Tooth and Claw Page 5

  “You’re breathing too hard.” His lips brushed against her ear and she nearly broke down and straddled his lap.

  What the hell was wrong with her? He’d turned her into some kind of raving nymphomaniac.

  “What did you do to me?”

  He looked surprised when he pulled back from kissing her jawline. She ought to be punching him in the nose for doing so while her partner sat not three feet away. So why wasn’t she?

  “Do to you?”

  “Yes,” she hissed, lowering her voice so Luke might not be able to hear. “Did you drug me or something?”

  Now he simply looked amused. “And just when would I have done that?”

  “I don’t know, maybe your saliva is enhanced. Or your semen, I don’t know.”

  Semen.

  Son of a bitch. The mention of semen made her realize they hadn’t used any protection back in the cage. Another thing they would have to talk about without Luke’s prying ears.

  “I’m not aware of either my saliva or semen having drugging properties, Princess.”

  “Don’t call me Princess.”

  Seth grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. Again, his touch soothed her.

  “I can’t promise the word won’t slip through my teeth.”

  “Try really hard.”

  “You are hilarious, you know that, Pax?” Luke laughed from the front seat and glanced at her in the rearview mirror. His grin was so big it made his eyes crinkle.

  “Don’t need your help.” She slouched in her seat, her cheeks heated because deep down she knew her partner was right. She was being silly about this whole thing. She’d fucked Seth; she’d gotten him out of her system. She could go back to hating him. Right?

  “It’s true. You lust after the man for months—”

  “I did not,” she huffed, though it didn’t sound too convincing even to her own ears. Somehow the dumb man had eaten away little by little at her hatred and now he was making her rethink everything she’d ever thought about vampires.

  “Everyone could see it, Paxy. They’re all talking about it. Keller and Matts took bets about when you would finally crack.”

  “Are you shitting me?”

  Seth’s thumb traced methodically over her palm now, calming her when she should be going crazy about her supposed friends taking bets over her.

  “I lost,” Luke grumbled. “Cost me fifty bucks.”

  “You swine. I’m sorry it wasn’t more.” She stabbed Seth in the stomach with her free hand, hoping to get a reaction out of him. After all, he was the other half of the bet. He didn’t move, just stared straight ahead and continued stroking her hand. His stoic behavior was starting to give her a sneaky suspicion.

  “Did you know about this?”

  “No. Wouldn’t have changed a damn thing if I did, except I can see it’s hurting you so I would have put a stop to it. Regardless, I still would have made you mine.”

  “That sounds a little archaic. Are you going to drag me around by my hair too?”

  “Perhaps. If that’s what you want.”

  “Did you ever stop to think maybe I didn’t want to be yours?”

  Luke turned the car and hit the brakes. It was only then that Paxton realized how far they’d come. They parked in front of their latest victim’s house, a modest ranch at the end of a cul-de-sac. It was late but the house was lit up like a Christmas tree inside and out, as the occupant waited for them to arrive. Paxton wondered what the woman would think when they showed up with a vampire in tow to smell her intimates.

  “Looks innocent enough. Wonder if we can get them to kill the lights,” Seth said smoothly, and Paxton felt him shift subtly beside her.

  “What for? We can’t very well investigate in the dark.” In the glow of the house’s security beams Paxton watched Seth reach for the hem of his shirt and start to lift it.

  “What are you doing? The vest can go on the outside.” She yanked it up from the floorboard where he’d stashed his after getting in.

  “I told you, I don’t need a vest.”

  “And I told you I want to keep my detective status, so you wear the vest.” She grabbed his shirt before he could lift it off and yanked his head close. “Don’t temp me to shoot you myself, you jerk.”

  “Relax, Pax.” Luke opened his door, illuminating the car with the interior lights.

  Paxton gasped at the glow in Seth’s eyes. She couldn’t look away from the golden intensity that hadn’t been there earlier.

  “Remember I told you the kitty was coming out to play?” Luke said from his doorway as he shrugged on his own vest then a jacket to cover the Kevlar. She’d need to put hers on as well.

