Chapter 10
The witches tried another, simpler spell. Morgaine had high hopes for this one. It didn’t rhyme, but it specified exactly what they wanted to happen. Remove Sly’s blood lust and allow him to stay conscious and safe in daylight.
Morgaine handed the jar to Sly. “Well, are you ready to try it again?”
He took it from her. “I think so.”
“I’ll go first if y’all want a guinea pig.” Gwyneth grinned like she couldn’t wait to chug it down. Well, why not? She seemed the most able candidate to handle it.
Sly passed it to her. “By all means. Ladies first.”
Gwyneth took a huge gulp and smacked her lips. “I just can’t get over how good this is. It just might be better than Daddy used to make.”
Morgaine rolled her eyes. “If you say so.” She took the jar and sipped gingerly. “Whoa! That still burns like gasoline—after putting a match to it.”
Gwyneth sighed. “What can I say? Some people just don’t appreciate the finer things in life.”
Sly took the jar from Morgaine, held it near his mouth and said, “Over the lips and past the gums, look out stomach, here it comes.”
As he sipped, Gwyneth turned to her older cousin and said, “See? Sly knows how to rhyme.”
They all waited anxiously for something to happen. Sly held out his hands. “Well, I’m not turning bright colors this time.”
“Is your thirst decreasing?”
Sly hesitated a moment. Then shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Well, maybe y’all need a little more. Let’s keep passin’ it until it’s gone. We got more collectin’ in the bucket over yonder.”
Gwyneth pointed with her thumb toward the still where indeed the bucket held at least another jar full.
Sly gazed at Morgaine. “What do you say? Do you think it’s worth a try?”
She shrugged. “Having never done this before, it’s anybody’s guess. Maybe it does take a certain amount to be effective. Like medicine.”
“I’m game if both of you are.” He handed the jar to Gwyneth.
“Y’all know I’m in favor.” She took another swig.
“So, while we’re sitting here, drinking, we might as well talk about our plan B,” Morgaine said.
Gwyneth stole an extra sip before handing the glass jar to Morgaine. “You mean going to New York?”
“New York? Who’s going to New York?” Sly asked.
Just the thought of it made Morgaine jittery and she took a large swallow. “Plauhh!” She took a few deep breaths hoping to cool the molten lava sliding down her throat. At last, she answered him. “If I live through this, you and I need to go to New York to see my old friend, Mikhail.”
“Is that the guy who makes the Vampire Vintage?”
“Yes, I called him, but he wouldn’t give me the secret ingredient. The one thing he said he would do is trade me a case of it for a little magic.”
Sly gave her a sidelong glance. “What kind of magic?’
Gwyneth sat up straighter. “Why Sylvestro Flores, are y’all jealous?”
“N—no. I was just…curious.”
Gwyneth slapped her knee. “Don’t deny it. Y’all are jealous. I know the signs.”
Morgaine had to intervene, although it secretly pleased her to think Sly might be a little possessive. “Gwyneth, ‘mind your own beeswax’ as a certain witch I know would say.”
Gwyneth jumped up and said. “Fine. I feel like dancin’ anyway.” She whirled away trying to pirouette across the basement.
“I was hoping you’d come with me, Sly.”
“Oh? Wouldn’t Gwyneth have to go? I can’t travel in daylight, and you can’t travel at night—or at all.”
“I have to go. Mikhail doesn’t know Gwyneth, and he’s very cautious of people he doesn’t know. He wants to meet you for the same reason.” She leaned toward him and whispered, “Besides, he needs me to remove a curse and set up a sophisticated protection sigil. It’s a type of magical warning system, and that’s rather advanced. I don’t think Gwyneth can do it yet.”
“Okay. So how do we proceed?”
Gwyneth twirled past them. “I can teach y’all about takin’ Morgaine out into the scary world.”
Morgaine sighed. “I’m all right as long as I’m with someone I trust.”
“Yeah, but y’all need to know what to do, if she has a panic attack.”
