Rico could understand why wounded animals holed up in their dens. Now that he was home, showered and in fresh clothes, he could face what had happened, could even believe that Caldwell was going to come out of it okay. What was she thinking-that she was supercop? It had happened so quickly that he hadn't even gotten a license plate number. Fuck, and the kid, Marina...if he ever caught up with her...

Rico moved over to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer, pressing it against his forehead for several seconds before opening it and taking a swig. He was still tense, still wound up.

The doorbell sounded and his body tightened another couple of notches, but lower down this time, in his cock and balls. He waited a heartbeat, hoping that Skye would yell that she'd get it, but she didn't. She was still in the room his sister used, showering, getting dressed, ratcheting up his need to fuck by making him wait.

Rico set his beer down and went to the door, opening it, knowing that it would be Gian. He stepped back but Gian didn't come inside.

Edginess about the situation made Rico terse. "You waiting for a formal invitation?"

Amusement lurked in the other man's eyes. "An informal one will do."

Rico's heart rate spiked up for a second as scenes from vampire movies he'd seen as a kid rushed through his imagination. He shook them off and said, "Come in. Anything on Cia yet?"

Gian moved through the door and closed it. "She heals."

How? But Rico didn't ask the question as he led Gian further into the house, to the den, with its thick carpet, its oversized couch and chairs, though neither took seats.

His mind skittered back to the crazy thoughts he'd had at the doorway. Carajo! He didn't believe in vampires.

And what about Skye? What about the things she can do? He was saved from his thoughts when she slipped into the room and what little blood was left in Rico's head went straight to his cock.

She was wearing one of his sister's dresses, something some well-meaning relative had given Nicki with the advice that if she looked more feminine, she'd be able to catch a husband. Goddamn! He didn't know what his sister looked like in that thin little scrap of material, but on Skye... Fuck, he wanted to kneel at her feet and crawl right up underneath the dress and get his mouth on her.

Just the image of burying his face in her cunt while the soft cloth trapped the smell of her was enough to make Rico feel short of breath. The sensation only got worse as his eyes roamed upward to the tight hard points of her nipples.

His cock got harder, tighter and he had to close his eyes against the temptation of her, had to remember that Gian was here and he couldn't fall on Skye and fuck her right now. But the thought of Gian's presence only made it worse.

Between one heartbeat and the next Rico accepted what was going to happen, wanted it to happen-needed it to happen.

* * * * *

Skye's body tightened, her womb clenched. She was already swollen, her inner thighs wet with her own juices. The call of Rico's lust was as compelling as the call of Gian's blood.

She'd thought it would be awkward this first time together, but now there was no room for apprehension. There was only the urgent need to be with them. To finish what had begun. To complete the bond.

The medallion burned against her skin though she didn't need it to amplify what Gian was feeling. His craving, his desire, burned through her veins.

Skye moved forward, the dress caressing her skin like a lover's hands. Gian and Rico were standing next to each other, making it easy to touch them both, to give herself over to them.

Like floodgates being opened, as soon as Skye touched him, Rico gave up any thought of holding back. His knees buckled and he went to the floor in front of her.

Skye whimpered as Rico's fantasies flooded her mind. When his hands stroked along her legs, she closed her eyes and leaned back against Gian's chest.

Gian gave a soft laugh against her throat before his lips touched her skin, his hands moving to slide the straps of the dress down her arms. We will linger another night, he whispered in her mind, but not this time.

She hadn't worn a bra or panties so there was nothing to hinder their access. Rico's tongue scraped against her inner thighs, his mouth sucked away her juices, but more gushed toward his lips.

Gian's hands cupped her breasts, his fingers tight on her nipples, squeezing, causing her to arch and press her lower body tighter to Rico.

She reached back and circled her arms around Gian's neck, stretching her body between the two men, leaving herself open and vulnerable, like a female wolf offering a show of submission. Gian's fangs grazed against her neck and a sob escaped her.

Rico moved away long enough to pull the dress down her body. The sight of Gian's dark hands on Skye's breasts, of his mouth against her neck as she offered herself to both of them made his cock jerk with anticipation.

He unzipped his jeans, intending only to ease the pressure, but the desire on Skye's face had him pulling his cock out. She made a soft, hungry sound and Rico's eyes went to her mound.

