Into the Flames

by Multi-Author

  She’d come seeking solace in Reese’s arms—and his bed. She’d wanted one day of lust to take with her when she left. That had been something else Alex had decided while she’d sat by the river. She needed to leave and take her secrets with her. The cracker and blood wine mash hadn’t stayed down. Alex had puked on the side of the road on her way to the barn. The blood wine she’d tried to drink last night at the tavern had suffered the same fate.

  If she couldn’t help herself, there was no way she could save others from John’s fate. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Life as she knew it was over.

  Without the professor, there was no way to save herself—another conclusion she’d drawn.

  Reese squeezed her hand, pulling her from her morose thoughts. “Hey, you need a minute?”

  She grabbed a napkin from the metal dispenser on the table and mopped up her tears. “No. I’m fine. What did you ask?”

  “I asked you what time you got back to Glenn’s.”

  “I have no idea. When I got there the second time, the barn was on fire.” It was the one solid fact she’d based her whole story upon. “I panicked and tried to go in to see if I could put it out.” Her voice grew weak with exhaustion. “But it was too hot and it was spreading so fast. I dialed 9-1-1 and went looking out back for Glenn. His truck was there.” She looked at Reese with renewed hope. “Dispatch should have the time of my call. That should help piece everything together.”

  Reese’s eyes didn’t reflect her optimism. “They do. Nine forty-seven.” He paused. “According to Katie, you left the tavern a little after six. I checked with her this morning. She said you didn’t come back.”

  “I went directly into the cellars from outside.”

  “And no one saw you?”

  “I didn’t want anyone to see me with the pig blood. I took a chance bringing it during business hours, but I needed to get another batch started. Glenn …” She shook her head. The vampire’s name opened her to the grief squeezing her heart. She swallowed hard, pushing her words past the hot lump of emotion clogging her throat. “I didn’t know Glenn and John were in the barn. I should’ve tried harder ….”

  “There’s just got to be more to this. It seems a little too neatly packaged. Yes, you’re obviously the glue holding all of these crimes together, but there’s got to be some small thread we’re not following that will unravel this whole fucking mess.” Hard lines creased the corners of his eyes and mouth as he grabbed a large pad of paper and a pen from a kitchen drawer. “We’re going to start from Glenn’s and work backwards through all the fires. Tell me about Thursday night and the professor …”

  Reese continued talking, working methodically backward over the last year. He asked questions, jotted down notes about her answers. Fire by fire. Death by death. Alex had remembered how every loss had stolen a piece of her heart, but not where she’d been when the fires had started. She’d touched the lives of every vampire and every human Reese asked her about, either at the tavern, the university or in her personal life. The evidence against her was almost insurmountable.

  Over the two hours Reese grilled her, Alex focused on the facts and not the panic working to tear her apart. But as Reese leaned back in his chair, stretching his cramped muscles, she could no longer deny that the tribunal had a solid case against her.

  Restless, she got up, clearing away the bottle of blood wine neither of them had touched, the empty snack packets Reese had restlessly consumed and her empty cup. The tepid water had managed to tamp down the nausea, but not her hunger.

  “I don’t know why someone’s done this,” she said quietly. “But they certainly have crossed every ‘t’ and dotted every ‘i’ on my death certificate.” Alex stared at the shuttered window over the sink, as if she could see the gentle flow of the river beyond. Dark. Her future seemed to hold nothing by darkness. Maybe the tribunal’s punishment would be an easier ending. She certainly didn’t want to feel the desperation John had been experiencing last night. She guessed it was inevitable given the path she’d chosen months ago that her life would end in a slow, agonizing hell.

  “So you’re just going to give up?”

  She turned back to Reese as he pushed back from the table and stood.

  “Someone’s been systematically slaying vampires to make it look like I’m a killer.” She waved at the pages of notes spread across the table. “They killed my friends and neighbors, murdered my only family …” Sorrow ripped open the raw wounds, bringing a fresh sting of tears behind her eyes, but she refused to give in to them. “They stole my father from me and now have done who-knows-what with my best friend. What’ve I got left?”

