One Bite Stand

by Nina Bangs

  Old fuzzy-beard nodded.

  “I’ll check in now and then. Oh, and every time you curse, I’ll take away one of your treats. Juvenile but effective.” Mr. Goodness-and-Light walked back to his truck and in a few minutes the strains of “Don’t Be Cruel” faded into the distance.

  Ganymede stood there a long time. How would he go on without her there to joke with him, insult him, and make awesome love to him? How would he tell her? The thing under the church didn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.

  ———

  Declan thought about getting up and leaving the parlor. He’d come in here to calm down and try to think through what had happened at the church. But now Sparkle was having some kind of sensitivity session. He didn’t need it. Declan didn’t get close enough to anyone for them to care whether he was sensitive or not. But he tuned in for a minute.

  “Quality time with the ones you care about is precious. Use it wisely.” Sparkle was in harem-girl mode tonight. She wore loose black silk pants and a fringed top that wouldn’t be within shouting distance of her navel any time soon.

  “Yeah. Play Monopoly with them even if you always lose Park Place,” put in Harvey the werechicken. “My uncle asked me to come over for a game last year. I was too busy. The next night a wolf ate him.” He glared across the room at the three werewolves.

  The werewolves waved at him.

  “Uh, yes.” Sparkle frowned.

  Declan grinned. He’d bet that wasn’t the direction she wanted her discussion to head.

  “You, back there, what do you and your special friends”—read lovers—”do when you’re all cuddled up together?”

  The woman Sparkle pointed to was a great-looking redhead. A demon. She smiled at Sparkle. “We play with souls.”

  Not the right answer. Sparkle frowned.

  Declan lost interest in the session as Daria walked into the room. She spotted him sitting in his favorite dark corner and came over to sit with him. She pulled her chair close so she could talk without bothering Sparkle. There was a lithe sensuality to her walk that would horrify her harpy heart if she knew.

  “What’s Sparkle talking about?” She spoke in a quiet, husky voice that was so sexy he wanted to drag her to the floor and make love to her in front of Sparkle and her whole sensitivity crew. Sort of a hands-on demonstration.

  Whoa. Not his usual in-control response to a woman. “Relationships.” Close enough.

  She nodded. “Emotional relationships don’t work for me.”

  “Me either.” He was torn. It was okay for him to be cold, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about her being the same way. “I avoid them. Too transient. Too many what-ifs and might-have-beens.” Humans freaked out when they discovered what he was. Besides, they died too soon. And the women of the Mackenzie clan? They knew what he was and ran like hell when he got anywhere near them.

  “Does it bother you?” Her interest was real.

  It made him uncomfortable. Women enjoyed the sexual pleasure he gave. They didn’t care about his feelings. And that was fine with him. He shrugged. “My emotions have dried up over the centuries. So I guess, no, it doesn’t bother me.” He met her gaze. “I’m surprised about you, though. You’re a sensual woman. Are you sure there’s no one special back home?” He allowed himself a smile he knew had more than its share of sexual intent.

  “No.” Daria looked horrified that she could exert a sensual pull on any man.

  He smiled. She probably checked herself out in a mirror each night to make sure she was ugly enough to repel everyone.

  Would she understand his attraction to her? Probably not. Getting lots of bright and shiny presents put on his bed was exciting. When he opened them up and found they were all empty? Not so exciting. Nowadays, he wanted something interesting and amusing inside the boxes. Glossy wrapping paper optional.

  Declan allowed his gaze to glide the length of her body. He saw her tense. She’d noticed. His smile widened. Her body was worthy of the shiniest party paper. Her face? Not as bad as she’d like, he was sure. In fact, he’d bet Sparkle could create a few miracles from the neck up.

  “What do you think is under the church?” She’d decided to steer the conversation out of dangerous waters.

  “I don’t know.” Whatever it was, it wanted him. It had killed two council members to get to him. And at the edge of his consciousness was a memory he’d managed to suppress for nine hundred years.

  “I hope Ganymede doesn’t regret not listening to you.”