He didn't need to open her with his fingers. Her cunt lips were already parted, the wet pink flesh glistening and begging for his kiss, his tongue. What man could resist that sight? Rico dug his hands into her ass and held her in place as he buried his face into her pussy, inhaling the heady scent of her, licking and biting like a starving man then plunging his tongue in and out of her channel, taking her first orgasm into his mouth.

Explosive pleasure rushed through Skye's body, but the orgasm only fed her need for a more thorough joining. She untwined her arms from around Gian's neck and moved her hands to Rico hair as she sunk to her knees, the weight of her body urging him backward onto the floor.

In a frenzy she stripped him of his shirt so she could feel his flesh against hers, but she didn't have the patience to do more than shove his jeans further down his legs.

His cock was wet, swollen, hungry and she wanted to eat it whole but Rico forced her upward with a whispered curse. "I won't last if you put your mouth on me."

Possessive pleasure ripped through her at the sight of him underneath her, at the way he smelled of her and bore her marks. She covered his lips with hers and met the thrust of his tongue as he speared her with his cock, ramming all of him into her with one forceful stroke.

Gian's body straddled hers and she whimpered when she felt the swing of his testicles against her buttocks. Underneath her Rico stilled and then his hands moved around to spread her ass cheeks.

Skye was soaked in her own juices, but Gian still took a moment to prepare her further, to work his fingers in and out of her anus, coating her with extra lubricant as Rico teased her with short strokes until she began writhing and pleading with Gian to join his body to theirs.

Gian covered her then, working his penis into her slowly. Rico groaned and arched upward as the space he was occupying tightened and grew smaller. Skye clamped down on Gian's cock, fighting against the painful pleasure of his possession even as she welcomed it. She could feel the tension in his body, the burning need to shove himself into her and fuck-he was only barely able to control himself, to hold back for fear of hurting her.

But Skye didn't want control, she didn't fear being hurt. She dropped the barriers separating one from the other and Rico's lust poured into her, joining with her own need before swamping Gian and washing away any control.

He drove his penis all the way in, stroking Rico's cock through the thin barrier that separated them. Rico groaned and bucked, moving in and out of Skye's tight channel, feeding the pleasure that all of them experienced.

Gian held himself still for several heartbeats, then hissed and began thrusting, sometimes in counterpoint, sometime in concert with Rico's strokes.

Skye writhed and screamed between them, her cries driving their lust higher.

Rico's thrusts became more aggressive as he fought to lock within her. Gian's fangs emerged in anticipation.

Then in the moment Skye trapped Rico in her body and his semen began jetting into her womb, Gian struck, sinking his fangs into her neck as he too filled her with his come.

The pleasure of their shared orgasm left them panting, holding each other as their bodies solidified and became separate entities rather than one.

Gian eased his face away from Skye's neck, making no effort to hide the fangs from Rico as they retracted into their sheaths. Rico's heartbeat accelerated, and he knew by the expression on Gian's face that the sound of the blood rushing through his veins was a heady temptation.

Rico wanted it to be a trick of his imagination, but he knew it wasn't. Some part of him had known-fuck, he'd had a premonition of this when he'd had to invite Gian into his home, but he hadn't believed. How could anyone be expected to believe that vampires really existed?

Skye brushed a kiss against the bite mark on Rico's neck and Rico's cock stirred inside her pussy. He never wanted to leave her silky, wet channel.

She tightened on him and he could feel the need, the bond between them. Then she laughed softly, moving so that his cock slipped out of her and Rico wanted to howl at the loss of her warmth.

After she'd wriggled out from between them and stood, she said, "I vote for a shower and a soft bed."

They followed her through the bedroom and into the shower. As the hot water washed over Rico, he grew hard just remembering what had taken place the last time he was in the shower with Skye. Despite what had already happened, he wanted to take her down and mount her.

As if reading her thoughts, she moved closer and ran her hands along his body, stopping when one hand cupped his testicles and the other encircled his shaft.

Rico couldn't stop himself from stroking into her hand.

She laughed softly and loosened her grip, teasing him with the promise of pleasure, making him frantic to feel her fingers wrapped firmly around his penis.

Skye whispered a kiss across his lips and down his neck, stopping over the bite mark and sucking gently.

Rico arched into her, silently begging her to tighten her grip on his cock. When she did, he closed his eyes and groaned as her hand pumped him, sending waves of ice-hot need up his spine.

