Skye's Trail

His voice and eyes were all cop, but it didn't matter to her body. The danger he represented didn't stop her heart from beating more rapidly, from sending lava-hot blood through her veins, from making her want to rub her body against his and entice him to mate with her.

Skye fought the need and answered, "Just out for a night on the town, Rico."

He moved closer, unable to stop himself from doing it. His cock was rock-hard, visions of taking her here, now, of pushing her onto the bar and standing between her legs, thrusting into her until she screamed in release washed over him, dampening his chest with sweat. Carajo! When had he ever wanted to claim a woman in front of witnesses?

Rico forced his mind away from the vivid fantasies. He was on the job. He had to know that she wasn't here hunting Brittany Armstrong's killers.

"This doesn't seem like your kind of place," he said.

"It doesn't seem like yours either."

"Just checking something out for a case."

She took a swallow of beer, watching him closely as she asked, "So how does this place link to Brittany Armstrong?"

He was good, there was just the briefest hesitation, but she knew she'd guessed correctly. Rico tried to change the subject. "Caldwell said you didn't call her back."

Skye laughed, but didn't bother to deny knowing about the detective's call. Rico frowned at her. "Cia's a good cop. Rivera wants her to tie up the loose ends with you. Don't give her a hard time."

"I'm not on the police payroll," Skye reminded him. "But I'll make you a deal. Tell me what you've got that ties Brittany to this club and I'll go quietly to the police station and help your detective with her paperwork."

He gritted his teeth as frustrated lust shifted to anger. She always played it the way she wanted. Screw the rules. Screw the law or duty or anything else.

"It's an open police investigation," he reminded her.

"Yes, I think Caldwell told me that." Skye looked down at her watch and noticed that it was well after midnight. "Yesterday, I believe."

"Why do you want to know about Brittany Armstrong?"

Skye shrugged as though none of it really mattered. "Curiosity, Rico. You're here, I'm here. Why not ask?"

He watched her sip the beer and idly look around the club. His earlier suspicions seemed like paranoia. She was the best at what she did, had found kids when there was no hope of finding them. A hunter, a tracker. But not a killer. There was no hard evidence to prove she was a killer. The information she wanted wasn't sensitive, she'd guessed the most important thing anyway. "You'll go to the station?"

The corner of her mouth twitched. "Anything to help the police."

Rico ignored the comment and said, "Brittany's parents came up with the name of this place. She'd printed out a posting from some site on the internet about a cool place in Vegas." He shrugged. "There's no real tie but I figured it'd be worth checking out. The kid was nuts, living in a fantasy world. The local police pulled in the computer. All they've got so far is that Brittany spent a lot of time online visiting vampire sites and hanging out in chat rooms with other kids just as crazy."

"Like these kids?" Skye suggested with a slight smile. From where they stood next to the bar, Skye could see at least four kids sporting filed, fang-like teeth.

"Yeah." His tone said he'd already made a judgment about the kids at Fangs. "Do you have Brittany's picture with you?"

Skye thought about the picture zipped in her Harley jacket. She knew she shouldn't play with him this way, but she couldn't stop herself. "Want to frisk me and see, Rico." Her voice was low, soft, purposefully seductive. It stroked him like a lover's caress.

His eyes dilated. Fantasies merged and burned through him. He knew that he shouldn't touch her. He did anyway as a slow song began playing.

She went willingly into his arms as he guided her onto the dance floor. Their bodies rubbed, pressed, melded. He unbraided her hair and ran his fingers through it. He stopped thinking about being a cop and just let himself feel. He was rock-hard, a constant state when he was around her.

His hands skimmed down her back, pulling the tank top out of her jeans so he could run his palms over the warm skin of her sides. "God," he groaned, burying his face into her hair.

She pressed against his hardness, enjoying the friction of the slow dance. Her nipples were tight and hard. Her sex already swollen and wet, prepared for him. She could smell her own arousal-and his. He smelled right. The primitive part of her recognized him for what he could be-what he was. A mate.

Skye hadn't been with anyone for so long. Hadn't wanted to be, though there was always a hint of need tingling through her.

Now, as she took his scent into her lungs, a shiver of fear raced along her spine. If she slept with him, there might not be an escape for either of them.

