Part one

Lightning streaked across the sky and Sarah caught her breath only seconds before the loud clap of thunder rumbled overhead, literally shaking her car. The dark clouds she’d been watching in the distance were upon her. She turned on her headlights, trying to see through the downpour as she continued on the lonely highway that led her farther and farther out into the vastness of the remote West Texas wilderness.

“Let’s do a camping trip to Big Bend, ” she mimicked. “Halloween sounds like a great time.”

And actually, in August when they’d planned the trip, it had sounded like fun. They were all sweltering in the one-hundred degree heat in Austin, just dreaming of the cold nights in the Chisos Mountains. Ten women, all seasoned campers. It would be fun. Of course, it would have been a lot more fun had she been able to leave work as planned and ride up with Jenna and Pam. But a last minute change had her redesigning an ad she thought was finished the week before. So, everyone had gone up ahead of her and here she was, some ten hours behind, heading south out of Fort Stockton in a torrential thunderstorm.

Had she known the storm would be this bad, she’d have gone farther west and hit Alpine. At least she knew there were motels in Alpine. The route she was taking, the most direct route, was two hundred miles of mostly barren, uninhabited land. As another boom of thunder shook her car, she had a second of indecision, thinking the Holiday Inn in Fort Stockton sounded pretty good right about now.

But she drove on. She had a full tank of gas, a cooler with food and drinks. She would be fine. However, forty-five minutes later, with a death grip on the steering wheel, the rain had not let up. Darkness settled over the land and only the flash of lightning illuminated the mountains to the south. She had a moment of panic, feeling totally alone. She’d not met or passed another car since the storm had hit. At the speed she was going, it would take another eight hours to reach the national park. No way she could drive that long. She jumped again at the simultaneous flash of lightning and clap of thunder. Well, she had her sleeping bag. She could always pull off the road and attempt to sleep through the storm.

“Right, ” she murmured as the sky was again illuminated by lightning. No, she would push on, and, with luck, the storm would move past her. Her biggest fear was driving into a low-water crossing that was flooded. And judging by the heavy rain that had been falling for the last hour, that was a possibility. With that thought, she slowed her pace even more, her eyes straining to see through the downpour.

Blinking red lights up ahead caused her to nearly stop and with another flash of lightning, she was able to make out a smattering of buildings... and several 18-wheelers apparently stopped for the night. Waving in the wind was an old sign... Motel and Bar. Vacancy.

“Oh God, you’re not seriously considering stopping, ” she said out loud as she pulled into the parking lot. The rain beat down on her car and she contemplated a dash into the somewhat... trashy building. But hopefully a dry, trashy building. However, she wasn’t desperate enough to get a room in this place. She could only imagine what the beds looked like. From the passenger seat, she grabbed her jacket and struggled to put it on in the car. Her umbrella was in the trunk, of course. She hadn’t seen rain since May.

After grabbing her wallet and shoving it into the inside pocket of her jacket, she tucked her blonde hair under the hood, and on a silent count to three, she bolted from the car and sloshed through the rain and mud to the porch. She pointed her remote at her car, locking her doors before entering the bar.

The storm was stifled somewhat and an ancient country-western song played on an equally ancient juke box. Sarah took her jacket off and shook it near the door, looking around apologetically at the mess.

“Don’t worry about that, honey. That floor’s seen worse.”

The dimly lit room was heavy with cigarette smoke and a handful of people, mostly men, sat talking quietly. Sarah walked to the bar, leaving two bar stools between her and the nearest patron.

“Where’d this storm come from? ” she asked.

The lady behind the bar wiped the countertop with a dingy rag, brushing over the ghost rings of long ago bottles. She stepped under a light, her graying hair and worn face aging her beyond her years, Sarah suspected.

“Came up out of nowhere, ” she said. “Makes you wonder.”

“Same as last time, Mavis. You know that.”

“Hush. We’ve had storms since then.”

“Not on the Eve, ” he said quietly.