  “Me.” His strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her up, pulling her into the security of his body. “Alex, what became crystal clear as we laid out all the facts, is that there’s no way in hell you would do any of that.”

  “That’s not what the tribunal will think.”

  “Then we’re going to have to find out who’s setting you up and why. And do it all before Josh or Ronan take anything to the tribunal.”

  She wanted to fight him, but the look in his eyes said he had enough faith in his convictions for the both of them. “I have to warn you, hanging with me could be hazardous to your health,” she whispered.

  “It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

  His mouth came down hard on hers. No soft exploration. No gentle probing. Just raw male lust devouring her mouth. His hands fisted in her hair, angling her head so he could deepen the kiss. She opened herself to him, wanting to fill the void Glenn’s death had left in her mind and heart. Alex needed to feel alive in the midst of so much death. Her lips parted and welcomed the heat of his tongue. It tangled and danced with hers, teasing and tasting.

  “Alex … we’ll figure it out … later.” His lips wandered her face, kissing her lids, her nose and trailing fire down her neck. “Right now, I need your body thrashing hot and wild beneath me.” His teeth scraped across the tender flesh of her throat, his fangs stretching long. “I want your soft cries of pleasure to fill the missing voice in my head.”

  Her world spun and shifted as he lifted her into his arms and covered her mouth with his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, molding her lips to his and swallowing his groans of pleasure as he made love to her mouth. Dizzy with need and hunger, she had no idea where he was taking her until his body shifted and his foot kicked closed a door. Without preamble, Reese laid her on the soft mattress of a bed and came down heavy on top of her. Reveling in the sensation of his hands on her body, she didn’t open her eyes. The essence of him permeated the air. The pillows around her head were filled with the thick male scent of him and she wanted to drown in its heady aroma.

  Their hands were everywhere at once, tugging at clothes, ripping away buttons, clawing at zippers. The desperate need to have flesh searing flesh was all that drove them until they lay naked and gasping in each other’s arms. Their lips, teeth and hands moved in frantic hunger to taste and touch. She couldn’t get enough of him.

  Alex’s palms slid down the hard muscles along Reese’s spine, pressing into the well of his low back before curving up the rounded arch of his taut ass and digging her nails in deep. Air hissed through Reese’s teeth, a low moan vibrating through the wet heat of his mouth at her neck. His teeth dragged down her throat and his lips replaced his hand at her breast. His mouth suckled and bit first one aching nipple then the other. The sharp thrill of pain shot straight to her core, clenching her muscles.

  “I want you, Reese.” Her words came out on rasping breaths. He acted as if he hadn’t heard her, so she fisted her hands in the thick curls of his hair and pulled his head from her breast. His eyes were clouded with lust and heavy lidded. His fangs, long and gleaming white, jutted from the deep red of his full lips. “I need you now,” she whispered. Rolling slightly, she pressed her thigh against his erection. “You. I want you.”

  As if emerging from a sexual fog, his eyes brig
htened to the soft green of a summer ocean. A slow smile slid across his mouth and his fangs retracted. “I’m acting like a horny teenager.” He kissed between her breasts. “What am I thinking?” He scraped his teeth down her breastbone. “We have all day, Alexandra.” Several slow kisses dragged down her tummy. “Silly me. There is absolutely …” his tongue stroked her belly button, “no rush.”

  “Make love to me.” The words came out unchecked and Alex held her breath, hoping he hadn’t heard the emotion behind the statement. But Reese simply nibbled his way back up her body, once again taking possession of her mouth. Her breath came in hiccupping moans of pleasure as he reached between them, stroking his fingers across her most sensitive flesh. This was only sex to him. That was fine. It would make leaving so much less complicated. Alex pushed the thought from her mind. The heat of Reese’s body surrounded her, and she wanted to remember every detail of his glorious angles.

