Dark Whispers Sheridan and Cain 2009

by Unknown

  Fucking Captain Jack.

  He had gotten into in the back of the ambulance that night without being noticed, but how?

  Vampires. Fuckingvampiresin New York City.

  Dai flipped to the next page and read over the info he’d gotten on the club Resurrection. Taxes and permits on the place were all paid up and in perfect order and the local cops hadn’t had more than the usual minor complaints. Less, in fact, than a lot of nightclubs in the city.

  The building’s owner was officially listed as Gregori Holdings Ltd. And all paperwork had been signed by one Mikail Ivanov. The real estate agent who’d sold the former church remembered Mr. Ivanov and his wife quite clearly. To her they had looked more like stereotypical KGB agents, with their black coats and fur-lined hats, than potential nightclub owners. Of course, it had been January at the time.

  They’d seemed a nice enough couple and their English was impeccable, though the agent thought that Mrs. Ivanov might be the one to wear the pants in the family, judging by the way her husband deferred to her and gave her frequent bows of his head.

  The Mistress.

  Vampires. Fuck. And Wei Wei wanted to be one.

  “Not on my watch,” Dai muttered as his stop came up.

  Dark Whispers Sheridan and Cain 2009

  Chapter Fourteen

  The TV and DVD player were back.

  Dai slammed the door shut and rushed over to turn the DVD player on. The disc that had been in it was still there, but this time instead of a plain silver top there was writing on it—in Japanese.

  We’ll play again. Soon.

  “Fucker.”

  Dai looked up at the sound of his cat’s odd meow. He dropped to his knees on the floor and held his hand out to the crying animal.

  “What happened, Dude?” The cat limped over, licked Dai’s hand and looked up at him with sad, green eyes. Dai scooped the cat up and nuzzled it. “Did he hurt you? I’ll kill that fucker for this, Dude.”

  And also for smoking in his place and dropping ashes on the floor.

  Dai carried the cat into the bedroom, half expecting to see some other vulgar token of Sakurai’s on the sheets. He gently put Dude down on one of the pillows and reached for the phone. “Let’s see if the vet’s still open so he can check you out.”

  The cat meowed and then hopped off the pillow before Dai even had a chance to dial in the number.

  “Hey, get back here.” He reached down to scoop Dude up again, but the cat crawled under the bed and scrunched himself next to the wall by the headboard.

  “That’s what I get for saying the V-word.” Dai sighed, but he figured if Stupid Dude felt good enough to run away then he couldn’t be in too bad of shape. Probably just tired and sore . . . the way Dai felt right now.

  He was exhausted, worn out not just from trekking up and down the city, but tired in his soul. The shit with Wei had hit him harder than he’d let himself realize, and whatever was going on with Susan wasn’t helping either.

  Tossing the phone onto the nightstand, he ripped off the bed sheets and wadded them up on the floor. The idea of sleeping on them after last night didn’t sit too fucking well at all. He found an old, faded blanket buried in the back of his closet and threw it over the bare mattress, not even bothering to tuck it in. Too tired to shower, he stripped out of his jeans and T-shirt before dropping onto the bed in nothing but his briefs.

  Stupid Dude gave a faint little meow from somewhere under the bed and Dai sat up, worried he’d made a mistake in not taking the little guy to the vet.

  Problem was, the bedroom suddenly vanished. Trees and brush surrounded him, stalks of bamboo tall enough to dwarf a three story building scratched at the gray, clouded skies overhead.

  Oh, fuck, what was happening now?

  Wait. He was still on his bed. Still in his underwear. He was dreaming. Shit. He closed his eyes tighter and willed the dream to pass or for a deeper sleep to overtake him.

  Someone, something, moved. The sound of crunching fallen leaves came from somewhere nearby. Not a heavy sound, like the footfalls of a man, but lighter, like the footsteps of a child, perhaps, or a petit woman. Oh fuck . . . not a dream about Susan.

  A low growl made Dai’s eyes snap open and he stared up at the canopy of trees, unable to move or sit up.It’s a dream. A stupid dream.

  Then why could he feel a breeze blowing over him? Why could he hear the footfalls coming closer? The soft cool breeze changed, became warmer, humid. He gasped when something wet touched his foot—licked his foot.

