Deaths Excellent Vacation

breath landed. “What a scandalous notion. I vow I’m blushing.”
    I doubted Bones had blushed since the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1776, Bones would have been ten, I thought hazily, shuddering as his fangs grazed my pulse in a tantalizing way. Close. At seventeen, he was prostituting himself to the women of the English ton in order to survive.
    “Ready for that drink, luv?” Bones asked, turning me around to face him.
    Yeah, I was ready for a drink, but not gin and tonic. I wanted to bury my fangs in Bones’s throat and drain him until there was only enough blood left in him to keep him hard.
    Hunger swelled in me at the thought. Changing from a half-breed into a vampire had had unexpected side effects. I was only mostly dead, as my occasional heartbeat evidenced, and I drank vampire blood instead of human blood. Problem was, I absorbed more than nourishment from the blood I drank. I also absorbed power. Found that out after I fed from a pyrokinetic vampire and then my hands sprouted flames. I didn’t want to absorb more freaky abilities by feeding from vampires with unusual powers, so I stuck with drinking from Bones. So far, that had only made me stronger, not stranger.
    Of course, Bones always looked good enough to eat. Whoever said Don’t play with your food sure hadn’t been a vampire.
    Bones inhaled, his eyes changing to emerald green. I knew mine would have changed also, and I felt my fangs push at my lips. Give us flesh, they urged. His flesh. Now.
    “Stay here. Keep an eye on Tammy,” Bones growled, surprising me by shouldering his way through the other dancers. Had he spotted a threat? I glanced around, looking for Tammy’s familiar blond head among the mass of living and undead gyrators. There. Dancing with two men, no less.
    I made my way through until I reached Tammy, getting between her and one of the dancers. His scowl turned into a smile as his gaze swept over me.
    “Hello, redhead,” he drawled.
    “I’m just getting my friend,” I said.
    Tammy didn’t budge. “Hell no. I’m just starting to have fun!”
    “Tammy,” I gritted out, “don’t make me carry you.” If there was danger, I wanted our backs to a wall with me in front of her. Not where trouble could come from any angle.
    Tammy glared at me but didn’t object again. I led her to the closest corner, as if we were having an intimate conversation, but I was braced for action. No one looked as if they were stalking us. Still, appearances were deceiving.
    I felt a stab of relief when I saw Bones striding toward us. A large ghoul with black bushy hair and a blindingly white smile followed him.
    “Verses, this is my wife, Cat,” Bones introduced me.
    “Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand. I was surprised when Bones tugged me away a moment later.
    “Follow me,” he said, leading me past the DJ’s booth and to a door behind it. It opened to reveal a staircase, and it was a good thing I could see in the dark, because there were no lights once Bones shut the door.
    I expected to see a weapons cache, but we were in a room cluttered with old speakers, musical equipment, boxes, and tables. I was about to ask what we were supposed to do with this stuff when Bones yanked me to him. He kissed me, pushing me back against the table and reaching under my dress.
    Clearly we weren’t here to armor up against danger. “Bones,” I managed, pushing him back. “Tammy—”
    “Is fine with Verses,” he cut me off. “Don’t fret about her. Think about me.”
    He propped me up on the table as he spoke, pulling my underwear down past my knees. I gasped when he kissed me again, because he unleashed his aura at the same time. The waves of power suddenly flooding over me, combined with the rub of his desire on my subconscious, felt just as tangible as his tongue raking inside my mouth.
    My objection vanished. Music boomed all around us, its throbbing beat mimicking the pulse I no longer had. I kissed him back, pulling him closer. A last tug on my underwear had them off, and Bones spread my legs, positioning himself to stand between them. I opened his shirt, tonguing his flesh from his neck to his chest, awash in the heightened sensations of supernatural energy, lust, and power that came from Bones and the club above us.
    He squeezed my breasts, his fingers teasing my nipples rigid even through my bra and dress. Hard, bare skin rubbed me below as he tugged down his pants. I arched against him, moaning into his