Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations)

by Ibanez, Dawn

  “Language,” a cultured voice said from the bottom of the stairs.

  Casper laughed when he saw Donald standing quietly with a bruiser of a man. “Are you two planning to come with us?” he asked.

  Donald raked onyx eyes over Alex’s form. His former charge seemed to be doing better than the last time he saw him. “I think it may be best if I stay behind with the twins. Belle can only do so much with them and the baby.” He then lifted his hand and showed Alex a shoulder harness and gun. “You’ve been doing very well in your marksman classes. And if what I think is waiting for you, is waiting for you, you’re going to need this.”

  Alex glanced at Casper before taking the harness and quickly putting it on. “Thanks, Don,” he said lowly.

  Donald only nodded in response. He then turned to Casper. “Your blades have been sharpened, as you requested. One is in the back room where the twins cannot get to it. Another is in the trunk of your car. The rest are at the Prince’s estate.”

  Casper nodded clapped Donald on his shoulder. “You’re the best, Don.”

  The stranger stepped closer to Casper. “Victor wants me to help you,” he said in a deep growl. When the younger prince frowned at him, he smiled and revealed a set of dangerous fangs. “Her magic can’t hurt me, and I owed him.”

  “What’s your name?” Casper asked. He had a feeling he knew who this was, but he needed to be sure.

  “Dominic Saluzzo. You can call me Nico,” he said simply.

  Casper shook his head and chuckled. When he saw Alex’s confused look, Casper straightened. “Pop is breaking out the big guns.” He moved around the small triad to make his way to the back of the mansion. “Nico is the Gargoyle that handed your mother her ass when she was a teenager.” He heard Nico sigh but refused to turn back. He needed to find Belle and make sure she was holding everything together.

  It was somewhat surprising to see the normally sturdy woman quietly reading a law book to the infant sleeping in the bassinet. Casper stood at the door to the sunroom and slipped into Belle’s mind. “The boys aren’t taking this well,” he told her.

  She looked at him and frowned. “I’m not taking any of this well either,” she sent back.

  Casper smiled as stepped farther into the room. Belle had been working with his father with her mental communication. It was too bad her feelings were still in turmoil after what Dennis had done to her. She would have been a good match for the old man. “They think Madison and Troy don’t want them anymore. That’s why Aiden’s been staying away from the baby. And there’s something that I have to talk to my father about. I dulled down their memory of it, so if you ask, they won’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Belle’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Casper. A Vampire’s skill of memory manipulation was something she still had a major problem with. And he couldn’t blame her. But Casper found himself respecting Belle. He wouldn’t lie to her. “They’re too young to think that their parents abandoned them. And if I thought it would do any good, I would pack them and you up with Lacey and Antonio.”

  She looked away from him and sighed. “Are you sure it would be a moot point?” she questioned. “Maybe being away will be good for them.”

  Casper shook his head. “Madison has become an Angel of Death. So she’ll be able to track any Necromancer she wants to. Including Aiden. And according to the old man, she can teleport now too. You leave here, she can find you, dispose of you and we wouldn’t know until it’s too late.”

  Belle frowned as she turned her eyes back to the book in front of her. “Then you need to get out of here and find them. We’ll be fine. Victor and Dennis are only shouts away.”

  Casper pressed a chaste kiss to her temple and stood. “We’ll get them back,” he said before walking out of the room.

  * * * * *

  Victor entered the bakery with a heavy heart. Things had gone completely out of control. Both Troy and Madison were gone, Alex was hurt and now Jimmy was also missing. It also didn’t help that with their home on high alert, Lacey and Antonio were on their way to Germany, then Italy. After they picked up Claudia, they would travel to the Saluzzo family. They would look after his granddaughters. They still owed him for Nico’s life.

  He painted a smile on his face when he looked at the girl behind the counter. Rebecca had been working at Éclair’s for years, and over that time he learned to read her moods. The strained look around her hazel eyes told him something was wrong. “Rebecca,” he acknowledged.

