by Trim, Brenda
My throat is dry as the desert, and my mother’s warning about men outside the church luring me into sexual situations rings in my mind. Nothing comes to me in that brief second aside from my mom’s voice. My legs start shaking a little and when I turn my head, I swear his eyes are glued to the pulse pounding in my neck.
“Umm. No thanks. I’m here with my friends.”
Sophia moves closer and grabs my hands. The panic racing through me abates when my friend tugs me a couple steps away.
My heart starts galloping in my chest when the guy holding me doesn’t let go right away. A sideways glance tells me that he looks determined. Some instinct tells me he will take whatever he wants.
Tears suddenly fill my eyes. Everything my parents warned me about is true. My legs are unsteady and my vision wavers. I try to move away, but my legs wobble.
“She’s with us,” Sophia tells the guy, but he ignores her and pulls me closer. My head flops around without much control on my part. The alcohol is definitely affecting me. The situation is frightening, but I’m not sure why. He seems like a nice enough guy.
I want to experience life and decide who I am and what my desires are based on my own experiences, not the dictates of some church. Not that I’m going to be stupid and allow him to pull me from my friends. That’s asking for trouble. I came with my friends and I am leaving with them.
“You can dance with us,” I offer the guy. “I’m Harper Travanti.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Travanti. I’m Grayson. And you are a stunning little pet.” His hands roam up the sides of my body, making me jumpy.
I should be offended. I get the sense I'm being patronized, and his touch is far too familiar, but his voice weaves around me like a spell. It's smooth and cultured, as if it has been curated over centuries to affect the perfect tone.
A giggle escapes my mouth as I sway. Grayson talks like he’s old fashioned. Maybe he’s safer than I first thought. The already sensual mood in the club turns up a notch, and my blood and body join the group.
A yelp escapes my throat when Grayson rubs his hard length against my backside. No one has ever rubbed their penis on me, ever. I want to tell him to stop, that he shouldn’t do that; but I can’t find my voice. Instead, I keep my mouth shut and move my hips away from his body. It doesn’t matter that my clit starts throbbing in reaction, telling me my body likes what he’s doing. I don’t feel comfortable with the contact.
My eyes seek out Sophia but land on James Dean, guarding the door. When his baby blues land on me this time, I know he sees me. His eyelids lower and his nostrils flare. The way he looks at me makes my blood race. Only Steve, my previous fiancé, has regarded me with so much lust. One corner of his mouth lifts in a snarl and I see a flash of a sharp white tooth.
For several breathless seconds my body heats and hums under his regard. His stare is intense and seems to reach deep down inside my being. All the noise and people recede into the background, leaving only him and me. Logically I know the idea is ridiculous, but that doesn’t change the fact that something in me connects to something in him.
More likely than not it’s all about lust, but it’s stronger than anything I’ve ever felt in my life. My cynical side comes out and I wonder if it’s another effect of the margarita clouding my judgement.
Another glint of white catches my eye as he licks his lips. Shaking my head, I narrow my gaze trying to determine if I’m seeing things. It looks as if he has a fang. Talk about completely ridiculous. No one has fangs and vampires don’t exist.
Grayson runs a finger down the side of my throat, distracting me. Reluctantly, I turn my head and smile at the guy dancing so close that I can see he has no pores on his face.
Seriously, how the heck does he manage that? No facial has ever made my skin look so flawless.
“Let’s go somewhere more private,” Grayson suggests.
“I’m not going anywhere private with you,” I blurt. I have no filter on a good day, but the tequila loosens my lips even more. That rebuff should have been enough, but my mouth keeps moving as something possesses me to say, “If you were him,” I point to the sexy bouncer at the door, “I would take you home and ride you like a pony.”
Sophia, Tasha, and Kari burst out laughing while Grayson glares at me. My friends tug me away, leading me to our table.
“Who are you and what have you done with Harper?” Tasha asks.