Sarah glanced between the woman and the older man who sat down the bar from her. She raised both her eyebrows, then tapped lightly on the bar. “I figure my driving is done for the night. Got any tequila? ”

“Gold? ”

Sarah nodded. “And a beer. We’ll start with that.” She looked around. Jesus, this was a scary group. Dirty and unshaven, two men played cards on a back table. Another group of four hovered around the dartboard. The pool table, with its worn, green felt, was tucked into a corner and three men and a woman played a silent game. The two or three women in the place looked like.. well, hookers. Of course, they were in the middle of nowhere. Did they have hookers here? Maybe they were just... party girls. Sarah rolled her eyes. Party girls and truckers and a handful of locals... and her. All stranded by a freak storm.

“Here you go, miss.”

“Thanks.” Sarah pulled out her wallet only to have her hand pushed away.

“I’ll run you tab. Gonna be a long night, most likely.”

“It’s just a thunderstorm. You’d think it would have passed by now, ” Sarah said. “Seemed like I was watching these clouds for hours before I was in it.”

“It’s camped out over us, just like before. It’s the Eve, Mavis.”

“Carl, you mind your words. There ain’t no sense in causing panic.”

Curious by nature, Sarah flicked her glance between the two, wondering if she wanted to know what they were talking about. She tossed back her tequila shot, eyes squeezed together at the fire in her throat. Cold beer followed and she sighed, finally relaxing for the first time in what felt like hours.

“Old Man Willis said the storm came out of nowhere.”

Sarah turned her head, watching as a man in overalls walked to the bar and slid his empty beer bottle to the woman.

“Not you, too. I swear, Ronnie, it’s just a storm, like any other.”

“Never had a storm on the Eve before, Mavis. All these years, never had a storm.”

Sarah could stand it no longer. She swiveled in her chair, turning to the men. “The Eve? ”

“Don’t pay them any mind, miss. It’s time they both went on home.”

“The Eve. The Eve of Halloween.”

Sarah twirled her beer bottle. “Uh huh. I see.”

“She came on the Eve.”

Don’t ask. But that damn curiosity. “She who? ”

The man sitting two stools away turned, motioning for Mavis to refill his drink. “Nineteen thirty-four, ” he said. “A storm came up.”

“On the Eve, ” the other man said.

“Rained cats and dogs all day, they say. Most of the men folk ended up over here, at the bar. Ain’t that so, Mavis? ”

“So they say.”

Sarah took the tequila shot that Mavis slid her way, wondering at the story these old-timers were about to tell.

“They claim she came in with the storm. Some called her a witch, ” he said.

“Not a witch. A spirit. She would come at night. No man was safe.”

“Not that night, no, ” Mavis agreed.

“Or the next, ” Carl murmured.

Sarah tossed back her tequila. Great. It’s Let’s Scare the Stranger night. Jesus. Was there enough tequila to get her through this? But okay, she could play along. What else was there to do?

“So what did she do? ” Sarah asked.

The two men looked at each other, then at Mavis. Finally Carl spoke. “She claimed the men, one by one. For two nights, screams were heard.”

“Old Man Willis said he remembers his father being called outside by a woman’s voice. He says his mother begged him not to go, but he couldn’t resist the voice. He heard pleasure, then he heard screaming. The next morning, his father’s headless body was found in the barn.”

Lovely. Now ghost stories.

“Twenty-three men.”

Sarah looked at Mavis. “What? ”

“Twenty-three men lost their lives those two nights. Most of them butchered.”

“Twenty-five, ” Carl said. “They just never found the Lucas twins.”

“She came right through the door there, ” Mavis said, pointing. “My mother was a young girl back then. She was here with my granny. Granny Mae said it was storming to beat all, the place was packed. The stranger had long, raven hair and eyes so dark, they were black as the night.”

“I heard they had a yellow tint.”

“That’s just talk, ” Carl said. “My granddad said they were so black, they were almost blue.”