  She forced herself to smile. “Hi, how can I help you today, Mr. Solomon?” she questioned.

  Victor’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her. She called him Victor for most of their acquaintance. He watched her until her eyes darted to the corner of the shop. “I’ll simply take some of your éclairs. The boys should be coming to visit me sometime today.” As she started to fill his order, Victor’s eyes scanned the shop. He growled when he saw Ashton Nicodemus sitting at the booth in the far corner. “I will be just a moment, Rebecca.”

  He ignored her as she nodded and left them alone in the shop’s front. Victor glared at Ashton. “What are you doing here?”

  Ashton finished off his pastry and looked at the former king. “I needed a snack,” he said smartly. He smiled when he heard a growl coming from Victor. “Temper,” he cautioned. “We wouldn’t want poor little Rebecca to know that you’re really a Vampire, would we?”

  Victor leaned in close to Ashton’s ear. “I do not care what you want, one way or another. If you harm her, I will personally see to your demise.”

  Ashton turned his head and looked into Victor’s eyes. “You can try. There are still a couple of days before Madison has the Gates of Hell open. Anything can happen between now and then.”

  He was trying to go somewhere with this. “Why are you here, Ashton?” he asked again. When Ashton smirked, Victor felt his fangs beginning to lengthen. “Answer me before you reach the end of my patience.”

  The dark haired Necromancer laughed. “Madison is so much scarier than you.” He sipped his latte. “Alright, I’ll give you a bone,” he said with a sigh. He looked at Victor and stood. “You want to know who started this ball rolling. The one who found the original prophesy and figured out most of it. It was Pan.” Ashton waited as the news sank in before continuing. “He trained Necromancers, hoping that he would find the one the prophesy talked about. Then he set about keeping her separated from her family, threw her out into the world. By the time you knew anything was wrong with her, it would have been too late.” Ashton frowned as a stunned look crossed Victor’s face. “He’s even started planting the same seeds in her sons.”

  Victor held back his growl. Pan had been a trusted friend. The knowledge of his betrayal would not go unpunished for long. After he had evidence of it. At the moment, Ashton’s word alone could not be trusted. “I know your history with Madison,” Victor stated quietly. “Why would you help her now? Especially by betraying Pan.”

  Ashton finished his latte and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I have my reasons.”

  It would never be that simple. Not when it came to dealing with him. “I need something more to go on. If you refuse to tell me what I need to know, how can I believe what you have already told me?”

  “That’s up to you,” Ashton said with a shrug. He stood and started to move away from Victor. His grin disappeared when Victor stepped in front of him. “Don’t try to stop me,” he warned. His eyes darted to where Becca was working on another pastry of some kind. “We wouldn’t want to upset Becca,” he reminded.

  Victor growled low in his throat. “Tell me why,” he ordered. His eyes widened when he felt the pulse of magic run through the shop. Becca’s scream caused him to turn around. Her face was pale and her hands were clutching her abdomen. Without a thought of Ashton or his games, he ran to her side and caught her just as she started to fall. “Rebecca,” he gasped as she curled up in pain.

  “Did you know she had her appendix removed a few months ago?”
Ashton said with a smile. When Victor turned to him with a glare, his face lost all expression. “You want to know why Pan is doing all of this? I’ll ask you a question. What would you do for the woman you loved?”

  Becca screamed again pain lanced through her body. Victor held her as she convulsed on the floor. Rebecca did not have much time left. Ashton’s riddles could be figured out later. Victor cursed when he started to smell her blood. Ashton’s magic was still in the air, ripping open whatever scars Becca’s surgery left behind. Victor looked up in time to see Ashton simply walk out of the door as if nothing happened.

  “I’m sorry,” Becca whispered as her side continued to throb. “He started asking a whole bunch of questions about you. I didn’t think you wanted him to know that you loved éclairs.”

  Victor shook his head and adjusted his hold on her. She was dying. Her life seeping out of her for no other reason than to be a distraction. “I should be the one apologizing to you,” he said in a soft tone.

  Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Even when she first went to the hospital, it didn’t hurt this much.

  Victor closed his eyes as he embraced Becca. She didn’t fault him for Ashton’s cruelty. The idea that he could have done something to her was not even in her mind. Only two truths were standing out in her mind.

  She was dying, and she didn’t want to.

  Victor’s heart tore in two as the first tear slipped from her eyes. He pressed his lips against her temple. “Do not hate me, Rebecca,” he whispered into her ear.

  A small smile crossed her face. “I don’t think I could,” she replied. Her smile faded as he slowly turned her head to the side. Before she could question him, something bit into her neck.

  Victor reached out with his mind and quickly soothed her. Her body jerked once before relaxing completely in his hold. Victor drank whatever blood was left in her as he resigned to changing her. He pulled away from her neck before her heart stopped beating. Blurred hazel eyes looked at him as he lifted his wrist to his mouth and ripped it open. When he pressed his torn wrist to her lips, he felt her hands softly touch his arm. Victor looked at her tenderly. “Trust me, my dear,” he told her. A sigh escaped him when she closed her eyes and started to drink.

  A soft vibration in his pocket caught his attention. He pressed his lips together and easily reached into an inside pocket and found his phone. Crispin’s face was on the screen of the device. He quickly answered the call and put the device to his ear. “Rebecca has been injured. I need a cleanup crew here at Éclair’s.” Before Crispin could ask what happened, Victor disconnected the call. He looked down at Rebecca and saw that her heart was on the verge of stopping. He pressed his lips to her ear again. “I will make this up to you,” he swore.

  Another smile escaped Becca before her body went lax. Victor kissed her cheek once more before standing. This was his fault. He became attached to Rebecca, and now she was entering the first stages of her change into a Vampire. He looked at the shop around him and noted that the cheerful décor was at odds with what just happened. With a roar of anger, the power Victor kept under tight control lashed out, destroying the displays around them.

  Chapter 12

  Lily slowly came back to consciousness. She looked around and saw that she was in her bedroom. Barry brought her back from the hospital. The last thing she remembered was fighting Madison and the explosion of the parking garage. A soft groan escaped her. She shifted into her Succubus form. The one thing she hadn’t wanted Barry to see. Now there was no telling how he would treat her.

  The thought of Barry caused her body to cramp. Whenever she had to change forms in the past, she would be drained and weak for days unless she found some poor unsuspecting souls and drained them dry. Tears filled her eyes as the unbidden image of draining Barry dry came to her mind.

  She heard the door to her room open. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she was surrounded by the scent of his cologne and whatever else that made him smell so good. “Go away,” she slurred.

  “Not happening, Baby,” Barry said as he crossed the room. He ignored her whines as he sat next to her on the bed and touched her forehead. “You still have a fever,” he observed.

  “It’ll break,” Lily moaned as she tried to push him away. After a moment she fell limp and tired against the mattress.

  Barry frowned as he looked at her. “What’s going on, Lily?” When her eyes opened, he remembered the way she looked that night he found her in the club. “You used too much of your energy didn’t you?” he asked. At her nod he cursed lowly. He stood and paced from the bed to the closet and back. His eyes raked over her frame before he went out of the room.

  If she had the energy to cry, Lily was sure she would have right there. As it was, she turned her back to the door and curled up into a ball. She was about to start drifting off when Barry came back in the room and closed the door behind him. “Barry,” she said in a whisper.

  He went over to the bed and climbed in behind her. As he spooned against her back, he trailed chaste kisses up her shoulder. “Here’s the thing,” he started. “I can’t stand back and let you suffer like this.” He noted the way her body trembled against his and gently took her earlobe between his teeth. “But I also don’t want you to think I’m a bastard for using this situation to get you in bed again.”

  “I could kill you,” she said shaking her head. A gasp escaped her when one of his hands grasped her breast and squeezed.

