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RED. EVERYTHING WAS red.
The carpeted pathway directing traffic around the room. The velvet curtains designating VIP areas. And the lights flashing off and on around the stage. As if they couldn’t be any more predictable, the vampire owners sure liked to uphold the cinematic stereotypes.
“This way,” Viktor said, gently pressing his hand into my lower back. He directed us toward the right side of the open central area that boasted the stage and a number of human and vampire males waving money in front of the dancers.
We weaved our way through the crowd, eyes following our moves as we passed. At first I worried that I’d been spotted as a hunter, but then I came back to my senses and calmed my breathing. One benefit of my genetics...I could remain undetected.
Unlike Viktor, whose aura of otherworldliness even had some of the human men taking a second glance in his direction. Every vampire in the place stopped what they were doing and acknowledged Viktor’s presence as he passed. Whether it was out of respect or fear, I couldn’t tell.
Blue eyes the color of morning sky made up far too many of the occupants. Their predatory gazes stalked us in a way that sent my hunter instincts into overdrive. At one point, Viktor pulled me to a stop, shoving me once again into the shadows. He grabbed both sides of my face, forcing me to look up at him, but gentle enough that I managed to stifle any kind of reaction that would garner more attention.
“You need to calm your breathing, Sophia.”
“I...,” Son of a bitch. “Fine. It’s just hard to fight my instincts when I feel like a sheep surrounded by wolves.”
Viktor smiled, actually smiled, lighting up his face and making him even more handsome. “We are very different than the wolves.”
What? I didn’t have time to interpret that very odd response before we’d been spotted.
“Viktor Kaska,” a deep voiced crooned.
Viktor groaned just loud enough for me to hear. His eyes searched my face and his thumb rubbed ever so slightly against my cheek before dropping his hands and turning to face the man. “Asher,” Viktor said stiffly. “Good to see you.”
Asher leaned out passed Viktor just far enough to see me. I couldn’t help but notice how Viktor had positioned himself so that I was protected from our new companion. A part of me hated that reaction and a smaller part of me liked that he felt the need to care. “And who is this?” Asher asked.
“She’s not important,” Viktor replied as soon as I opened my mouth to introduce myself. I ground my teeth together in an attempt not to spit out some obnoxious response.
Asher laughed. “It would appear that she doesn’t think she’s so unimportant.”
Sneaking a glance at the man who’d just taken my side, I almost cowered back behind Viktor. Asher stood at least six and a half feet tall and probably could have been an offensive lineman in the NFL had he actually been human. His vampire blue orbs actually kind of matched his pale skin and closely-shaved red hair. But it was the size of his arms, even hidden under an expensive suit, which impressed and intimidated me at the same time.
“Why are you here, Viktor?” Asher asked, eyes still surveying my body.
“I need to speak with Jonathon.”
“Well, you should have called first,” Asher said with a satisfying lilt in his voice. “Jonathon’s not here.”
Viktor didn’t respond and instead turned away from the giant man in a sign of disrespect. “I’ll find you later,” Viktor said over his shoulder as we continued moving to the far side of the club.
I watched Asher’s face turn red, his eyes bleeding black with the anger he directed at my escort. But he didn’t say another word, a hierarchy of rank seemingly taking hold. Once we were out of earshot, I turned my head up toward Viktor and asked, “What was that about?”
Viktor tensed and then moved his head quickly side to side. I heard a vertebrate crack in place. “Jonathon is here and Asher likes to think he has more power than he really does.”
“Power?” Like superpowers?
“Authority.” Viktor led us to a roped off area and waited for the bouncer to let us inside. With one look from my date, the much younger vampire, complied. “Asher is nothing more than a lap dog.”
Not quite sure how to respond, I chose to stay quiet. Once we stepped up two shallow, carpeted stairs, the bouncer parted a set of thick, velvet curtains and ushered us into our own private space. Plush loveseats bordered the small room, a round glass coffee table in the center making the place feel more like a private home than a room in a swanky strip club.
“Do you want something to drink?” Viktor asked.
I shook my head. “So, really, what’s the plan?”
Viktor studied me again in the way that caused my hormones to race. “I am going to find Jonathon.”
“And what am I supposed to do?”
As though perfectly timed, the curtains opened back up and in walked two female strippers and a male bartender. The females looked like sisters, long blonde hair hanging almost to their waists, curled in a way that looked both professional and careless at the same time. One wore all black, and the other wore purple matching lace bras and G-strings. Their eyes roamed all over Viktor and then settled, several moments later, on me.
I crossed my arms and faced Viktor. “Are you serious?”
His lips twitched, a smile on the verge of making me lose it. “I thought you might like some company while you wait.”
I looked at the stripper twins, then at the bartender who’d carried in a tray of top shelf alcohol, and then glared back at Viktor. “All you men are the same,” I snapped.
This time, Viktor couldn’t control his smile or that damned dimple from appearing. “Just give me thirty minutes.” He glanced at the twins. “Arabella and Ashby will help make the time go by much faster.” Viktor then walked to the ladies, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek. I also thought I heard him say something in a foreign language and they responded in kind. Viktor turned back toward me with a nod, before ducking out of the curtains in into the bowels of the club again.
Arabella and Ashby turned their sights on me. I stood still in defiance, arms crossed and bitch face in full effect. The bartender suddenly popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and I jerked my head to the side in distraction. I watched him fumble with the foam, trying his best not to let it spill all over the furniture. But the second I spun back around to tell the ladies I wasn’t interested, they’d moved ten feet closer, now standing directly in front of my face.
“She’s different,” the one in black said, sniffing the air between us.
“She’s a hunter,” the other stated.
“And you can just back the fuck away and out of my personal space,” I said. I couldn’t move any more without climbing on the sofas...and that would certainly make me look weak.
