Lone Star Vampire - Virgen Vampire Vixen Part 3

While the coroner has yet to confirm an official cause of death, sources close to law enforcement are reporting that Yates appears to be a victim of the serial killer.

The killer, believed to be a master vampire of unusual strength, has terrorized Houston's vampire district in recent months. The addition of Yates would bring the number of homicides to twelve.

Chapter 5.

"Chelsea Yates was a shifter." Cameron slammed the newspaper down on Mr. Charles' desk.

"She had close ties to the Speedway Pack." Mr. Charles leaned back in his chair, looking as worried as Cameron felt.

"The killer is moving in closer." Cameron paced the floor of the small ground floor office. "I don't like this." He stopped, leaning against the wall. "I don't like it at all."

"One wonders how long it will be before the killer starts going after members of our staff." Mr. Charles folded his hands on top of his desk.

"Let me look at the folder of threats against Eden one more time." Cameron flopped down in the chair opposite the desk.

Mr. Charles sighed. "I can't imagine what could be gained by you pouring over those insane ravings yet again."

Cameron ran a hand over his head. "A pattern... something we've missed." He rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Why the h.e.l.l do the Minotaur vamps hate Eden so much?"

"She advocates feeding on energy and synthetic blood rather than upon humans." Mr. Charles opened a desk drawer and retrieved a manila folder. "House Minotaur prides themselves on being natural predators, and are outraged at the thought of giving up their more... organic food sources."

"Which means you've got Eden, the Gulf Coast Court, the Germainians, and all their affiliated houses on one side," Cameron drummed his fingers on the desktop, "and House Minotaur on the other?"

"Minotaur has a band of rogues on their side." Mr. Charles handed him a second file. "This is everything we have on Minotaur and their a.s.sociates."

"You know they're behind this." It wasn't a question.

"As they say... where there's smoke, there's fire." Mr. Charles stood up.

What was it with this group and old sayings? Cameron exhaled slowly. "We've got to cancel her appearances for the next day or so."

Mr. Charles nodded. "I figured as much."

Cameron leafed through the file, seeing nothing. "She's not going to like it."

Mr. Charles smiled. "You're catching on quickly, Mr. Zane."

Cameron squeezed his eyes shut and sighed again. If only he could catch the killer's trail and end this insanity -- for Eden and everyone else.

"This is beyond unnecessary, you know." Eden tightened the sash of the terry cloth robe she'd put on over her swimsuit.

"I'm not letting you outside after dark without protection." Zane opened the back door of House Black Rose and held it for her.

"I've been to the hot tub by myself a thousand times." She stepped out onto the covered patio. "There's never been the slightest hint of trouble."

"There's never been a serial killer targeting you before, either." Cameron led the way down the stepping stone path to the pool and hot tub. "Either I go with you, or you don't go."

Eden groaned inwardly. Letting Mr. Buff Body see her in a swimsuit wasn't high on her list of fun activities, but she was so desperate to get out of the house that exposing her pudge seemed like the lesser of two evils.

"Clow could've come with me, you know." The ogre wasn't about to win any bathing beauty contests himself.

"Clow is guarding the back gate." He stopped at the cabana to eye the sound system. "Music?"

She shrugged. "Sure." It would distract him for a minute so she could toss her robe and climb into the hot tub unseen.

While he fiddled with the sound system, she made a beeline for the hot tub and tore off her robe. She tossed it on a nearby chaise lounge and plunged into the bubbling hot water just as Cameron made his way to the tub.

She sank down until the water reached her shoulders. Her red two-piece suit was fine for Lisa and Sable to see, but she had no intention of letting Cameron get the full visual.

"How's the water?" He kicked off the flip-flops he'd worn and took off his shoulder holster. She watched as he took the gun out and checked the safety. The strains of Patti Smith's Because The Night began to play softly on the sound system.

"Hot." She sighed with pleasure and leaned back against the edge of the tub. "Blissful, actually."

"Glad to hear it." He laid the gun to rest carefully about a foot from the edge of the tub and placed his radio beside it before he began to peel off his black sleeveless T-shirt.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing?" She stared at the broad expanse of smooth, muscled chest and strong, tattooed arms.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He tossed his shirt aside and stood there in a pair of black swim trunks she'd mistaken for track shorts, grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat. "I'm getting in."

