Feral Passion Read online

  No candles burned in this new room. It wasn’t even a room, really. A black mosquito net hung above a round bed covered in a black velvet bedspread. Red tassels brushed the floor. Through the sheers, something moved. Turning away from the mosquito netted bed, Xandra followed. She tried to move as quietly as the intruder, but the floor creaked underfoot. She winced at the sound.

  A shadow crossed in front of the candelabra. She pushed through sheer drapery that hung like black curtains of fog. Candlelight caught his golden hair. He turned, sensing her presence. In the flickering light his eyes glowed. She gasped, recognizing him instantly.

  Dante.

  This time he pursued her. She ran through walls made of curtain, but the gauzy cloth slowed her progress. She’d lost her way in the labyrinth of cloth. Suddenly she found herself caught up in it. His eyes glowed with an inhuman luster. And he was gaining on her.

  She fell into black velvet and gauze. It wrapped around her legs, swaddling her. She cried out as she tumbled to the wooden floor. Above her the curtains popped from their rods because of her weight. Smothered in cloth, she found she couldn’t breathe.

  Dante came toward her out of the darkness. He loomed above her like a golden panther intent on his prey. A lion closing in for the kill.

  “I thought I told you to stay out of this, Xandra,” he growled.

  She screamed.

  ***

  Dante turned away from Xandra’s second floor window. He could sense her there in the darkness, tossing on her narrow loft bed. Her disordered and panicked thoughts penetrated the walls between them. Her raw and wounded mind tore at him. He longed to offer comfort, but he doubted she’d allow it. She certainly wouldn’t appreciate knowing he’d been in her thoughts. The attractive Ms. Wheeler had a personality as prickly as a cactus.

  He’d meant to leave, but halfway down the road he’d doubled back. Something drew him to the secret agent. Covert operations, that’s what she was, he’d bet on it. Her entire bearing practically shouted paramilitary training. He’d come back hoping to sift through her thoughts until he found out who she worked for. But that information was tucked away deep in her mind, and instead he’d found himself reliving her nightmare. Whoever she was, Xandra Wheeler had a dark past. One almost as dark as his own.

  He did enjoy a challenge. One way or another he intended to discover the secrets Ms. Wheeler was keeping. Every one of them.

  Frigid water dripped from his hair into his collar, and his leather jacket hung heavily with rain by the time he left his perch on the brick wall outside her bedroom. He glanced back through the drapery at the woman thrashing on the bed. There was one thing he could do to ease her suffering. Staring intently in her direction, he sent her a mental command. Wake up!

  Then he was gone, running down the road at a speed most athletes could only dream of achieving.

  ***

  Xandra jerked awake, her heart pounding loud enough to echo in her ears. Rain beat against the windows. For a moment, she could have sworn she was still netted in black gauze and velvet, held like a fly in a spider’s web. Then the image faded and she recognized her loft bedroom and the flickering of headlights as cars passed outside. Still shaking, she padded to the kitchen for some water. Tonight the nightmares had returned with frightening intensity. Many times she thought she’d banished them, only to have them seize her unexpectedly. Usually it meant she was troubled. Troubled by something she couldn’t escape. Something like Jeremy taking her off the case—or someone like the police force’s newest vampire liaison officer, Dante.

  Dawn had brightened the sky before she managed to fall asleep again. She got up in a sour mood, not feeling like dealing with Dante Nolastname or another round of dates with wealthy vampires. A giant latte with a double shot of espresso didn’t help the situation. Neither did the sugar-laced Danish she bought from the corner coffee shop. The lunchtime crowd was filling the sidewalk by the time she’d showered, pulled on a pair of worn blue jeans and a black T-shirt and headed out. Alix should be at the club by now. Diligent Alix always started early and worked late.

  She found her friend in the club’s tiny cluttered back office, working on the ledgers on her computer. By the frown on her face, Xandra judged business couldn’t be that good. Alix looked up when she noticed Xandra standing in the doorway. At the sight of the super-sized coffee, her smile widened.

