Bound to Shadows Page 0,20

dryly, "because every man sometimes lets the little head think for the big one."

On hands and knees, he walked up the bed, straddling my body but not actually touching my flesh. His scent, his desire, filled every breath, making my body burn and my heart ache.

"There have only been two times in my life that I've allowed the desire for sex to overrule my better judgement," he said softly, his dark gaze burning into my mine and his expression serious. "And in the second case, it's the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Then his lips dropped to mine and he kissed me. But it was more than just a kiss, more than just a meeting of lips and desire. It was heart if not soul, and the only place I wanted to be, now and forever.

There was no more talking from that moment on, just caressing and kissing and pleasuring. I explored his body as fully as he enjoyed mine, taking my time, letting the pleasure build and build, until it felt like every part of me was wound so tight it would surely break. Then he entered me, and everything did shatter, the power of my orgasm tossing me about like a leaf in the storm. When his teeth entered my neck, I came a second time, the pleasure of that one action sweeping through me like a tide.

And later, when I could think again, I realized that for me, it would never be just about the bite. It was this - the hot and sweaty aftermath, lying replete and exhausted in his arms - that was the most addicting moment.

The blood whores had no idea just how much they were truly missing.
Chapter Four
"Where the hell is your report?" Jack bellowed, the minute I walked through the door of the day division's rather cramped Directorate quarters.

Of course, calling ourselves the day division was something of a misnomer, given we seemed to work all hours of the clock, not just the daylight ones.

"I sent it in before I left home," I said, plucking a coffee from the cardboard tray I was holding and handing it to him.

He sniffed the coffee and looked somewhat mollified. I'd learned some time ago that while Jack could drink any sort of coffee - good or bad - it paid to get the good stuff from Beans when I was in his bad books.

"You were supposed to send it in by five," he said, slightly less loudly. "This one could get nasty, Riley. We need to keep on top of it."

"I know." I gave Kade a grin of greeting as I handed him his coffee, then plucked my own free and tossed the cardboard tray in the trash. "Did Cole come up with anything unusual in the autopsy?"

"No. The body and the saw are clean."

I frowned as I walked around my desk and sat down. "That almost suggests a professional hit."

"If we have three men beheaded in the same way, then yes, I do think we are dealing with professionals."

"So Henry Gateway's death is connected to Haven's?"

"You know, you could read the report and find out for yourself," Jack noted dryly. "But yes, Gateway was killed by the same method as Haven, although it wasn't the same saw, and we haven't yet found the one that was used on Gateway."

"It's a particularly brutal way to murder someone," Kade commented. "It seems to me that the killers are intent on attracting attention more than merely killing."

I glanced at him. The harsh fluorescent lighting gave his normally warm red-brown skin a sallow look, and there were dark shadows under his eyes. Amusement bubbled through me. Several more mares from his herd had given birth recently - meaning he now had a grand total of nine kids - but it looked as if having that many youngsters in the one household was beginning to take its toll.

"If we're dealing with a gang intent on stirring up trouble between the vampires and the humans," I said, "then it's highly likely they do want attention."

"Which is why I've put a lock on the press for the moment." Jack took a sip of his coffee, then added, "And why I want this murder solved as soon as possible."

"Hard to track down a killer who leaves no clues," I muttered, logging onto the computer and leaning forward for the system to scan my retina. "I don't suppose you'd know if there's a connection between the three murdered men?"

I glanced at