Grave Destinations

by Lori Sjoberg

  Why was she not surprised by his answer? With the ship booked to capacity, she seriously doubted there were any other available cabins for him to bunk in. Of course, that didn’t mean she had to like it. Her room lacked adequate space for one person. Two would make things downright claustrophobic. Not to mention the total absence of privacy, and his tendency to talk in his sleep.

  “I’ll need to summon Samuel once we reach the room,” he said as they emerged from the stairwell and onto deck three. “He’ll expect an update. You might not want to be around for the next half hour or so.”

  “Fine by me.” Encounters with Samuel ranked a few spots below pelvic exam on her list of favorite things. Besides, she’d already planned on taking a detour before turning in for the night. One way or another, she planned on finding out if Jack was responsible for both women’s deaths. The possibility nagged at her conscience, and she doubted she could sleep until she learned the truth. Affirming his innocence would take a huge load off her chest. And if he was truly nothing more than a demon with a pretty face? God help him. “I’m sure I can find some way to pass the time.”

  Dmitri slanted her a look. “Don’t pass too much time. I need you fresh tomorrow morning.”

  She met his look with one of her own. “Relax. I know what I’m doing.”

  “Famous last words.”

  The sound of pounding woke Jack from a deep sleep. That alone pissed him off. He’d been dreaming of Ruby, of the things he planned to do with her once he finally got her alone and undressed. Nothing illegal. Or overly kinky. Well, maybe not the first time around. The dream had left him achy and painfully erect, his body straining for release.

  Whoever was responsible for yanking him out of that particular fantasy was in for a world of trouble.

  Maybe the knocking came from the room next door, he hoped as he flipped onto his back, right before another round shook the pictures on the wall. Nope, someone was definitely beating on his door. Bleary-eyed and still sporting a hard-on, he kicked back the covers and stumbled in the darkness toward the entrance to his cabin.

  Peering through the peephole, he found the object of his fantasies standing in the hallway with her hands on her hips and a sour expression plastered across her face.

  “Hold on,” he said, voice raspy from sleep, while he dragged on a pair of loose-fitting boxers. Taking a deep breath, he thought about baseball, and politics, and little old ladies in thong bikinis. The last one did the trick, pouring enough proverbial cold water over his libido to make himself presentable. He hit the light switch, squinting against the glare as he flipped the lock and opened the door.

  “What did she look like?” Ruby demanded without so much as a hello.

  “Huh?” What the hell was she talking about? Still drowsy, he scrubbed a hand across his face, rubbed the sleep from his tired eyes. “Who?”

  “You know who.” Her voice carried the sharpened edge of accusation. “Yesterday’s little late-night excursion.”

  A few heartbeats passed before the fog of sleep lifted and he figured out what the hell she was talking about. “You pounded on my door at”—too tired to remember he was still wearing his watch, he glanced back at the clock on the nightstand—“quarter to one to ask me about that?”

  “Quit stalling and answer the question.”

  If she meant to piss him off, she was doing a bang-up job. “Well, since it’s so damn important to you.” His voice took on an edge of its own. “She’s about five foot six, and a hundred forty pounds. Caucasian. Brown hair, brown eyes. Nice tits, but her ass is a little big for my tastes. Overall, about a seven on a ten scale. Satisfied?”

  “Not even close. How about tonight’s snack?”

  “What do you mean, tonight’s snack? There was no snack. I came straight back here after leaving you.”

  He’d been wound too tight to do anything else. So he’d taken a long, cold shower, ordered a drink from room service, and then watched television for a couple hours before turning in for the night.

  The crease between her eyebrows softened. “You sure about that?” Most of the fight ebbed from her voice, leaving a wariness that made him curious about her line of questioning.

  “Positive. If you want proof, I can show you the receipt from room service.” Sensing something off, he opened the door all the way and made a sweeping gesture for her to enter. “If we’re going to continue this conversation, I’d rather we do so in the privacy of my cabin.”

