My immortal friends had pointed out that Nanette's attack made her look guilty. If Cedric had done enough goading to make her angry when he told her, it could have very well sent her to me in a rage-and successfully shifted attention from him. Fuck. I didn't want another suspect in all of this. I didn't want it to be Cedric. Nanette had hitherto been a convenient explanation.
Kristin was silent for several seconds. "I didn't know that," she said quietly. "Are you okay?"
"Mostly. Mei healed the worst of it, but I'm still a little sore."
"I can't imagine…Cedric would never have told her if he thought that was going to happen. He likes you. He wouldn't condone that. He couldn't have known. I'm sorry."
She was sincerely contrite, hurt at the thought that her boss-even if he was a demon and a servant of evil-could have been involved with something that had turned out so terrible.
"It's okay," I said. "I've gotta run, but thanks for the info. Things are kind of crazy here too, as you can imagine."
We said our good-byes and disconnected. I flipped the cell phone around in my hand, feeling overwhelmed. Nanette wasn't off the table yet, but Cedric was right alongside her now as a culprit-maybe more so. If I had enough evidence, I could possibly take it to Grace and Mei…but I didn't have that yet. Besides, knowing who the culprit was wouldn't solve the immediate issue: finding Jerome.
I glanced back at the photo, resting on my nightstand. Sore back or no, it looked like I had to do a little beachcombing.
I nearly knocked Dante over when he came home that night.
"Succubus," he said, letting me wrap my arms around him. He was careful only to rest his hands on my hips. "Happy to see you too."
My eagerness was twofold. I was excited to see him because I wanted to pick his brain about the medallion and places of power. But also…well, while hanging around today, I'd had a lot of time to think about Seth and what had happened between us. The memory of his body still made mine burn, and I grew breathless recalling that amazing connection and sense of rightness between us.
And yet…whatever rightness had been between us, it had still been wrong. He was with Maddie-my friend. I'd been upset when she and Seth had first slept together. I was no different. In fact, I'd knowingly done it, which made it worse. Now there was Dante to consider. Dante, who despite that dark, scowling nature really did love me and wanted to win my regard as more than just someone I had sex with. This was where my future lay, not with Seth.
I kissed Dante on the lips, lingering several seconds. "I missed you."
His smile turned wry. "Don't look at me like that, or I'm going to have a hard time remembering that you're injured and that I should keep my hands off you."
Those words triggered a pang of guilt. My injuries certainly hadn't been enough to keep Seth off me. I could have told Dante that I was better, that it didn't matter, yet for whatever reason…I didn't.
We broke apart, and I found the medallion picture for him. He stared incredulously as I showed him the phantom notes and explained my story.
"What, you have no idea how they got there or who did it?"
"Nope, but at this point, I'm not going to question it."
He shook his head, face still shocked. "Well. I wish I'd known this before I left. Would have been a lot easier to just wait and have invisible helpers come leave clues."
I recalled how he'd gone out to see what he could find about the medallion. "What'd you turn up?"
He gestured at the picture. "Same thing."
I rested my hand over his. "Sorry. I really appreciate your help. And if your research found the same thing, it means I can probably trust this."
"Maybe," he said, still not sounding happy about the wasted time. "What are you going to do? Something crazy?"
"Look for saltwater beaches, I guess."
Dante let out a low whistle. "There are a lot of those around here. Not to mention you have no way of identifying this vessel anyway."
"I know. But I've got to start somewhere. Can you help me make a list?"
We got an atlas of the Pacific Northwest area from my car and laid it flat on the kitchen table. Scrutinizing every detail, we each marked as many places as we knew. Dante knew a lot more than me, which didn't particularly surprise me. I'd once noted to Erik Lancaster that those who study religion tend to know more about it than those who practice it. Sometimes, I felt the same way about immortal affairs.
We found twelve in all that were easy day trips-and many more beyond that. "Looks like you've got your work cut out for you," Dante mused. "When are you going to look? Too dark now."
I stared at the map with dismay. "Tomorrow, I guess. Can you go with me?" A psychic like him might able to sense something, as Carter had pointed out.
