This Side of the Grave (#5 Night Huntress)
This Side of the Grave (#5 Night Huntress)
This Side of the Grave (#5 Night Huntress)
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fray while leaving <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r person on <strong>the</strong> sidelines, and I intended to keep that promise.<br />
Stopping <strong>the</strong> bad guys would be hard, yet sometimes, making a relationship between two strong-willed people work seemed like an equally<br />
challenging goal. Of course, if Bones had a meek personality and I could easily bulldoze over him, I wouldn’t love him like I did. The same unyielding<br />
determination that frustrated me now was what had drawn me to Bones in <strong>the</strong> first place. He’d said much <strong>the</strong> same thing about me once. Guess we<br />
were both masochists in addition to being stubborn.<br />
I jerked out <strong>of</strong> my musings when Bones turned <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> highway. With how fast he drove, it hadn’t taken us long to get to <strong>the</strong> Chicago suburbs<br />
where Mencheres was staying so his girlfriend could be close to her family. It was still strange to think <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mega-Master vampire in a relationship,<br />
but Mencheres was fangs over heels for Kira. She seemed to be a nice person, too, instead <strong>of</strong> a homicidal bitch like his former wife. O<strong>the</strong>rwise, <strong>the</strong><br />
world should fear. When Mencheres fell for a woman, he fell hard. If Kira asked for her own continent as a birthday present, Mencheres would<br />
probably have one conquered for her before she blew out her candles.<br />
After going down a few windy roads and announcing ourselves at <strong>the</strong> security camera by <strong>the</strong> gate, we pulled up in front <strong>of</strong> Mencheres’s home.<br />
The three-story house was far less grand than his o<strong>the</strong>r residences, being able to sleep a mere fifteen instead <strong>of</strong> fifty. But once again, this scaleddown<br />
residence was due to Kira’s influence.<br />
“<strong>This</strong> isn’t a house; it’s a hotel,” she’d commented about <strong>the</strong> place Mencheres initially picked out, and <strong>the</strong> former pharaoh acquiesced to living<br />
somewhere smaller without a single word <strong>of</strong> protest.<br />
“See?” I’d whispered to Bones, nudging him with a grin. “He never argues with her. Isn’t that sweet?”<br />
A snort preceded his response. “Keep dreaming, pet.”<br />
Bones put <strong>the</strong> Ducati in park just as <strong>the</strong> front door opened and Gorgon, a Nordic version <strong>of</strong> Alfred to Mencheres’s Batman, came out. I took <strong>of</strong>f<br />
my helmet, pulling out my iPod earphones at <strong>the</strong> same time—hey, I hadn’t needed to pay attention to traffic as a passenger—only to have<br />
something aside from Norah Jones’s latest CD assail my ears.<br />
Gorgon’s features were perfectly composed, as if <strong>the</strong>re wasn’t a symphony <strong>of</strong> moans and groans coming from one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> upper rooms <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
house behind him.<br />
“Bones, Cat. Mencheres is regrettably detained at <strong>the</strong> moment, but please, come in.”<br />
It was only my new vampiric control that allowed me to keep a straight face, but Bones just laughed.<br />
“He clearly hasn’t gotten his bedroom soundpro<strong>of</strong>ed yet, so we’re quite aware he’s not regretting his ‘detainment’ in <strong>the</strong> least.”<br />
A crashing sound followed by an extended feminine squeal made me look up at <strong>the</strong> house in bewilderment. What was he doing to her?<br />
Gorgon blinked even as Bones’s chuckle grew wicked. “I don’t know, but I’ll be sure to ask him later.”<br />
Oops. Must’ve said that out loud. I cleared my throat, once again fighting to appear nonchalant, despite what all <strong>of</strong> us could still hear in graphic<br />
detail.<br />
“Um, what lovely gardens in <strong>the</strong> back,” I stammered. “I don’t think we got a chance to check <strong>the</strong>m out <strong>the</strong> last time we were here, Bones.”<br />
“We’ll be back in round an hour,” he told Gorgon, raising his voice so more than <strong>the</strong> blond vampire could hear him. From <strong>the</strong> continued noises<br />
upstairs, I doubted Mencheres got <strong>the</strong> message, but I didn’t stay around long enough to find out. I walked into <strong>the</strong> field behind <strong>the</strong> house, popping<br />
my iPod speakers back into my ears. With my pace and a few clicks <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> volume, soon I could hear nothing but Norah crooning on about young<br />
blood and ghosts going home. Much better than listening to Bones’s co-ruler and his girlfriend getting <strong>the</strong>ir freak on.<br />
Bones caught up to me in a few long strides, not saying a word, though his twitching lips spoke volumes about how my discomfort amused him.<br />
Nothing embarrassed him, <strong>of</strong> course. Working as a gigolo for London’s wealthy, bored wives had killed any shame in him long before becoming a<br />
vampire killed his humanity. <strong>This</strong> wasn’t <strong>the</strong> first time I’d overheard people having sex, having preternatural hearing since I was a child. But this was<br />
Mencheres, <strong>the</strong> solemn, somewhat scary vampire whose extensive powers unnerved me ever since I’d first met him. So it was ano<strong>the</strong>r shade <strong>of</strong><br />
weird entirely, hearing him hoot and holler like, well, a normal person.<br />
“At least he’ll be in a good mood when we finally speak to him,” I told Bones without taking my earpieces out.<br />
He pulled me to him in response, his mouth covering mine before I could even formulate a word. A long, hungry kiss seemed to ignite flares<br />
along my nerve endings as his tongue caressed mine with deep strokes and tantalizing flicks. Lust filled my senses from my connection to him and<br />
my own response, a double punch to my emotions that made me arch against him despite my surprise.<br />
“We’ll be in a good mood, too,” he murmured after taking <strong>the</strong> earphones out, <strong>the</strong>n began to undo my jeans while his mouth burned a sensual trail<br />
down my neck.<br />
My head fell back even as I sputtered out a protest. “You can’t be serious. Someone could see.”<br />
The house was only about a hundred yards away from where we stood. Sure, it was dark out and <strong>the</strong> grass around us was high, but not that high!<br />
Anyone undead looking in this direction would be able to see what we were doing, not to mention <strong>the</strong>y’d be able to hear us.<br />
Bones’s laugh was dark and decadent. “Of course I’m serious. Why do you think I said we wouldn’t be back for an hour?”