“I’ll learn all I can about your condition and how to help you with it, but are you really willing to do this, Morgaine? For me?”
She stroked his arm. “Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t do it for anybody else.”
Sly leaned over and kissed her, senseless.
Gwyneth recited “Sly and Morgaine sittin’ in a tree…y’all have stupid names.” Then she became giddy and couldn’t finish the rhyme.
When the super opened his apartment door, a suspicious chemical smell assaulted his nostrils. Maybe it wafted in from outside? Jules followed the strange odor downstairs. It seemed a little stronger on the first floor. He sniffed outside apartments 1A and 1B. It didn’t seem to be coming from either of the men’s apartments—although it didn’t smell like dirty gym socks anyway.
He opened the front door and the odor vanished. Nope. It’s definitely coming from inside. Great. Just what I need—a unibomber in my building.
Maybe it was coming from the basement. As he neared the basement door at the back of the hall, the scent became stronger and a little more distinct. Alcohol? When he opened the door, the smell intensified.
Jules heard the sound of scurrying feet followed by girls giggling. Holy crap. What am I walking into? He thought about calling the police for a moment, but Jason Falco, the landlord and his boss, had made it clear he wanted to avoid drawing attention to the building at all costs. Well, it didn’t seem to be a unibomber, so that meant investigating giggling girls fell to Jules.
He switched on the light at the top of the stairs and tip toed past a few cobwebs. Yeah, he’d have to brush those away later. Nearing the bottom step, he glanced around. A light was on in the laundry room, so he checked there first. It was empty.
A few snickers led him to the storage side. He looked past stacked boxes and old furniture but couldn’t see anyone.
“Okay girls, I can hear you. Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
Peals of laughter gave them away, and the two women from the third floor came stumbling out into the open. They may have been giggling like little girls, but they swayed like a couple of old drunks.
“Isn’t this a strange place to have a party?” he asked.
The young redhead sidled up to him and grasped his arm. “We was just…My, what big muscles you have!”
Proud of his swimmer’s body, Jules flexed his bicep.
She gasped and stroked the sizable bulge under his shirt sleeve. “I do declare! You must be strong as a bull. Do y’all work out?”
“I’m a swimmer.”
“Well, I’ll be. Who knew swimmers could get so virile?” She leaned in closer to him. “I bet you could help me move my bed with one hand tied behind your back.” He smelled alcohol on her breath—not that he needed much confirmation of what she and her cousin had been up to.
“Gwyneth, isn’t it?”
“Uh huh, and you are Jules, right? Jules Vernon?”
“Yes, and I’m afraid as building super, I need to ask you and your cousin to move your party to your private residences.”
“Well now, we was just about to do that anyways. Y’all want to come with us? They say three’s a crowd, but I druther think of it as threes a party!”
Jules relaxed his guard. He knew she was flirting with him, but she was so darned cute. Who could get mad at her? The other one watched silently, but he couldn’t complain about that either. He liked his women cute and quiet.
“Thanks for your kind offer, Gwyneth, but I was just investigating the smell of alcohol coming from down here. Do you girls know why it’s so strong?”
Gwyneth giggled and said, “Well, we may have had a tiny bit to drink.” She pinched her index finger and thumb almost together. She widened the gap, giggled harder and eventually managed to admit, “Okay. A little more than a little.”
“So why are you down here?”
She shrugged. The other woman jumped in. “It’s neutral territory. My cousin and I had a spat recently, but we managed to talk it out down here and we were just shelebrating—I mean celebrating.”
“Well, I’m glad you worked things out.” He glanced down at the cute redhead, and she gazed up at him, batting her eyelashes.
“I’ll bet you have lots of swimmin’ metals, Jules, like those Olympic athletes.” Her eyes seemed to glow—or maybe that was just the low light hitting her glazed green irises. “Would you like to show them to me?” She wrapped her hands around either side of his arm.
“I don’t have any metals, but that’s because I never really competed.”