  She lifted her hips, opening wider and offering herself to him. Reese aligned their bodies, burying himself slowly in her silken heat. The sublime pressure drew a sigh of euphoria from her lips. When he was buried to the hilt, he ground his pubic bone against her, jolting her system with sparks of ecstasy. Alex wrapped her legs tightly around his thighs, digging her nails into his ass and pulling him deeper.

  Reese released her mouth and stared down at her, his intimate gaze searching her face. The unspoken question hanging between them was as clear as the fangs jutting long and sharp from his mouth. He wanted to bind them, to drink the blood thrumming hot and hard through her veins and truly fuse every part of them.

  She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but the vampire joined so intimately with her— his heart pounding in synchronized harmony with hers, his breath the very air she breathed—had taken possession of her thoughts, her body and her heart. But the most intimate part of her? The essence of everything that kept her alive? It was the one part of her that Alex could no longer offer him.

  With regret, she rose to meet his mouth, licking at his distended canines and hoping it was enough for him. He moaned at the contact, accepting her kisses with a passion that had her whimpering for more.

  She lost herself in the sensations overwhelming her senses. The heavy weight of him making her feel whole. The sexy sounds of his pleasure vibrating in his chest. And the electric currents of bliss rippling over her muscles, building to a crescendo.

  Writhing beneath him, her body countered his every thrust, the fire of pleasure burning through her and stealing her breath. Frissons of heat seared over every nerve until Alex thought she would liquefy in its heat. She climbed the torturous peak of ecstasy urged on by Reese’s whispered epithets of lust. Just as her body fell headlong into the wild abandon of release, he threw back his head and cried out her name, the hot surge of Reese’s orgasm filling her as he gave into his own release.

  It’s what she’d hoped for when she’d arrived at the cabin, one last chance to have Reese buried deep within her and to remember all the reasons she could never have him.

  Chapter Seven

  Reese inhaled, filling his lungs with the heady mixture of Alex’s shampoo and their lovemaking. She lay comfortably in the crook of his shoulder, her hand over his heart. He wondered exactly when she’d taken possession of it. Despite the fact that they’d done little more than flirt and sneak a kiss or two, he suspected he’d given it to her long before their lovemaking in the wine cellar yesterday morning. A man didn’t live for two centuries without knowing what he found appealing in a woman. Of course, all the other women he’d ever allowed to come into his life had been temporary—save for one.

  The last two days had proven to him he was ready to open his heart again.

  Reese ran his fingers over the silken flesh of her neck, tracing the red welts where his fangs had left marks. He wondered again why she hadn’t invited him to drink from her—and why the minor cuts hadn’t healed. Though they’d spent the afternoon in each other’s arms and he’d offered himself to Alex, he hadn’t been able to coax her to drink from him either. Maybe he’d been too hopeful that she shared the same intense feelings overwhelming his heart.

  He hoped he’d stay in South Kenton long enough to convince her theirs was not a one-night-stand kind of relationship.

  Reese shifted and stretched. He’d like to stay this way with Alex’s silky leg snaked around his, her breasts pressed softly into his ribs, and her scent filling his nose. It would be so easy to ignore everything outside of this room, the fires … his assignment … the people who had died at the hands of a monster.

  He’d watched the pixie vampire carefully for signs of deception as they’d gone over the details of each fire. Though he had no doubt Alex was hiding something from him, he was fairly certain it had nothing to do with arson. He prayed he hadn’t read her wrong. His muscles tensed at the thought.

  “Reese?” His name dragged sleepily over her tongue.

  “Yeah?”

  “You regretting this?” Alex’s hand slid down his stomach, the wet heat of her lips caressing his nipple. She came up on her forearm, her long fingers combing through her silky strands of hair that had tickled his thighs earlier.

  “Regret is the farthest thing from my mind, Alexandra.” Reese held her gaze, sucking on her full bottom lip. Sliding his hand the length of her body, he felt her relax beneath his palm. She opened for him and his tongue swept her mouth. The ballet was as familiar as if he’d been kissing her his whole life. Pulling back, he stared at her heavy-lidded eyes. He couldn’t get enough of this woman. He scooped her hair from her neck, kissing the red lines, smiling at her quickening breath as he kissed the bruises. “Sorry about that. I seem to have lost myself.”