  Dai’s breath quickened. The tongue flicked over the inside of his sole, soft and strangely comforting. It was warm and velvety, not at all like Dude’s coarse tongue, when the dumb cat got it in himself to treat Dai’s hands or feet to a bath.

  More gentle strokes followed up his leg, along the inside of his thigh, and Dai writhed underneath them. Damn, it felt . . . erotic.

  And then the tongue ran over his balls and he knew, felt it with every part of his being, that it was Sakurai.

  A choked cry rose from his throat and he bolted up, finally able to move. He was in his room, yet not. A black wolf, about two times the size of a German Shepherd, stood between his legs, its crimson eyes staring straight into Dai’s and through his soul.

  Its hot, moist breath fanned out, caressing Dai’s chest and he tried to scoot backward.Tried, being the operative word. He was bound ankle and wrist with locked leather cuffs and straps that seemed to attach to some point beneath the bed. The wolf opened his jaws, revealing razor-sharp, white teeth. His tongue protruded, and drops of warm drool hit Dai’s upper thighs. The animal stared at him and snarled.

  “It’s a dream,” he whispered. “Just a fucking dream.” Still, he tugged on the restraints and felt them tighten, pulling his arms and legs a bit wider.

  The wolf lowered his head, sniffed Dai’s crotch through his briefs, and Dai groaned. The hot, maddeningly erotic breath of the beast—of Sakurai—made him hard. “Oh shit,” he moaned when the wolf began to lick his stiff cock through the nylon fabric.

  Sakurai—the wolf—nudged his balls with one big paw, the pressure painful but pleasant, as well, and Dai tried to move--to turn onto his side--but the motion only served to somehow tighten the restraints, parting his legs and arms even more.

  The wolf licked him again and he felt the precum ooze from the tip of his cock. The wolf sat, his rear legs parted, and began to lick himself.

  “Oh God,” Dai groaned as the wolf’s cock began to reveal itself from the furry depths of his body.

  The wolf raised his head, baring its fangs, and fuck if it didn’t look like the animal wasgrinning. It stood up and came closer, its crimson eyes locked on Dai’s. The wolf lowered its jaws right over Dai’s cock.

  “Oh, shit!” Dai cried out. He threw himself against the restraints, desperate to get the hell away from this beast—from Sakurai. The leather bands cut into his wrists, pried his legs farther apart. “Shit! Shit!”

  The wolf snapped its jaws, shredding right through the cloth of the briefs--and only the cloth.

  Dai flopped back down, a strangled gasp of relief and—dear God—arousal, clawing its way out of his throat.

  Then he felt the weight of the animal press down on his leg, the wolf’s furry belly touching his bare skin. Dai sucked in his breath and held it, his heart pounding away in his chest. That damp, teasing tongue started bathing the head of Dai’s cock in long, slow strokes while the wolf began pounding against his leg in a series of unmistakable thrusting motions.

  The goddamn thing was humping him!

  “Oh . . . fuck,” Dai moaned. He clamped his eyes shut, both dreading and wanting this.

  The wolf stopped and shuddered and Dai became very conscious of warm flesh —human flesh—touching his own. Eyes snapping open, he looked down and into the smirking face of a fully human Sakurai.

  “Oh, I knowexactly what you want, Daisuke.” He grinned that insufferable shiteating, smirking grin again while his hand stroked ov
er Dai’s aching cock and balls. He twisted the sac, kneaded it between his fingers then slipped lower into the crevice of Dai’s ass. Without warning, he shoved three fingers in as deeply as they’d go. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

  Dai refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer. However, his body chose to betray him, clenching those probing fingers, his cock oozing another drop of precum as Sakurai dipped forward to flick his tongue across the sensitive head.

  Oh God, the way the vampire’s long, black hair ticked his thighs, like a thick fringe of heavy silk, was almost enough to make him come then and there.

  Sakurai was suddenly leaning over his face, his lips inches from Dai’s.

  “What’s wrong, lover?” the vampire breathed. “Is this more than you asked for?”