The women feigned shock before letting out a cackle that filled the tiny room. The bartender did his best not to make eye contact with any of us.
“Aw, she’s feisty.” The stripper in purple stepped forward and studied my face. As I tried my best to put on a strong front, her eyes bleed yellow. Even in the darkened lighting, I knew that I was in trouble.
“You’re a demon?” I whispered in awe.
Viktor had left me with two demons? Two female demons? Oh, he was so dead.
“She’s perceptive, Arabella,” Ashby, the one in black, cooed. “Tell me hunter, how many demons have you encountered in your short, miserable life?”
Truthfully? None. “Several,” I replied.
“You’re lying,” Arabella stated. She lifted her hand and reached toward my face. I jerked back and almost fell onto the couch. “Don’t be scared,” she whispered. “We’re not here to harm you.” Arabella looked at her sister and giggled. “She smells delicious.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, swatting her hand away.
“Your soul is very...appealing to me and my sister,” Ashby said as though that clarified everything.
“You just keep your skanky little hands away from my soul.”
Ashby laughed, her eyes reflecting the surrounding light and making her look more animal-like than before. “Come on, hunter. Just one taste?”
“Champagne?” the bartender interrupted. I hadn’t heard him approach, but he now held a small tray with three crystal flutes of liquid sitting on top. His hands shook, his eyes wide in fear. I wondered why he’d chosen to work in a place like this.
“Yes, please,” Arabella said, eyes still watching me as she grabbed her glass.
“No, thank you,” I said, engaging her in the stare down.
Ashby pushed a glass into my hand, causing me to lose the battle. “Oh, don’t be such a party pooper. Have a drink with us. Viktor would want you to indulge.”
Chills danced over my skin at her words. “Viktor doesn’t control me,” I growled through gritted teeth.
She tilted her head and whispered something into the air. Arabella tensed, mouth dropping open in response. “What are you doing, Ash?”
Her question went unanswered as her sister lifted my hand and forced me to put the glass to my lips. I could barely feel the coolness of the alcohol grace my mouth, yet couldn’t stop myself from taking the drink. Like a voodoo doll, I’d lost all control over my actions.
“He won’t be pleased,” Arabella warned.
“He won’t know unless you tell,” her sister said in response. Then she turned her demon gaze on me. “Now Sophia, why don’t we all take a seat?”
“How do you know my name?” I managed to ask at the same time I felt my body lowering into the sofa.
“Why do you ask such silly questions?” Ashby replied.
As I sank into the plush couch, Ashby crawled onto the space next to me. Her perfect body, with not an ounce of fat on it, slid gracefully from side to side. Hips pressed into the air and shoulders bowed low, she stalked forward like a lioness.
I found myself unable to move yet oddly intrigued by the woman. I swear her face morphed into something too ethereal for this world. Reaching out with my hand, I couldn’t help but want to brush my fingers over her plump lips in a way I’d never desired another female before.
“Ash,” Arabella warned again. “Don’t do this.”
Ashby spared a quick glance at her sister standing off to the side. “Don’t be a prude.”
A moment later, I found myself sandwiched between two female demons and wanting them to touch me, yet not understanding why. “She does smell delicious,” Arabella whispered. Her nose brushed my cheek and I flinched at the coldness of her skin. “Sweet. Desirable. Forbidden,” she said as she ran her nails along my exposed arm.
I turned my head, looking directly into the glowing, yellow eyes of Arabella. My lips parted automatically, craving the need to feel her skin on mine. Not once had I ever desired the company of another female. But now, the prospect of having two sent shivers dancing over my neck and heat racing between my legs.
Just as I leaned forward, Ashby’s hand turned my chin back in her direction. “Oh no, hunter. Me first.” She pressed her soft lips on mine, lightly kissing around my mouth. Teasing me with her movements. I tried to push into her, but my body wouldn’t listen. A deep thought buried in my head warned me that this wasn’t right—that I needed to move and get off of this couch. Yet no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t force my arms or legs to obey.
“Don’t try to fight it,” Ashby cooed. “You’re under my spell now.” Her hot breath trickled over my neck, the chills indicating an arousal I had no control over. “And you will be my special dessert tonight.” Ashby’s hand slid underneath my dress, her nails trailing closer and closer to the warm place in the center. I had no idea what happened to Arabella and at this particular moment, I didn’t care.
Just as Ashby’s fingers reached the edge of my panties, someone shouted from across the room. “Get off of her.” The man’s voice flitted through the air, an aura of power and control forcing my seductress to tense under his warning.
Ashby flew back against the far wall, the sudden absence of her body creating an unexpected void. I heard another crash on the opposite side of the room, vaguely aware that the second demon sister was no longer in close proximity either.
I tried to focus on the large, muscular man now stalking toward me but my eyes were hazy and the light was dim. “Who are you?” I whispered.
He bent forward, hands cupping my face and turning it from side to side like he was inspecting something. “What have you done to her?”
My eyes caught Ashby’s. Behind the man and close to the curtained entrance, she pushed herself up off the floor. “She was mine to play with.”
I felt the man stiffen and feared he may squeeze my face too hard. My senses had started to recover and I began to feel the initial tingle warning me about the presence of a vampire. A spark of recognition tried to come to the surface, but it was still blocked by whatever demon magic Ashby had subjected me to.
“And who gave you permission?” the man growled at her.
“Viktor,” she whispered in response, almost as if knowing what his reaction would be.
Bright blue eyes bore into mine, the vampire in front of me unhappy with what Ashby had told him. “So you’re Viktor’s new toy,” he breathed. “Well, I think it’s time I let Viktor know who’s really in charge.”
And without giving me even a split second to react, the vampire opened his mouth and plunged his fangs deep into my neck.
*