Page 74 of Visions in Blood
I shrugged.“Depends on the job.But the pay is top notch, and like always, you can say no.”
“Who’s running it?”
“Ultimately, my boss.But he’ll listen to me when it comes to a job.And while I have the final word on what I propose to him, I’m here because you know how to put a job together.And that’s what I need.”
He glanced to Trudy, who got up and grabbed the empty bottles without saying a word.It was a sign that it was up to him.“Same rules as before.If we’re not already committed to something else, we’ll give what you bring us full consideration.But I’ll expect extra for the risk of someone else running the job.”
I stood and stuck out my hand.
He stood and faced me, his expression still stern, but he grasped my hand and shook it.Then he pulled me in for a hug.“I’m glad you’re okay.That was a tight spot.”Then he squeezed my ass, both buns, and I pushed back, grinning.
“You just can’t leave well enough alone.”
He laughed, and Trudy joined him at the door, her arm around his waist.
“Don’t be a stranger, sugar,” she said.
I trotted down the inner staircase, not worried about anyone seeing me.Those two were a strange couple, but I felt lighter than I thought possible having the crew back.
Now, I just had to talk Devon into my mad plans.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Devon fell into bed,exhaustion ripping at him.He needed blood, but had turned away donors, too busy with meetings that went nowhere.He’d been pushing hard, working with the shifters to track where the Magic Poppy might be coming from and who had murdered the rogues.The Wolf was still incensed by their tragic loss, and he couldn’t blame Remus one bit.Yet, the results from the lab work Remus ordered had come back inconclusive.That had stunned them all.Further tests were being done, but without more to go on, the final resolution had been to send out more field teams to quietly pursue more leads.
He’d been so obsessed with the pending threat, he hadn’t been available to Cressa, and though Bella had assured him the women were fine, he wasn’t convinced.They’d parted in anger, and even with Ginger around, he found it difficult to believe that three days of shopping and leisure activity had been enough to keep her out of trouble.He thought the mission to locate the book would have been enough to reduce the binds of her confinement, but she needed a purpose beyond the training and classroom sessions.She was like a dog after a bone.Once her mind had pinned on that damn book, she’d lost interest in the rest of the story.
If she’d been able to find a single item, or a series of events, that explained the House Wars all those centuries ago, she would have been satisfied.He’d been buried under the same frustrations the first time he’d delved into those books and found no real reason for the shattered loyalties.
Now, they had a missing Renaud and a missing Rasmussen, who both could shed light on the mysteries surrounding them.Cressa needed a project of her own.He’d take her to New Orleans and find the link Willa had given him.Soon.He’d take care of all of it soon.
He tossed for another hour before sleep enveloped him, and his troubles fell away like leaves in the fall.
A light fog rolled in, and Cressa was in his arms on the widow’s walk as they watched it blanket the yard in shadows and dew.The mist left minuscule beads of moisture on her skin, and he kissed her neck, tasting the sweet sheen mixed with her desire.
She stepped away but took his hand and led him down the stairs and through the halls until they reached the library where a roaring fire had been started.A blanket had been placed in front of the hearth, and she pulled him down to it.
“Let’s dry off.The fire feels good.”She removed his jacket, her fingers caressing his neck as she tugged it off him.She left a kiss on his ear, her breath warm against his skin.
He grew hard when she returned to remove his shirt, and he grabbed her wrist before running his hand up her arm.“You need to warm up.You’re chilled.”
She pushed his hand away.“There will be plenty of time for that.”She took her time as she unbuttoned his shirt, her knuckles scraping along his skin, sending short bursts of lightning with her every movement.Once the buttons were free, she moved behind him to slowly draw the shirt off his shoulders, featherlight kisses trailed behind, and he struggled to free the shirt.But when the shirt tangled around his wrists, she left it to trail her fingertips up his back and over his shoulders, her nails gripping hard as she traced her tongue up the same path, light and teasing.
A growl slipped from him as he tried to untangle his hands, but she leaned her body into him, her breasts against his back.And though he couldn’t feel her skin under the soft silk of her dressing gown, he felt her warmth.
“Stop struggling.This is my dream.”
He stopped, but not because she’d asked.Memories from an earlier dream—an aggressive Cressa.Before he could wrap his head around what was happening or what he should do, she was back, once again pressed against him, but this time the dressing gown was gone.
Her skin was on fire, her nipples hard, and the kisses resumed along the side of his neck, her tongue sliding along his artery as if testing for the best place to bite.
“Cressa.”The word struggled out as soft as the cry of a baby bird.
“Shh.All is well.It’s only me, and it’s been too long.”
Whatever tension had been building inside him released with those words, and he gave in to the sensations she aroused in him.She laid sweet kisses across his back as her hands slid to his chest and rubbed his nipples until they were nothing but hard buds.When her hands slid lower, his mind broke, and he struggled again for the release of his arms.
Her laughter was erotic and devilish.“Let me.”Her hands worked at the sleeves that bound him.“You need to learn patience, my sweet.”