  Thoughts of the church and what was under it grew fuzzy around the edges as Daria shifted, her thigh pressing against his for a nanosecond. That’s all his body needed. His emotions might have faded over the years, but his senses had grown far more acute. Any touch from a woman he wanted woke the sexual beast in him. He growled low in his throat.

  He wanted to slip that purple top off her. Then he wanted to unhook her bra, freeing her full breasts. Then he’d cup those breasts before lowering his head to run his tongue across each nipple.

  “I think Ganymede’s the kind of guy who’d need to be sitting on a mountain of fingers before he’d admit he made a mistake.” He spread his legs, relieving the growing pressure and drawing Daria’s attention. He felt the slip-and-dip of her gaze skim his thigh and pause there. There acknowledged the attention by hardening its resolve.

  “I suppose.” Her gaze skittered away.

  Her scent. It was of warm woman and suppressed arousal. He could feel her tension, her I-want-but-don’t-want turmoil. Good. The longer she made him wait, the more erotic excitement she’d bring to the moment when he buried himself deep inside her.

  She looked back at him. “I’m curious. Why were you here last year?”

  He shrugged. “I’m a member of the Mackenzie council. The council is sort of the ruling body of the Mackenzie clan. Our headquarters is in Scotland, but we live in different parts of the world. There was a clan rebellion at the Woo Woo Inn, so all five of us had to show up to put it down.”

  She raised one pierced brow. “Rebellion?”

  “It’s not important. I didn’t give a damn about the rebellion, but the rest of the council is pretty rigid when it comes to clan laws.” He grinned. “Sparkle Stardust carried the day for the rebels, and I went home with the rest of the council.”

  “Sparkle?” Puzzled, she pursed a surprisingly sexy mouth.

  “One cosmic troublemaker against five vampires? What’d she do?”

  “She removed their sexual organs until they agreed to leave everyone at the Woo Woo Inn alone.” He grinned at her. “Sparkle left me intact because she thought I was cute.” He winced. That sounded almost playful.

  “Wow.” Daria shook her head. She looked like she didn’t quite believe him.

  “We need to talk, Daria.” A hard male voice interrupted them.

  “Later, Kal.”

  “Now.”

  Declan controlled the slide of his fangs as he stared up at the tall guy who looked like he was wearing a fright mask. A male harpy. Unusual. He’d only seen a few during his lifetime. Daria seemed at ease with him. A lover?

  Declan’s unexpected surge of emotion felt a lot like jealousy, or what he thought jealousy must feel like. He hadn’t experienced it in centuries. Not since he realized he liked sex but not the stuff that followed.

  Declan smiled at the harpy. A mere baring of his teeth. “I think the lady said no, pal.” This Kal guy was close enough for Declan to realize the magic he’d sensed on Daria belonged to him. What did that mean?

  “Okay, okay, I’m coming.” Daria stood.

  Kal walked away without another word.

  Declan’s thoughts were a jumble of possibilities.

  Daria took a last glance at Sparkle, who waved at her. Then she glanced down at him. “See you later.” And she hurried away.

  Running away won’t do you any good, harpy lady. He sometimes thought he had a little werewolf blood in him, because when the prey ran he couldn’t control his need to purs
ue.

  Werewolf.

  And suddenly a thought so horrible hit him that he forgot where he was and the woman walking away from him. The memory he’d been dodging for nine centuries hit him smack between the eyes.

  Fenrir? No, it couldn’t be. But if it was, God help them all.

  Chapter Four

  Memo: To All Harpies

  Subject: Quality Control

  Quality Control reports that harpies have flooded Tartarus with lying politicians. This type of prey offers no challenge and lowers the tone of our great company. Harpies are encouraged to be the best they can be. Go out and get a vampire, a werewolf, or at least a spam.’ men Punishment for dumping any more dishonest politicians on Hades’s doorstep will include listening to Rush Limbaugh day and night for six months.

  Remember, you are what you snatch.

  HADES THE PATIENT

  Kal was waiting for her at the registration desk. “Your clothes. I don’t know where they came from, but get out of them before the judge sees you.”