  “I liked it,” she whispered.

  “It should’ve healed by now. It’s not that deep.” Reese searched the blue pools of her eyes. A man could drown in their lovely depths.

  “I haven’t been feeling well. They’ll be fine. I thought it was very sexy.”

  Reese pulled her into a soft, slow kiss, love washing over him. It had been a long time since his heart had felt this full. Pulling back, he let his gaze roam hotly over her body. Damn, she made him want. “How could I possibly regret the best decision I’ve made in a long time?”

  “I was just wondering why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why me? Why now?” She smiled, the expression lighting her eyes. “It’s not like I’m complaining about this. It’s been wonderful.” She leaned over and kissed him. “But why in hell has it taken you so long to do more than steal a kiss or two?”

  He laughed. “Stupidity. Maybe a little stubbornness.”

  “It’s not like I wasn’t sending out signals.” She swung to a sitting position, her knees against his ribs and her fingers teasing the hair on his chest. “I was pretty sure I made my interest clear.”

  “Flares couldn’t have been more obvious.” Reese came up on his elbow, brushing the hair from her face and she kissed his palm. “Alex, I love who you are.” It wasn’t exactly what he wanted to say, but it would do for now. He didn’t want to frighten her. She hadn’t lived long enough to trust that fate had brought them together.

  Alex laughed, a brittle sound that rasped across his ears. “Right. You know nothing about me, Colton.

  “Then tell me something you think I don’t know,”

  “You’re a very old and wise vampire and I’m …” she toyed with his fingers, measuring her words, “let’s just say I’m not happy with who I am.”

  “Everyone loves you, Alex. You’re the reason half the firefighters hang out at O’Malley’s.” He smiled. “Including me.”

  “I bet you can’t even name my favorite color.”

  “Green.”

  “Lucky guess.”

  It was, but he’d take it. “Alexandra Flanagan. A young vampire of a quarter century. Co-owner …” Grief came hot and hard and he had to clear his throat before he could continue. “Co-owner of O’Malley
’s Tavern and vampire winery. Cutest pub mistress in Plumas County and the best damn mixologist in the state of California. I know who you are. Hell, every vampire within one hundred miles knows you, Flanagan.” He brushed his knuckles playfully across her chin.

  “Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Every firefighter trying to get into my pants uses those lines.” Alex inhaled. Their moment of levity obviously passed. “Reese, you know you don’t owe me anything. I’m a big girl. I came here this morning knowing exactly what I wanted. This has been wonderful, but—”

  He put a finger to her lips. “But nothing, Alex. This didn’t happen today just because Glenn died and we needed to comfort each other. It happened because we both want this. I want this.” He brushed his fingers across her cheek. “I never intended for yesterday to be a one-time fling. I’ve wanted you for a long time.”

  “Then I ask again. Why have you waited?”

  It was time to let it go. Someone besides Josh needed to understand the guilt Reese had carried for nearly seven decades. “I thought I had to keep a foolish promise I’d made myself a very long time ago.” He inhaled against the agony of his past loss, stumbling headlong into fresh grief that weighed on his heart. “I hadn’t realized until you came along how stupid it’d been.”

  Alex’s hand smoothed down his arm, linking her fingers in his. Her touch grounded him, gave him strength to endure reopening the wound. Perhaps she was the one who could help him heal.

  “I loved a vampire once, decades ago,” he said. “She was beautiful. Brilliant. A veterinarian ahead of her time.” Reese swallowed the anguish pressing hotly in his throat. “She owned a farm. Treated the local livestock in the area. It was during my cowboy phase when ranch hands with a good horse and a strong back could find work anywhere—and a vampire had an unlimited supply of lost pioneers.” A cold snake of revulsion slithered over his muscles. Alex bent and tenderly kissed his cheek, her breasts brushing his arm, bringing him back to the present.