Grave Destinations

by Lori Sjoberg

  “Why not?”

  He slanted her an incredulous look as he reached for a packet of honey. “Do you honestly believe a demon will turn on one of its own kind?”

  “I’m not a goddamn demon, you dick.” The vein on Jack’s forehead was beginning to stand out, his face set hard with anger.

  “He’s human, Dmitri. A curse bound him to the demon almost a hundred years ago.”

  “How convenient.”

  “Scan his life force if you don’t believe me. Does he feel like a demon to you?”

  “It’s there.”

  “Yes, it’s there, but it’s mixed with humanity. Can’t you feel how it’s all woven together?”

  Dmitri chewed his biscuit while he stared across the table at Jack, his eyes seeming to bore right through him. Then something changed in his deep blue eyes, a flicker of uncertainty that gave Ruby hope. “Its essence is quite unlike any other demon I’ve encountered.”

  “I’m not an it,” Jack snarled, looking so mad he might just pop an artery. “And if you call me a demon one more fucking time—”

  “You’re not helping,” Ruby snapped. “Now be a good boy and sit back while I save your life, will you?”

  Jack crossed his arms as he slumped in his seat.

  “Thank you.” She swung her attention back to Dmitri. “Come on, give him a chance. With his help, we can find this thing a lot faster. Where’s the harm in that?”

  The muscle in Dmitri’s jaw ticked, a sure sign he was rapidly approaching the end of his patience. When he spoke, the words came out in a low growl that tabled any possibility of further debate. “I don’t know him. I don’t trust him. He lacks a solid alibi for last night, which makes him our only suspect. Allowing him to help would be reckless and irresponsible.” He balled his napkin and tossed it onto his empty plate. “If you’re finished eating, we have a demon to contain before the ship reaches port.”

  Chapter 13

  By one o’clock the clouds had cleared, giving sun worshippers a window of opportunity to work on their tans. It didn’t take long before every lounge chair on the deck was occupied, the pool packed with bodies seeking relief from the blazing heat. Skin colors ranged from pasty white to lobster red, from light tan to chocolate brown, and every shade in between. The smells of cocoa butter and chlorine filled the air, while a lazy reggae tune played over the sound system, a catchy rhythm that had Ruby tapping her feet.

  Reaching up, she adjusted the strap of her bikini top so the fabric would stop digging into her neck below the choker. Sunbathing wasn’t part of her normal routine. When she swam laps at the gym, she always wore a functional one-piece. After all, she went there to exercise, not primp for attention. Swimming served as a means to maintain muscle tone and physical strength, a cardiovascular workout that kept her body long and lean. And most important of all, it allowed her to eat the things she simply refused to live without. Like Doritos. And brownies. And mint chocolate chip ice cream.

  The elderly couple in the neighboring lounge chairs got up, gathered their belongings, and ambled toward the exit. What a relief. Not because she harbored any ill feelings toward old people, but because the woman hadn’t stopped talking about her grandchildren since she’d taken the seat an hour before.

  She hoped the next person who sat beside her wouldn’t be so darn chatty. It was hard enough to search the crowd for signs of the demon’s life force without someone chewing your ear off. She’d been at it for more than three hours now, and the constant mental strain was starting to give her a headache. Maybe she’d get lucky, and the demon would be stupid enough to hit on her.

  “Working hard?”

  Ruby peered up, squinting against the afternoon sun. Under normal circumstances, the sight of Jack Deverell wearing nothing but dark-tinted sunglasses and forest green swim trunks would have set her mouth to watering. Okay, that wasn’t completely accurate.

  Under any circumstance it would have made her mouth water, and this time was no exception. All that tanned, finely muscled flesh was enough to tempt a nun. Unfortunately, she had a job to do, so she ignored the flare of lust heating her below the waist. “As a matter of fact, I am.”

  “I see,” he said, looking far from convinced. He nodded toward the paperback in her hands. “What are you reading?”

  She tilted the cover in his direction.

  “Half-naked men?” Jack grinned, the derision obvious in his tone. “Why would you want to read that trash?”