He grimaced. "Not tomorrow. I've actually got a few appointments people have scheduled. Crazy, huh? I probably can go the next day or the day after, if you can wait. I'd feel better if you didn't go alone."
I was glad for his business but sad at the delay. "I don't think I can wait. Don't worry, though. I'll find somebody."
"On the bright side," he said, trying to cheer me. "I'll have money tomorrow. We can go out somewhere nice."
I mustered a smile. "Yeah, that'll be-oh, shit. I can't."
"What's going on?"
"Fuck. I promised the people at the store I'd teach salsa after work."
"Cancel," he said dismissively. My dance lessons didn't hold much importance, as far as he was concerned. "Tell them you're sick."
That wouldn't entirely be a lie…and yet, I hated to go back on my word. Furthermore, I could still see Maddie's radiant face, so excited and happy when I'd agreed. How could I deny her that after what I'd done to her today?
"No…I've got to do it. Let's go eat out now. My treat."
He drove us over to Belltown for some of Seattle's best seafood. Wine and conversation flowed, and I discovered I was healing by leaps and bounds. When we got back to my place later and went to bed, Dante snuggled up to me and kissed my neck.
"Looks like you're on the mend," he noted, moving his lips up to my earlobe. "We could do it…I could be careful…"
All around us were the sheets and blankets where Seth and I had made love earlier. The thought nearly smothered me. God. I really should have washed the bedding. I swallowed and shifted position so that I didn't meet Dante's eyes. "Maybe…but I'd rather wait, so we can not be careful." I hoped there was enough of a seductive growl in my voice to make it believable.
Dante sighed, fortunately unwilling to push me. "Fair enough."
He rolled over and left me to sleep, but it was a long time in coming.
CHAPTER 19
The next day, Dante was off to work, and I called Cody right after breakfast. "Hey," I said. "Are you guys still being beach bunnies?"
"You bet," he said brightly. "One of our neighbors has a sailboat and offered to let us go with him and-"
"That's not quite what I had in mind," I interrupted.
An hour and a half later, Peter echoed my thoughts. "This wasn't what I had in mind."
I'd convinced them to come out with me on my beach hunt. Unfortunately, the day was cold and threatened rain. As we walked along the water at Dash Point, icy wind ripped off the waves and cut across our faces. I snuggled into my jacket, thinking of how many times I'd taken the ability to shape-shift warmer coats for granted.
"Look, I know you guys think you're on spring break, but eventually, we will get another archdemon, and I'd rather it be Jerome."
"Yes, but it's not like this is exactly an airtight plan," Peter argued. "We're pretty much going to beaches at random, in the hopes of finding white sand. Look at this stuff. It's beige…is that close enough to white?"
I cut him a sidelong glance. "You once got in an argument with Carter about the difference between 'Denim Days Blue' and 'Summer Cobalt.' You tell me. Is there a difference between white and beige?"
Peter kicked sand up with the toe of his boot. "It was ' Winter Cobalt,' and Carter was
wrong. There's a huge difference between those two."
Cody and I hid our grins as we continued our trek. Dash Point State Park was near Federal Way, down on the south side of Puget Sound. It had seemed reasonable to start there and work our way around the coast, back up toward Seattle. This was our second park of the day, and so far, we'd seen nothing to match the seal's cryptic clues.
On our drive to the third place, Peter was still pessimistic. "You know, this would be a lot easier if we had your dead-beat boyfriend along. We can only go off visual clues at this point. We need someone who can actually sense the power around the vessel."
"Dante's busy at work," I explained.
"Huh," Cody mused. "I never expected to hear 'busy' and 'at work' used together when it came to Dante."
"Be quiet," I said. "Leave the snark to Hugh and Peter."
"What about Erik?" asked Peter. "He's psychic."
"Yeah, I considered that, but he's getting old and his back's been bothering him. I hate to ask him to walk around and around with me…but well, I haven't ruled it out."
"And you don't know any more psychics?"
"Nope. Not that I trust, at least."