“That’s the alcohol talking. But now that I know who has caught your eye, I know what our goal is,” Sophia adds as she motions for a waitress. “I’ve seen the bouncer dancing and cavorting with patrons several times before, so I know he’s not off-limits.”
“No,” I shout, drawing the attention of club goers nearby. Lowering my voice, I continue. “There’s no way he’s interested in me, so forget it.”
“Don’t be afraid, Harper. You have to kiss a lot of toads before you find your prince,” Sophia replies then orders us another round of drinks. “All we’re doing right now is having fun. If he says no then he says no. Not a big deal. There are plenty of guys here giving you eyes.”
Shaking my head with a smile, it takes all of my effort not to look and see if Grayson is still standing there or if the bouncer is still watching me. “I’m going to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” I make my way through the crowd on the dance floor.
Sweat trickles down my back and my gut is cramped. I can’t decide if I made a mistake coming here or if it was the best decision of my life.
The room smells of competing perfumes and colognes, alcohol, sweat, and sex. It makes me dizzy as I push through the bodies. My mind whirls as I walk, and I have no idea if I should approach the bouncer like Sophia suggested. I want to grab life by the horns and take a chance.
A flush of confused arousal keeps bombarding me every time I see a couple dancing...grinding against each other, really. My core aches and tightens with need as I see a guy kissing a woman with so much fervor it’s borderline obscene. Never in my life have I seen such open displays of affection. It goes against everything I was taught, but not what I feel deep down inside. Is it possible I’m a deviant, after all? The question terrifies me almost as much as the answer does.
Thankfully, there is no line in the lady’s room. Pushing the door open, I head for the sink and wash my hands then wet a paper towel and press it on the back of my neck. I realize the restroom is far more opulent than I expected. There’s a couch that immediately makes me think of lying down and relieving some of the tension thrumming through my body.
Lowering my head, I calm myself and try to stop the desire making my clit pulse between my legs. No way am I going to indulge that particular desire. I squirm but my arousal only spikes higher every time I rub my legs together.
I’m at the door and leaving more aroused than when I went in, when a noise outside startles me. What the heck is going on in the club? I push the door open, but before I am able to see outside the bathroom, shouting and yelling echo in the club at large. The blood leaves my head and settles like a stone in my stomach.
What’s happening? Some of those voices sound pissed and some sound terrified.
My knowing tells me I should be careful. Without opening the door any more, I peek through the crack and see chaos descending.
Wolves are running through the place, attacking people. Actual wolves. A scream leaves my mouth when I watch an animal clamp its jaw around a guy’s leg. The blood gushes out around bared teeth in a macabre scene.
Shutting the door, I run to a stall and lock myself inside. I climb onto the toilet seat and crouch there. What the crap is going on? How did wild animals enter the club? It isn’t possible. Regardless of how impossible it might be, there is no denying the truth of the situation.
What the hell do I do now? No way am I leaving the safety of the bathroom to be eaten by a wild wolf. I never should have left my house tonight. There are actual wolves attacking and killing people five feet from where I’m hiding, and I have no way to escap
e unscathed.
I’m going to die in a public bathroom. Albeit, a very nice one.
Chapter 2
Liam
“How the fuck did they get past us?” I bark as I run into the club. I fear it was the moment I was distracted by that sexy woman with the pouty lips and lively light brown eyes.
A couple hours ago I caught wind of a sultry scent that set my blood on fire. My cock hardened in an instant and I couldn’t stop looking for a female to fuck. My fangs punched through my gums as well. After centuries of this existence I never expected to encounter anyone who affects me so strongly. Most of my focus is on finding my next meal.
I’m no stranger to sex, but it’s been a few weeks since I took a sweetblood to the basement. There is nothing more satisfying for a vampire than binding a female and feeding from her as you fuck her. It fuels the predator within, but after centuries of the same empty encounters I’ve become bored.
