute for a while.”

“Good.” Jenna wasn’t listening. She was thinking. From long experience, Kelly knew things always ended badly when Jenna thought too much.

Maybe if she babbled on long enough, Jenna would lose her train of thought. “I called Mom. More of the usual. She warned me about home invasions, kidnappings, global warming, and the coming apocalypse.” Kelly didn’t think she’d introduce Ty to Mom.

“He’s a vampire, Kelly. It all fits. Dark, dangerous, only comes out at night, can project emotions. Did you check out his teeth?”

Kelly blinked.
What?
“You need some serious downtime, Jenna. That tabloid you’re writing for is warping you.” The sound of the doorbell almost lifted her off the couch. Talk about nerves. “Someone’s at the door. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Relieved, she hung up before Jenna could expand on her vampire theory.

Her visitor pressed the bell again, hurrying Kelly along. Probably Ty, but why visit her when all he had to do was call and ask her to have the car ready? A lifetime of Mom’s warnings and the memory of the dead man made her glance through the peephole before opening the door. She frowned. What the…

She pulled open the door. The woman waiting on the other side grinned at her.

“Hi, I’m Neva.” She was tall with long legs, big boobs,
and short red hair. Tight leather pants along with a leopard-print jacket and heels completed the picture. “I’m Q’s driver. He’s in number 304.” She nodded down the hallway.

That was news to Kelly. No one had told her Fin was putting another man in this building. Why? Maybe she should’ve asked a few more questions. But all the money she stood to earn sort of clouded her judgment. She shrugged the thought away. Nothing illegal was going on.
You walked
away from a crime scene last night
. Not really. Fin had reported it.
Hadn’t he?
She’d check on that later. And even if they’d stayed, they wouldn’t have had any information the cops could use. There, guilt banished.

“I’m Kelly. Can I help you?” Shen hadn’t said anything about how they should dress. She’d opted for jeans and a pullover sweater. They seemed more missionary appropriate than Neva’s getup.

Neva’s smile was friendly. “Yeah. My man wants to visit your man in about half an hour. He says for you to pass it on.”

Kelly lifted one brow.

Neva laughed. “Hey, I’m just the messenger. Q said Ty is sort of jumpy. Doesn’t like to be startled by someone strange showing up at his door. Do I buy that?” She shrugged. “As long as they pay my salary, I dance to their tune.” She offered Kelly a finger wave before heading back to her room.

It seemed weird had just morphed into crazy. Shaking her head, Kelly walked across the hallway and rang Ty’s bell. Was she a little nervous about seeing him again? She thought about Jenna’s vampire and smiled. Yeah, she had a few quivers low in her stomach, but not because she expected an undead bloodsucker to answer the door.

As his door swung open, Kelly braced herself just in
case yesterday’s emotions replayed themselves. Nothing.
Thank you, God
. Wait, there
was
a low sensual hum, but she figured that was just part of Ty’s sexual force field. He was that kind of guy.

He leaned against the doorjamb, thumbs hooked over the top of his jeans. They tugged at the waist just enough to make the jeans ride low on his hips. No shirt—muscular chest with a fine dusting of hair and a flat, ridged stomach. Yum, yum. Was that a professional reaction? Probably not. Sighing, she continued her inventory. No shoes. No webbed feet. She could cross devil off her list.

She took a deep, fortifying breath. His scary index was still sky high, but it wasn’t the same as last night. This was a good scary. Dark and dangerous all wrapped up in a big, muscular body with a hard, male face.

“One of Fin’s men sent his driver to tell me to tell you that he’ll be knocking on your door in a half hour. Evidently he doesn’t think you can handle a stranger visiting you.” She waited for his laughter.

He didn’t laugh. “Yeah, that was probably the smart thing to do.”

Kelly waited for an explanation. Ty didn’t offer one.

“Since he won’t be here for a while, come on in so I can give you a rundown of where we’ll be going tonight.” He stepped aside so she could pass him.

Obviously it didn’t occur to him that she’d say no. Well, he was the boss. Still, her gaze skipped around the room when she walked in. What was she expecting: a body propped up in the corner, a whiskey decanter filled with blood? She tried to block the sound of Jenna’s mocking laughter from her mind.

“Coffee?” He pulled a T-shirt over his head.

Kelly didn’t quite manage to squelch her stab of disappointment. “Sure. Lots of milk and sugar. I guess you were right. Fin did take care of you.” She settled onto the couch.

“Yeah. He’s good with those kinds of details.” Ty disappeared into the kitchen and came out a minute later with two cups.

She got the impression Fin wasn’t great with other details. “Where will you be saving souls tonight?” Kelly took a sip of coffee, hoping he wouldn’t see her amusement. She couldn’t imagine anyone looking at that hard face backed up by all that hard muscle and refusing to be saved.

He drew in a deep breath. “First off, I don’t belong to any church, and I’m not saving souls for any god.” Holding her gaze, he took a gulp of his coffee.

“No church? No god? I don’t get it. I mean, Fin said you were missionaries.” She was totally confused. But why should she be surprised? Ty had taken her out of the state of Texas the moment he slid into her car last night. She’d crossed the border into a state of permanent befuddlement.

Setting his cup on the coffee table, he rose to pace in front of the couch. “Fin gave you the wrong impression. We find people who’re down and out, try to give them a second chance.”