Self-preservation warred with urges unfamiliar in their intensity but Skye couldn't stop herself from playing in the fire of lust. She nuzzled into his chest and used her teeth to take a small playful hold on his shirt-covered nipple.

Rico groaned and pulled her more tightly against his body. Waves of lust shot from his nipple to his already engorged cock.

He was desperate for her. So desperate that he was tempted to forget that he was on the job, that Caldwell-his newly assigned partner and guard dog-was going to be here any minute. He was so desperate that he wanted to pull Skye out to his car and fuck her there. He couldn't stand the thought of another day spent like today, so horny that he couldn't get to sleep, jerking off only to be hard again and again. Shit, it was worse than when he was a teenager.

Skye wound her arms around his neck and brushed her fingers against the hair where it touched his collar. She let herself sink into the heat of him.

She wanted to trail kisses up his neck, along his jaw, cover his lips with hers and absorb him like a sensual feast while their tongues slid against each other and mated in the dark wet heat of their mouths.

She wanted to, but she didn't.

Her mind overrode what her body desired.

Rico would be a dangerous mate.

He was a cop.

And for her, the hunt and the kill were sometimes inexorably tied together.

The music changed, picking up in pace. Rico stiffened and stepped away. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Detective Caldwell approaching the bar. The phone on his belt began to hum. Rico pulled it off and checked the number. "I've got to go."

Their eyes met and locked. Heat simmered between them. He stepped back. "Return Caldwell's call, okay?"

Aroused. Torn. Edgy with need, Skye nodded and watched him leave.

"Who was he?" Candy asked when Skye returned to the table. "I mean, he was like, so hot!"

"A friend," Skye said as she pulled the picture of Jen out of her pocket. "What about this girl? Ever seen her here?"

Mike flashed his fangs. "Is it worth a round of beers?"

"Sure."

"Okay." He scooted closer and glanced at the picture. "Yeah, she used to come here every night."

Dawn leaned forward. "I remember her. She always got in. And she never had to wait in line. But I haven't seen her in like, maybe a couple of months."

"She come alone or with a friend?"

"With another girl I think. You remember, Candy?"

Candy studied the picture. "Yeah, I think she had a friend with her. They cut in line every time." She shrugged. "They were probably friends with a vamp and that's why they always got in."

"You ever see them with a vamp?" The kids all shook their head "no". "And you haven't seen them lately?" Once again the kids all indicated they hadn't.

"Thanks." Skye zipped the photo into the same jacket pocket that held Brittany's picture then pulled some bills from her jeans and began to count out the beer money.

"Oh my god," Candy breathed, "oh my god. Vamp alert! Vamp alert!"

Dawn and Mike both twisted in their seats. Skye looked up. The gorgeous "vampire" who'd been sitting with Haley was gliding toward them.

"May I join you?" he asked as he stopped next to the table. His voice was velvet seduction, but it was his eyes that drew her as he sat down without waiting for an answer.

They were as black as a starless night. Yet deep within them a flame burned, tempted, promised ecstasy to anyone who could reach it and bathe in its heat. Skye leaned forward, let the darkness surround her as she moved toward the flame. The lust that had been riding her when she was with Rico returned with a vengeance. She wanted relief. She wanted what the deep flame offered. But the promise remained elusive, just out of reach, encouraging the seeker to move further and further into the darkness.

Without conscious thought, Skye slipped into another world. Into being other. And as soon as she did, she saw the flame for what it was. Understood the power of the hunter in front of her.

A jolt of surprise ripped through her. She'd never met anyone else who could hypnotize as she did.

He was very good at it. And very powerful. But her strength had been forged in hell. With a blink and a slight twist of her head she easily escaped the trap of his eyes.

His face registered shock before it changed into an emotionless mask. The midnight-colored eyes never left her face as he murmured, "I am Giovanni Banderali. Gian to my friends."

His voice was silky-soft, tempting and beautiful. Yet he was dangerous, deadly-as she was.

Adrenaline whipped through Skye's body along with desire. "Skye Delano," she said, letting her voice duel with his, move over him like an erotic fantasy.

The flame in the dark centers of his eyes flared even as the look of a hungry predator flickered across his face.