Sarah decided she’d had enough tequila and she sipped from her beer instead. “So, this woman, she came and... what? Seduced them? Then killed them? ” God, was she really having this conversation? She should be in Big Bend already. She should be camping with her friends, not listening to ghost stories on The Eve! “Was she like a... siren? They couldn’t resist? ”

Mavis leaned closer and whispered, “She had sex with them.”

“And then butchered them, ” Carl said.

“By the time the storm ended, twenty-three-”

“Twenty-five.”

“Twenty-five men were dead or missing, ” Mavis said. “Including my grandfather. The county sheriff tracked her all the way to the river.”

“The Rio Grande? To Big Bend? ”

“A posse of over thirty men, ” Carl said quietly.

“A posse? On horseback? ” Sarah asked.

“Oh, yes. There were no roads down in the Big Country in the 30s.”

Before she could stop herself, “What happened? ”

“The posse never came back. Texas Rangers came down here then. Found them all... butchered. Devil’s Gate Pass. That’s how it got its name.”

Devil’s Gate. Sarah rubbed her eyes. That’s where she was supposed to meet her friends. That’s where they were camping. Lovely. Just lovely. She jumped as thunder rattled the windows and she literally felt the building shake.

“Hell of a storm, ” Carl murmured, looking behind him to the door.

“And on the Eve, too.”

Sarah followed their gaze, watching the door as if expecting it to burst open at any moment, revealing the ghost of a long-dead seductress. Across the room, the carved pumpkin seemed to mock them, the candle burning inside, the flames dancing about, outlining the sinister face. Sarah wanted to toss her warm beer on the candle and kill it. Actually, she couldn’t believe she was getting spooked by a long ago ghost story told second hand by a couple of the locals. But looking around the room, shadows danced in the dim light, the cigarette smoke drifted eerily overhead, making it all seem the more real. She was an educated woman but... she believed these old men, she believed Mavis... hell, she believed Old Man Willis, for God’s sake!

“Mavis? Something with a Coke, ” she said, pointing at her empty beer bottle.

“Bourbon? Rum? ”

Sarah shrugged. “Surprise me.”

But her surprise was another clap of thunder the same instant the front door burst opened. All eyes were drawn to the silhouette of a stranger standing in the shadows as the wind and rain whipped outside.

The shadows could not hide the fact that the stranger was a woman. A tall woman with slender hips, she let the door close, leaving the storm behind her. Carl gasped, his bar stool scraping the dirty concrete floor in his haste to move away.

“Lord have mercy on us, ” he whispered as the bar stool hit the counter, trapping him.

The stranger walked slowly into the room, obviously aware of all eyes on her. She looked warily around her, nodding slightly when she looked at Sarah.

“I’d about kill... for a stiff drink, ” the stranger said, her husky voice echoing in the suddenly quiet bar. “Scotch, straight up.”

Great choice of words. Sarah stifled a smile as Mavis’s trembling hands spilled the amber liquid on the bar in her attempt to fill a glass. Ghost stories or not, this stranger was but a stranded traveler, not unlike herself. But she felt her own gasp leave her lips when the stranger took off her soaked baseball cap and shook out long raven hair. Only then did Sarah dare to meet her eyes. Dark eyes... dark as the night.

Sweet Jesus... I’m having a nightmare.

“Hell of a storm, ” the stranger murmured as she sipped her drink. She looked at Sarah. “You’re not from around here, are you? ”

Sarah stared, finally finding her voice. “No, I’m not. Is it that obvious? ”

The stranger grinned, a lovely smile that lit up her eyes. “You’re wearing two hundred dollar hiking boots.”

Sarah shifted uncomfortably on the stool, tapping those same hiking boots against the bar. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from the stranger’s dark ones. As she stared, she realized they weren’t so dark, just a nice pleasant brown. Not sinister in the least. And the long, raven hair -- why it barely reached to her shoulders. Sarah had obviously let the ghost story get the better of her.

“Besides, you look like you’ve had a bath in the last day or two.” The stranger looked around the room. “I’m not certain the same can be said for the rest, ” she murmured.

For some reason, the husky voice had a hypnotizing affect on Sarah and she again found herself slipping farther into the dark eyes. A siren? A witch? A succubus?