  “Have you ever read ‘that trash’?”

  “Why would I?”

  “Because then you wouldn’t be working under the assumption it’s trash.” Hackles raised, she marked the page and placed the book next to her sandals under the chair. “You know what people say about making assumptions. Or perhaps you’re better acquainted with the one about judging a book by its cover.” The words came out a little sharper than she’d intended, but at the moment she didn’t much care about tact.

  Back home, the town folks used to call her family trash. And as soon as puberty hit, the boys called her easy. And often. Nowadays, she used stereotypes to her advantage, wielding them like a weapon to gain whatever she wanted.

  Jack opened his mouth to speak, but closed it just as quickly. “You know—” He stopped again, pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. “Okay, that wasn’t meant as an insult, but it sure as hell came out that way. I’m sorry. I was just surprised to see you reading a book with a half-naked man splashed across the cover.”

  “Why should that surprise you?” She raked her gaze over the length of his body and couldn’t help but smile. Call her weak, but the anger bled from her emotions when he seemed so genuinely sorry. “I happen to like staring at half-naked men.” Especially when they looked as delicious as Jack. The man embodied sex on a stick.

  “Yeah. Well.” Bless his heart, he actually blushed. He coughed to clear his throat, and the color gradually faded from his face. “Anyway, I thought I’d see how things were going.”

  “They’re going just f ine.” As much as she enjoyed his company, she needed to get back to work and couldn’t afford the continued distraction. If Dmitri caught her fraternizing on the job, she’d be in for a world of trouble. She turned over, lying on her stomach so she could check out the people at the far end of the pool near the Jacuzzi. “No offense, but I really don’t need an audience.”

  “Then why don’t I help?” He plopped down on the chair beside hers, a towel in one hand and a bottle of sunscreen in the other. “Just let me know what to look for and I can be your backup.”

  “Honey, I’m not even a hundred percent sure what to look for.” Ruby rubbed her aching temples. At this rate, she’d have a migraine within the hour. “I’ll just know it when I see it.” At least that’s what Dmitri kept telling her.

  She focused her attention on a small cluster of people doing tequila shots at the end of the poolside bar. Two middle-aged couples, a guy in his late twenties, and another guy well into his sixties. One by one, she gauged the life force of each person. None of them exhibited any traits outside the human spectrum, but she sensed the second guy on the right wasn’t going to be around for the holidays. The cause of mortality eluded her, although she suspected the cigarette between his lips as a contributing factor.

  “Then at least let me put some lotion on your back.” His chair scraped against the deck as he dragged it to within a few inches of hers.

  “Don’t bother. I won’t burn.”

  “That’s not true. Your skin’s already pink.”

  “Yes, but it’ll fade. My body can repair a sunburn in no time. If you don’t believe me, look at the bruise on my arm.”

  Jack shot a quick glance toward her unblemished arm, the absence of a mark making him do a double take. Then the surprise left his face, replaced by obvious disbelief. “So you covered it with makeup.”

  “Nope. No makeup. If I’d put any on, I would have sweated it off by now. That’s all me, sugar.”

  Now he looked to
tally confused. “How?”

  “I already explained this to you last night.” With a huff of annoyance, she propped herself up on one elbow. “Reapers’ jobs tend to gravitate toward the high-risk end of the spectrum. Because of that, we’ve been enhanced with the ability to recuperate from our injuries at an accelerated rate.” Personally, she would have preferred super speed or X-ray vision, but you can’t always get what you want. “A sunburn is child’s play compared to some of the things I’ve healed from.”

  Dog attacks. Knife wounds. Broken bones. One time she had to jump from the fourth-floor window of a burning building. Most of her experiences paled in comparison to the stuff that happened to some of the other guys in her unit, but she’d always been a lot more careful on the job.

  “Well, that’s still no excuse for needlessly burning your skin.” He picked up the bottle and unscrewed the cap. “Now be a good girl and let me lotion your back.”

  She gasped when a splatter of cool lotion landed on her heated body. But the gasp quickly turned into a groan when Jack began rubbing the lotion along her back and shoulders, his hands strong and skilled as he massaged the sunscreen into her skin.