  After a moment’s pause, she walked across the threshold. She stopped short at the foot of the bed, her eyes widening as she took in the view. “Good lord. How did you manage to score a room this large?”

  “That’s easy. I paid an outrageous amount of money for it.” He yawned as he combed a hand through his tousled hair. “My turn. What’s up with the twenty questions?”

  Ruby lifted a shoulder. “Just curious, is all.”

  “Come on, you’re a much better liar than that. You hammer on my door in the middle of the night, waking me from a sound sleep, asking me all kinds of ridiculous and insulting questions. The least you can do is come up with an explanation that’s remotely within the realm of plausibility.”

  A blush of color rose in her cheeks. “Quarter to one is hardly the middle of the night,” she drawled as she stepped away from the bed, her heels sinking into the plush carpet. She glanced toward the sliding glass door and immediately turned her head away.

  “It depends on who you’re asking, and what kind of day they had.” He plopped down on the rumpled bed. With his legs stretched out, his toes grazed the chair by the vanity. “My day’s been pretty shitty, so I’m fresh out of patience. I want to know why you’re here, Ruby, and I want to know now.”

  Silence stretched tight between them. Ruby shifted her weight from one leg to the other, one arm wrapped around her waist while her free hand fiddled with the choker around her neck. “I had to know … if you …” She paused to clear her throat before blurting out, “Did you kill the woman you slept with last night?”

  The question hit him like a blow to the gut. For a second or two he was too stunned to speak, but then the shock gave way to insult, sparking an outrage that damn near set his blood to boil. “After everything I told you tonight, you have the audacity to think I killed her?” He shot up from the bed, closing the distance between them in several angry strides. To her credit, she didn’t flinch or draw back. “Why?”

  Her gaze flicked over his body, from head to toes and back up again. “Would you mind putting some clothes on? It’s kind of difficult to carry on a serious conversation while you’re dressed like …” She made a vague up and down gesture with her hands. “That.”

  “No,” he said, close enough to see the pulse pounding in her throat. He inched closer, a part of him enjoying the fact his near nudity flustered her. “Answer the question, or I ditch the boxers.”

  A ghost of a smile crossed her face before her expression soured again. Back and forth, back and forth, her fingers toyed with the choker circling her throat. Eventually, her hand stilled as she blew out an exasperated huff. “Last night, I found a body,” she said, her voice clipped with strain. “Tonight, I found another.”

  “Isn’t that part of your general job description?”

  “Yes, but these weren’t on the docket.”

  “Which means what?”

  She crossed her arms and lifted her chin up so high he could see straight down her nostrils. “It means these women weren’t supposed to die. Someone or something took their lives outside Fate’s directives.”

  “And you assumed I was responsible,” he growled.

  “I didn’t want to believe it. That’s why I’m here,” she snapped. “I needed to find out one way or the other before Dmitri starts sniffing in your direction. It won’t take long before he realizes you’re … different.”

  Jack stalked across the room, the deluxe suite suddenly feeling too small for comfort. “And what were you planning to do if I’d been the guilty par
ty? Hand me over to that asshole?”

  “I don’t know. I hadn’t thought it out that far ahead.” She threw her hands up in frustration. “All I know is the way those women died matches the way you described—.”

  “The way I killed my wife?” he finished the sentence for her, the words grinding out of his mouth.

  “You didn’t kill Victoria,” she shot back, her accent getting thicker as her voice got louder. “Dammit, Jack, that … thing inside you is responsible. And Keisha. Not you.”

  “And yet you still suspected me of sucking the life out of those poor women. How trusting of you.”

  Ruby’s shoulders slumped. Weariness dulled the spark from her eyes, and in spite of his fury it pained him to see her natural brilliance diminished.

  “I shouldn’t trust you.” Her voice sounded small, deflated. “It’s not part of who I am or what I do. But God help me, I want to.”