Gian moved up behind him and fear started to rise in Rico, but Skye's soft laughter brushed it away before it could take hold. "Gian doesn't want your body. That belongs to me. He wants your blood-at least this one time-to complete the bond." Her mouth licked and sucked from the mark on Rico's neck to the one over his heart, then along his ribs and over his abdomen before brushing a kiss over the mark on his inner thigh.

When she looked up at him, her eyes were dark with the promise of pleasure and Rico's cock throbbed in anticipation. "Do you freely offer your blood to Gian?"

"Yes."

Rico almost went to his knees when she took him into her mouth and began sucking. The hungry sounds she made threatened to turn him into a rutting animal.

He groaned and buried his hands in her hair, fighting against the need to thrust violently. Her hand tightened on his cock and balls, staving off orgasm after orgasm until he was shaking, desperate to spew his seed.

"Carajo! Please!"

She took him all the way back in her throat and in the instant that his semen jetted through his cock, Rico felt Gian's fangs sink into his neck. The pleasure was extreme, like nothing Rico ever known and even when there was nothing left in his sac he continued to pump and orgasm.

* * * * *

Rico woke with the feel of the sun on his skin. His heart let out an instant shout of joy. He wasn't a vampire.

Skye's soft laugh drew his gaze down to where she curled against him. You have nothing to fear. He can't turn you into a vampire, can't make you serve him, though he'll probably have to be reminded. The Angelini bond protects you as it protects me.

Even after everything that had occurred, Rico's heartbeat accelerated at the sound of her voice in his head. Shit! He wasn't sure he liked this, her knowing his thoughts, her being able to talk to him this way.

You have the same ability now. I'll teach you how to put up shields. You'll have your privacy, as I'll have mine.

Real privacy, or an illusion?

I won't betray your trust, Rico.

He trusted her, but he couldn't let the conversation drop. But the truth is that you can know what I'm thinking any time you want to.

She turned then and traced her fingers along his jaw. Yes, as least when we're close together. The sun weakens Gian's ability to move through my barriers, as does distance. She shrugged. I don't know if it will always be this way. I can't touch any of the details of what my mother's relationship with her two mates was like. They were bonded, they were happy. I am a part of all three of them, but the hows and whys and possibilities are blank spaces.

Rico rolled over on his back and pulled her on top of him. We can work on building shields later, he growled. But right now, no barriers seems like a good thing to me. She smiled and opened her legs, welcoming his morning erection, welcoming him.

* * * * *

"Are you going to work today?" Skye asked as they sat at the table and ate another one of Rico's creations.

Rico's face hardened. "Only long enough to grab Cia's file and see if I can figure out where the girl might have gone and who she was meeting. I don't want to run into the captain and have to answer questions about last night. He's more than just my boss."

"The dark-haired girl that your partner was sitting with?"

He hesitated and Skye was careful not to touch her mind to his. Finally he said, "Yeah. Cia's been putting a lot of time in on this case. The kid we were tailing has been in some of the same Internet chat rooms as Brittany Armstrong, wants the same thing that the Armstrong kid wanted-to be a vampire."

A sick expression settled on Rico's features. "Guess that's not as crazy an idea as I thought it was."

Skye couldn't stop the small laugh from escaping. "No, though it's not as easy as the movies and old stories make it out to be. It requires strong magic, more than most people can survive."

Rico looked at her sharply. "You knew when you found Brittany's body that they were trying to turn her into a vampire."

"No." She laughed again and teased, "If you'd told me that you thought vampires existed and that's what had happened in the woods, I would have wondered why my body craved such a loco mate."

Rico's heart took a hit of pure happiness. His mother and father teased each other like this. And until this moment, he hadn't realized how much he needed all of it-the fantasies, the intense sex-but the tenderness and teasing, too.

He dared to touch her mind, to feel what she was feeling, and found that even though she was different in so many ways, in this she was the same. She wanted a home, the love of her mates.

There were flashes of memory, of her mother and her mother's two mates, and Rico realized something else. He'd always seen Skye as powerful, desirable, a mystery and a fantasy that were impossible to resist. But she'd been alone since she was a small child-not lonely, but alone, without family, without anyone who cared whether she lived or died.

Rico ached for the child she'd been. He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. He showed her images of his own family, flipped through them like the pages of a photo album. "They're a lot to take in all at once, but for better or worse, you're stuck with them now."

