The Devil and the Dancer: An Elemental Legacy Novella
Page 1
Sometimes falling is the safest step to take.
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THE DEVIL AND THE DANCER
* * *
Chloe Reardon has a problem, and his name is Gavin Wallace.
Okay, Gavin isn’t exactly a problem unless you consider a highly attractive wind vampire with dubious intentions a problem. Especially if that vampire is your boss and has an affinity for kilts and excellent taste in music.
None of that matters though, because Chloe Reardon has had enough of dangerous men. Danger is overrated. Danger is the opposite of sexy. So Gavin is the last man—or vampire—on earth she needs to let into her heart.
But what if the most dangerous man you know is also the one who makes you feel the strongest?
The Devil and the Dancer is a paranormal romance novella in the Elemental Legacy series.
Praise for Elizabeth Hunter
Elizabeth Hunter's books are delicious and addicting, like the best kind of chocolate. She hooked me from the first page, and her stories just keep getting better and better. Paranormal romance fans won't want to miss this exciting author!
Thea Harrison, NYT bestselling author
Developing compelling and unforgettable characters is a real Hunter strength as she proves yet again with Kyra and Leo. Another amazing novel by a master storyteller!
RT Magazine
This book more than lived up to the expectations I had, in fact it blew them out of the water.
This Literary Life
A towering work of romantic fantasy that will captivate the reader's mind and delight their heart. Elizabeth Hunter's ability to construct such a sumptuous narrative time and time again is nothing short of amazing.
The Reader Eater
For David
My rock
I am so blessed to call you mine.
The Devil and the Dancer
Copyright © 2019
Elizabeth Hunter
ISBN: 978-1-941674-38-3
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Cover: Damonza
Content Editor: Amy Cissell, Cissell Ink
Copy Editor: Anne Victory
Proofreader: Linda, Victory Editing
If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, please delete it and purchase your own copy from an authorized retailer. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Recurve Press LLC
PO Box 4034
Visalia, California
USA
ElizabethHunterWrites.com
The Devil and the Dancer
An Elemental Legacy Novella
Elizabeth Hunter
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Afterword
Preview: HOOKED
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Elizabeth Hunter
1
The letter was like a dozen others on the surface. It committed to nothing. It was a test.
Of what, Gavin Wallace wasn’t certain.
The writer of the letter corresponded with him regularly. They weren’t friends. They never would be. But their connection couldn’t be denied. It definitely could not be ignored.
I am thinking about coming to New York City. Your introduction to the O’Brien would be most welcome. This is regarding a business matter, not a personal one.
Vivian
Gavin didn’t need to breathe. No physical compulsion demanded it. He was a wind vampire who didn’t need to inhale or exhale except to smell the air and to speak. He could hold his breath for as long as necessary and not feel the effects.
So the sigh that left his lungs was entirely one of habit.
Vivian.
Was it truly a business matter, or did she have an ulterior motive? It would be impossible to tell until he talked to her, but he suspected the latter; Vivian always had an ulterior motive.
A laugh made him look up and across the bar. The smile that touched his lips was as much a habit as the sigh that had come before. The smile, however, was far more recent.
Watching Chloe Reardon talk to the bar patrons was one of his favorite pastimes. He pretended to do paperwork, sort through letters, or read a magazine while he surreptitiously observed her chatting with a regular, polishing glasses, or advising one of the younger servers.
She was a woman who could enjoy talking to anyone. It was a skill Gavin had never developed, even with over a century of life behind him. If he had his way, he’d be more likely to sit in a corner and look aloof.
It wasn’t the most advantageous attitude for a publican. And even after many years, dozens of properties, and millions in hidden accounts, that was still what Gavin considered himself. He was a barman, and he was a good one. Of course, part of the reason he was good was that he excelled at the one skill every publican needed.
Gavin Wallace was a genius at reading people. He understood what they wanted, and he knew what to give them to get what he desired.
Sometimes all a human or an immortal needed was the right drink and the right ear. Blood or wine or whiskey. Gavin didn’t need to be Captain Sunshine to supply those. Other times it was an introduction or an invitation. For vampires, it was often a safe place to meet a dangerous person.
Gavin provided any or all those things, and in exchange he received wealth, safety, and influence, which he wielded very, very judiciously.
“Boss, you want another?” A server was standing at the edge of the table with a golden glass of whiskey on a tray.