  Dai gritted his teeth to stop himself from shouting, No, thisis what I want! at the top of his voice. Sakurai misunderstood the gesture completely, any trace of a smile dropping right off his face.

  “You placed yourself intomy dream.” Sakurai opened his mouth wide enough to expose those long and very deadly pointed fangs. “Next time make sure you’re ready to play.”

  * * * * *

  Cursing in a mixture of Japanese, Cantonese, and Mandarin, Sakurai paced the tiny bedroom, raking his hands through his disheveled hair. It was bad enough that he was still fighting this unheard of fatigue, but to have his dreams invaded by a fucking mortal was infuriating beyond all reason!

  He fell silent when a soft knock sounded upon the bedroom door, followed by a melodic female voice speaking to him in Japanese. “Sakurai-san, are you all right? Is there a problem with the room?”

  Taking a deep breath, he pulled on his pants then feigned the most pleasant expression he could muster as he opened the door. “Forgive me, Matsui-san. It was nothing. The room is excellent and your hospitality so far has been exceptional.”

  Daisuke’s mother bowed then laughed. “I never realized how much I missed home until I had someone to speak Japanese with. You haven’t been here a day and already I’m feeling as though I’m back in Mie. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. It’s been a long time since I’ve also had another to converse in

  Japanese with.”

  “I’ll leave you be then. I was planning dinner for seven. Is that agreeable?’ “Actually, I’m going to take most of my meals out. May I ask you a question?” He said, leaning against the doorframe. When she nodded he continued. “You said this room belonged to one of your sons?”

  “Yes, my oldest. Daisuke. His brother’s room is smaller and doesn’t face the yard. I thought this one would be more attractive.”

  “It is very attractive, Matsui-san.” And it also explains quite a lot.“Would you happen to have any tea and a few moments? I think I’d like to hear more about your sons.”

  The woman gave him a curious look. “My boys?” But she smiled and the love for her two children brightened her face in a way Sakurai hadn’t expected to see . . . or feel. The emotion was strong enough that it would’ve been easy for anychiang shih to sense it, even those with far less psychic power than Sakurai had.

  When he looked at Keiko Matsui now, he saw a glimpse of his own mother for the first time in more than four centuries.

  Sakurai gripped the doorframe to make sure his hold on reality hadn’t slipped away somewhere between fucking Daisuke in his dream and waking up here with what felt like a very,very bad hangover.

  “Would somesen-cha be alright, Sakurai-san?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said quietly. “That’s fine.”

  * * * * *

  The afternoon was almost gone by the time Dai finally woke. He sat upright, rubbing his wrists and ankles again and again, the abrasion from the leather restraints in the dream more real that he wanted it to be.

  The sexual frustration he’d felt when Sakurai dissolved into nothingness was also very real, and Dai reached down, grasping his cock in an effort to ease the pressure. But oh, God, the feel of that wolf tongue on his flesh had been unreal. It was so fucking kinky, but so incredibly erotic, he wondered what it would feel like if he’d been fully conscious. Reaching over to the nightstand, he took the bottle of lube from last night and poured some into his palm. Lying back, he began to stroke himself, imagining the wetness was the hot wet tongue of the Sakurai wolf.

  * * * * *

  Wei lit up his fourth smoke of the night. The nicotine took the edge off his nerves, even though it did shit for the way it felt like someone was trying to hammer a two-by-four through his skull.

  Damn it, Dai. Why did you have to go and fuck things up?

  They could’ve both been sitting here in the sub-basements below the Resurrection, lounging on one of the red velvet chaises and saying to fuck with the

  shitty world overhead. He loved Daisuke . . . even though the man’s hands were stained with the blood of Wei’s old man . . . even though they hardly talked anymore.

  “Blood runs deeper than water . . . or some shit like that, right?” Wei stubbed out his cigarette and watched the dark crimson rivulets of said fluid run down from the gash on the inside of his elbow. The blood dripped into a ceramic bowl Mikail held underneath his arm.

  “Something like that,” Mikail agreed, with a bright smile that never lit the fucker’s eyes.