  “Bearing gifts are we?” Alix asked. “Okay…what do you want?”

  Xandra set the coffee down on the edge of Alix’s desk, where it was in grave danger of being pushed on the floor by an avalanche of papers. She raised her own giant coffee, her second. “It would be rude to drink in front of you.”

  Alix saved her file and pushed her chair out from her desk. “Late night?”

  Xandra nodded. “You?”

  “All of them are.” Alix took a long gulp of coffee. “So how’d it go with the guy with the cape?”

  “Oh, fine. But he knows nothing.”

  Alix reached for a croissant rapidly going stale on her desk. “That’s too bad,” she said around a mouthful. “He sure was good looking. I’m glad you didn’t have to stake him.”

  “Name’s George. He’s a nice guy too.” Xandra studied her friend. “You’d like him.”

  Alix held up a hand. “Oh, no. I don’t do vamps.”

  “Maybe you should reconsider. He’s actually looking to settle down, raise a family and all that.”

  “Settle down?”

  “Yeah, you know, get married, have kids.”

  “Then he wouldn’t be interested in me. I never get my head out of this dark hole from one day’s end to the next. And besides, how’s a dead guy going to have kids?”

  “He said he was open to IVF or adoption.”

  “Wow, you guys really did talk, didn’t you?”

  “Long enough to find out he didn’t know anything that could help me.”

  “Tough break.”

  “Really, you ought to think about it. He seemed like a good guy. Owns a successful business, just wants a normal life now that he doesn’t have to hide what he is.”

  Alix was staring at her. “Did something bad happen last night? Because that’s kind of a strange thing for you to suggest.”

  “Let’s just say I had an unexpected visitor. Thought I’d ask you if you’d heard of him.”

  “Aha! So you did want something.” Alix’s kept her tone light, but Xandra could tell she was worried.

  Xandra told her about her meeting with Dante.

  “Haven’t run across him.” Alix waved at the interior of the club now brightly lit for the cleaning staff. Under the fluorescent lights the Goth club’s red and black decor looked garish. “At least he hasn’t been in here. Are you sure he is who he says he is?”

  “Well, no,” Xandra admitted. “I ran a check but couldn’t find anything on him.”

  “Are you sure he’s even a cop?”

  “No again. He could be anybody. But I got a vibe off him, you know. Like he was telling the truth and he wanted to throw me off the trail of…something.”

  “He knows where you live,” Alix mused. “I don’t like the sound of that. Maybe you should stay at my place for a few days. We keep the same hours, and you know me, I’m never home.”

  Xandra waved away her offer. “He kind of threatened me, but I didn’t get the feeling he meant me any personal harm.”

  “Will you listen to yourself? He threatened you! Of course he means you harm! You even admitted you couldn’t be sure he was human.”

  “He sure didn’t look like a vampire. I mean, how many blonds do you see in here?”

  “Almost none.” Alix looked more worried by the minute. “And that’s the second time you’ve mentioned this mystery man’s looks. He made some kind of impression on you, that’s for sure. You don’t even like blonds. And might I remind you that you like cops even less.”

  “Thanks Mom.” Xandra glanced at her watch and winced. Her late start to the day had thrown off her entir
e schedule. “I have to go. But don’t worry, I’ll be careful. I have a few contacts I should talk to about our mystery police officer. And I have to make sure I have a date for tonight. Jeremy’s getting impatient.”

  “Jeremy takes too many chances with your life. I don’t like the guy.” When Alix proclaimed she didn’t like someone, usually she had a reason.

  “He’s my boss,” Xandra pointed out. “I don’t have to like him. He just has to sign my paycheck.”

  “Yeah, well make sure you’re still around to spend it.” Alix turned back to her computer. She stuck her head up over the monitor as Xandra left the office. “Don’t forget, my offer’s still open.”