Gavin glanced up. “Thank you, Priscilla.”
“No problem.” She set down the drink. “Let me know if you want something to eat. Raf is just about to shut down the kitchen.”
“Sounds good.” Gavin looked over to the bar as he raised his glass and sipped the unlabeled scotch he kept in a small cupboard. It was from his own distillery, but it wasn’t in his nature to advertise he owned it.
Chloe caught his gaze and offered him a quick smile before she returned her attention to the human across the counter.
And what do you need, Chloe Reardon?
Space.
And time.
Damn my luck.
She laughed at something the customer said. It was an older man, a stage manager for one of the larger off-Broadway theaters if Gavin’s memory served him correctly. Gavin didn’t know how the man knew Chloe, but familiarity radiated between the two. She reached for the bottle of Jim Beam without the customer asking, filled his glass before she read another order and shook two gin cocktails, all the while nodding while the older man told a story.
She’d been working for Gavin over a year. She was a gold-star employee, the kind immortals valued above the common swarm of humanity. She was trustworthy and discreet. She was independent and considerate. Smart, quick, and flexible. Aware of vampires without being fearful of them.
Chloe was also a brilliant and bright young woman. A gifted artist and a good friend. She was wise and funny, empathetic and loyal.
Chloe Reardon was everything that made Gavin feel like living again, but for the first time in 120 years, he found something he couldn’t win in trade.
He couldn’t buy her.
He couldn’t barter for her.
He wanted to seduce her—fucking hell, he wanted to seduce her.
But more, he wanted her to be his. Of her own choice. He wanted her to come to him, surrender, throw her lot into the darkness with him.
In the year since they’d met, her surrender had become his singular desire.
But it had to be her own.
So he became the patient suitor. He took her to shows and dinners and parties. He gave her a safe room in his home. Ever the gentleman, he demanded nothing but made it clear she could take anything she wanted.
Gavin was starting to believe they would never move past the strange neutral zone they existed in. The thought made him edgy. He was a patient predator, but he needed an end in sight. He needed to make her… just a little uncomfortable.
It was a risk, but one he felt he had to take. After all, Gavin Wallace was a genius at knowing what people needed. And though he knew Chloe needed time and space, he fervently believed she also needed something else.
She needed him.
She felt Gavin’s eyes on her back as they walked from the pub to the corner where he had a car waiting, and Chloe would be lying if the idea didn’t put just a little more sway in her hips. In the year since they’d met, the idea of his eyes on her had become welcome. Enticing instead of intimidating.
“Your rehearsal is at what time tomorrow?” Gavin’s right hand came to the small of her back. His left reached for the messenger bag she carried, which he slipped off her shoulder and slung over his.
“Eleven. I can carry that, you know.”
“But why not let me?” He brushed a kiss across her temple as he walked beside her. “Good. You can get six hours in tonight and take a nap in the afternoon.”
“Is Veronica working tomorrow?”
“I believe so, but you know she won’t bother you unless you need something.”
Veronica was Gavin’s house manager, his day person, and an utter and complete professional. Chloe found her competence a tad intimidating even if Veronica was polite at all times.
All of Gavin’s people were professionals, from Veronica to the security crew she’d met, his business manager to his sommelier. They were all professionals. Gavin surrounded himself with professionals.
If it weren’t for her, Ben, and Tenzin, Chloe wondered if he’d interact with anyone he didn’t employ.
“Did you see the invitation from Cormac?” Chloe asked.
“I did.”
She watched him from the corner of her eye. “Did anything seem strange about it to you?”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “No.”
“It was addressed to both of us.”
His fingers curled into her back. “Because I believe he wants both of us to attend the reception.”
“It was addressed to both of us at your address.”
He paused and nudged her to stand in front of him, pressing her closer. “Is that a problem?”
“I don’t know.” Was it? It seemed like everyone knew she stayed with Gavin regularly, and as far as Chloe knew, she was his only regular social companion. She was his plus-one. And if she couldn’t attend something with him, he went alone. “It’s fine,” she whispered.
He angled his head and bent down. “Good.” His lips moved softly over the arch of her cheek. “You smell lovely tonight.”
“I spilled Knob Creek on my shirt.”
“Aye, I know.” His mouth moved to the side, and she felt his breath tickle the sensitive skin under her ear. “I don’t mind a little Southern flavor, Miss Reardon.”