Skye turned to her companions. They sat around the table in eager disbelief. Transfixed. Unable to believe their good fortune or speak. Unable to take their eyes off the man they thought was a vampire.

"Candy, Dawn, and Mike," she introduced them.

Gian acknowledged each of them, staring briefly into their eyes as he did so. A waitress appeared at the table unsummoned. "Were you about to order something?" Gian asked.

"Beers," Mike managed. "We were getting a round of beers."

Without a word the waitress disappeared. She returned within moments with four beers and a wineglass full of dark red wine.

"Oh, wow," Candy breathed. "You're the real thing. I just know you're the real thing."

Skye only barely managed to contain a laugh. Gian gave a slight smile and shook his head when Skye started to hand the waitress some money. "It's on the house."

"This is your place?" she asked.

"Along with some partners."

"At the private table?"

"You're very observant."

Skye half-smiled as she let her eyes move over his features, linger. He was unforgettable. Like no man she'd ever encountered before. He was pure sex. Life and death rolled into the same coin.

Her body recognized him, just as it did Rico.

A mate.

"You're hard to miss," she said without inflection and let her eyes wander from Gian over to the kids.

His eyes lingered on her for a second longer then he too shifted his focus to include the others in his comment. "I don't think I've seen you here before."

"Oh," Dawn was finally able to speak, "we're here every night."

Candy added, "But mainly we're waiting outside."

"Your club is like so totally rad," Mike said.

Gian gave a small smile. "I'll tell the doorkeeper that you may come into the club any time it's open. There's no need to wait in line."

"Oh my god, oh my god," Candy breathed. "I can't believe this. It's like the best night in my life."

"Perhaps mine as well," Gian murmured. His dark eyes moved over Skye. "I can't believe you've also been waiting outside."

"This is Skye's first night here," Mike volunteered before she could answer. "She's just getting into the scene."

Dawn giggled and added, "Yeah, she's a vampire virgin still."

Something burned deep in Gian's eyes. He studied Skye. "Is that why you're here? You're trying to find a vampire?"

Skye felt the pull of his eyes, as though once again he was trying to draw her into their darkness. Her lips tilted up in an amused smile. "That's not high on my list tonight."

His eyes lingered on her face for a long moment before moving back and focusing on Mike. "The DJ is doing a good job. Wouldn't you agree, Mike? It makes you want to get out on the dance floor."

Without hesitation, Mike stood. "You're right. Come on, Dawn. The music is too good to miss. Let's dance." He didn't stop to take a fortifying gulp of beer as he had before the last dance, this time he practically dragged his girlfriend to the dance floor.

Skye picked up her own beer and took a swallow as she waited to see what Gian would do next. He turned slightly in his chair. Several tables over four young men sat. Like Mike, they were completely dressed in black. Three of them had canine teeth elongated and filed into sharp points. They were animated, high or drunk. The fourth sported silver studs and chains, but was quieter than his companions. There was no obvious contact between Gian and the young man, no point at which Skye knew Gian had used hypnosis, and yet the young man looked over at where Candy sat and got to his feet.

He was hesitant, almost shy in his approach. But soon he stood next to the table, his attention on Candy. "Uh. Hi. You want to, uh, dance?"

"Yeah," Candy answered, breathless.

Skye watched as the two young people moved through the crowd and got to the dance floor. Then she turned to Gian. "You're very good. I'm impressed."

"And yet you can elude me."

Her heart began racing in anticipation as he moved so close that she could feel his warm breath across her lips. "Can I?"

"Who were you dancing with earlier?" His voice was a seductive whisper.

"A friend."

"A lover?"

She smiled slightly, but didn't answer.

He reached up and gently stroked her cheek then cupped the side of her face in his hand, trapping her so that their eyes met, so that she couldn't break his hold, couldn't look away.

Skye laughed. It was low, sensual, excited. It held no fear.

She stroked the line of skin bared by the vest he wore and slipped her hand under the smooth fabric so that it rested on his heart. Then without warning, her eyes became the endless blue of a summer sky. She felt him fall into them and beckoned him to come deeper, to rejoice in the sensation of being a hawk flying high over the desert. To embrace the warmth of the sun. The power of the breeze.