  “Can’t. Sparkle hijacked my wardrobe and left me with this. I’d yank out her fingernails one at a time, but then Ganymede would fire me.”

  “There has to be something you can do.” Her brother didn’t sound sympathetic.

  “Fine. I’ll do something.” Harpy temper alert. “See if there’s a felt-tip pen in one of the drawers.” She waited while he fished one put. And then she methodically drew smiley faces all over Sparkle’s sexy top. She handed back the pen. “Happy?”

  The hint of a smile softened his face. “Creative. Had a tough night, sis?”

  “You have no idea. Now, what’s so important it couldn’t wait?”

  “Eris is here.” He waited for her reaction.

  “That witch.” Aello’s daughter, Daria’s competition, the most conscienceless climber of the harpy corporate ladder, the grossest of them all—she wouldn’t need any artificial ugly upgrade—was here.

  “Where is she?” Obviously not nearby, because wherever Eris went, people fled. No, Daria didn’t hear any screams of horror or see anyone running for their lives. “I thought she’d targeted a maximum-security prison for her challenge. Two contenders shouldn’t be hunting in the same place.”

  “Eris never gave a damn about rules. She’s here and looking to take top prize. You’ve got to ratchet up your act.”

  For the next half hour Daria worked at the desk and tried not to think about Eris. But it was tough not to remember all the teasing, all the taunts the other harpy had thrown her way over the years.

  “I’m so sorry your stay was cut short.” Daria smiled at a sweet-faced old woman who was waiting to check out. She was surrounded by five rolling suitcases and three scary minions.

  The sweet-faced old woman didn’t smile back. “Ghosts in the chimney, spirits in mirrors, bossy books, things that grab the food right off your plate. It’s too busy around here.” She drew her lips back from her fangs to express how much she really hated all that busy stuff.

  Daria sighed. She really wasn’t cut out to be a manager—lots of smiling and acting nice, both offensive to her harpy sensibilities.

  Okay, a little honesty. She wouldn’t mind smiling or being nice to Declan. No excuses, she simply liked the guy. And that might be the exact reason he should be her test subject, to prove she had what it took to snatch anyone Hades wanted. Please, please let someone more evil, more powerful, more perfect pop up.

  Daria pushed a strand of hair from her face and looked around. Guess that was it for the night. As soon as she took care of a few more things, she’d hunt up Eris and have a calm, quiet talk with her.

  “You’re being too nice.” Her brother, Kal the grump.

  He’d been hovering around her, sort of like the ultimate fight manager, suggesting cutting verbal jabs as various guests stepped up to the desk to ask questions, check in or out—tell that woman a little butt goes a long way, tell that man he has to stop buying his clothes at thrift shops—and scowling when she ignored him.

  Now the bell had rung, and he was moving in to get her ready for round two. Kick her if she ever took her brother anywhere with her again. Uh, hello? He’s the only one who can make you look like a harpy.

  “It’s my job to be nice to them.”

  Kal thought about that for a few beats too long. “Yeah, you do have to keep this job. What comes next?” His expression said it’d better involve her being vicious or violent, preferably both. “There’re a lot of people here. One of them is the judge. You’ve got to prove you can embrace your inner cruelty, sneer at goodness, and—”

  “Okay, okay, I get it. The meanest of the mean, the rudest of the rude, that’s me. Sheesh.” She watched a pudgy balding man head her way. Human. Now, what did he want?

  Would this night never end? She still had to make sure all the guests had what they needed, check on the cook, get her clothes back, and confront Eris. Then you can think about Declan. She pushed that thought aside. Too soft, too… human.

  With Kal breathing down her neck, she didn’t even try to dredge up a smile for the guy. “Leaving?”

  The man offered her a toothy grin. “Hell, no. This place is great. I just wanted to find out how I could get a peek inside the walls.”

  She blinked at him. “Inside the walls?”

  “Yeah. Oh, I’m Walt Hendricks, professional debunker, and this place is a freaking treasure chest.”

  “Debunker?” She glanced at Kal. He shrugged.

  “That’s me. I go around proving that vampires, werewolves, and stuff like that don’t exist. It’s all phony.”