He didn't know which brought him more pleasure, the steaming water or the curvaceous woman by his side. But, as he managed to sneak a glance at the abundant curve of her cleavage, he had to vote for the woman.

"Is this your idea of professional conduct?" Eden leaned forward in the tub, improving his view dramatically.

Actually, it wasn't. Getting into the hot tub with Eden was substantially more arousing than, say, going to the therapy pool with Mr. Hoffmeyer, the client on his last gig. But strictly speaking, it was a potentially risky situation for her. Why not protect her and enjoy one of the perks of his job at the same time?

And getting an eyeful of Eden in a two-piece swimsuit was a definite perk.

"If we make it back inside without incident, I'll say it was pretty d.a.m.n professional on my part." He checked to make sure his gun was within easy reaching distance. "Do you always complain this much?"

She knit her brows together. "Yes."

Her truthful answer caught him off guard and he laughed before he could check himself. "At least you're honest."

She shrugged and ran a hand over her upswept hair. "Why lie? I'm probably spoiled rotten by your standards."

He mulled her words over. "Maybe, but everyone around here is completely loyal to you. They wouldn't feel that way if you were as difficult with them as you are with me."

"I'm the master's daughter." She spoke as if those few words defined her every relationship.

He shook his head. "It's more than that. I heard what you did for Clow. And you mediated a resolution for the Speedway Pack during their big feud. They're willing to put their lives on the line for you." He met her gaze. "You don't get any more loyal than that."

She regarded him with an icy expression. "You're putting your life on the line for me right now, and I don't see anything resembling loyalty in you."

"Is that what you really think?" Anger tightened his chest. "Are you blind, or just really dense?"

Her eyes darkened. "Neither, last time I checked."

"Well, maybe you need to check again, if you can't see what's staring you in the face." Cameron felt every muscle in his body tense. He was on the verge of blurting out something that would put the word unprofessional in an entirely new context.

"The only thing staring me in the face is an arrogant a.s.s who thinks he's some kind of hero for taking money to kill people." She folded her arms over her chest with the air of having had the final word.

"You want to know why I'm still here?" His c.o.c.k throbbed with sudden need. "Despite the fact that you're the biggest pain in the a.s.s I've ever met? Because I can a.s.sure you, your ladyship, it's not for the money."

"Oh, do enlighten me." She smirked at him, anger coloring her cheeks.

He opened his mouth to blurt out a confession when something stronger than speech overwhelmed him. He wrapped both of his hands around her upper arms and pulled her to him, pressing his lips against hers in a silencing kiss.

His kiss was rough, half pleasure and half punishment.

Eden sighed when he pulled away, dragging her eyelids open. Cameron stared down at her, an expression in his eyes she couldn't decipher. Something between l.u.s.t and rage, though whether at her or himself she couldn't fathom.

He didn't speak as he twisted his fingers into the back of her upswept hair, willing her to conform to the angle he desired. Then his lips met hers again, and she couldn't think, couldn't do anything but feel.

He forced her mouth open, his tongue demanding purchase. She complied, although she couldn't have made herself refuse if her life depended on it. His tongue swept against hers, thrusting into her mouth even as he pressed the hard length of his c.o.c.k against her bare stomach.

She sucked her stomach in almost reflexively. Even though she'd never had s.e.xual contact with a man before, her instinct to appear desirable to him kicked in on autopilot.

But she didn't have long to think about her shape, not with his hands pushing up the top of her swimsuit. She gasped when the whirling water of the hot tub swirled against her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"Eden," he whispered against her lips, cupping her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The weight of them rested against his palms, and she felt her nipples harden painfully.

He circled the swollen points with his thumbs, eliciting a tortured sound from her. Had anything ever felt more euphoric than this man's hands on her body? Something stirred low in her body, a deep throbbing, an aching need that only he could fill.

His lips worked their way down her neck. With one hand, he lifted her breast until the nipple was above the water line. The cool air against it tugged between her legs, as if an invisible current connected it to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Cameron lowered his head and took her nipple into his mouth.