  She searched Seth’s face for an explanation. He laid his lips on hers.

  “Everything will be fine. I promise.”

  “So what? You’re just gonna…what? What exactly are you going to do?”

  “Like Luke said. Let my kitty free.” He smiled as if he were excited about the prospect.

  She swore he purred. But she refused to believe the sound make her clit tingle.

  “That’s great. Aren’t jaguars like, really big? Don’t you think that’ll look a little strange, having a gigantic kitty wandering around with us? I hardly think asking our victim to allow a jaguar to roam through her house will go over well.”

  He kissed her again, somehow opening her mouth and rubbing his tongue along hers before pulling away again.

  “Which is why I asked you to kill the lights. You guys can take care of keeping her occupied while I search.”

  Dammit. She narrowed her eyes. “And just how will you see, Toothy?” Pathetic. Why was she needling him when he was here to help catch a two-bit thief?

  “Ever heard a cat ask you to turn on the lights so he could see to pee?”

  “Uh, dur. No.”

  “Exactly.” He ripped off the shirt. “I have excellent eyesight, Princess. Better than my normal superior vamp sight. Having those ungodly beams turned off is all the protection I need. It’ll keep the neighbors from seeing the kitty walking around.”

  His hands went to his waist and unbuttoned then unzipped. “Very few people know about my jaguar side, Paxton. I have the added advantage of being mostly black spots. It’s a nice camouflage. Thus, I’ll blend right in with the night. Without the lights, no one will see me.”

  “Fine.” If he wanted to out himself, she wasn’t going to stop him.

  The house suddenly went dark. Luke had obviously used his charm and got the owner to turn the lights off.

  “Try not to get lost in the underwear.”

  He smiled. “I’ll do my best. I’ll sneak around a bit while you talk. It won’t take the cat’s nose long to get what you need. Then when you’re done here, you and I are going back to your place to finish what we started in the cage.”

  The glow flickered in his eyes, sending an arrow of heat to her clit. “Why my place?”

  “So you can kick me out if it gets to be too much for you.” He lifted his hips and shucked his pants, leaving him gloriously naked. Paxton licked her lips and almost leaned over to taste the erection standing so proudly upward. She was damn glad the car and the darkness shielded him from lookie-loos.

  “It won’t be too much.” Was that her raspy voice? One-night stand, remember? Jesus you’re getting soft.

  “I hope not.”

  His skin rippled, muscles bunched. “It’s time. If you don’t want to see this…”

  “I want to.” How could she not? Was it painful?

  He morphed. One minute he was human, or at least, human-like, all hard-muscled flesh and soft skin, the next he was feline, sleek black-spotted, tawny fur and swishy tail. Those glowing eyes were the same though. He took up almost all of the backseat and if she hadn’t scampered to the far door, he would be lying on top of her. As it was, his nose twitched on her crotch and she found herself spreading her legs to grant him access.

  Oh God. She was a freak, letting a man-eating jaguar nose
her clit when she should be pissing in her pants. She bit her lip to keep from making any noise as he did so.

  A long pink tongue whipped out and licked her core through her slacks, and she wished them gone so she could feel it against her skin.

  “You’re losing it,” she whispered.

  The cat purred in her lap, his tail batted at the door.

  “Not losing it, Princess.”

  Paxton blinked. “You can hear me?”

  The cat nodded. She hesitantly put her hand on the massive head of the jaguar and petted the smooth fur. “Incredible.”

  The knock on the door behind her made her jump. Luke stared back at her, a shit-eating grin on his face. She opened the window.

  “Mind if I let the cat out of the bag?” he asked.

  A low sort of growling hiss filled the air.

  “I think he would prefer to stay.” I know I would prefer it.

  Shit. She hadn’t thought that.

  “After, Toothy,” Luke admonished. “Work first, play later.” He pulled the door open.

  Paxton was so close, smashed up against it really, that she fell out. Her partner caught her only to be serenaded by another growl from Seth.