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. Y’all woulda had a houseful of trophies by now, I bet.”
He simply smiled. Too bad having races with his fellow mermen didn’t count.
“Listen, I’m feelin’ a bit wobbly. Would you mind helpin’ me climb them stairs? You don’t mind if I monopolize him, do ya, Morgaine?”
“No, not at all. You go have fun. I’ll head up in a minute.”
Jules tipped his head toward the stairs. “How about now?”
“Sure. Now’s good.” She maneuvered her way around the boxes, brushed off the bottom of her long skirt, then followed them up the steps.
Sly heard a knock on his door and hoped it was Morgaine. He hadn’t seen her since the super had caught them in the basement. He had managed to encase himself behind the false wall with the still before Jules discovered it, but he’d almost keeled over from the fumes in there. Fortunately, he was able to slip out after he’d heard their footsteps climb the stairs.
Opening his apartment door, his lover looked up at him and smiled shyly. She carried a jar of clear liquid and a candelabra that lit her face and eyes with a soft golden glow.
“Hi, Morgaine. You look especially beautiful tonight. I was hoping you’d come to see me sooner rather than later.”
“Yeah, we need to talk.”
“Uh-oh. Conversations that begin that way are never good.”
She smiled. “It’s not one of those conversations, don’t worry.”
“In that case, come in.” He stepped aside.
Morgaine had the most graceful way of moving he’d ever seen. If it weren’t for the swish of her hips, she’d almost appear to float. He caught a whiff of her patchouli oil scent. She had been toning it down since he mentioned it made his head swim. Maybe it wasn’t the fragrance. He felt a little lightheaded just looking at her in the candlelight.
He recognized the scent in the glass jar too. It was their Vampire Vodka.
She set the candelabra on top of his bookshelf. The entire living room flickered in the candlelight. She sat on his couch, and he settled in next to her.
“So what did you want to talk about?”
“This.” She raised the jar of liquid.
“Do you want to try another spell on it?”
“No. I don’t think it’s that simple or it would have worked the first or second time. Have you fed recently?”
He nodded. He wasn’t proud of it, but he refused to be ashamed of it either. When it came to live, human blood, he did what he had to do, and he coped with it the best he could—by looking for criminals. If they passed out, he did the city a favor.
“Why did you bring the moonshine, if it doesn’t do anything?”
“I thought you might like something to drink since we finished your Champagne. And I thought we should talk about the idea of selling it.”
“Oh.” He chuckled. “I never thought of it as just a beverage.” She handed him the jar and he took a sip. “Sheesh, that’s strong. I’ll have to buy something to mix with it.”
“That’s probably a good idea. I think this stuff has killed off a few too many of my cousin’s brain cells.”
“Oh, no. What’s Gwyneth done now?”
“Nothing. I just meant…in general.”
Sly smiled and leaned over to give Morgaine a kiss. She still seemed to need reassurance that he loved her, not Gwyn—huh? Had he just used the word, love? Even if it was only in his head, it shook him.
He broke the kiss a little quicker than he had planned. Be careful, Sly. You don’t want to hurt her or yourself. This is only your first relationship since Alice died.
Deciding to get back to the subject at hand, Sly said, “The super came pretty close to discovering what we were up to. What do you think he’ll do, if he finds the still?”
Morgaine winced. “I checked into the legalities. I’m afraid moonshine is very much illegal to make and sell. I suppose he’d have to call the health department and have it shut it down.”
Sly shook his head. “We should have anticipated that before we considered it a possible income for me.”
“I don’t think we should give up yet. It really seems plausible that if wine can be made to temporarily cure vampirism, all we need to do is figure out the missing ingredient and preserve it in the moonshine. Besides, I know you really want to pay Merry rent and you need stuff like electricity and heat. I got so mad seeing how opulent your maker’s apartment was compared to yours.”
Sly raised his eyebrows. “What’s wrong with my place? I have what I need. Maybe you’d enjoy more decadent surroundings when you come to see me?”