  He stared at her for the longest time, torn over how to respond. Part of him wanted to offer comfort, while the other part wanted to shake her so hard her teeth rattled.

  If he looked at things rationally, he could understand where she was coming from. Especially if the women’s cause of death mirrored the way the curse drained life from its victims. And if he wasn’t responsible, that meant there was another being on board using the ship as its personal hunting grounds. The idea left him cold inside. Still, he bristled at the knowledge that she’d carried enough doubt to confront him, to demand an alibi so she could eliminate him as a suspect.

  “Come here,” he finally said, opening his arms in invitation.

  She stepped into his embrace without hesitation, and the knot in his chest loosened.

  “You make it so damn hard to stay angry.” The sultry scent of her filled his lungs, the press of her body sparking a hunger so intense it made his blood simmer.

  She didn’t say anything, just snuggled against him, her cheek pressed against his bare shoulder, each exhale tickling the hairs on his chest.

  “I need to know you believe I’m innocent.”

  Ruby nodded.

  “Say it.” When she didn’t answer right away, he added, “Please.”

  “I believe you, Jack.”

  “Do you trust me not to harm you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good.” The remaining tension uncoiled, leaving him with a strange combination of fatigue and arousal. With each passing heartbeat he became increasingly aware of the heat of her body, the silky softness of her skin. “So where does that leave us?”

  Rising on her tiptoes, Ruby skimmed her lips over his mouth before sinking in for a deep, lingering kiss. Her mouth worked magic, tasting, taking, blanking his mind, and at that moment nothing else mattered. Not the demon, or the unexplained deaths, or the lack of trust he’d found disheartening. All he cared about was the here and now, and how to make it last forever.

  This, he realized, was what he’d been missing. The spark of passion that only comes with emotional involvement. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d allowed himself the luxury of caring about a woman outside the boundaries of carnal attraction. The idea was foolish. Reckless. And yet he found himself grasping for a means to make it happen. There had to be a way to harness the beast. Jolie had to be right. He just needed to look harder.

  “It leaves us with a handful of memories and a lot of loose ends,” Ruby said after she eased her head back. She brushed a thumb across his lower lip, a crooked smile quirking her mouth. “And endless speculation. Although I’m fairly certain we would have scorched up the sheets.” She chuckled, but the humor failed to reach her eyes.

  With a quiet sigh, she stepped away. A little lightheaded, he watched as she walked toward the door, twisting her head back as her hand gripped the knob.

  “Unfortunately, I have a duty to fulfill, which means I can’t play with you anymore.” Something dark flashed in her eyes, gone so fast it barely registered in his mind. Regret? Or disappointment? “But look on the bright side. In my experience, What If is usually much better than What Was.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “Do I look like I’m joking?” A huff of annoyance pushed past her lips. “As much as I’d love to test your endurance, I’ve got a job to do. Dmitri will tear my tail a new one if he catches me messing around with you while I’m on the clock.”

  “I could help.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?” He took a step forward and caution clouded her eyes. “If I could tell you’re not human, I can probably help sniff out whatever’s taking the lives of those women.”

  She opened her mouth, but then closed it without speaking.

  “Can’t think of a convenient reason to shoot that one down, can you?”

  Ruby stiffened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Sure you do.” Another step, and he was close enough to touch her. “It took me a while because you’re a tough woman to read, but I’ve finally figured you out.”

  “Oh, you think?”

  “I don’t think, I know. You prefer intimacy without emotion. It’s why you avoid sharing anything personal. You broke that pattern with me, and it scares the hell out of you. So now you’re looking for an excuse to break the connection before things get sticky.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Isn’t it?” He took another step, moving deep within her personal space. “Then look me in the eye and tell me you don’t feel anything for me beyond physical attraction.”

  Her gaze jerked up, meeting his. “I don’t … I mean—” The words cut off as she pressed her fingers against her temples. “Shit. You’re not making this easy.”