The feeling of his warm, wet tongue lapping at the peak of her nipple was almost more than she could bear. She could feel an o.r.g.a.s.m rushing forth like a pack of wild horses, furious and unstoppable. If he didn't take her and put an end to the delicious torture, she'd expire from sheer need.

His radio crackled, Clow's voice coming through. "Cam, we got a car pulling into the driveway. Texas plates."

Cameron released her breast and growled a curse. He reached for the radio and depressed the talk b.u.t.ton. "Be there in a minute, Clow. Just follow procedure."

Eden watched as he put the radio aside and covered his face with his hands. His chest heaved in a deep sigh.

"I'm... I don't have any excuse for that." He scrubbed his face with his hands, refusing to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry."

He was sorry? Humiliation washed over her like an icy wave, shooting needles through her heart. She'd been about to hand him her extremely overdue virginity on a silver platter, and he was sorry?

"I won't let it happen again, all right?" He gave her a pained glance. "I know better than to get involved with a client. It would be the worst thing I could do, especially on a tough job like this."

She slid back through the water to the other side of the tub. Was that how he saw her... as a tough job? Maybe he'd been without a woman long enough to settle for a chubby chick with no experience in the heat of the moment.

Her devastated pride wouldn't allow her to spend another minute with him. "You're right." She turned her back to him and climbed out of the tub. Suddenly it no longer mattered if he saw her body. He'd already rejected her. What did she have left to lose? "Don't let it happen again."

She put on her robe and headed back to the house. For once, he didn't follow her.

Dracula's Ball Promises To Be Gala Event by Anastasia Levoux Houston Vampire Press Preparations are in full swing for this year's annual Dracula's Ball in Houston. It will be the Bay City's first time to host the event in nearly a century.

"We're expecting delegates from every vampire court and house in North America," Gavin Charles, spokesman for the Gulf Coast Court, told the Houston Vampire Press. "Of course, security will be high for the festivities. Local citizens need not worry about any trouble resulting from this gathering."

With only two months until Dracula Week kicks off, the planning committee is in constant motion tying up final details.

"We want this to be the most glittering Dracula's Ball in the history of the event," Jade Simon-D'Aria, owner of Nocturnal Nuptials and co-chair of the planning committee, told us in a phone interview. The ball will launch with performances from several well known vampire musical acts and conclude with the coronation of the new empress of the Gulf Coast Court, Eden Lockhart.

Chapter 6.

"Eden, let's go."

She looked up to find Cameron standing in the doorway between their respective rooms. "Just a minute, they're almost finished with me."

Veronica, half of Houston's infamous identical vampire duo, wrinkled her forehead as she worked a shine serum into Eden's hair. "You cannot rush beauty, Monsieur Zane."

Malice, from her perch on a stool at Eden's side, nodded as she brushed deep red gloss onto Eden's lips.

Cameron scanned the floor with his eyes. "Did you try on your entire closet?" He gestured to the piles of discarded clothing littering the carpet. She was sure it looked as if a gothic laundromat had blown up in there.

Eden gave him what she hoped was a withering stare. "Did you remember to put on clean underwear?"

He shot her a grin. "I don't wear any."

Okay, she deserved that one. But she had to admit, he did look good in his black leather pants and matching silk shirt.

Good? She snorted to herself. He looked like a walking, talking treat. If she hadn't been still smarting from his rejection, she might have even told him so.

But she couldn't, not after she'd let him make a total fool of her in the hot tub a few nights ago. Even worse than her wounded pride and sense of total humiliation was the fact that he seemed determined to act as if nothing had happened.

As if kissing her, holding her, and touching her naked body had meant less than nothing to him.

"Finished!" Veronica put down her comb and clapped. Malice moved out of the way and joined the applause. Eden rose to her feet. "Thank you, girls." Veronica turned to Cameron. "Is she not a work of art, Monsieur Zane?" Eden crossed her arms over her chest. The form-fitting black dress with its lace trim revealed more than she normally allowed herself to show, and Cameron's intense scrutiny made her wildly embarra.s.sed. She could only imagine how she'd pale in comparison to the other female guests at Katya's birthday party that night.