Sex Symbol

by Tracey H. Kitts

  Before Nick could respond a shot rang out and he fell facedown. Eramus looked around as Justina and I ran forward. I’m not sure why we did that. It was a stupid move considering what was going on. Eramus held a hand back toward us, motioning for us to stay behind him. He was still looking for the direction of the shot.

  “Get out and get down,” he called to Chase.

  Chase scrambled out of the passenger side of his car and crouched down.

  A dark shape stepped out of the tree line across the road. I couldn’t make it out at first. But once he stepped into the moonlight, I recognized Ozzy. He was dressed all in black and carrying a high-power rifle.

  He approached Nick like he expected he might get up. I hadn’t noticed him changing, but Nick was now completely human again. He was also completely naked. Ozzy kicked him over and pointed the gun in his face.

  Nick laughed and blood spilled from his lips. He looked to Oz, then back to Eramus.

  “Do what you want, but your girl is still marked.”

  He coughed up more blood. In a surprising move, Justina pushed past Eramus and grabbed Nick by the shoulders. Her dark hair fell over his face as she shook him. For a second I thought she was upset that he’d been shot. But I was wrong. She was upset about what he was saying.

  “What mark, Nick? What are you talking about?!”

  His eyes flashed amber as he looked at her and I feared the worst. But Nick didn’t have the strength to transform again. He strangled on his own blood while Justina continued to shake him.

  “Silver bullets,” Ozzy said. “Works every time.” He turned to Eramus, who looked normal once more, right down to his hands. “I’ll split the fee with you if you want.”

  Eramus waved off his comment like this was a normal conversation.

  “Keep it.”

  “What the fuck is going on?” My voice was still hoarse, but I had no doubt that everyone had understood me.

  “We could discuss this inside,” Ozzy said calmly.

  I looked around, afraid someone might see what was going on. Then I realized something—no one was close enough to hear me scream. Eramus was my only neighbor for miles. If he hadn’t been here, God only knows what might have happened. I felt dizzy and my knees nearly gave out. Oz caught me, but I pushed away his hand.

  “No, tell me now. What’s going on, what fee?”

  He handed the rifle to Chase. “Would you put this in your car for me? I’ll get it before I leave.” Then he turned back to me. “You’ve never asked what I did, so I never felt the need to explain. I’m an assassin, Lucy.”

  “What the hell?” Justina mumbled as she fell back on her butt in the mud.

  Eramus knelt to help her and she only flinched once before taking his hand.

  “I won’t hurt you,” he said softly. “Let me get you inside.”

  While Eramus helped Justina to her feet I turned back to Ozzy.

  “Assassin? Not a bounty hunter?”

  “You mean like Eramus? No.”

  I thought I understood what he was trying to say. “So, someone put out a hit on Nick?”

  Justina froze and rounded on Oz. “Who? Who wanted him dead?”

  Ozzy shrugged. “A lot of people. But his brother ponied up the cash.”

  As I looked at Ozzy, I could still remember the last time I’d seen him in the rain. He still looked good wet. He also still looked like my friend, but I wondered if I’d ever really known him at all.

  He must have read my mind. “It’s still me, Lucy,” he said softly.

  When Ozzy reached for me, I let him pull me close. I needed the comfort and Eramus was busy keeping Justina upright.

  “That’s why you’re always out of town. Why you keep such strange hours.”

  “Yes.”

  “We should all get inside,” Eramus said. “I’ll help you with the body. I assume you have someplace to hide him?”

  Ozzy smiled. “Even better. I’ve got an incinerator.”

  Well, that was news to me.

  Justina turned away from Eramus just in time to throw up.

  “I’ve got her,” Chase said, running forward.

  I took her other arm and we started toward the porch.

  “Why are you here?” she asked him.

  Chase seemed reluctant to answer. We helped her up the steps before he replied.

  “I thought I’d stop by and surprise you. So I rented a couple of movies, picked up some Chinese.”

  She smiled weakly. “That’s nice.”

  “When I got there…there was blood on your front door. A bloody handprint.”

  Shit. I could see where this was going. Suddenly, I felt sick too.

  “When I couldn’t get you to the door and I didn’t see anything through the windows, I went next door. He— I think Nick killed your neighbor.”

  Justina gave an anguished moan. “What do you mean you think?”

  “I was trying to be nice about it. There were…pieces…”

  “That’s enough,” she said, putting up her hand. “I don’t need to hear any more.”

  As we helped Justina into the house she asked me, “So, what was he talking about? What mark?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Marked for what?

  I went upstairs and stripped out of my wet clothes. After putting on a robe I carried some towels downstairs for everyone else. Justina was shivering in a chair beside the kitchen table. I wrapped the large towel around her shoulders and hugged her tight.

  “Stupid question here, but are you all right?”

  “No,” she said through chattering teeth. “But, I think I will be. Eventually.”

  Chase took the towel I offered and wrapped it around him. “I can make us some coffee,” he said.

  “So,” Justina said, sniffing, “you knew Eramus was a werewolf? Were you going to share that with the rest of us?”