When Sarah didn’t answer, the woman continued. “Have you been stranded long? ”

Sarah shook her head. “An hour.” She looked at her watch. “Or so.” She met Mavis’s wary eyes and tried to smile reassuringly at the older woman who shoved a drink to her. “Were you driving in it long? ”

“This side of Fort Stockton. It looked like it was off in the distance, then all of a sudden, it was upon me.”

“Yeah, me, too. I was just thankful this... place was here. I could barely see the road.”

The stranger leaned closer. “Where are we, anyway? ”

Sarah caught a whiff of... cedar? She knew of no perfume or cologne that smelled of cedar and being from Austin, she knew exactly what cedar smelled like. But it wasn’t an over-powering aroma, just... woodsy, fresh. She decided she liked it. At the woman’s raised eyebrows, she found her voice.

“I have no idea where we are.” She casually motioned across the bar. “I have met Mavis, though. And that’s Carl and Ronnie sitting down the bar from you.”

The woman nodded. “Any idea why they’re staring at me? ”

Sarah laughed quietly. “Yes, actually, I do.”

“Going to tell? ”

“Are you kidding? This may be our only entertainment of the night.”

The stranger turned and looked at Carl, watching as the older man dropped his drink on the bar, spilling it. Mavis wiped up the spill, taking the glass from Carl’s trembling fingers.

“Sorry about that, ” the stranger said easily. “Let me buy you another one, please. We might be in for a... very long night.”

Sarah saw Carl’s eyes widen at the innocently spoken words, but he, too, seemed drawn to the stranger. Even Mavis couldn’t keep her eyes away. For a brief moment, Sarah wondered if she had let her guard down too soon. She let her eyes travel over the woman, unobserved. She was dressed in jeans and hiking boots, much like Sarah herself. Sarah wondered if perhaps the woman was heading to Big Bend, like she was.

“Mavis is it? Another round for my friend down there.”

Sarah felt a twinge of sympathy for Carl as he stuttered a thank you to the woman. For all he knew, it might be his last drink. This woman might claim him later in the night. At this, Sarah smiled, taking in Carl’s dirty pants and three-day old shirt. She guessed a razor hadn’t seen his face all week, and as the stranger had suspected, baths had been scarce. No, she would bet money that Carl would be safe tonight.

“I’m Michele, by the way, ” the stranger said, offering her hand.

Sarah stared at the hand, noting the slender fingers and blunt nails. She finally slipped her hand into the woman’s, pleased at the firmness of her grasp. “Sarah, ” she replied.

“Nice to meet you, Sarah. They say friendships are struck up at the oddest of places. Who knows? You and I may end up being good friends.”

Sarah smiled. “You think so? ”

Michele leaned closer. “You don’t talk much, do you? ”

Sarah smiled again. “No.”

The woman nodded. “I do. I travel a lot. Making conversations at places like this is not unfamiliar to me.” She motioned with her head down the bar. “I just wish you’d tell me why they keep staring.”

Sarah was about to answer when thunder boomed overhead, making her... and everyone else, jump. Everyone, that is, except Michele, who calmly sipped her drink.

“I can’t believe they haven’t lost power yet, ” she said, and as if by just speaking the words, the lights flickered overhead.

Another clap of thunder and then... darkness. Sarah squinted, hearing chairs scraping and feet shuffling. She heard murmured whispers from Carl and Ronnie and she found herself staring into the flaming grin of the pumpkin, the only light in the dark building. Then next to her, the stranger, Michele, stood up, calmly flicking on a lighter, holding it high above her head.

“Mavis, got a candle back there? ”

Sarah stared at the woman in the shadows, feeling a bit guilty as she let her eyes travel across her body, stopping momentarily at the swell of her breasts. The first two buttons of Michele’s shirt were open and Sarah glimpsed a quick, enticing view of cleavage. You’re a pig. She pulled her eyes away, focusing instead on the candle Mavis shoved along the bar top.