  A girl could definitely get used to this.

  Her bones had nearly turned to jelly when she felt a light tug, and then the straps to her bikini top fell loose along her sides.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Just making sure I don’t miss any spots.” His voice got all deep and husky while his hands skimmed outward along the sides of her torso, his fingertips grazing the side swells of her breasts. “Wouldn’t want you to get a burn line just because I missed a spot.”

  “That’s an incredibly lame excuse,” she said, but made no move to re-tie her top. After all, they were on a deck full of passengers. No way would he be so bold as to molest her with so many witnesses nearby.

  “Yeah, but it worked, didn’t it?”

  She smiled in spite of herself. “You know, I really need to get back to work.”

  “Go ahead. I’m not stopping you.” His hands moved lower, massaging the lotion into the small of her back, and it took every ounce of discipline she had to keep from purring.

  “True, but it’s kind of difficult when you’re distracting me.”

  He laughed, low and rich.

  Sure enough, he re-tied the top a couple minutes later, pausing only a moment before resuming his ministrations. Another cold splatter, this time on her upper thighs, and she felt his fingers slide along the edge of her bikini bottoms.

  “Don’t push your luck.” She reached back and swatted his fingers away, even though part of her wanted him to do wicked things with those wonderful fingers.

  “Sorry. Couldn’t help myself.” Slowly, he worked his way down her body, from her thighs to her calves to the soles of her feet. His fingers left trails of desire in their wake, her body close to trembling with barely contained arousal.

  “Turn over.” His voice sounded playful as he gave her a swat on the rear. “You’re only half done.”

  She flipped onto her back, snatched the lotion from his grip. “I can do that part myself.”

  “True, but it’ll be a lot more fun if I do it for you.”

  “If you do it for me, we’ll end up doing something terribly inappropriate.”

  He grinned, and she almost gave back the lotion.

  “Tell you what. Why don’t you get me a glass of sweet tea while I finish with the sunscreen? Then you can help me find what we’re looking for. Two lemons, three sugars.”

  Since he obviously wasn’t going anywhere, he might as well pitch in with the search. The sooner she took care of business, the sooner they could finish what they’d started.

  She watched him as he stood to leave, appreciating the rear view almost as much as the front. Broad shoulders. Narrow waist. Butt so tight she could probably bounce a quarter off it. Maybe, if she asked real nice, he’d let her test the theory later.

  Get a grip, she told herself. He’s only a man. A temporary distraction from the daily grind. The thought rang hollow as she watched him walk toward the double doors leading to the ship’s interior. He glanced back over his shoulder, and she smiled and blew him a kiss.

  With a sigh, she adjusted the back of her chair so she could sit upright and resume the search for her prey.

  The automatic doors whooshed open and Jack strolled inside, his skin chilled by the sudden change in temperature. For once, the buffet restaurant wasn’t very busy. Only a dozen or so passengers wandered about, most of them clustered around the dessert bar. He waited while a group of young girls refilled their lemonades at the drink station, then picked up a glass and filled it with iced tea.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” The voice to the left of him sounded deep and angry, with a distinctive Russian accent that was becoming irritatingly familiar.

  “What does it look like?” He glanced at the container of lemons beside the drink dispenser, trying to remember if she’d asked for two lemons and three sugars, or the other way around.

  “It looks to me like you’re tempting fate.” Dmitri stood a few feet away, his hands jammed in his pockets. On the outside, he appeared cool and calm, but the tone of his voice hinted at the aggression simmering beneath the surface. “Stay away from her. She has a job to do, and you’re hindering her performance.”

  “I’m helping her, jackass.”

  “She doesn’t need your help.”

  “That’s for her to decide.”

  “No, it’s not.” Two steps and Dmitri was so close Jack could feel the fury radiating off of his body. “Look, I understand where you’re coming from. Ruby is a very attractive woman. And under normal circumstances, I would allow her to decide whom she wants to play with. But you’re interfering in matters that are none of your concern. Find another skirt to chase before I lose my temper and do something you’ll regret.”