  “That was my intention. I’m glad to see it’s working.” He smiled, touched a hand to her cheek. The temptation to taste her, to take her, was nearly overwhelming. “I look forward to discovering you, Ruby.”

  A brush of her lips, and desire blasted through his body. He allowed himself a few moments to bask in the sea of sensations, relishing the feel of her hands grasping his shoulders, the scent of her skin, the heat of her mouth. And even though both his body and the curse demanded so much more, he broke the kiss on a sigh.

  Surprise crossed her face when he reached past her and opened the door. “Get some sleep, Beulah. As soon as we find what you’re looking for, we’re tying up those loose ends.”

  Chapter 12

  Ruby landed hard on the polished wood floor, the pain in her ass nearly as irritating as the pain standing over her and offering his hand.

  “Again.” Dmitri’s tone was crisp and all business.

  The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, casting a harsh orange glow on the aerobics room overlooking the ship’s bow. Another hour and the ship would slowly stir to life as passengers emerged from their nighttime slumbers to kick off a relaxing day at sea.

  “Uh-uh, I’m done,” she said as Dmitri pulled her to standing with no visible effort. “We’ve been at this for two hours. I’m tired, I’m sweaty, and I’m hungry.” Not to mention she hurt in too many places to count.

  The late evening of hunting, followed by her even later encounter with Jack, had left her way too wired to sleep the night before. As soon as her head hit the pillow her thoughts had latched on to Jack and refused to let go. Memories of his touch, of those lips, had invaded her dreams when she’d eventually drifted off, leaving her to deal with sweaty sheets and a serious sleep deficiency.

  To make matters worse, Dmitri had woken her at the crack of nothing, insisting they practice a few rounds of hand-to-hand combat before anyone else came in to use the facilities. And even though she understood the method behind the madness, her body still yearned to crawl beneath the covers for another three or four hours of sleep.

  “You’re also out of practice.” Dmitri wiped the sweat from his brow with the hem of his midnight blue T-shirt. “When was the last time you sparred with anyone?”

  “It’s been a while.” Longer than she ca
red to admit, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t take care of herself. Reapers often worked in dangerous environments, so she made a point of keeping her body in peak condition. She hit the gym every day for cardio, and every other day for weight training. But she’d skipped karate for the past month or two, and the effects were beginning to show. Not a lot, but enough to make the difference in a close match.

  Dmitri scowled, his dark brows crinkling together. “A long while, by the looks of it. What we’re hunting isn’t going to cut you slack because your ass hurts. Again.”

  “Sadistic bastard,” she grumbled.

  Eyes narrowed and muscles tensed, she turned to face Dmitri. He stared back at her, his eyes flat and unreadable, his posture deceptively lax. They’d sparred on and off throughout the years, and he always made a formidable opponent. Not only was he physically superior, but he also employed an array of fighting techniques from multiple disciplines, making it difficult to anticipate his plan of attack.

  He feinted left, lunged right. She barely dodged his grasp, knocking him sideways with a roundhouse kick to the ribs. Unfazed, he whirled around and delivered a blow to her back that sent her sprawling across the floor like a baseball player diving for home plate.

  “Now you’re not even trying.”

  “No, I’m too damn tired to think straight.” With a grunt she pushed off the floor, wincing at the pain in her chest and lower back. Good thing reapers healed quickly or she’d be stiff as a board by lunchtime. Still, it would take an hour or two before the damage was fully repaired and her body returned to its normal condition. “Besides, you know I can’t beat you.”

  “That’s not true. You’ve beaten me before.”

  “Yeah, when I fought dirty.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing. Anything goes in a street fight. You know this.” Dmitri’s expression softened, a hint of affection peeking out from beneath the gruff exterior. “You must understand, milashka, this creature is incredibly strong and plays by its own rules. It will show you no mercy, so neither can I.”

  Without warning he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. The air whooshed from her lungs when he shoved her against the mirrored wall, his knee wedged between her thighs.