He stayed with her, though she knew he was not yet trapped in the illusion. Underneath her palm his heart began beating faster. And then his mind pulled away, took hers with it, dropping them into night-darkened woods. Into the sensation of running as a wolf runs, effortlessly, powerfully. The smell of the earth was intense, familiar to Skye. So many times this was what she'd become when she searched. A hunter, a predator rejoicing in the movement of body, in being alive.

His voice whispered across her. Commanding, compelling, his voice a smooth trap. "Come with me."

It was a dangerous game they played.

She let the illusion go, escaping from his mind and letting him escape from hers. "Where to?" she asked and once again saw shock register on his face at being unable to trap her.

"To my table."

Skye laughed, amused. Perhaps she'd have asked this same thing of him if she'd been able to hold him in her eyes. "Okay."

They stood. Skye pulled her jacket off the back of the chair and followed Gian.

As soon as Haley saw Skye, her hand flew to the pendant in an agitated gesture. The man next to her noticed the reaction. His eyes sharpened, moving from Skye to Haley and back again. His posture screamed possessiveness, a willingness to do anything to protect what was his. And once again Skye wondered if he was responsible for the disappearance of Haley's sister.

Gian indicated the empty seat next to Haley. Skye sat down. He followed her, introducing the pale blonde as Kisha, her boyfriend as Nahir before saying, "I think you've already met Haley."

"If you call sharing a sink in the ladies' bathroom an introduction," Skye said easily, naturally. She smiled at the other woman and added, "I'm Skye Delano."

Haley's hand never left the pendant. "I'm Haley Warren." Her eyes flit nervously to the man beside her. "This is my boyfriend, Kyle."

Syke met his eyes and knew instantly that he too could use them to hypnotize. There was little doubt in her mind that by the end of the night he'd know about Haley's visit to her apartment. If the other woman didn't lose her nerve and confess, her boyfriend would simply pull it out of her mind.

They played cat and mouse. Parried with questions and answers until dawn approached and the club began to clear of people.

Emboldened by the events of the evening, Mike and Candy and Dawn dared to stop by the private table. Candy impulsively hugged Skye and whispered, "Thanks for everything."

As they left, Skye wondered how many hours of sleep she'd get before having to face the music and visit Detective Caldwell. "I'd better get going, too," she murmured.

Kyle stood, helping Haley to her feet. Skye watched them closely and saw no fear in the other woman's face.

Gian also stood, offered his hand to Skye. She let him pull her up.

"We'll meet again, I'm sure," Kyle said.

"Yes, I'm sure of that, too."

Haley's glance flew from her boyfriend to Skye and back. Her hand reached up and began worrying the pendant. But she followed Kyle willingly as he led her away.

Gian kept a hand on Skye's arm as they walked out to where the Harley was parked. "Nice bike," he said.

She turned and leaned against it. "Yeah. I love it. Maybe I'll take you for a ride on it sometime."

He moved into her, slid his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body. She put her arms around his neck, did what she'd been aching to do since she first saw him. She slipped the band out of his long black hair and ran her fingers though it.

Gian groaned and covered her lips with his. She opened her mouth so that their tongues could touch, slide against each other, send desire shimmering through them.

His hand moved up, cupping her breast through the thin tank top and equally thin bra. Need shot through her. Hot, fierce. She moaned. Their lower bodies shifted, rubbed, strained to mimic what their tongues were doing.

When the kiss ended, both of them were breathing hard. Gian stepped back. Skye's body screamed in protest, in frustrated need.

"Come back to the club when it opens tonight," he said.

The survival instinct that had kept her alive warned that playing with him would be addicting, all-consuming, too dangerous. "Maybe," she answered.

Gian moved in to her again, capturing her face with his hand. He was all predator now. His body so completely motionless that it melted into the night.

She watched him. As silent and still as he was. Two dangerous hunters sizing each other up.

Then he lowered his head again, brushing soft kisses along her throat, stopping over her rapidly beating pulse. He bit down gently, laved the spot with his tongue, and bit again. Heat burned through her, racing through every artery, every vein like a roaring fire.

"Come to the club tonight," he whispered against her neck.

"Maybe," she repeated.

He bit again, harder this time then moved upward, covering her mouth with his, making thought and conversation impossible. When the kiss ended, Gian said, "I've got to go back in now. I'll see you tonight."