  “Down, boy,” he joked, then turned serious. “We’ll be meeting in the living room, Seth. No one else is home. The woman’s a widow and here alone tonight, but I convinced her to douse the high beams at least while we’re here.”

  Seth nodded in response then jumped out. He must have weighed two hundred pounds. He was right though. In the dark no one could see the jaguar alight or stalk off to the scene. Hell, she couldn’t see him after fifteen yards or so. He just kind of vanished right near the corner of the house.

  A dog started barking, then another and another until it seemed the entire neighborhood’s dogs were voicing their displeasure.

  “Yep,” Luke snorted. “The kitty is real good at bringing out the best in his canine companions.”

  “Is that what all the noise is about?”

  Paxton snagged her vest from the front seat as an inhuman screech strong enough to vibrate in her chest ripped through the night. She pictured the man she’d very recently made frantic love to and then watched turn into a huge black-spotted panther, tell all the obnoxious dogs to shut the hell up.

  She was close to covering her ears when the barking suddenly stopped.

  Should she be concerned that she wanted to spend more time in bed with a man who was not only a vampire but also had the ability to become a feline?

  A rather large, scary-looking feline with teeth big and sharp enough to rip her to shreds? Not that a vamp’s teeth were any different, but still, those had brought blinding pleasure. She had a hard time thinking a jaguar’s teeth would be anything less than excruciating.

  “Am I dreaming?”

  Luke pinched her arm.

  “Ow. What’d you do that for, asshole?”

  “You asked if you were dreaming. I was only confirming you weren’t.”

  “Crap. This day has been really weird.”

  “Always is with Seth.”

  She cleared her throat, not willing or ready to delve into her conflicted feelings concerning Seth. “So how, exactly, is this going to work?”

  “He’ll pick up any scents and try to match them to a person later.”

  “And this is going to hold up in court how?”

  “Hey, he just points us in the right direction. We have to do the rest.”

  “Right. Shall we talk to Ms. Carmichael?”

  “Yep.”

  After Paxton fastened her own vest on and covered it with the jacket she always left in the back, they joined the middle-aged woman at the front door where she waited for them. Ava Carmichael looked sweet, but she was noticeably nervous and probably feeling rightfully violated.

  “Ms. Carmichael, I’m Detective Paxton Tenor.” She took the seat Ava indicated she should on a mauve, flowered sofa.

  Luke excused himself on the grounds of checking the perimeter of the house, and Paxton wondered if he’d only done so to let a gigantic cat into the home.

  “Can I get you anything to drink?” Ava bit her lip, her eyes following Luke as he walked toward the kitchen.

  “No, no. Thank you though.” Paxton could only imagine what the older woman would find if she let her go fetch drinks. Maybe she should ask Ms. Carmichael to leave a bowl of warm milk out for the kitty.

  She couldn’t help but listen for any indication that Seth was inside already. There wasn’t any, and a few minutes later Luke returned from the kitchen area and sat next to her.

  Paxton eyeballed her partner before speaking to Ava. “Did you notice any sign of forced entry after you got home?”

  “No. Nothing,” Ava said, twisting her hands. “Everything seemed normal until I got into the bedroom and found my…underwear on the floor.” Her cheeks took on a red hue under Paxton and Luke’s watchful gazes.

  “Does anyone besides you have a key to the house? Do you keep a spare outside or at a neighbor’s?” Luke asked.

  “My neighbor has a key. And my son.”

  “Your son?” Paxton sat forward on the couch.

  “Yes. He’s away at college. Well, not away really, but he lives at the dorms right here at Central State. He usually comes home on the weekends. This weekend he’s staying with a friend or else he might have been here when the burglar came. I’m so glad he wasn’t. I can’t imagine what might have happened if he’d been here.”

  Ava rattled on about her son. “Chris is a good boy. Got himself together and went to college after his father died. I’m so proud of him. His father would be too. Getting straight As. He’s going to be a lawyer. So smart,” she said, rather emphatically Paxton thought, but nonetheless, the woman couldn’t tell them anything more about the break-in.

