Death’s Excellent Vacation (Sookie Stackhouse #9.5)(16)
Author: Charlaine Harris

"Call me Cat. " Red Reaper might be my nickname among the undead, but I preferred to be called by the abbreviation of my real name. Tammy gave Trixie a frank stare. "Is she dead, too?" Trixie grinned, showing off the gold plating on her fangs. "Does that answer your question?" "Ew, " Tammy said. I rolled my eyes and mouthed Sorry to Trixie, but she didn’t seem to care about Tammy’s comment. "No fireworks inside, " Trixie said, giving my hand a last, friendly squeeze. I glanced at my hands and suppressed a shudder. One of my new tricks as a vampire was that when I got really pissed, flames shot from my hands. Guess word of that had spread. It shouldn’t surprise me. Nobody loved gossip as much as people who’d had centuries of experience spreading it. "We’re not here for trouble, " Bones said. Trixie laughed. "That’ll be the day when you don’t leave trouble in your wake, Bones. Just keep it away from here. " "She knows you pretty well, huh?" I asked once we’d come inside. Bones’s mouth quirked. "Not as well as you’re implying, Kitten. " It was a valid guess. Bones looked like temptation incarnate, and he’d been around the block for hundreds of years before he met me. If I assumed he’d slept with every female vampire he introduced me to, I’d be right more than I was wrong. I pushed that thought away with all the other things I didn’t like to dwell on. "Come on. I can smell the gin and tonic up ahead. " It was true. I smelled the different alcohols as the bartenders poured them, the myriad of other people’s scents mixed with different perfumes, aftershaves, and the tang of blood. Add that to the pulsating music, the muted strobe lights, the crush of people, and the energy wafting from everyone without a heartbeat, and I felt almost drunk from sensory overload.

"You couldn’t feel it the last time, but you can now, can’t you? " Bones whispered. "How thin the line is here between the normal and the paranormal. I told you Ohio was a supernatural hotspot. This club was built on an even bigger one. Feels like a charge in your blood, doesn’t it?" It did. No wonder the undead flocked to hotspots. Alcohol and drugs couldn’t affect me anymore, but being surrounded by all the inhuman occupants, where magic seemed to throb just below the surface, was sensual and exhilarating. "Forget the drink. Let’s dance. " My voice came out lower than I intended. Green appeared in the dark depths of Bones’s eyes. "Are you guys going to let me dance and have a little fun for once?" Tammy grumbled. Bones swept out his hand. "By all means. Only don’t leave the dance floor for any reason, or I’ll lock you in your closet for a week. " Even if Tammy didn’t know from experience that Bones never bluffed, his expression must have convinced her, because she gulped. "Stay on the dance floor. Got it. " "Right, then. Off you go. "

Chapter Ten

Four

BONES was pressed to my back, his hips swaying against mine while his hands slid down my sides with a slow caress. Our recent celibacy combined with the brush of his lips on my neck, the coiled power pushing at his aura, plus all the mystic energy swirling around us, made me want to find the nearest corner and commit unspeakable acts on him. But even the headiness of the atmosphere and the sensuality of dancing with Bones couldn’t make me endanger Tammy–or have sex in public, like some people did at these clubs. "After this is over with Tammy, we’re coming back here, " I murmured. "I bet you know where the private spots are in this place, and I intend to molest you in every one of them. " He laughed, sending tingles down my neck where his breath landed. "What a scandalous notion. I vow I’m blushing. " I doubted Bones had blushed since the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1776, Bones would have been ten, I thought hazily, shuddering as his fangs grazed my pulse in a tantalizing way. Close. At seventeen, he was prostituting himself to the women of the English ton in order to survive. "Ready for that drink, luv?" Bones asked, turning me around to face him.

Yeah, I was ready for a drink, but not gin and tonic. I wanted to bury my fangs in Bones’s throat and drain him until there was only enough blood left in him to keep him hard. Hunger swelled in me at the thought. Changing from a half- breed into a vampire had had unexpected side effects. I was only mostly dead, as my occasional heartbeat evidenced, and I drank vampire blood instead of human blood. Problem was, I absorbed more than nourishment from the blood I drank. I also absorbed power. Found that out after I fed from a pyrokinetic vampire and then my hands sprouted flames. I didn’t want to absorb more freaky abilities by feeding from vampires with unusual powers, so I stuck with drinking from Bones. So far, that had only made me stronger, not stranger. Of course, Bones always looked good enough to eat. Whoever said Don’t play with your food sure hadn’t been a vampire. Bones inhaled, his eyes changing to emerald green. I knew mine would have changed also, and I felt my fangs push at my lips. Give us flesh, they urged. His flesh. Now.

"Stay here. Keep an eye on Tammy, " Bones growled, surprising me by shouldering his way through the other dancers. Had he spotted a threat? I glanced around, looking for Tammy’s familiar blond head among the mass of living and undead gyrators. There. Dancing with two men, no less. I made my way through until I reached Tammy, getting between her and one of the dancers. His scowl turned into a smile as his gaze swept over me. "Hello, redhead, " he drawled. "I’m just getting my friend, " I said. Tammy didn’t budge. "Hell no. I’m just starting to have fun!" "Tammy, " I gritted out, "don’t make me carry you. " If there was danger, I wanted our backs to a wall with me in front of her. Not where trouble could come from any angle. Tammy glared at me but didn’t object again. I led her to the closest corner, as if we were having an intimate conversation, but I was braced for action. No one looked as if they were stalking us. Still, appearances were deceiving. I felt a stab of relief when I saw Bones striding toward us. A large ghoul with black bushy hair and a blindingly white smile followed him. "Verses, this is my wife, Cat, " Bones introduced me. "Nice to meet you, " I said, shaking his hand. I was surprised when Bones tugged me away a moment later.

"Follow me, " he said, leading me past the DJ’s booth and to a door behind it. It opened to reveal a staircase, and it was a good thing I could see in the dark, because there were no lights once Bones shut the door. I expected to see a weapons cache, but we were in a room cluttered with old speakers, musical equipment, boxes, and tables. I was about to ask what we were supposed to do with this stuff when Bones yanked me to him. He kissed me, pushing me back against the table and reaching under my dress. Clearly we weren’t here to armor up against danger. "Bones, " I managed, pushing him back. "Tammy–" "Is fine with Verses, " he cut me off. "Don’t fret about her. Think about me. " He propped me up on the table as he spoke, pulling my underwear down past my knees. I gasped when he kissed me again, because he unleashed his aura at the same time. The waves of power suddenly flooding over me, combined with the rub of his desire on my subconscious, felt just as tangible as his tongue raking inside my mouth. My objection vanished. Music boomed all around us, its throbbing beat mimicking the pulse I no longer had. I kissed him back, pulling him closer.