“There’s a... there’s a lantern in the back, ” Mavis said, moving away now, having found a flashlight under the bar.

“Yep. Gonna be a long night, ” Michele murmured.

“Could be worse, ” Sarah said. At Michele’s questioning look, she shrugged. “Could be summer.”

“Ahh. You’d be right. It would be stifling.”

“And smelly.”

Michele laughed. “As if it’s not smelly now.” She pointed to Sarah’s drink. “What are you having? ”

“I started with tequila shots and beer. This would be bourbon and coke, ” Sarah said as she took a sip. As the woman wrinkled her nose disgustingly, Sarah raised her eyebrows. “What? ”

“Who would ruin a good bourbon with coke? ”

Sarah flashed a grin. “Who said it was good bourbon? ”

The woman shook her head. “I’ll do seven and seven. Anything else, it has to be straight up.”

“Rum? ”

She smiled. “Ahh, give me a smooth rum any day.”

“A connoisseur? ”

The woman shrugged. “I travel a lot.”

“And? ”

“And I spend many nights in hotel bars.”

Sarah was about to pry further into the beautiful stranger’s personal life when Mavis returned with a lantern, which brightened up the room somewhat.

“I’m thinking I should make a run for it, ” Ronnie said.

“Yes, I’m surprised Lola hasn’t called looking for you.”

But the lightning that flashed outside brought an immediate boom of thunder.

“You’re safer in here, ” Michele said.

“That’s what you want us to think, isn’t it? ”

Michele frowned. “Excuse me? ”

Sarah found her fingers curling around Michele’s forearm. “Mavis, two more over here, please. And make mine rum, a dark rum.”

“What did he mean by that? ”

“Just let it go. I’ll explain later.” Sarah watched as Michele’s eyes lighted on her fingers which were still clasped around her arm. Sarah immediately released her. “I’m sorry.”

She looked up and found her blue eyes captured once again. She’d been fighting off blind dates set up by Jenna for the last year, none of which stirred even the slightest desire in her. But now, in this smoky... dive of a bar, she found herself captivated by this stranger. A siren? It no longer mattered. As the irresistible song called to mariners of old, Sarah found herself falling into the depths of those dark eyes, not afraid to drown there.

“Sarah, what are you doing here? ” the husky voice whispered.

“Hmm? What? ” Sarah murmured, finally pulling her eyes away.

“Here. In this town, on this road? Big Bend? ”

Sarah nodded. “Meeting some friends. Camping trip.”

The woman nodded. “I haven’t been to Big Bend in years. There’s a little place on the back side, Terlingua. Ever heard of it? ”

“Chili cookoffs? ”

Michele laughed. “Yeah, famous for chili cookoffs out in the desert. It’s also full of Indian artifacts.”

“Arrowheads? ”

“Arrowheads are everywhere, ” she said with a shrug. “But I’ve found entire kitchens out there. It’s incredible.”

Sarah frowned. “Isn’t that illegal? ”

“To take it? Yeah. You’re supposed to find a professional archeologist and let them sift through it.”

“And? ”

“And the state owns it now so it’s hard to slip out there.” Michele sipped from her scotch.

“I actually have a few arrowheads, ” Sarah confessed. “Found them out near Bandera. One is about five inches long. Must have been a spear or something.”

“Wide at the base, then pointed? ”

“Yes.”

“Even? No little hooks at the end? ”

Sarah shook her head.

“It’s probably a hide scrapper.” Michele leaned closer. “Bandera has tons of fossils. Clam shells that were filled with limestone. They call them Texas Hearts. Seen one of them? ”

“No, I haven’t.” It was Sarah’s turn to lean closer. “You seem to know an awful lot about it? Hobby? ”

She nodded. “I love to dig in the dirt, get my fingers dirty.” Then she arched an eyebrow. “It’s just hard to find a woman to tag along with me.”

The shadows danced around them and Sarah swallowed nervously.

“You like to... get your fingers dirty? ”

Sarah didn’t miss the double meaning and she found herself nodding.