  “Nothing else was taken?” Luke stood and took in the room. Paxton swore he cocked his head, listening for the jaguar roaming the house.

  “No,” Ava said, blushing again. “Do you think this was that guy? That Panty guy I heard about on the news?”

  “We don’t know that, Ms. Carmichael,” Luke answered, slipping toward the hall. “We’ll have the techs come and see if they can get any prints. Do you mind if I take a closer look?”

  “Oh. I thought you had.”

  “Actually I was making sure the perpetrator was no longer here. I only glanced over the scene as I walked through.”

  Ms. Carmichael pursed her lips. It was clear to Paxton that Ms. Carmichael would rather Luke not look at her personals.

  “Um, sure.” Ava led the way to her room and Paxton hoped to hell Seth wasn’t still there. She wasn’t sure how they would explain away a jaguar.

  He wasn’t. The only things out of place were the two pairs of white silk panties on the floor and the open top right-hand drawer of the dresser.

  “I didn’t touch anything.”

  “Good,” said Luke. “Leave it this way until the techs get here. That’ll be sometime in the morning.”

  “All right.”

  “For tonight, keep your doors locked and don’t hesitate to call us for any reason.” Luke handed her a business card with his name and number on it.

  The woman hugged it to her chest and Paxton couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

  “I will,” she said, lifting her chin, and Paxton wondered about the strange look in Ava’s eyes. They were almost sad. Regretful?

  She showed them to the front door. “Thank you, again.”

  “We’ll do our best to catch whoever did this.” Paxton put her hand on the woman’s arm to comfort her.

  Ava nodded, her expression still sorrowful, and Paxton suddenly felt like the woman wanted to tell them more but couldn’t. Then she smiled, giving off a false sense of bravado.

  “Maybe you could call your son to come and stay with you for the rest of the weekend. Might make you relax if you weren’t alone.”

  For a split second, Ava’s eyes widened but then she nodded again. “I will.
”

  “Good.”

  Paxton turned with Luke and walked back to the car. As soon as she heard the front door shut, she said, “Did you get the same strange vibe from her that I did?”

  “Yep.”

  “’K. What the hell you think’s up with that?”

  “I don’t know, but I’d love to be a fly on the wall when her son gets home. I couldn’t tell if she wanted to spoonfeed him, tuck him in or both, the way she talked about him.”

  “Me either.”

  A shadow passed in front of them about ten feet or so away. Paxton strained to see what it was, then yelped when two hands landed on her shoulders, nearly scaring the piss out of her.

  “Hello,” Seth murmured, shoving his nose into her hair. He loved the way she smelled, and after having to root through another woman’s scent, he wanted nothing more than to replace the aroma with something much more desirable.

  “Discern anything, Toothy?” Luke popped a piece a gum from his pocket into his mouth and wadded the paper in his fist.

  “There’s only two scents in the house. The woman’s and a man’s.”

  “That would probably be her son’s,” Paxton confirmed.

  “He lives there?”

  “Only on the weekends. He lives in the dorms at Central State during the week.”

  “Ah.” Seth rubbed his thumbs along the back of Paxton’s neck. Her head curled backward in response.

  “Ah, what?” Luke asked.

  “Explains why his scent is so fresh.”

  “Fresh?” Paxton lifted her head and looked over her shoulder at him. “Ms. Carmichael said he was staying with a friend this weekend.”

  “Then he’s been home today because his smell is fresh and all over her room and the underwear on the floor.”

  “Shit. Maybe he does the laundry?” Luke rifled his fingers through his hair.

  Paxton cursed too. “I just told her to call him home to be with her.”

  “Then we’ll post a car here. Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll do just that.” Luke took his cell phone from his pocket and turned to make the call for a surveillance team.

  Seth snuggled against Paxton’s back, drawing her in to the curves of his arms and rejoicing when she didn’t pull away. She warmed him more than any clothes ever could.