vibration of the bike and being so close to Ryder, she couldn't keep her thoughts clean.
What is wrong with me?
She kind of wanted him to pull over, rip off her jeans, totally destroy the damned thong, and bend her over the bike as he took her from behind. With a growl of frustration, she ground her teeth into the inside of her cheek, giving herself something else to think about.
Look at the sky and all the pretty trees.
That just made her imagine Ryder picking her up and bracing her against a tree trunk as he fucked her into oblivion.
Okay. Just don't think. No thinking at all. Pretend you don't even have a brain.
She couldn't tell if being this obsessed about having sex with a relative stranger was normal for her or something new. It made her uncomfortable, that much she knew, which led her to think her behavior wasn't typical for her.
Did brain trauma come with a side of nymphomania? Had her libido gotten scrambled or was there something special about Ryder?
***
I n Hudson, Ryder guided his bike to another bar, this one with a sign overhead that read The Crescent. The interior featured a long wooden bar, polished until it gleamed. Against the opposite wall ran a line of oak booths. The high ceiling was open with exposed pipes, save for a loft that ran along the far end of the narrow room. Country music played on low volume and the people behind the bar all seemed to know Ryder.
"Hey, I didn't expect to see you again so soon." A tall woman with a blonde crew cut came around to give Ryder a quick hug.
"Well, here I am. This is Lia."
"Hi. I'm Keira, the sheriff's deputy." The lithe blonde stuck out a slender hand which Lia shook.
"This is Lia, the girl Talon put in Crescent Pines."
Keira's blue eyes widened. "I heard about that, but missed all the action. I was on the opposite side of town hunting a grow lab for shifter high."
Lia gave the deputy a blank look. "Shifter high?"
"Otherwise known as pot by humans, but shifters who are into drugs make their own version of it."
"What is it?"
Keira narrowed her eyes. "You don't get out much, do you?"
"Not enough to know anything about shifter high."
"It's a genetically modified street drug. You know how we metabolize things so fast?" Lia had no clue, but she nodded and pretended she did, prompting Keira to continue. "They blend pot with catnip and synthetic chemicals to ensure the high lasts. As in 'this'll get a shifter high' and voila! A new street drug is named." She pointed to her mouth. "It rots your teeth and your body, and if you keep taking it, you'll rot faster than you can heal."
"Sounds like a revenant," Ryder said.
"What's that?" Lia asked.
"If a vampire feeds from someone too much, they start to die," he explained.
"They can't replace their blood volume fast enough to keep going," added Keira. "At first they stop healing, then their bodies can't regenerate, and if the vamp keeps sucking on 'em it's all just downhill from there."
Lia grimaced. "So they rot?"
"Pretty much. If it goes on long enough, they can actually become zombies." Keira gave her an odd look. "I thought everyone knew that. Is it because of your..." She trailed off and just tapped the side of her head with her finger.
"They bashed her head in pretty bad," Ryder said.
Lia gave a tight smile. "Things are a little scrambled sometimes."
Keira's eyes went wide. "Oh, wow. Sorry to hear that."
"Is Talon around?" Ryder asked.
"Nope. Sorry. He's out chasing down a stray. I'm the officer in charge. So, if you've got a question, shoot."
"That woman the other day, Anita, she brought in a phone. It might be Lia's and we were hoping that maybe you guys got something from it."
"Dixon," Keira yelled over her shoulder.
A head popped up over the railing in the loft that ran across the back half of the bar. Dixon, a tall, painfully thin man, blinked at everyone through gold toned glasses. "Yes."
"You're up. They want to talk to you about that phone." She motioned for him to come down.
"Be
What is wrong with me?
She kind of wanted him to pull over, rip off her jeans, totally destroy the damned thong, and bend her over the bike as he took her from behind. With a growl of frustration, she ground her teeth into the inside of her cheek, giving herself something else to think about.
Look at the sky and all the pretty trees.
That just made her imagine Ryder picking her up and bracing her against a tree trunk as he fucked her into oblivion.
Okay. Just don't think. No thinking at all. Pretend you don't even have a brain.
She couldn't tell if being this obsessed about having sex with a relative stranger was normal for her or something new. It made her uncomfortable, that much she knew, which led her to think her behavior wasn't typical for her.
Did brain trauma come with a side of nymphomania? Had her libido gotten scrambled or was there something special about Ryder?
***
I n Hudson, Ryder guided his bike to another bar, this one with a sign overhead that read The Crescent. The interior featured a long wooden bar, polished until it gleamed. Against the opposite wall ran a line of oak booths. The high ceiling was open with exposed pipes, save for a loft that ran along the far end of the narrow room. Country music played on low volume and the people behind the bar all seemed to know Ryder.
"Hey, I didn't expect to see you again so soon." A tall woman with a blonde crew cut came around to give Ryder a quick hug.
"Well, here I am. This is Lia."
"Hi. I'm Keira, the sheriff's deputy." The lithe blonde stuck out a slender hand which Lia shook.
"This is Lia, the girl Talon put in Crescent Pines."
Keira's blue eyes widened. "I heard about that, but missed all the action. I was on the opposite side of town hunting a grow lab for shifter high."
Lia gave the deputy a blank look. "Shifter high?"
"Otherwise known as pot by humans, but shifters who are into drugs make their own version of it."
"What is it?"
Keira narrowed her eyes. "You don't get out much, do you?"
"Not enough to know anything about shifter high."
"It's a genetically modified street drug. You know how we metabolize things so fast?" Lia had no clue, but she nodded and pretended she did, prompting Keira to continue. "They blend pot with catnip and synthetic chemicals to ensure the high lasts. As in 'this'll get a shifter high' and voila! A new street drug is named." She pointed to her mouth. "It rots your teeth and your body, and if you keep taking it, you'll rot faster than you can heal."
"Sounds like a revenant," Ryder said.
"What's that?" Lia asked.
"If a vampire feeds from someone too much, they start to die," he explained.
"They can't replace their blood volume fast enough to keep going," added Keira. "At first they stop healing, then their bodies can't regenerate, and if the vamp keeps sucking on 'em it's all just downhill from there."
Lia grimaced. "So they rot?"
"Pretty much. If it goes on long enough, they can actually become zombies." Keira gave her an odd look. "I thought everyone knew that. Is it because of your..." She trailed off and just tapped the side of her head with her finger.
"They bashed her head in pretty bad," Ryder said.
Lia gave a tight smile. "Things are a little scrambled sometimes."
Keira's eyes went wide. "Oh, wow. Sorry to hear that."
"Is Talon around?" Ryder asked.
"Nope. Sorry. He's out chasing down a stray. I'm the officer in charge. So, if you've got a question, shoot."
"That woman the other day, Anita, she brought in a phone. It might be Lia's and we were hoping that maybe you guys got something from it."
"Dixon," Keira yelled over her shoulder.
A head popped up over the railing in the loft that ran across the back half of the bar. Dixon, a tall, painfully thin man, blinked at everyone through gold toned glasses. "Yes."
"You're up. They want to talk to you about that phone." She motioned for him to come down.
"Be
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