  She fought back a grin. “The world needs more people like you.”

  “Thanks. This lady said she heard noises coming from the cellar. Thinks they’re ghosts. So I went down to the cellar to check for rats. No rats.” Walt frowned. “There were three guys who went down with me. Got really ticked when we didn’t find any rats. Said they were pretty disappointed with the situation here. Asked me if I knew any place that did have rats in the cellar. Don’t know what their thing was. Probably don’t want to know.”

  Daria made a mental note: three werewolves will probably checkout. “This is my first night on the job. You’ll have to talk to Sparkle Stardust about the walls.”

  He nodded. “I’ve got a nose for anything fake. Bet those rats are in the walls.” His eyes gleamed with the fervor of a zealot. “This place is getting a rep for being the real deal when it comes to paranormal crap. That’s why the big business. The Woo Woo Inn won’t be a draw once I get through with it.” Looking like the self-righteous jerk he was, Walt strutted away in search of Sparkle.

  “Well, between Walt Hendricks and the monster under the church, Cindy and Thrain will be lucky to have a business by the time they get back.” Where was her so-what attitude? Jeez, she was actually outraged on the Woo Woo Inn’s behalf. Go figure.

  “Who cares?” Kal ignored anything that didn’t impact their goal. “We need to talk about this Declan guy. Stay away from him.”

  She raised one brow, which should’ve warned her brother. He ignored the warning.

  “He’s trying to hit on you, sis. No distractions, remember?” Kal’s gaze followed the sway of Sparkle Stardust’s behind as she walked to the door with one of the guests. “Besides, he’s a human. You can do better.”

  “He’s a vampire, and no, I can’t do better. You’d have to be a woman to understand.” Daria didn’t make a habit of wondering about her brother’s sex life, but she did now.

  Maybe it was because she was reassessing her own sex life. Hers was practically nonexistent. Sure, she could’ve hooked up with lesser male harpies, but she was too focused on her career to feel any enthusiasm.

  “A vampire?” Kal looked surprised. “Must be powerful if I didn’t pick up on him. I’ll add him to the list.”

  “Right. Your list.” All of Kal’s efforts centered on her rise to power in the harpy world. Always had as far back as she could remember. Daria had never thought about
it before; she’d just taken his support for granted.

  She thought about it now. He wouldn’t draw the notice of any female harpies, because even with his magic, he wasn’t grotesque enough to suit them. Kal took his harpy heritage seriously, so he wouldn’t show his real face to human women. He didn’t have any friends, because he was too involved with her career, and he just didn’t fit in with the other males.

  Selfishness was a desirable harpy trait. Then why didn’t it make her feel good to know how selfish she’d been? Mom said “It’s all about me” should be her mantra. Well, not where Kal was concerned. And that decision did make her feel good.

  “Working up a list of victims isn’t as easy as I thought it’d be.” Kal’s usual calm-and-patient persona was slipping.

  She nodded. He never lost his temper with her. She’d seen him in action with others, though. It took a long time to light his fuse, but Kal didn’t play nice once he got mad.

  “I’m only considering victims who’re alone. No witnesses. Any witnesses and you don’t pass.” He grew thoughtful. “Maybe we can use the vampire’s interest in you against him. Get him alone and then snatch him.” His smile wasn’t a smile at all. It was all calculating harpy. “So I take back what I said about staying away from him. Go for it, sis.”

  Daria didn’t understand the flutter of panic that thought brought. “Who else is on the list?”

  “No werewolves. They’re pack animals. Too many chances for a witness. A werecat. Leopard. Solitary. A big maybe. Five vampires, but they’re traveling together. Again, a witness problem. A demon, but she’d be happy to visit Papa Hades. No challenge there. The cook is a witch. Could work if we can figure out how to get her away from her kitchen. The only cosmic troublemaker we have a shot at is the dog, Trouble. He’s young and likes to run off by himself. Plus he’s probably not as powerful as I suspect Ganymede and Sparkle are.” Kal turned to the second page of his list. “I have a few more shifters to check out, along with a couple of unidentified beings. If we really get desperate, we’ll grab a human.”