A soft laugh escaped her. Yes, her body demanded. Maybe, her instincts cautioned. But she didn't say anything as he moved away from her, blending with the night before disappearing into the dark interior of the club.

She brought the Harley's powerful engine to life and headed home.

* * * * *

Inside the club, Gian tapped out a code and the door securing the private chambers opened. Kyle stood in the hallway, waiting.

"She lied about not knowing Haley," Kyle said without preamble. "Haley sought her out and asked her to look for Jen."

"Then I owe your companion a reward for luring Skye here."

Kyle's face tightened. "You take this too lightly, Gian. Skye is dangerous to us. She reeks of the Angelini bloodline. I could feel her touch on Haley's mind."

"And did your companion betray us?"

Kyle hissed, flashing needle-sharp fangs to show his displeasure. "You know she didn't. You know my blocks will hold."

"Then let me worry about Skye. She's my problem now."

Amazement flashed across Kyle's features. "You plan to bind her?" This time when he spoke his fangs were sheathed.

Fire raced along Gian's veins. In all the centuries he'd been alive, he'd never desired any woman enough to bind her to him as a companion. But tonight that had changed. He smiled in anticipation of the hunt to come. "Yes. She will belong to me."

"And you will share her with another? A shifter? A human?" Kyle asked, disbelief sounding in his voice.

"She is not bound to another."

"Yet." Kyle's face grew somber. "The Angelini have always taken two mates in order to make their hunting easier, in order to better protect themselves. You know that as well as I do."

"She has their blood in her, but she is not completely one of them."

"And I say again-yet. Have you ever known one of their bloodline to be anything but a hunter?" Kyle shook his head. "You take unnecessary chances. What of her family? They may well declare you rogue for binding her to you. Then they would claim it as their right to kill you."

Gian flashed a smile, allowing a hint of fangs to show. "I do not fear the Angelini. And they can make no claim on her. Perhaps she is not even known to them. She doesn't bear their mark."

"But she reeks of them. She's dangerous, as they are. She was born to kill our kind." Kyle's fangs glistened as he spat the words, "Vampire hunter."

"She will be my companion."

"And if you can't control her then you'll be forced to kill her."

Gian's eyes flashed to red, his lips pulled back, exposing his fangs. "She will be mine."

* * * * *

The first rays of the sun had broken over the horizon as Skye pulled into the parking garage. Rico was waiting for her there.

He pushed himself away from the hood of his car. His face was taut with desire. The front of his pants stretched tight over his erection.

His eyes darkened with furious need when he looked at Skye's neck. "You let one of those punks bite you."

She half-smiled at the memory of Gian. At the thought of him being called a punk. The smile triggered a deep growl from Rico. In two steps he had her pressed against one of the columns in the garage. His lips covered hers as his tongue demanded entry.

Skye opened for him, knowing that this time her mind wouldn't be able to suppress the demands of her body. Her clit was already swollen and throbbing. She was wet and aching with need. Their earlier encounter, and the moments spent with Gian had only fueled the desire.

As soon as Rico's tongue slid over hers, she whimpered. He growled in response and lifted her so that his erection was perfectly aligned to her cunt.

Even through their clothing, Skye could feel the raging heat of him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he rewarded her by grinding into her, rubbing his thick jeans-covered erection against her in the same rhythm as his tongue mated with hers.

Skye had never felt so out of control. So ready to be mounted-mated. Always before, sex had been a recreational activity, a casual coming together.

But not now. Not with Rico. Her body was making that clear.

Rico's hand pushed her tank top up and freed her breasts to the early-morning air. Skye's already hard nipples tightened further. She arched into his palms when they covered her breasts and rubbed against the sensitive peaks.

Her womb spasmed and sent a flood of desire to her already soaking passage. Another whimper escaped. She pulled her mouth away from Rico's and pleaded. "Suck me. Bite me."

Lust roared through every pore in Rico's body. He'd dreamed of this, of having her beg for his touch.

He lowered his head and licked his way down her breast until he got to the pale pink nipple. It was stiff and engorged, a juicy berry waiting for him to take it in his mouth.

When she whimpered again and tried to close the distance, masculine satisfaction whipped through him. With a groan, Rico latched on to the tender flesh, lashing it with his tongue then suckling it as Skye writhed against him.