  After what seemed like an hour, Mikail bent over Wei’s arm. He flicked his tongue across the gash then removed the bowl. Wei watched in amazement as the blood slowed to a trickle then stopped and the edges of his skin began to knit together. Oh shit, yes, he was goin’ to be able to do that soon.

  “We’ll see,” Mikail said condescendingly.

  Mikail stepped back and waited as Yun entered the room, the Mistress following close behind him. Only then did Wei realize Mikail wasn’t wearing his usual tacky ass clothing. In fact, all three were dressed up in clothing that was, for them, conservative.

  “It’s a tribunal, Wei Qing,” Mistress Viktoria said as she sat in a high-backed antique chair reminiscent of a throne. “We have reason to doubt your sincerity and more importantly, your suitability, to be granted the privileges we have to bestow upon a certain select few.”

  Wei slipped from the sofa and fell to his knees before her. “Iam worthy! I deserve this chance, Mistress. Please. I’ll do anything for you--anything!”

  Viktoria arched one of her thin, carefully sculpted brows. “That’s exactly what I hoped to hear, Wei.”

  Yun stepped forward and pulled him up roughly by the collar. “I think he’s full of shit, Mistress,” the vampire snarled.

  “Fuck you!” Wei jerked out of his grip. “You’re the only one here who’s full of shit—I’m ready to prove myself!”

  Folding his arms across his chest, Yun glanced at Viktoria, who nodded. “Then kill for us,” he said.

  “What?” Wei gasped.

  “You must be ready to take a life without any hint of remorse—that’s what it means to be a vampire.” Yun smirked. “If you are ready . . . .”

  “No fucking problem,” Wei blurted out before his mind had a chance to catch up with his words. “Why didn’t you ask me sooner?”

  Mikail chuckled and clapped his hands together. “I like this one.” He patted Wei’s head. Wei shivered under the touch.

  “Who--who do you want dead?” Wei swallowed.

  “A child.” Viktoria smiled. “Boy, girl—doesn’t matter, as long as they’re healthy and full of life when you take it. And you’ll bring the body to me.”

  Nodding, Wei reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette. “Piece of goddamn cake.”

  Mikail produced a lighter from God-knew-where and lit the end for him.

  “Morning is on its way, Wei-chan.” The vampire smiled wickedly. “Go get to work.”

  * * * * *

  Yun watched the mortal leave, noting his show of confidence, even though the young man’s pounding heart betrayed his true emotions. None of the vampires were fooled, though they kept a straight face u
ntil Wei closed the door behind him.

  “Ah well,” Mikail sighed. “He was fun to have around while it lasted.”

  “What little confidence you have, Mikail.” Viktoria steepled her fingers before her. “He might be ready, after all.”

  “Please.” Yun snorted. “He’s a pawn who’s serving his purpose and nothing more. His blood simply happens to be strong enough for our uses. Now if only his brother would be as compliant.”

  “Oh, you want more than that one’s blood and we know that.” Mikail chuckled until Yun slapped him across the face.

  “Shut that useless mouth of yours!” Yun fumed.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  “Gentlemen, please,” Viktoria’s voice silenced them both “Yun, where are your Eyes now?”

  Yun straightened his suit jacket and gave Mikail one last filthy glance before turning back to the Mistress. “They’re watching both Wei Qing and those two men from the law enforcement agencies,” he said darkly. “Wei should serve as an adequate distraction for them until the demons can gather more information.”

  * * * * *

  “There he goes,” Diaz said, nudging the dozing Brandt.

  Brandt sat up as Diaz pulled the used car away from the curb and began to follow Matsui’s brother. They drove onto the sidewalk, blocking his path before he could reach the nearest subway stop.

  “What the fuck?”

  Brandt flashed his shield.

  “Get in the car and don’t say anything.” He shoved Wei into the back of the old Impala and slid in next to him “You have information we want and we’re getting it so be quiet until I say to talk.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Brandt pulled out his pistol and rammed it into Wei’s side. “Correction—fuck you to the tune of a couple 45 slugs.”

  They drove to a dilapidated warehouse in Brooklyn. Diaz pulled the car inside then got out and jerked Wei out by the collar of his jacket. He threw him against a steel support pillar then dragged him up by the hair when he crumpled to the ground.