Skye's laugh was soft. "For better or worse." She sent him the picture of her mother and her mother's two mates. For you as well. When this is done, I will hunt for them.

Rico gave her hand another squeeze then released it, standing to gather dishes and take them to the sink. "I'd better get in and get those files."

Though his back was turned to her, Skye could feel his thoughts turn to his partner, could feel his need for reassurance. "Your partner will be fine. When she's healed, Terach will return her."

"Will she remember all of it?"

"I don't know what she'll remember. Terach will get word to us about what he's told her so that our stories agree."

Rico nodded, not liking that he'd be forced to lie to the captain, but accepting it, even with humor. If Rivera wanted to cross himself at the thought of Skye, what would he do if he stumbled into Fangs and found that vampires existed?

Skye rose and came over to stand behind him. When she circled her arms around his waist and pressed against him, hugging him, offering comfort, Rico wondered how he'd ever lived without her.

Some primitive part of his psyche leaped to take advantage of the thought. "Are you going to move in?" he asked.

She stilled against his back. "Do you want me to?"

"Yeah. I want that."

He could feel her smile against his back. "What about your captain?"

"He'll have to deal with it. The other guys in the department will have to deal with it." Rico turned then and met her eyes. "I won't give you up. I wouldn't change what we have together even if I could."

Skye's eyebrows went up and she teased, "Including Gian?"

Heat rushed across Rico's face. He didn't want to think about that too closely. Not only had the sex been intense, but the bite... Fuck...

Skye laughed. He can tone it down if he wishes. He didn't want you to fear it in the future.

When every nerve in Rico's body went tight, she added, Gian has never been interested in men, not in that way. Her hand teased along Rico's cock. This is mine. There may be times when the blood exchange between you and Gian is necessary, but that's between you and him.

Rico buried his face in Skye's hair. "I don't have to invite him to live here, do I?"

"No." She laughed again. "And you don't have to start hanging out at Fangs."

At the mention of the club, Rico's thoughts circled back to Caldwell. What the fuck was she thinking about jumping in front of that car?

Skye said, "There's still time to save the girl-Marina."

For a split second Rico was tempted to say that Marina deserved what she got, but he bit the words off. Maybe Caldwell saw something in the girl, maybe that's why she'd tried to stop her, or maybe Cia was just being a good cop and didn't want to see someone she was sworn to protect end up like Brittany Armstrong.

Rico felt the barrier go up between his mind and Skye's and wondered about it until she asked, "Can you tell me about Marina?"

For a second Rico's training warred with his new reality. Fuck. This wasn't simple police work anymore. The rules he'd always accepted didn't apply easily to this. He sighed, refusing to fight a battle that no longer made any sense. "I don't know that much about her. Rich family." He paused as his mind leaped to form a connection that he'd missed earlier. "From LA. Pacific Palisades." He moved so he could watch Skye's face. "You said the cases you were working on were connected to the Armstrong case. You went to LA."

The half-smile that drove Rico crazy formed on Skye's lips. She said, "I went to Pacific Palisades."

Cop instinct made him ask, "Did you find the girls you were looking for?"

"I found them."

He braced himself, he knew there was more. "Were they dead?"

She studied him for a long moment before he felt the barrier lift between their minds. In the span of several heartbeats he saw her stake two girls as they rested in their coffins, saw them flare to life then cease, awaiting judgment for the death of Brittany Armstrong. With the brush of Skye's mind to his, he understood the trade she'd made for Caldwell's life.

It shocked the shit out of him that he could accept it. That he could let the vampires mete out justice if he didn't find the witch and her servant first.

Skye kept the barriers down, but spoke out loud, "I'm going to hunt at a place called Toppers."

Rico cringed at her choice of words and at the thought of Toppers. It was a rough, dangerous place even for cops-even for Skye. His heartbeat quickened-especially for Skye now that she'd bound herself to him. She'd been lawless before-no, not lawless-but not governed by human law. Now the promise she'd made to him put constraints on her. A shot of fear rushed through Rico.

He pulled her body against his. "If you ever think your life is in danger, do what you have to do. Don't worry about me being a cop." He hugged her tightly then released her. "I'll go to Toppers with you. Just let me call in and check my messages first."

Skye nodded and moved away. He picked up the phone, praying that the captain hadn't left orders for him to call and report on how it went at Fangs.

