Page 29 of Newly Undead in Dark River

Brody laughed, his fingers curling around my hip and pulling me closer. “Eventually he’ll pull the police issued baton out of his ass and realize he wants you, but until then, I’m going to soak you up,” he whispered against my ear, and the scent of him overcame me. It was heady. Raw and earthy and completely freakin’ delicious. “I think the real worry is your homicidal looking friend that likes to lurk in the shadows and pretend he only wants to hit it and quit it.” He nodded in the direction of the small alley between two buildings. There, in the shadows, was Judge. He stepped out into the light and gave Brody the finger.

Brody laughed under his breath. “You may as well come over; otherwise, you are just going to seem like a creeper, dude.” Brody didn’t shout, but I knew he wasn’t talking to me.

I could see Judge’s jaw tense, but he was across the road and in front of us in an instant. Only it didn’t seem so fast to me anymore. My sense of time was changing.

“So you’re the juice pouch?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at Brody.

I groaned and covered my eyes.

“So you’re the murderer?” Brody quipped back, and I wondered if I should stay to protect Brody when Judge ripped his arms off and beat him with them, or go get the Doc to sew his arms back on immediately. Vampire quandary.

Instead, Judge laughed, and Brody grinned, and I realized I’d never understand men even if I lived for a million years.

Chapter Eleven

They sat on my couch, drinking beer and watching the baseball. I leaned against my island bench, resting my chin on my hand and wondering how the hell this happened. I sucked on my blood bag, squeezing the medical plastic, and slurping it down like it was cheap wine.

“What is happening here? Are you guys in a bromance?”

For the last four days, they’d cohabitated in my apartment. First, it was one, and then the other, and then their visits would somehow overlap. Now, they didn’t even bother leaving when the other arrived.

“What are you talkin’ about, Rainy Day?” Judge said, swigging from his beer.

I came and stood in front of them. Honestly, they were almost snuggled up on the couch, not even six inches between them. Brody’s nose twitched. I knew what he was smelling. I was hungry, horny, and angry as hell. While they were playing switcheroo, I was too nervous about doing anything in case one of them waltzed in while I was doing the naked mambo with the other. Which meant I was drinking bagged blood and sleeping alone. And now I was feeling meaner than a rattlesnake.

“Oh,” Brody said in a growly voice.

“Yeah, oh.” I tapped my foot. “You need to leave before I do something that will haunt my seemingly endless nights.”

I wasn’t exaggerating. The predator felt out of control tonight. She’d been denied too long. She wanted to hunt. And right now, Brody was looking more like prey than a friend.

“We talked about this. You don’t have to resist with me,” Brody said, standing, swaggering toward me with his eyes hooded. I hadn’t drank from him since that night. His blood was too potent, too addictive. I wasn’t sure I could go from lobster back to mac and cheese. And today, I wasn’t sure I could stop, no matter what he said.

I backed away as he got closer, my fangs punching out. I felt wild. “I mean it, Brody.” I breathed through my mouth because if I caught scent of his blood right now, I’d be on him, consequences be damned.

“I trust you, Raine.”

My lip curled. “That makes you dumb as well as crazy.” A slight breeze let me know Judge was now at my back. He pressed into my back, his hard torso molded against me. His fingers dug into my hips.

“How’d you let it get this bad, Rainy Day? Aren’t you keeping up with your feeding regime?”

I scowled at him over my shoulder, even as I pressed myself tighter against his dick and wiggled my ass. He groaned. “Of course, I am asshole. It’s not my fault you’ve been leaving me unsatisfied.”

Brody sucked in a breath, and I saw the massive shit-eating grin on his face. I pointed my finger at his face. “Don’t even get me started on you, butthead. Just make a move already!”

I stepped from between them and moved to the other side of the room. Why did I feel so jittery right now?

Brody cocked his head to the side. “You smell weird. I mean, under the scent of your need.” He groaned. “Jesus, Raine. Come back over here.”

I shook my head. I felt weird. My body was in control. “No.” But even as I said the words, I was walking toward him. Judge moved toward the kitchen, plucking the blood bag I’d sucked dry moments earlier from the bin. He touched the tip of his tongue to the neck of the bag. Why the hell was that so hot?

“It’s tainted,” he said and grimaced. He opened the fridge and sniffed the rest. “They are all tainted. I can’t tell you with what, but I’m pretty sure it’s why Raine has that look in her eye. I think you might need to do what the lady says, Shifter, and step away.” Judge stepped forward, placing himself in between Brody and me. My inner predator growled. I growled.

The fucker just grinned at me. Judge didn’t seem even the least bit perturbed that my inner vamp wanted to tear his throat out for getting between Brody and me. “You need to call Walker. Either this was a targeted attack on Raine, or the whole supply is tainted, in which case the town is going to go mad,” Judge said with cool authority, though his eyes never left me. “Don’t leave the apartment. You are one of the only things actually alive in this town, and if the whole place is drinking tainted blood, you’ll be just a smear on the pavement by morning. This place might be a little Stepford, but I’m pretty sure that when your pack retaliates for killin’ their golden boy, it won’t be pretty for any of us.”

Brody just grunted his assent, dialing Walker’s number. I couldn’t hear what he was saying over the steady thumping of the heartbeats in the room.

“Judge,” I whimpered. I didn’t know what I was trying to say, but desperation rode me hard.

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