Page 62 of Ryder’s Storm

“She said the results of the blood tests will be ready tomorrow night. She said she has a good idea of what the underlying cause of my severe PMS is.”

“She did?”

Scarlet nodded. “But she didn’t want to speculate, and said she needed the blood tests to confirm her hunch.”

Ryder smiled. He had a hunch himself about why Scarlet had felt so feverish earlier in the day, particularly since it had subsided quickly when they began to make love.

“How are you feeling now?” he asked instead of sharing his thoughts with her.

“Better.” She sighed. “That was quite something tonight. You and your sister seemed so calm. You knew exactly what to do. But I still don’t understand why you couldn’t bring Lizzy to a hospital. You said you’d explain it to me.”

Ryder contemplated his answer for a moment, deciding to stick to the truth as much as he could, so his lies wouldn’t trip him up later.

“Scanguards has a contract with the mayor’s office. We take care of certain people that, shall we say, don’t always get the right care because of what they do.”

“You mean prostitutes?”

“Yes, sex workers. They live a dangerous life, and take up valuable police resources. So the city contracted with Scanguards to take care of them when they’re being assaulted, threatened, or in any other way harmed. I’ve seen plenty of violence directed toward sex workers, but it never gets easier. Tonight, we were able to save Lizzy’s life, but some other night we won’t be so lucky. But we do what we can.”

It was mostly the truth. Scanguards took care of a certain segment of the population, and yes, it was mostly sex workers who benefited from it, but what he’d left out was that Scanguards also took charge of all crimes in which vampires were involved, either as the perpetrators or the victims. And the person who’d hurt Lizzy was a vampire. Ryder wondered whether Luther was right, and the vampire who’d attacked her was an ex-V-CON. If it was, at least it would make it easier to find the bastard, since he was in the database Scanguards kept of all known vampires including those in prison.

“That’s very admirable but also very sad,” Scarlet said.

“Hmm.” He reached for Scarlet’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry you had to see all that.”

“I’m not that squeamish. It’s not like I’m gonna faint at the sight of blood.” She shrugged and pointed at his shirt. “Your shirt is ruined. I don’t think the bloodstains will come out in the wash.”

“Occupational hazard,” he said lightly. “I’ll jump in the shower when we get home. We’re almost there.”

A few minutes later, Ryder parked the car on the street, keeping the driveway free so his parents would be able to get into the garage when they returned just before sunrise. Inside the house it was dark and quiet. They were alone. He led Scarlet up to his room, and closed the door behind them.

“You must be tired,” he said with a look at the clock on his bedside table. It was almost 3a.m.

“I think I’m getting a second wind,” she replied and yawned.

Ryder chuckled. “Go to bed. I’ll take a quick shower.”

He walked into the bathroom, undressed and placed his blood-stained clothes in the hamper. Then he turned on the water and stepped into the shower. The warm water ran over his skin, and the blood that had soaked through his shirt washed down the drain. His nerves calmed under the spray of the water, relaxing him.

His thoughts went back to his conversation with Luther and Haven. He’d never heard of vampires getting sick. It just wasn’t possible. They could get injured, yes, and those were the cases his mother treated in her medical suite, mostly by stemming blood loss and giving them transfusions of human blood. But a mysterious illness where vampires got sick and human blood couldn’t make them better, when in fact, human blood was the cure-all for a vampire, was simply out of the question. Something wasn’t right.

29

Scarlet took off her clothes, and put them on a chair in Ryder’s bedroom. She knew she should go to bed and sleep, but Ryder taking a shower, was too tempting to miss out on. She just couldn’t get enough of him. By now, the fact that he had two cocks felt completely natural to her. As did their lovemaking. She felt closer to him than she’d ever felt to anybody. Was this love? She made no effort to answer this question. They’d only known each other for a few short days, although so much had happened in this short time span. She didn’t want to jinx what she had with Ryder by putting a label on it.

The water in the shower was still running. She walked toward the open door to the bathroom and looked inside. Ryder stood under the spray of the water, his back to her, his hands braced against the tiles. The water ran down his muscled shoulders and back, and over his firm ass. She’d never seen anything more erotic. Ryder was a beautiful male specimen. Looking at him made her hungry for sex.

“You just gonna stare at me, or are you gonna come in?” he asked without looking over his shoulder.

“Well, since you’re inviting me…” She opened the glass door and stepped inside.

“You don’t need an invitation,” he said on a chuckle. “I’m yours for whatever you want.”

“Well, in that case…” Scarlet put her hands on his shoulders, caressing the hard muscles there, before sliding her fingers down his back. “Do you have any idea how sexy you are?”

She moved her hands farther down to touch his firm butt.

Ryder inhaled sharply. “I’m glad you like what you’re seeing.”