  “It wasn’t my secret to tell. Besides, I only found out a couple of days ago. Even if he’d told me to spread the word, which he didn’t, I still wouldn’t just spring something like that on you.”

  “I suspected it,” Chase said.

  We both stared at him open-mouthed.

  “How could you possibly?” I asked.

  “Easy. It was the way he smelled.”

  Justina snorted. “You recognize the scent of a werewolf?”

  Chase smiled. “Not like that. Have either of you been around a werewolf before?”

  We shook our heads.

  “They smell too good to be true. It’s like the best cologne ever, but I can’t put it into words.”

  “Pheromones,” I said. “I don’t think you can put it into words.”

  “He does smell great,” Justina agreed.

  “Doesn’t he?” Chase asked. “I was around a wolf once before in a club out in New Orleans. But he didn’t smell as good as Eramus.”

  I took a seat beside Justina and put my head in my hands. “Did you know about Nick?”

  “Are you kidding me? It must have happened after I left. I’d like to think that I would have at least noticed something strange if I was living with a werewolf.”

  She looped her arm through mine and we just sat there, huddled together for a few minutes. I think we stayed close as much for warmth as we did for comfort.

  “I could find you a robe,” I offered.

  “I’m fine. I think it’s my nerves making me shake this hard. What the fuck kind of day was this, huh? Mr. Hottie is a werewolf, Oz is an assassin, and my ex really was a monster after all.”

  She laughed bitterly. Chase walked over and put his arms around both of us.

  “You’re going to be okay. Ozzy is still Ozzy, Nick will never bother you again, and I think that if Eramus wanted to hurt any of us, he’d have done it by now.”

  Ozzy walked in and we all jumped. He was soaked through, but somehow didn’t seem as cold as the rest of us. He ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back against his head. Even after a
ll that had just happened, Oz was still good looking to me. The silence was a little awkward. So I worked up the nerve to ask what I felt like everybody wanted to know.

  “What did you do with the body?”

  “It’s in my truck, across the road.”

  Maybe you’re too isolated when people can carry a body across the road in front of your house? Not to mention the werewolves fighting in my yard, and no one even heard. I fought off another bout of chills.

  “What will you do with him?” Justina asked.

  She looked distraught. Even though she hated Nick, watching him die was a terrible thing. I wanted to erase the pain in her eyes, but had no clue where to start.

  “I’ll take photographs first and fingerprints to verify who he was. I’ll mail them to his brother.”

  She nodded grimly. “And his body?”

  Ozzy hesitated. Even if he didn’t have a “full range” of emotions, he was sensitive to the fact that other people did. Obviously she didn’t hear what he’d said outside.

  “I’ll put him in the incinerator. It will destroy the evidence of what he was. His ashes will be sent to his brother as well.”

  I was more than a little horrified at all of this. Yet all I could think to say was, “You have an incinerator? Who are you Ozzy?”

  He moved toward me slowly. “I’m the same man you’ve known for the past six years. Oswald Chesterfield.” He put out his hand as if to shake in greeting. When I grasped it firmly he smiled. “I’m a sociopath and I kill people for money.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s a job that requires emotional detachment. I’m well suited for that.”

  “Do you only go after werewolves? Aren’t you afraid of getting bitten or scratched?”

  “I’m immune to lycanthropy. And yes, I go after mostly werewolves. In this case Nick’s brother felt he was dangerous enough as a human.”

  Justina snorted into her coffee.

  “He was afraid what might happen if someone didn’t take him down.”

  I started to ask to speak to him alone, but figured that Justina deserved to hear everything. Plus, I’d probably end up telling Chase anyway. Might as well let him hear now.

  “How did you know about Eramus? Did you meet…professionally?”

  Without so much as blinking he replied, “You could say that. His grandfather killed my mom’s best friend.”

  I gasped and I heard Justina start to choke on her coffee. Chase started patting her on the back while Oz continued.

  “She was a vampire, my mom’s friend. Her own mother ordered the hit. She was a religious fanatic who thought she was saving her daughter’s soul.”

  “That’s horrible,” Chase said.

  “So, his grandpa didn’t just collect bounties?” I asked.

  Ozzy shrugged. “Everybody has to make a living somehow, Lucy. Eramus isn’t just a bounty hunter either, but don’t be too hard on him. He’s not like his grandpa.”

  I was confused. “What do you mean?”

  “He only takes jobs when the wolf or vamp in question had or was likely to hurt people.” He shrugged again, making the gesture look elegant somehow. “Besides, he’s retired.”

  A sort of numbness settled over me. I didn’t know what to think. Having the mystery of how Oz and Eramus knew each other revealed had not been as satisfying as I’d hoped. One of my best friends was an assassin and he’d just killed the ex-boyfriend of my other friend. To top it off her ex happened to be a werewolf! Calling this a bad night would be the understatement of the century. I think I was too upset to really be upset, if that makes any sense? It was like my mind was trying to protect me by shutting down my emotions just a little bit.

  Maybe that’s what happened to Oz? Maybe he was so upset by something as a child that his emotions sort of…shut down?