“Good. I thought so. Then maybe when they come for the lynching, you’ll protect me.”

Sarah frowned. “What do you mean? ”

“They are pointing and whispering. And I’m thinking it’s me, not you.” Michele tossed a glance down the bar. “I’m either about to get thrown out of here or the locals have never seen a dyke before and they’re curious.”

Sarah laughed. “I think you can handle yourself.”

“They may mug me in my car tonight.”

“Your car? ”

“I’m too tired to drive. I think I’ll bunk in my Cherokee tonight.”

“Mavis has rooms, ” Sarah said without thinking.

“For rent? ”

Sarah shrugged.

Michele motioned for Mavis, who took a hesitant step towards them. “You have a room, Mavis? For the night? ”

Mavis looked quickly at Sarah, then back to the stranger. “No vacancy. Sorry. This young lady took the last room.”

Sarah blinked, meeting Mavis’s frantic eyes. Oh. She was afraid for Michele to stay here. The ghost. So, Sarah went along with the older woman, pretending that she’d requested a room.

Michele smiled at Sarah. “Imagine that. You got the last room.”

“Sorry.”

Michele leaned closer. “I’ll give you a hundred bucks for it, ” she teased.

Sarah laughed. “And have me sleep in my car? I don’t think so. I actually have a car, not an SUV. I doubt I’d fit on the back seat.”

“Okay, I’ll give you fifty bucks to share it.”

Sarah seemed to consider this as her eyes slid closed, but she shook her head. “Hardly seems fair. I’m sure there is only one bed.”

“You want the full hundred to share? ”

As lightning once again illuminated the uncovered windows and thunder rumbled overhead, Sarah found herself moving closer to the woman. Their thighs were nearly brushing and Sarah wondered at her attraction to this stranger. Maybe it was just the unexpectedness of it all, maybe it was the tequila. Nonetheless, she nearly shivered when Michele moved her leg, pressing it lightly against Sarah’s.

“Share? ” Michele asked again.

Sarah swirled the ice in her glass, wondering if she dared to have another. Oh, what the hell? She looked at Mavis and motioned to both their drinks, then leaned her chin in her palm. This woman, this stranger, was dangerous, Sarah knew. But it had nothing to do with ghost stories. Jenna would think she’d lost her mind. And, perhaps, she had. But the siren’s song was too strong to ignore.

“Okay, I’ll share.”

Michele leaned closer. “Thank you. I’ll... owe you.”

Sarah couldn’t resist. “Oh yeah? And how will you pay me back? ”

Sarah’s eyes were captured with little resistance on her part. She was simply melting under this woman’s gaze, falling willingly into her eyes.

“I’ll be... at your mercy, ” Michele said softly. Her eyes dropped to Sarah’s lips, causing Sarah to unconsciously wet them with the tip of her tongue. “Your wish... is my command.”

Sarah sat back as Mavis brought them fresh drinks. She noticed that Carl and Ronnie had moved farther away, quietly talking at the end of the bar.

“Mavis, the tab? I think I’m about ready to call it a night.” At my mercy? God, Sarah wasn’t certain she could handle the woman.

“Of course. You’re... staying? ”

Sarah smiled. “Well, it is the last room.”

Mavis nodded. “I’ll find another flashlight for you. The room is ready.”

When Mavis handed Sarah her tab, Michele took it, shoving several bills at Mavis. “Keep the change.”

“You’ll be... leaving now? ”

Michele grinned. “Actually, Sarah here has offered her room.”

Mavis turned worried eyes to Sarah.

“It’ll be fine. It’s nearly midnight as it is, ” Sarah said.

“Yes. Midnight, ” Mavis murmured. “The darkest hour.”

Michele stood and pushed her stool back, frowning at Mavis’s words. “Gonna brave the rain for a second and grab my overnight bag. Be right back.”

Sarah nodded, knowing she should do the same. As soon as Michele had left the room, Mavis grabbed her hands.

“Share your room? Child, you must not. Can’t you see what’s happening? ”

“She’s stranded, just like I am. Not a ghost, Mavis.”