Her jaw dropped. “Of course not! How can you think that?” She swiveled away from him and crossed her arms.
Shit. She didn’t deserve that. Was he picking a fight with her to establish some distance?
“I’m sorry, Morgaine. I really am. You’ve been nothing but thoughtful and kind. I didn’t mean that.”
She twisted back to face him and sighed. “You’re an idiot if you think I need that stuff.”
He smiled. Then he reached out and stroked her cheek. “Yeah, I know. I might be an idiot once in a while, like any man. But let me ask you this, what do you need?”
She turned into his hand and closed her eyes. Uh-oh. That soft smile indicated she was already having feelings for him.
“This,” she said.
“What do you mean?” Sly thought he knew what she meant but didn’t want to assume. If she asked for more than he could give, he’d have to tell her to slow down. But if he’d learned anything about women in his fifty-six years on earth, it was not to try to guess what they were feeling or thinking. Few men, if any, had them all figured out.
“Trust.”
Trust?Her answer puzzled him, but he wasn’t about to start an in-depth discussion about their relationship. He didn’t think they were “there” yet.
“I need to trust a person in order to venture out of the building with them. And I trust you. That’s why I’m going with you to New York.”
“So, you’ve decided? You’re sure?”
“I think the sooner we go; the better. Gwyneth will keep an eye on the still and answer the business calls while we’re gone.”
“Is that what you call phone sex? Business calls?”
“Well, yeah. That’s what they are.”
He relaxed slightly. “Morgaine, I’ve been hesitating to confess what I think of that for a little while, but I should probably get this off my chest.”
She arched her eyebrows and leaned back as if to get a better look at his facial expression. “Okay. Share.”
He smiled, hoping to lighten the mood. “I know it’s none of my business, and we’ve only been sleeping together for a short time…” He paused. How should he say this?
“But?”
“But I’m not sure I want other guys talking to you like that.”
She waited, but he had no follow-up.
At last, she looked puzzled and asked, “Why? Or maybe I should say, ‘Why not?’”
Shit. He shouldn’t have begun this conversation until he understood it himself. Maybe he should change the subject? He chewed his lower lip until he noticed his fangs starting to protrude and tasted blood. “Ouch.” Fuck, it bothers me just to think about it.
“What’s the matter?”
“Oh, nothing. I just fanged myself.” He swiped his tongue over the spot that was beginning to bleed, and it stopped. “I’ll live. Pardon the irony.”
She chuckled. “Okay, so let’s get back to the other thing. Why do you have a problem with my business?”
Damn. Not enough of a distraction. Maybe I should have set myself on fire?“Can we forget I said anything?”
“No. At least I can’t. Look, whatever you want to say, it’s okay to say it. It might not change anything, but you can tell me what’s on your mind.”
Suddenly he had a crick in his neck. He rubbed the spot until it eased. “Fine. What if someone finds out where you live? You could be putting yourself in danger.”
“We’ve got that covered. That’s not what’s really bothering you, is it?”
He gazed at the ceiling. “Oh, the joys of dating a psychic...”
She laughed, then crossed her arms and pretended to get tough. “Okay, you. Even psychics can’t read minds. Spit it out.”
“Thank, God.” He sighed. “I’m not exactly sure what it is that bothers me about it. It’s not exactly jealousy. I just don’t want you treated that way.”
“Oh.” She appeared to ponder that for a few moments. “Thanks, I think.”
“Don’t your skills as a medium and psychic pay well enough?”
“Not by themselves. We really need to supplement our income with something, and as they say, ‘sex sells.’”
“Is that why Gwyneth was writing erotica?”
“Yes, but she’s lost her enthusiasm for it. She claims she needs a new research partner, but I think she’s uncomfortable with her grammar. Joe used to take care of both for her.”
“I can imagine.”