"Me either," admitted Peter. "But I bet Hugh does."
"Yeah, you're probably-" I stopped mid-sentence. "I might know one more…" It was crazy idea, one I wasn't sure I should put any real effort toward.
"Who?" asked Cody.
I shook my head and drove through the entrance of our next state park. "It's a long story, one I'm going to have to work on."
Our third stop yielded nothing either, save an inability for Peter to get sand out of his boots. It had started raining by that point, and even my mood was down by then. Sunset was still a couple of hours away, but the overcast sky was effectively killing our light. Glancing at my watch, I saw that the dance lesson was looming, so we turned north and headed back to Seattle. I dropped the vampires off at their apartment and then drove home to get ready.
My closet's dress selection seemed old and tired, but I had no new fashions to magically summon. So, I opted for a sleeveless minidress with a bright pattern of orange, green, and black flowers that had been blurred together like a water-color painting. It was a bit shorter than it should have been for a dance with this much movement, but the colors seemed suitable and cheerful on a day like this.
It also seemed cold, though, and on impulse, I added black thigh-high stockings to keep my legs warm. Between that, black heels, and dark lipstick, I seemed to be channeling my succubus self more than my mild-mannered bookstore manager self. Of course, considering the whore wear I'd shown up in a week or so ago, this was kind of tame.
Doug naturally still teased me about it, though deep down inside, I knew he thought I looked hot. I took a smug satisfaction in knowing I'd done it without any shape-shifting. Plus, I'd practically burned my hair off trying to flat iron it tonight. I dared anyone to accuse me of frizziness.
Maddie was ecstatic, and her enthusiasm spread to those among the staff who'd decided to stay after closing for the lesson. A few of their friends had shown up as well, giving us around a dozen. It was a good, manageable size. We cleared space upstairs, and I set up my portable CD player. Cody had helped me teach swing before, but I hadn't thought to enlist his assistance this time. Instead, I used Doug as my demo. Maybe it was part of being a musician, but he had a solid sense of rhythm and could pick up moves really quickly.
A half-hour in, I trusted him enough to start assisting others, and we split up to work with some of our students. Despite my hesitation in agreeing to the lesson, I had fun, and most people were so nervous about touching their manager that I didn't have to worry about anyone hurting my back. Maddie, enthusiastic or not, was having a bit of trouble and complained loudly when her brother came in to help her. He swept her away, leaving me with her former dance partner: Seth.
I'd known he was here, of course, but I'd been trying to avoid eye contact. There was no good way around it now, and we stood there awkwardly, eyeing each other, neither of us certain what to do. Autopilot kicked in, and I held my hands out to him. I was the teacher here, and since he was one of the worst dancers on the floor, it was only natural that he'd need my help more than others.
Seth held up his hands in return, and as I took a step forward, my heel snagged on the carpet. I knelt down to check, thinking it would be pretty embarrassing to trip and fall when I was the alleged model of grace and balance here. Glancing up, I met Seth's eyes. He was looking down at me, and his face was no longer shy or confused. His expression was considering and…well, hungry. Looking down, I suddenly realized the view I was offering up. He was able to see right into the heart of my cleavage, which was already considerably exposed by the dress's low neckline. From kneeling, my skirt had ridden up, showing off the black lace top of one of my thigh-highs.
I don't know what in particular he found the most alluring, but his gaze raked across my body, and everywhere it touched, heat swept me. I rose, suddenly feeling like the shy and awkward one. Desire was written all over him, and it was a wonder the entire room didn't notice. He extended his hands again, and when we touched, electricity shot through my body.
Finding the beat, I led him into the steps. He was every bit as bad as I remembered, yet as I worked to guide him in the right moves, our bodies brushing together out of necessity, I couldn't help but think that while his dance rhythm might be lacking, there'd been nothing uncoordinated about the way he made love.
Neither of us spoke for a minute or so, and I was sure he was caught up in the same physical spell as me, probably reliving our encounter from yesterday as well. My arousal was growing too, and wrong as I knew it was, I actually went out of my way to make sure we occasionally touched as I guided his body. Finally, sexually charged or not, I couldn't help but laugh.