He couldn't think beyond the ache in his cock. The scent of her was driving him crazy. The need like nothing he'd ever experienced. He freed one hand and used it to open the front of her jeans.

Skye instantly shifted so that he could slip his hand inside her panties. She was swollen, wet, on fire.

With a groan Rico pulled his mouth away from her breast and looked down at where his hand disappeared into her pants. He was panting, barely able to pull enough air into his lungs and breathe, barely able to think. "You make me forget I'm a cop. I could take you right here, right now."

Skye laughed, a small husky sound that ran along Rico's spine. "That'd be hell on your career if someone came along and reported you." She let her legs slip from around his hips, but stood so that his hand was still trapped against her wet cunt. She leaned forward and whispered against his mouth, "Do you want to come upstairs and finish this?"

He thrust his tongue into her mouth as his fingers echoed the movement, tunneling into her tight, wet sheath and fucking her until she cried out, flooding his hand with her juices as she climaxed around his fingers. Only then did he pull away long enough for her to straighten her clothes and lead him to her apartment.

As soon as the front door closed, he was on her. Some part of his mind was shocked at the rough way he stripped her of her clothes, but he couldn't stop himself, couldn't control the need-and she didn't fight him. She let him take her to the floor, helped him get his own clothes off then wrapped her body around his.

A red haze filled Rico's mind as he plunged his cock into her. Skye screamed and pressed against him. Her arms wound around him, holding him to her as he pounded in and out of her until she came.

Her whimpers sent fingers of hot ecstasy along his spine and through his cock. He couldn't hang on, couldn't make it last. With a groan he shot his seed into her. And even then, the need wasn't sated. As if reading his mind, his fantasies, Skye rolled to her hands and knees, spreading her legs, and lowering her upper body so that he could see the glistening, swollen slit and the small triangle of black pubic hair.

She needed him to mount her, to prove that he was dominant enough to be with her. To be one of her mates.

The thoughts were foreign to Skye but her body ruled. She'd come twice, but she needed more-craved more.

She shivered as Rico's hard body covered hers, as his thick cock plunged into her vagina and his balls came to a rest against her wet, swollen labia and sensitive clit. He allowed just enough of his weight to rest on her so that she knew he was the stronger one physically.

"I've fantasized about this," he whispered against her neck as his hands moved to her wrists, holding them to the carpet. "I've jerked off imagining doing this to you."

Skye arched into him and begged, "Please, Rico."

His mouth latched on to her neck, covering the place where she'd allowed some punk to bite her. The need to dominate rushed over him like molten lava. She was his and when he was finished with her, she'd know it. He bit down hard, replacing the mark with his own as he pumped his hungry cock in and out of her tight sheath.

She moved into him, crying out each time the tip of his penis slammed into her cervix, but the pain was welcome, the nearness to her womb only drove her higher. She wanted to scream, to howl, to scratch and bite like an animal in heat. She wanted to clamp down and hold him inside of her-actually felt as though there was a hidden place inside of her that was created for this, for locking her mate to her.

Instinct ruled where rational thought had always dominated before. Skye opened herself wider, pressed more of her upper body to the carpet and angled her cock-filled channel higher so that he could plunge into her deeper, harder.

The slap of his balls against her clit only fed the hunger, the need. She would take his seed, bind him to her. He would be her mate.

Sweat poured off of Rico's body. His heart felt like it was about to explode in his chest. His breath heaved in and out of his body.

He'd never been so rough with a lover, he'd never let himself lose control. But the feel of her, the smell of her, the sounds she was making had pushed him beyond any limit, had filled his cock so full that every stroke was exquisite agony.

His balls swung tight and heavy against her slick flesh, sending waves of sharp, hot pleasure through his cock along with the urge to pound into her, to shove himself deeper than any man had ever been.

Fuck! What had she done to him?

He couldn't fight the frantic need. His head went back, his body arched violently, giving him the extra depth he sought.

Beneath him she cried out, opening herself deeper then closing around the tip of his penis, trapping him inside her, forcing him to come with each jerk of his hips, each involuntary attempt at escape.

Over and over again he came, each release making him cry out, each release triggering an answering cry in her. The pleasure was hot and fierce, overwhelming, consuming. He would never get enough of this.