  Jack squared his shoulders, met Dmitri’s steely gaze. He’d never been one to back down to a bully, and he wasn’t about to start today. “Spare me the threats. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Keep it up, and you’ll be going over the rail.”

  “All right, boys, break it up.” Hands on her hips, Ruby glared at both men through slitted eyes. She’d taken the time to cover her bottom half with a sarong, leaving her upper body clad in only the candy-red bikini top. The cool air sent goose bumps across her exposed skin, and it took all of Jack’s willpower not to stare at her hardened nipples. “We don’t have time for this. Are you children going to play nice, or do I have to put you into separate time-out corners?”

  Dmitri glared right back at her, obviously not intimidated by his subordinate. “Not my fault he insists on sticking his nose where it does not belong.”

  “Not my fault he’s an asshole control freak who refuses to accept help when he’s in way over his head.”

  Dmitri growled, his hands balled into fists.

  “Enough!” Ruby stepped between Jack and Dmitri, slapped an open palm against each man’s chest. Her head moved back and forth between the two men like a spectator at a tennis match. “For Pete’s sake, you’re adults. Try to act like it.”

  A young couple with a three-year-old girl walked past, pretending not to notice the commotion.

  Jack stared down at his bare feet, not sure if he should feel angry at Ruby for not taking his side, or ashamed because he’d been fully prepared to come to blows over a woman. Well, not just any woman, but that’s beside the point. It had been a long time since he’d thought of a woman as his own, and the realization that he wanted to claim her shook him to the core.

  “Dmitri,” Ruby said, her tone soft and conciliatory. She laid a hand on Dmitri’s forearm, and his expression visibly softened. “He knows. He wants to help. With our limited resources, it seems foolish to refuse.”

  “We’ve already discussed this. If he’s the one—”

  “He’s not. And if he is, we’ll deal with it together. I promise. Okay?” Af
ter he gave a reluctant nod, she turned to Jack. “You can help. But don’t you forget for one second that Dmitri is in charge. If he tells you to jump, you better ask how high.”

  “Ma’am, yes, ma’am.” Jack winked as he gave her a casual salute. “I kind of like it when you get all bossy.”

  “Not the time or place to act smug,” she said, the warning clear in her voice.

  “Sorry.”

  “Now if it’s all right with you boys, I’m going back to work.” She held her hand out, and Jack passed her the glass of tea. “Two lemons, three sugars?”

  “Shit, I forgot.” He grabbed two lemon slices and dumped them in the glass. Another grab, and he handed her the packets of sugar.

  “Thank you.” She patted his cheek. “If you gentlemen will excuse me, I’m going to the cabin to change. Dmitri, it’s your turn on deck. If you want to use my chair, it’s the one by the Jacuzzi with the blue towel draped over the back. Check with Jack if you need any sunscreen.”

  Chapter 14

  A long while had passed since Ruby’d last frequented a karaoke bar. She remembered it being a lot more fun. Then again, the last time she’d gone she hadn’t spent the night sober, and the infusion of alcohol had gone a long way toward making the experience enjoyable.

  Onstage, a middle-aged woman butchered what was supposed to be “Love Shack” by the B-52s. Microphone in hand, she belted out the lyrics with reckless abandon, her voice so far off-key it sounded worse than a cat in a blender. The crowd still egged her on, clapping and singing along with the music.

  “Tin roof! Rusted.”

  Someone in the audience let out a piercing wolf whistle, and the beginnings of a headache stabbed at Ruby’s temples.

  One more hour and she’d switch places with Jack. The lucky dog was currently at the Nautical Mile, probably enjoying a much more peaceful evening.

  She leaned back in her chair and scanned the room, checking out the couple that had just walked into the bar. Young woman, much older man. The woman’s essence seemed normal given her age and appearance, but the man’s tipped toward the lethargic. She noted the slight drag on his life force, more than likely caused by the beginning stages of heart disease or some other ailment common in a man at least fifty pounds overweight. Neither person fit the bill for her quarry, so she shifted her attention back to the main entrance.