“Look, don’t tell her I said that. Her ego has taken enough of a beating. To be honest, the still is the only thing she’s been excited about for quite a while. That’s why I’m not asking her to dismantle it and why I didn’t say much to discourage her cockamamie idea in the first place.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“No, of course not. I had hoped we’d be able to bottle a vampirism cure for you.”
“Why do you think it didn’t work?”
“Mikhail said there was some kind of secret ingredient. Even though he refused to tell me what it was, I’m hoping if we spend some time with him and I help with his magical needs, maybe he’ll decide he can trust us with it.”
“That’s a big ‘if.’ At least he’s willing to give us a case of the stuff. Maybe we can reverse engineer it.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“Great minds…”
“Yeah.” She smiled and looked down at her lap.
Damn. He wanted her every time she gave him that shy smile. Reaching out to cup her cheek, he drew her closer. “I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to help me. I know traveling to New York might be hard for you.”
“It might also be good for me.”
He kissed her straight nose. “That’s the brave woman I’m proud of.”
Morgaine hadn’t expected to end up in the bedroom that evening, but she was glad they did. Sly was an incredible lover—surprisingly gentle, considering his vampiric strength. He also had great—ahem—endurance. He made sure she was completely satisfied before reaching his own destination. And his recovery time might as well be measured with an egg timer.
She was still huffing and puffing from her second climax when he rolled up onto his elbow and gazed down at her.
“Want to go again?”
She laughed between deep breaths. “You’ve got to be kidding. Don’t you ever get tired?”
“Sex exhausts me about as much as a Sunday stroll.” He bent over her and kissed her forehead, nipped her nose, then he claimed her mouth with a fierce possession she hadn’t experienced before—ever.
She held onto his shoulders and returned his kiss with the same fervor. Their tongues met and swirled. He tasted slightly like the “vampire vodka” she’d given him, but another flavor mingled with it that she’d come to know as Sly’s very own.
Without realizing it, her hands began to wander. When her nails raked down his back, it only inflamed his passion more. He climbed on top of her and she felt the unmistakable hardness of his staff nudging her entrance.
She parted her legs and allowed him access. Without breaking the kiss or waiting for permission, he rammed himself home. She gasped and he wrenched his lips away.
“Oh no! Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
He began to pull out until she grabbed his ass. “No, I’m fine.” She hauled him toward her until he was fully seated again. “Now let’s do that thing you started.”
They both grinned.
He began his rhythm while they stared at each other. She moaned with the wonderful sensations whenever he filled her. Her eyes closed on their own. “Goddess, that feels good,” she said, breathily.
“Yes, it does.” His voice lowered and he leaned closer, kissing her temple. “You know what else feels good?”
She paused. “What could feel better than this?”
He raised himself up on one hand and locked his elbow. Balancing like that, he used the other hand to locate her clit. The moment he touched her pearl, she arched and let out a loud moan.
Heightened sensations zinged through her, rippling outward. “Oh, my Goddess!”
His strength was definitely an asset in the bedroom. He wasn’t even breaking a sweat. He continued to pump in and out of her as he rubbed her supersensitive button. She writhed with the powerful pleasure of it. Barely conscious of making odd sounds, something primal emanated from deep inside her.
She was skyrocketing toward a higher climax than ever before. Even with all her squirming, Sly stayed right on her clit. He stroked it quickly, and the glorious vibrations led to a shattering orgasm.
Morgaine bucked and screamed. He didn’t let up and she kept coming. Electric jolts shot through every cell and nerve ending. Her thighs shook uncontrollably.
At last, he let go and landed on his elbows, over her. He jerked and spasmed with his own release, then blew out a deep breath.
“You’re amazing,” she whispered, hoarsely.
He pushed back the hair from her face. “You are too.”
“How? All I do is let you play me like a piano.”
He chuckled. “You’ve got a great keyboard.”
She’d laugh, but she didn’t have enough breath.
He withdrew slowly and flopped onto his back. After a few moments, he asked, “Do you want to stay the night?”
She was barely aware of his question or her obvious nonverbal answer as her awareness slipped away.