Not much grabs my attention nowadays. Not that long ago, Dante staged a coup and tried to overthrow our Sire. I didn’t hear about it until right before Lucius killed him for it, but I wouldn’t have gotten involved even if I had.
Failures like this are unacceptable. I know Maximus is as pissed as I am that they got past us. I could kick my own ass as I rush into the crowded club to deal with the group of shifters currently attacking my fellow vamps. There is no way to keep humans from being injured in the melee. They are panicked and running over one another, making it difficult to deal with the situation effectively.
My gaze scours the room rapidly, lingering a beat longer than it should on a spot where I’d seen that delectable female a few minutes before. Her friends are there, but she is nowhere to be seen.
Wondering where the woman is costs me when a wolf shifter bites down on my calf. With a curse, I kick that leg. I wince as the sharp canines tear through my flesh. My mind sharpens with the call of battle.
Lucius found me on a battlefield dying in 1509 and turned me. I was a soldier in the Battle of Agnadello and one of the unlucky ones to go down during the initial attack by the French. Many of my countrymen escaped south, but I didn’t. When given the choice to turn I took it without hesitation.
Over the years I’d considered abandoning Lucius many times, but never have. He might be an arrogant jackass most of the time, but he’s my sire and I owe him my life. Or undead life, however you want to look at it.
I almost left Tucson when he found his mate, Selena. The bullshit with the shifters was edgy enough and that only added to tensions. But unlike some of my brethren, I’m loyal. I couldn’t abandon Lucius, shifter mate or not. Plus, by staying by his side I have access to his setup here at Club Toxic. It provides me with an outlet for my predatory predilections without having to leave a large body count in my wake.
It’s times like this, when the shifters believe they are better than us and take action to force us to move, that I question my decision. I want the shifters to leave us alone and allow us to live our lives. Most vampires in Lucius’s line know better than to court shifter trouble. Sure, there are still some assholes we need to weed out, but they’re in the minority now.
“Fuck that,” I curse, and grab hold of the shifter’s jaws.
Maximus appears at my side a second later. “Secure the door so no one leaves. We are going to have to wipe minds before the humans can go home.”
Using my preternatural strength, I wrench my hands apart, dislocating and ripping the jaws clamped around my leg. A pained whine escapes the wolf as it crumples to the floor.
Blood pours from my leg, but that’s not what makes my fangs punch down. Part of it is the bloodlust unfurling from the fighting, and another is the human blood filling the air. Someone has been hurt.
I turn, but before I can make it two steps a shifter in human form bares his teeth at me. He’s not someone I recognize from the local pack. I haven’t met everyone, but I don’t sense Garrett’s power on this one.
Garrett is the alpha of the Tucson pack, and generally a decent male. He isn’t one to be fucked with. He will rip your head off without pause and has informed Lucius that his vampires are on a short leash in his city. It’s only because Garrett has allowed us to stay that any of us are still here.
If Garrett didn’t send these shifters to the club then why were they here? These were wolves, so it couldn’t be the Camino Seco coyotes. Their group suffered some major losses when a vampire named Xavier tried to take over Club Toxic and shove Lucius out of power. The attempt failed, and so will this one.
My fist flies into the male’s face, making his head snap back and to the side. The shifter shakes the blow off and continues heading toward me. Humans running toward the entrance make me duck under the shifter’s arm and race past the coat room. Reed and Adam are no longer at their post, monitoring the door to the dungeon. Most likely they’re fighting on the dance floor.
The vamps that frequent Club Toxic are there to feed and find pleasure. While they are fighting the shifters, they aren’t as skilled as me and my fellow bouncers. It’s our job to secure the bar and ensure our secrecy is maintained.
I throw the lock on the front door and move an overturned table to block the way. Humans scream and turn away from their flight to safety. Now they’re frightened of me. The acrid scent of fear in the air makes me even hungrier. Fear makes the blood sweeter. Ignoring them, I face the shifter I ducked past and take him in fully for the first time.