"I think this is the worst I've ever seen you dance," I told him. "And believe me, that's saying something."
He smiled ruefully, but I suspected dancing was the last thing on his mind right now. "I'm out of practice."
"Well, I'm glad you're actually here this time, instead of sitting on the sidelines."
"Things change, I guess."
I held his eyes for a few moments. "Yes. Yes, they do."
A few more moments of silence passed before he asked, "How's your immortal, um, situation going?"
"Hmm?" Seth's hand had come within millimeters of brushing against my breast when we turned. Sternly, I chastised myself to forget about the way his body had felt-and looked and smelled and tasted-yesterday and remember my other problems. "Oh, well. Not so great, actually. I got some more info, except it's hard to-"
When I fell silent, Seth tilted his head and gave me a puzzled look. "What?"
I'd forgotten the idea that I'd briefly hinted at to the vampires. "Seth…I have a strange question to ask you…and you can feel free to say no."
The look on his face still seemed to say he wanted to rip my clothes off, but there was something else…something serious and concerned that made sweet, sentimental feelings mingle with my own lust.
"If there's anything I can do to help, I will."
"I know," I said. "Except this isn't exactly your help…it's Kayla's."
If Seth had been doing any semblance of dancing now, he might have stumbled and missed a beat. As it was, it was kind of hard to tell the difference.
"Kayla?" His four-year-old niece's name was clearly not what he'd been expecting to hear.
"Do you remember when I said she had psychic powers?"
"Yeah…but I didn't really think much of it."
"Well, I told you the logistics of summoning, right? Now I've got a lead on where Jerome is but not how to find him once we're in the right spot. I could do it if I was back to normal, or a psychic might be able to do it. Unfortunately, my usual ones aren't easily accessible."
Worry was rapidly dominating over desire now. I was sad to see the arousal leave him, but this was a serious topic.
"I'm not sure I
like the idea of Kayla getting mixed up in any of this. In fact, I know I don't like it."
I nodded. "I know. I figured you'd feel that way-believe me, I don't like it either." I loved all of Seth's nieces, but Kayla in particular always tugged at my heartstrings. "Just something that crossed my mind earlier."
"Well, I-ah!"
Another couple slammed into my back, shoving me forward into his arms. My hands reached out to catch myself, but it didn't stop our bodies from pressing together. Every part of me tingled at that contact, and if I'd had any remaining delusions that I could forget about what we'd done yesterday, they shattered for good now.
"Sorry," said Andy. He was dancing with Casey, and like her, he was a longtime staff member.
Casey groaned. "Georgina, please take him. Even Seth can't be that bad."
"Debatable," I murmured. I didn't want to move, didn't want to break my hold with Seth. I wanted to stay there and keep touching him, and because of that very impulse, I stepped back. My breathing was heavy, and it took me a moment to gather myself. I drew in one more deep breath and grinned at Andy. "Okay. Let's see what we can do with you."
Casey led Seth away, and I managed to avoid him for the rest of the dance lesson. When it wrapped up, everyone clapped in my honor and demanded I teach a follow-up. I assured them I would, but I was too flustered and preoccupied to settle on a date right now. I promised to get back to them later.
Several of them immediately jumped in to put the room back together, and seeing no further reason to stay, I hurried off to my office. My plan was to check up on some of the paperwork and hide out until everyone was gone so that I wouldn't have to see Seth again. I was half-way down the hall when I heard someone call my name.
"Georgina?"
I halted. It was Maddie. I turned, hoping the smile on my face looked neither fake nor panicked. Fuck. She was here to bust me for cozying up with her boyfriend on the dance floor. And honestly, it was no more than I deserved.
But her face was all smiles and good cheer as she handed me a stack of papers. "I went kind of crazy," she said sheepishly, "but these are some condo listings I printed for you. I've been searching online the last couple of days and kind of looked at everything since you still weren't one hundred percent sure of what you wanted. Got a lot of good hits by the beach."
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