“She’s the spittin’ image, ” Carl said as he moved closer. “It’s the Eve. None of us are safe.”

Sarah smiled at him, wanting to reassure him that he was indeed safe, unless a lightning bolt caught him on the way home.

“You said she went after men, ” Sarah reminded them. “I should be fine then.”

“There’s something not right about her, ” Mavis said. “I beg you. Don’t take her to your room.”

“It’s midnight. I’m exhausted. I just want to sleep, then hit the road in the morning. Everything will be fine.”

All eyes were again drawn to the door as Michele hurried back inside, a gust of wind causing the door to fly out of her hands and bang against the wall. She shut it quickly.

“Sorry about that, ” she said. “The rain hasn’t let up.”

Sarah pointed at their drinks. “May we take these to the room? ”

Mavis nodded.

“Thanks. Which way? ”

Mavis slid a key across the bar. Then she handed Sarah the flashlight. “Through the doors there, it leads to a back hallway. Room three.”

“Thanks.”

As Sarah turned to leave, Mavis grabbed her wrist, again pleading silently with her.

She smiled. “I’ll be fine, ” she whispered. She picked up her coat from the bar stool next to her. “Going to get my own bag, ” she said to Michele.

“Want me to wait? ”
“No, go ahead.”

Sarah ran back out into the storm, surprised that it seemed just as strong as earlier, although the lightning appeared to have eased up some. She grabbed her overnight bag from the backseat and hurried back inside the bar. Mavis’s worried eyes followed her across the room. Sarah paused briefly before going down the hallway, nodding to the older woman.

She wasn’t afraid. Quite the contrary. She was... excited. Anticipation of what could happen, what was probably going to happen, made her heart beat just a little bit faster. Out of character for her? Oh God, yes. Jenna would faint if she knew. None of that seemed to matter as Sarah recalled the look in the stranger’s eyes, the smell of cedar on her skin, the way her pulse raced when her thigh was pressed against Sarah’s. No, none of that mattered. She’d had just enough tequila to numb her inhibitions.

She stared silently at the number three on the door, noting absently that a nail was missing, causing it to hang crooked. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a second before turning the doorknob. Her breath caught as she found Michele sitting up in bed, sheet pulled to her chest. The flashlight illuminated the room enough for Sarah to know that Michele was naked.

Good God, is this really happening?

“I put your drink over there, ” Michele said quietly, pointing to the end table on the other side of the bed.

“Okay... thanks, ” Sarah murmured. She stood nervously by the door, wondering what the hell she was doing here. Thirty-two was far too young to have lost her mind.

“Are you... nervous? ”

Sarah let out a sarcastic laugh. “You think? ” She finally tossed her bag on the lone table in the room. Crossing her arms, she rubbed her shoulders, trying to find the courage to go to this woman. “I don’t... I don’t exactly make a habit of this, ” she said.

“It’s almost like... there’s this spell or something. Do you feel it? ”

Again, the hypnotizing voice. Sarah swallowed, hoping to God this woman wasn’t a spirit from another time, just coming to play with her before... before the killing. Y ou’re pathetic.

“I find myself extremely attracted to you, ” Sarah finally admitted, searching out the woman’s eyes in the shadows.

“That’s not such a bad thing. The feeling is mutual.”

“Are you naked? ”

“Yes.”

“Why? ”

“Because I want to... make love with you tonight.”

Sarah shut her eyes for a moment. “Why? ”

“Because you’ve got the prettiest blue eyes I’ve ever seen and that dimple in your right cheek, God, I just want to put my tongue there.”

Sarah slowly brought her hand up to her face. She’d been blessed... or cursed with only one dimple.

“And I like the way you smell.”

Sarah opened her eyes. “What? ”

“I’m a very... sensorial person. And I can’t wait to taste you.”

The whispered words hung between them; lightning and distant thunder rumbled overhead as the rain continued to pound against the ancient roof. It was only then that Sarah saw the window opened halfway, letting in the coolness of the night... and the sounds of the storm. And this beautiful woman, this stranger... wanted to taste her.