Unlike most of Garrett’s pack, this one doesn’t wear a leather jacket or look like a biker. In some ways I have more in common with the motorcycle club of wolf shifters than my fellow vampires. I’m the only bouncer that doesn’t wear a fancy suit to work. It’s just not me. Most of my kind are like Lucius and Maximus and prefer fancy suits to jeans and leather.
In fact, I take my jacket off, so it doesn’t get ruined and toss it on the floor of the coat closet then jump toward the shifter, taking him off guard. I land in an awkward tangle of limbs with the male. Not the fun kind of tangle, either, as a fist jabs my kidney.
Claws rake over my shirt, cutting through fabric and skin. A snarl lifts my mouth before my claws are returning the favor. The fucker just ruined my favorite shirt. It took me years to discover James Perse’s clothes.
My senses heighten as I slice through cloth and flesh. Grabbing hold of his arms, I wrench his head to the side then sink my fangs into his neck. I gulp down the potent blood then shove him away and move on to help my fellow vamps contain the situation.
Maximus is battling shifters with ease, as is Grayson. With a running start, I kick a wolf in the side that was sneaking up on Reed. The animal flies across the club and hits the wall near the table I’d seen the female at earlier.
My feet follow the path the wolf took before I even realize it. Club Toxic is an amalgamation of scents that can be overwhelming for many reasons. After working and frequenting the club so often, I am good at quickly sorting through to identify the various components.
Beneath the fear, sweat, alcohol, and sex I catch a whiff of the same scent that drove me nuts earlier. My head swivels to the three females I saw earlier with the dark-haired beauty. “Where’s your friend?” I demand.
The females tremble and pale when my attention focuses on them. There is no part of me that feels bad for their obvious terror. I am a vampire and I take what I want. These females are nothing more than food to me and my kind. I quickly lose patience when they remain quiet.
Just as I am ready to pick one of them up and force her to tell me, a blonde bombshell speaks up. “Harper, umm, went to the bathroom before the wolves attacked.” Her eyes roam all around the room. Her breathing increases and her body shakes even more. “Those people turned into wolves.”
Not wanting to deal with the panic I knew is soon to follow, I reach into her mind and wipe her memories from the entire evening. It’s easier than trying to locate the last hour and take that. I do the same to her friends and instruct them to go to sleep. One of us will send them h
ome when we’ve contained the situation.
The wolf I tossed at the wall rolls over and climbs to his feet. I am in motion before it can stumble away. Tired of having to deal with this bullshit instead of seeking Harper out, I lunge for him.
It’s been years since I have underestimated a foe, so I deserve the torn forearm I get when I fail to wrap my hands around the wolf’s throat. With my leg still bleeding from the earlier injury and now my arm, I snarl and grab a fist full of fur in one hand.
Allowing the demon within close range, I twist and snap the wolf’s neck and seek another enemy to vanquish. Before I even look up, I know I am going to be disappointed. The sound of fighting has ended. Whimpers, sobs, and curses are the only sounds aside from tables being righted.
The club is a fucking mess. I’m surprised to see only a few tables and chairs broken among the debris. Most of the pleather benches are a total loss. I join Grayson where vamps are starting to wipe human memories before sending them out the front door. I look around in disgust at the shifter bodies littering the ground.
“Who the fuck were those shifters?” I ask as I move the table out of the coat closet and retrieve my leather jacket.
“I have no idea. They weren’t Garrett’s pack,” Maximus replies. “Check the back hall and bathrooms. Make sure there are no shifters or humans hiding there.”
At his mention of the bathroom, desire unfurls in my bloodstream to join the violence still churning throughout my body. It is a potent mix and is no doubt spurred on by the fear that blankets the place.
I notice the three humans still asleep on the ground and wake them before leading them out the front door. When I reach the back hall and bathrooms, I encounter several humans hiding.
“Head to the front door. Maximus is there to make sure you get out safely,” I inform the group. They head out and I check inside the men’s restroom. There are five humans huddled just inside the door.