  “Did you see your mom’s best friend killed?” I asked softly.

  “Yes. I was never the same.”

  Poor Oz. At least now I could better understand the way he was. But my numbness would wear off in a few hours and his had lasted for most of his life.

  “Would you like some coffee, Oz?”

  “Sure.” He took the towel I offered and wrapped it around his shoulders. “Eramus is still outside if you want to talk to him.”

  Did I want to talk to him? I wasn’t angry. Shaken and confused, but not angry. Tonight was not his fault. While I stood there thinking it over Justina said, “He saved your life, Lucy. That’s got to be worth something.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that he told you his secret, risked rejection—”

  “And possible lynching around here,” Chase cut in.

  “When he didn’t have to.”

  I nodded. “You’re right. I was just thinking the same thing.”

  The beach towel still lying on the table was intended for Eramus. He was so big, none of my other towels would do much good. I tucked the towel underneath my arm and slipped on some shoes on my way outside.

  Eramus was standing on the porch, staring out at the rain. His chest was bare and still glistening with moisture. My breath caught at the sight. I’d never seen anything so gorgeous—or so deadly. His feet were also bare and I wondered why he wasn’t shivering. Then I remembered how hot his skin had felt.

  I was starting to get used to seeing him in wet jeans, or so I thought. He moved just a little, just enough to make his thigh flex and my heart leapt in a way that proved me wrong.

  “There’s a tropical depression moving through.”

  His deep voice warmed me like a fire through the cold. I watched as his breath fogged, unsure what to say. The porch creaked as I moved toward him. Though the sound was barely audible above the rain, I was sure he heard.

  “You’ll freeze out here,” I said softly, handing him the towel.

  His smile was faint. Only a slight curl of his sensuous mouth. “Let me show you something, Lucy.”

  Eramus moved to the edge of the porch and stretched his arm out into the cold rain. At first nothing happened, but in a moment steam began to rise from his skin.

  “Feel me,” he said, pulling his arm back out of the rain.

  No sexier words had ever been spoken. Eramus turned around and for the first time I was fully aware of how small I was next to him. He towered over me. Though he could easily have done me harm, I saw him not as a threat but as a guardian. I put my hands against his stomach and he gasped.

  “You’re cold,” he said softly.

  “And you’re burning up.”

  “My temperature runs higher even after a partial transformation. I stayed out here to cool off. After what you’ve seen tonight…I understand if you don’t want to be with me—just don’t be afraid.”

  Eramus wrapped the towel around his shoulders and blotted his chest dry before reaching for me. Falling into his arms was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. It surprised me when I felt him stiffen just a little. My first thought was that he was injured and I’d made it worse by hugging him.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “No.” He smiled down at me and my knees felt weak. “I just didn’t expect…” His words trailed off. He didn’t have to say it. I knew what he meant. He didn’t expect me to want to be close to him after what had just happened.

  His heat burned against my skin, thawing me from the dampness and the chill. I hated to ruin the moment, but there was something I needed to know.

  “Do you know what he was talking about? About a mark?”

  “Yes.” His voice was soft, but there was a graveness to his tone. “Sometimes a werewolf’s mate is marked with their blood. It’s like marking their territory. Do you understand?”

  “I think so. You’re saying that Nick believes I’ve come in contact somehow with werewolf blood.”

  “Alpha werewolf,” he corrected. “Those are the only ones allowed to use the mark.”

  “So this mark is used on their mates? What is it then, some kind of sex symbol? They jus
t mark the one they want to fuck?!”

  Eramus nodded.

  Oh, that wasn’t scary at all! What the hell was I supposed to do? This got stranger and stranger by the minute.

  “Well, I’d like to think I’d notice something like that,” I snapped. Immediately I regretted my tone. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. But what you’re saying is terrifying. How would they mark me?”

  Eramus shook his head. “It’s hard to say. I’ve never come across a case where the mark was actually used. I’ve only read about it.”

  Well, that was just great. “Where? Can I read this too?”

  He sighed. “That’s one of the books I lost in the storm.”

  “Shit. How was it done before, in the book? Do you remember?”

  His brows knit in concentration. Under different circumstances the expression would have been endearing. But at the moment I was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to remember and I’d be shit out of luck on finding out the truth.

  “You’d have to consume the blood, or so the book said. It would have to be taken from the alpha when he was in human form.”

  “Why human form?”

  “Because then he couldn’t infect you.”

  I was certain that I hadn’t drunk anyone’s blood. At least, not to my knowledge. If something like that had happened, someone must have slipped it to me. I looked up at him, already regretting what I was about to say.

  “Have you marked me, Eramus?”

  “No. I wouldn’t do that.” He answered without hesitation and that made me feel a lot better.

  “Then what he said can’t be true. I haven’t been around any other werewolves.”

  He ran a hand through his hair, biting his lower lip in thought. Damn he was so sexy without even trying.

  “Have you received a blood transfusion recently?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Ever?”

  “Never in my life.”

  “Have you noticed any change in your…appetites?”

  “You mean sexually?” Where was he going with this?

  “I mean anything.”