  ***

  Xandra sat at Jeremy’s desk keeping a wary eye on the door. She had no idea of his whereabouts or when he’d be back, but he’d taken Mavis, their department secretary, with him, making it a great time to snoop. She’d brought with her a stack of receipts to be claimed against the department’s expense account. A flimsy excuse, but she’d use it if she had to.

  Jeremy’s computer contained information not stored on anyone else’s. And Jeremy’s logon offered access to forbidden files. If he had any idea that she knew his password he’d freak. He’d been careless one day and typed in his password while she was looking over his shoulder. She had a photographic memory. She could tell what keys he was typing simply by watching his fingers.

  If one of the watchdogs in Information Services was being vigilant they might discover her deception. So far no one had.

  Her heart thumping, Xandra keyed in Jeremy’s password. The computer chimed, logging her on. She revealed the files Jeremy kept hidden. Folders popped up on the screen—a veritable candy store of goodies. Too bad she didn’t have more time.

  What would he file his deepest secrets under? Department memos turned up nothing out of the ordinary. She dug deeper, rifling his most secret files. Jeremy kept secret dossiers on everyone in the department. She spied one with her name on it and fervently wished she had the time to sneak a peek. But today she had more important concerns in mind. Namely anything she could find on a supposed police officer named Dante.

  Memories of her dream filtered into her mind. She could have sworn he’d been there in the room with her. But she’d awakened, heart pounding and very much alone.

  Xandra wrenched her thoughts back to the task at hand. The last thing she needed was for Jeremy to return and find her sitting at his computer. Her boss was already in a bad mood over the slow progress on the case.

  She nearly lost her nerve and decided to give up when a file marked PolDep caught her eye. Her finger hovered above the mouse button. Police Department? Could be, she decided and clicked it open.

  The file did indeed contain information on the local police, but not the kind she suspected. Files were nested within files, all with innocuous names. The information inside was anything but.

  Details of the private lives of the police department’s elite filled the files. Jeremy knew who was on the take, who had a drinking problem, who was cheating on their spouses and who was allegedly connected to organized crime. It made fascinating reading, but it wasn’t the information she needed.

  Xandra kept digging. Finally she found a file labeled Dante nested deep inside the directory. She opened it.

  His face filled the screen, all amber eyes and golden hair. Damn, why did the man have to be so good looking? Why did the photo have to be in color? She scrolled down, looking for his vitals, for anything that might reveal if Dante was indeed who he said he was. Footsteps coming from the outer office made her freeze in place.

  Xandra gauged the distance between Jeremy’s desk and escape. Too late. The footsteps drew closer. Jeremy’s voice echoed down the hall. Smothering a curse, she closed the files and swiftly wiped out all trace of them having been accessed. She leapt up from his chair, turned over the cushion to conceal the heat left by her body, and pushed the chair under the desk. Then she snatched up the envelope full of expense receipts and turned, making it look like she was walking toward his desk instead of away from it. He caught her mid step as he opened the door.

  “Wheeler!”

  “Hi boss, brought you some receipts.” Her heart pounded so loud, she was certain he could hear it from across the room.

  From the outer office his secretary called in to ask if he wanted his messages. Jeremy offered her a grunt in the affirmative. When he looked back in her direction, Xandra could tell he’d bought the whole charade.

  “Receipts! Now you bring me receipts—just when the budget’s been cut.” Ripping open the envelope, he dug inside. Mavis offered a sympathetic look as she passed on her way to depositing Jeremy’s messages on his desk.

  Jeremy continued to bellow, but he took the stack of receipts, vowing to personally make sure each and every one was in line with department regulations before he paid any of them. He hated to spend money, even if it wasn’t his. Even spending the department’s money put him in a bad mood. He was the only manager whose budgets came in with money to spare at the end of the year. Which didn’t endear him to the other managers, but Jeremy had never cared whether anyone liked him or not. Xandra had gauged his reaction correctly. He’d been too angry over her collection of receipts to wonder what she’d really been doing in his office.