Sarah nearly moaned as the words hit home. She’d known this woman barely an hour... and here she was, in a motel room, standing before the bed while Michele lay naked... waiting for her.

“Come to bed, Sarah.”

Sarah was powerless to resist that voice... like a siren’s song, she followed it. Blindly, she unbuttoned her shirt, stripping it from her body and letting it fall to the floor. She stood next to the bed, her hands going to her jeans, but her fingers were stilled by another’s, her hands pushed out of the way as Michele’s took over, unbuttoning her jeans and slowly lowering the zipper. The sound seemed inordinately loud and Sarah found Michele’s dark eyes in the shadows. Their gazes locked as her jeans were shoved down her hips. She obediently stepped out of them, standing there in only her sheer bikini briefs. Then soft hands were touching her flesh, easing them down as well.

When the covers were thrown back, she went willingly, having long ago lost the will to refuse her body’s desires. Flesh met flesh and she succumbed to the soft lips that sought her own. Their mouths met, tentative at first, then both unleashing the passion that had been simmering.

Sarah relinquished control as Michele rolled them over and settled her weight on top of Sarah, her hips undulating slowly, sensuously against Sarah. Sarah moaned into her mouth, her thighs parting, inviting Michele inside.

“Tell me what you like, ” Michele whispered against her mouth. “Hard? Slow? ” Her lips moved to Sarah’s ear. “How do you want me to fuck you? ”

Sarah couldn’t answer. Her eyes slammed shut as the other woman ground against her, their clits meeting, pounding together.

“You want me inside of you? ” Michele asked as her lips moved down Sarah’s neck. “Do you want my mouth on you? ” Her lips finally found Sarah’s breast. “God, you smell so good, ” she murmured. “Do you taste that good? ”

“Oh, Jesus, ” Sarah moaned as her hips arched against Michele. “Please, touch me, take me, God... fuck me.”

Sarah was nearly delirious as this woman, this stranger suckled her breast while a strong thigh urged her legs farther apart. Sarah was as turned on as she could ever remember being and she felt her wetness seeping from her. Her hips rose, desperately seeking relief. She found Michele’s hand and slid it down her body, imploring Michele to take her. She pressed Michele’s fingers against her, grinding hard, begging for release.

Then Michele was filling her, fingers easily slipping into her wetness. Sarah opened wider, hips rising to meet each stroke, taking Michele deep inside her. She felt Michele’s teeth bite gently on her nipple, sending a delicious pain to the pit of her stomach.

“Yes... oh, yes, ” she murmured. “ Harder. ”

And Michele obliged, fingers pounding into her in a steady rhythm as her mouth continued at her breast. Just when Sarah was certain she couldn’t take any more, she found herself screaming out into the night as that same mouth left her breast and joined those exquisite fingers. She climaxed the instant Michele’s tongue circled her clit.

Sarah was too far gone to feel embarrassed. She knew her mouth hung open as she gasped for breath, she knew she had screamed uncontrollably as her orgasm hit... and she knew she wanted to do it all over again.

“I’m still alive, right? ” she murmured.

Sarah felt Michele smile against her neck. “God, I hope so. I’m not nearly ready to stop this.”

“That was incredible.”

Again, a smile against her skin. “Thank you.”

Sarah laughed. “No, thank you. ” The words barely left her mouth when she found herself on top of Michele as the other woman rolled over, pulling Sarah with her.

“Please say it’s my turn. I’m about to explode.”

Sarah brushed the dark hair away from Michele’s eyes, her own gaze traveling over the flawless skin, stopping at the lips that nearly begged for her kiss. Sarah lowered her head, lightly, teasingly touching Michele’s lips. She let her hands travel over the body beneath her, gently cupping small breasts.

“Yes, it’s your turn, ” Sarah murmured absently as her lips surrounded an aroused peak. Any inhibitions she still clung to were tossed aside as she settled between Michele’s legs, her only goal, to bring the other woman to an earth-shattering climax, much like her own had been.