  “You like me too much,” Barry said smugly. When a laugh escaped her, he pressed his lower body against her covered backside. “It’s true, isn’t it?” he asked as he lavished her neck and collar with nips and kisses.

  Lily turned towards him and looked into his eyes. He was determined to help her. She reached up, ignoring the way her hand trembled as she touched his cheek. “Yes,” she whispered before leaning forward and kissing him tenderly.

  It was as if someone plugged him into a battery. His arms wrapped around her as he took over the kiss. Their tongues met in a sensual dance that seemed to ignite both of them. Her power surged as she started to taste his magic. She pulled away from his mouth and looked at him with wide eyes.

  He frowned at her. “What?”

  A shaky smile crossed her face as she shook her head. Before he could question her further, she sat up and tossed off the blankets covering her. A soft blush crossed her face when she realized she was only in her bra and panties. She looked at Barry and saw that he was already working on the buttons of his shirt. For once she could let her nature take over, and he would be safe. She quickly covered him with her own body and kissed him savagely. Lily could only moan softly as he grabbed a handful of her hair. Barry devoured her, and she enjoyed every moment of it.

  Her world spun for a moment. Barry was on top of her, his body grinding against hers as she worked on removing his shirt. His free hand made quick work of the bra she wore. A shaky smile crossed her face when he pulled away from her long enough to finish removing their clothing. The look in his eyes should have scared her, but the hunger she saw there did nothing but turn her on. She climbed up to her knees and ran her hands over his chest. “I really shouldn’t do this,” she said before leaning forward and gently biting one of his nipples. “It’s not fair, really.”

  Barry quickly knocked her back and covered her body with his own. “You’re right, we shouldn’t do this,” he mumbled before kissing her again. He moaned at the feeling of her sharp fingernails across his back. “But I’m too much of a bastard to let you find someone else to feed from,” he confessed. Before she could say anything else, Barry’s mouth was attached to her breast.

  Her back arched in pleasure. Lily cupped his head to her when she felt his fingers preparing her for him. She wanted to reach up and seduce him, but at the moment, Barry was in complete control of her. The combination of the strength in his arms and the taste of his magic was like homemade moonshine. She felt completely drunk on the feeling of dominated kisses and not so gentle bites that
started at her breasts. She opened her eyes when he moved away from her breasts. This time she would remember everything that happened between them. She refused to be cheated out of being with him again.

  When she looked into his eyes again, she swallowed. If she didn’t know any better, she would swear that he was an Incubus. His eyes had grown darker as he lowered his head. When his tongue licked at her, Lily’s back arched. She bit her lips when she realized his hands were holding her pinned to the mattress. Her eyes looked down her body, noticing that he kept himself away from her. “Barry, please,” she moaned as he continued to tease her with his mouth.

  He gently bit the inside of her thigh and smiled when her muscles started to tighten. At her gasp, he fastened his mouth against her and started to suck on her tender flesh in earnest. He rode every shift her hips made. The cries that escaped her were music to his ears. She was getting closer to climax, and he wanted her to have as many as he could give her. Before Barry could plan his next move, Lily had him on his back. Her eyes were glowing as she placed her hands on his face and kissed him. He growled as she moved her body down his. She moaned softly as she trailed kisses along his jaw. “I need you inside of me,” she whispered into his ear.

  Lily smiled against his skin as his hands guided her to his erect member. She kissed him again, enjoying the taste of her own juices on his tongue. Her darker nature was feasting as he slowly fed himself into her. She opened her eyes and smiled at him when his hands ghosted up her sides to caress her breasts.

  He pressed a kiss to her throat as he entered her. Barry groaned at the feel of paradise. Her skin was coated with a fine sheen of sweat as she started to move and grind her hips against him. She was every bit of the dark Succubus the legends always spoke of. He reached up and pinched one of her nipples, earning a pleasure filled moan. A grin crossed his face as he looked into her beautiful eyes. “Now that I’m inside of you, what do you want?” he asked.