There was only one message of interest. The lab had gotten fingerprints and a positive ID on the driver's license Skye had given him. David Olney. No aliases, but he did have a sealed juvenile record and a long string of arrests for assault and battery along with a notation in his file that he was attracted to cult and alternative religions. Rico grunted at the last and hung the phone up.

Skye was watching him and he realized that the barriers between them weren't closed. Rico braced himself for her answer. Should I bother looking for this guy, or is he dead?

She answered with a picture that had Rico's stomach threatening to heave its contents and his soul shivering with dread. He could feel the evil that surrounded the altar and the body raped and drained of blood there.

* * * * *

The moment Skye stepped out of Rico's truck, she smelled the tainted blood. It was faint, the scent scattered by time and by the people that had entered and exited Toppers. "He's been here recently," she said as Rico joined her.

Rico looked around with cop eyes. The sun had set on their way over and only a handful of lights illuminated the parking lot, not nearly enough for the kind of crowd that hung out here. It was a crime scene waiting to happen. "How long ago?"

Skye shrugged. "I don't know."

They moved past the bouncer and paused in the entrance of the loud, smoky nightclub. It was easier to use the mental link than to talk above the noise. I don't see him, Rico said. Let's aim for the bar, there's a good view of the place from there.

The scent is scattered. I need to walk around before it dissipates completely.

Rico's hand gripped her upper arm. I'll stay with you.

She laughed softly. It warmed her that he was protective, that both of her mates were protective. Even now she could sense Gian getting closer, coming to her.

Her body reacted and she momentarily forgot that she was hunting as memories of the three of them together flooded her mind.

Rico's hand tightened on her arm. Don't think about that!

She could feel his swift arousal, the blood pounding in his cock as it strained against his jeans. Along the bond with Gian, she felt the same need, the same desire.

Reluctantly, she forced her mind away from her memories, but there was no instant relief from the demands of their bodies.

Later, we can seek our pleasure, Gian whispered in her mind. Brann comes with me now, as does your mate's partner.

Rico's relief and hope flooded the bond. Cia's okay?

She is well, Gian said.

Rico hesitated then dropped his hand from Skye's arm. I'll wait here.

Skye nodded and moved deeper into the club. It was a rough place, worse than many she'd hunted in, but not as bad as some.

Lust and anger and desperation filled the air as thickly as the cigarette smoke did. Violence hovered, ready to explode into existence at the slightest provocation.

Skye weaved her way through people and tables, moving cautiously even when she knew that Gian and the others had arrived. She could smell the guns that some of the patrons wore and knew that others carried knifes. This was a place to tread lightly.

Several times she hit pockets of the scent she was tracking, as though her quarry was close, but she didn't see him. In the periphery of her mind she monitored the conversation between Rico and his partner and was satisfied that Caldwell seemed...normal.

Gian's amusement found her. Jealous? he teased.

I do not worry that my mates will be unfaithful.

Gian laughed. She is no longer unclaimed anyway.

Skye had maneuvered to the hallway that housed the bathrooms and led to the emergency exit but Gian's comment had her stopping and turning to look across the club to where Cia and Rico had their heads together in conversation. Unerringly her eyes went to the pendant that Caldwell now wore around her neck.

Fury rippled through Skye, but before she could say anything, Gian said, We do not view our companions as our slaves. You bargained only that she not be enslaved. I did not know that Terach intended this. When I found out what he'd done, I ordered that he stay away from her until justice has been meted out. After that he must...court her...and gain her willing acceptance of the companion bond.

And he'll obey you?

He is my creation. A hint of amusement crept down the bond. In this he has chosen to obey rather than to risk the wrath of my Angelini mate.

Skye shifted her gaze to Gian, and next to him, Brann. If she was to live in this world, then she needed to learn its intricacies.

Caldwell moved then. Her gaze clashed with Skye's and her lips disappeared in a familiar frown of disapproval and suspicion.

Skye's earlier anger melted into amusement. Let Terach deal with the consequences of his actions.

Instinct snapped Skye's mind back to the hunt as the smell of tainted blood grew stronger. She turned, her eyes drawn immediately to the slowly opening exit door. She felt Gian and Rico moving quickly toward her. But before they could reach her, the stench of evil-fouled blood rolled over her as the bathroom door opened and the man she'd been hunting stepped out. She saw his instant recognition, his knowledge that she wouldn't be here alone.