  She was still shaking when she got to her desk. It would only be a matter of minutes before he realized he hadn’t asked her for an update on the case. She’d better have one ready for him.

  She logged in to her favorite dating website and looked at her profile. Since last night, several other vamps had posted offers to get together for everything from coffee and drinks to dancing and blood sports. One seemed more intriguing than the others.

  “Sentimental Vamp Seeks Good Time,” read the by-line. Xandra clicked for more information. But Sentimental hadn’t posted his name or his photo. That in itself wasn’t so odd. Many vampires were still uneasy with photographs. Some found their unchanging faces disturbing to look at. Others believed photography could snare their missing souls, as if their souls floated around waiting for them to move on into the afterlife.

  She debated, trying to decide between Sentimental and Black Leather Boy. Any grown man, vampire or not, who referred to himself as a boy didn’t seem like what she was looking for. Xandra decided on Sentimental. She posted an offer to meet for drinks at the Pit.

  As if Sentimental had been sitting at his computer waiting for her, she immediately received a response. He accepted. Well, tonight she’d see what Sentimental truly looked like.

  On cue, Jeremy strode into her office, ranting about the extent of her expenditures and the damage it was doing to the department expense account. Xandra offered a halfhearted argument. Jeremy never changed. Throwing the requisition forms on her desk, he demanded she redo them and remove half her requests in the process. She suppressed a smile. It had only taken her a few weeks to realize that when dealing with Jeremy a wise tactic was to pad her expenses, leaving plenty for him to take out.

  “So—” He spat the word at her. “What’s happening with your case?”

  “I have another date tonight.” Xandra met his steel blue eyes. “I’ve got a hunch about this one. He didn’t post a picture or much of a bio. Definitely a guy with something to hide.”

  Her boss grunted a noncommittal reply. He opened his mouth to berate her further, but just then Mavis called his name from the outer office. “Fine,” he snapped. “Carry on.” Her office door swung shut behind him.

  Xandra rested her head in her hands. Tonight she just had to find out something. She didn’t want Jeremy to take her off the case entirely. It was her case. She rubbed her hand absently across her stomach. She had the scars to prove it!

  The sun was just setting when she arrived at the Pit. The last clouds left from the previous night’s storm still hung low on the horizon, fragmenting the light into rays of crimson and purple. A glorious sunset. Sailor’s delight. She hoped that went for vampire hunters too.

>   Alix emerged from her office as she entered. By the dark circles under her friend’s eyes, Xandra could tell Alix hadn’t gone home for a nap that afternoon. She kept a selection of evening dresses in the closet in her office.

  Xandra chose her traditional table. Alix motioned for the waitress to bring the usual, a single martini for Alix and a glass of red wine for Xandra.

  “Meeting someone new tonight?” Alix asked.

  Xandra nodded. “Jeremy is beyond impatient now.”

  “I wish you’d take a night off. All that stuff from last night makes me nervous.”

  “I’ll be fine, really.”

  “But that Dante guy knows where you live.”

  “And I’d know where he lives too, if Jeremy hadn’t interrupted me.”

  Alix whistled. “You do like living dangerously!”

  Jeremy ran his division with the precision of a drill sergeant. Xandra had been regaling Alix with stories of his legendary temper for years. “Well, the fact that there was a dossier on him reassures me a little.”

  “But you didn’t get to read it. He could be one of the bad guys. Maybe you should have talked to Jeremy about it.”

  “He was too busy hollering about my expense account. Besides, if Jeremy thinks my cover is blown, he’ll take me off the case entirely.”

  “And the bad news is?”

  “I don’t want to be removed from the investigation. It’s my case! I’m the one who discovered that someone is creating a new vampire hive.”

  “Look,” Alix began. By her tone Xandra could tell she wouldn’t like what her friend had to say. “Don’t get mad at me for pointing this out, but perhaps you’re not using the best judgment here. Maybe your cover is blown and maybe you should step down graciously—for your own safety.”