Netherworld: Drop Dead Sexy(55)

Think yucky. Spiders. A maggot-filled cheeseburger. Osama Bin Laden in drag.

It wasn’t working. Dan’s sweet friction, moving in and out hard, became my entire world. Another long, slow flex of my womb warned me I would lose complete control any second now. My insides quaked.

No. I couldn’t. He’d said no. Oh please. Oh please…

“Silently. Now, Brandilynn.” Dan reached down and rubbed my clit.

A blast of white-hot lightning enveloped my world, a nuclear explosion of earth-shattering strength. All I knew was the heaving detonation and the brutal effort of keeping my teeth clenched against the shrieks that wanted to pour from my throat. On and on came endless upsurges of ecstatic fury, ripping, tearing, laying me to silent waste. My eyes stung with tears as the orgasm raged through my straining body, leaving me in glorious dissolution.

I fell to my elbows, burying my face in the bedspread as I sobbed. Lesser pulses rode me as Dan groaned above me, lost in his own pleasure. His cock pulsed rhythmically, setting off a few stronger spasms in my core again before the furor finally abated.





Good golly Miss Molly. I thought maybe I could love this man. But could I love him enough to pledge to be his one-and-only?

It’s supremely unfair to think about another man when Dan had done me so well. Still, with the ‘L’ word floating around my skull in the aftermath of our interlude, I thought about Tristan. About giving him up and swearing myself to Dan. Fear mixed uneasily with the heat in my belly.

No. I wasn’t quite ready for that after all.

A knock on the door rescued me from heavy thinking. Quick as a flash, we were dressed again and on our feet.

“Who is it?” Dan called. He winked at me and whispered, “One thing about being dead is I never sound out of breath after sex. As long as you get rid of that blush, no one will have a clue.”

I blushed? Sheesh.

From the other side of the door, Tristan’s cultured tones rolled over me. “It’s me and Patricia. Can we come in?”

Dan grimaced for a split second before his expression smoothed over. “Sure.”





Tristan walked through the door, his sister right behind him. My eyes widened. We could do that? Then why did Dan always get a key and open the door?

That question faded as I looked at Patricia in her non-vampire guise. The sharp coldness of her eyes had disappeared, replaced by calm patience. When she looked at Tristan, I could feel the devotion almost physically.

I knew in her era, women had usually worn dresses. Patricia wore pants; nice slacks and a blouse with pearl buttons and lace on the collar. She looked like a black-haired Katherine Hepburn, circa 1930. Her strength was very much evident, but it was a softer, gentler attitude compared to the pure huntress her vampire side wore.

I didn’t have long to muse over Patricia’s ghost versus vampire appearance. Tristan came right up to me to cup my chin and press a gentle kiss to my lips. “You’re all right?”

I didn’t dare look at Dan. “Barely. A witch almost disemboweled me.”

Dan put an arm around my waist. Darn it, the men were doing that territorial chest-thumping thing after all. But to give my Marlboro Man credit, his tone stayed even. “Her killer tried to have her kidnapped. He’s got a witch named Erica Ford and some unsavory spirits helping him out.”

Tristan scowled, anger lighting his handsome face. He gathered my hands in his, as if he could protect me with his touch alone. “I’ve already dispatched someone to clear the library and ward it against further attacks. I’ll also consult with all my assistants tonight to figure out how we can keep you protected, Brandilynn.”

Patricia paced the room. “I guess we know what happened to the other girl who disappeared. The bastard must have her.”

Tristan nodded, his eyes dark with fear for me. Gosh, he looked really worried. It made me feel warm, but also guilty. I’d just made love to Dan. My relationships with the two men were getting complicated, even for me.

“This is bad,” Tristan said, and for a moment I thought he referred to our lover’s triangle. But no, he commented on the subject of my killer trying to catch me. To both Patricia and Dan he said, “Brandilynn is not to be left alone for any reason. I want her accompanied at all times.”

That earned nods of acquiescence. With that bit of conversation at a successful conclusion, I switched topics.

“You’re going to have company tonight. Those FBI agents working on the Ripper case want to question you.”

Tristan nodded. “I was expecting that.”

“You knew they would because you’ve claimed my body. Why did you do that?”

He blinked at me as if I’d just asked something obvious, like why the moon comes out at night. “So you can have a proper funeral and burial. That’s what one does for those who are important to him.”