Chloe had learned that Gavin’s Scottish came out when he was angry—which happened rarely—or turned on, which happened regularly. Much of the time, Americans mistook him for English.
He wasn’t. He’d made that very clear.
“Shall I see if you’ve spilled any other spirits?” His mouth moved to the other side of her neck. “Do I detect a bit of Cointreau here?” His tongue licked her skin, and she gripped his shoulders. “Sweet.”
She was going to melt into a puddle. “The car is waiting.”
“Aye, I pay it to do that.”
Her head spun at the low timbre of his voice.
“One day soon, Chloe Reardon.” The memory of his furious kiss a year ago hadn’t become any less potent with time.
Gavin took one more long breath at her neck before he pulled away, put his arm around her, and kept walking. “The reception on Friday sounds like a waste of time. If you don’t want to go, I’ll make our excuses to Cormac.”
“It’s fine.” She cleared her throat and tried to focus on walking toward the waiting car without her knees buckling. “The artist sounds interesting.”
“If you want to go, we’ll go. You won’t be the only human there.” He opened the door and ushered her inside.
“Oh. That’ll be nice.” She settled in and buckled her seat belt just as the driver pulled into the sparse middle-of-the-night traffic. Chloe felt the day catch up with her as she leaned into the plush sedan seat and closed her eyes. Gavin shifted beside her, his electric presence filling her senses even as she drifted with exhaustion.
When she’d first left her abusive ex and moved in with her friend Ben and his vampire partner, Tenzin, she’d had no idea that vampires existed. She’d always known Ben’s family was a little strange, but in the past year she’d become ever more immersed in the immortal world. She knew Ben had mixed feelings about it, but Chloe had walked in with her eyes open.
After all, while vampires could be horrible, so could human beings. She knew that firsthand. On balance, she’d had more compassion and patience from the vampires in her life than most of the humans. Ben’s aunt and uncle made her feel like part of their family. Tenzin was one of the oddest friends she’d ever made. She was also one of the most loyal.
And Gavin?
She didn’t know what she was to Gavin, but it was something. She knew he wanted to sleep with her and that he was protective. Past that? She had no idea.
She’d worked for him over a year, following him from his first New York pub, the Bat and Barrel, to his newest venture in Hell’s Kitchen, the Dancing Bear. It was an easy job made easier by the fact that everyone at the bar assumed she was in a relationship with the boss, so no one messed with her.
Which she was. They had a relationship. She wasn’t sure exactly what that relationship was, but it was a relationship.
Chloe didn’t care that everyone assumed she was sleeping with Gavin. They had every reason to assume it even though she had her own room at his house. She stayed at his place on nights when she had early rehearsal the next day or just needed a break from the blistering chemistry growing between Ben and Tenzin at their loft.
Gavin was a picture of patience, but he had his limits. She didn’t push him and he didn’t push her.
Someone needs to push someone soon, her libido shouted. This is getting ridiculous.
Ridiculous maybe. But also safe.
Chloe liked safety. She liked knowing what to expect. She’d spent years with Tom never knowing when the next blow would come or what would precipitate the next argument. She’d fallen in love with Tom partly because he was “edgy,” which to an overprotected girl from Southern California felt exciting and forbidden.
She’d learned her lesson. Edgy wasn’t exciting. Edgy was painful. Edgy was dangerous. Edgy could get your bones broken, your body bruised, and your dreams crushed.
What boggled her mind—what she still couldn’t make sense of—was why Gavin, who was exponentially more dangerous than her human ex could ever dream of being, had become her anchor of safety in the strange new immortal world she’d entered.
She knew Gavin wasn’t safe, and there was no way he wasn’t dangerous.
“A good man would stop pursuing you. A deserving one would wait. He’d be patient. I’m not a good man.”
His words said one thing. His actions another.
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Which was she supposed to believe when her heart was pulling her in one direction and her head was pulling in the other?
She was nearly sleeping when they reached his apartment. Gavin was tempted to lift her in his arms, but he knew she didn’t like it. She didn’t like being carted around unless it was with a dance partner.
You should learn to dance with her.
He should do lots of things. He should be more empathetic to homeless people. He should donate more to the environment. And he should take the dance classes Chloe teased him about. But what vampire took ballroom dance classes? Gavin wasn’t the dancing type, even if he had a keen appreciation for the art form. He always went to Chloe’s shows, and he’d bought season tickets to the ballet. He even watched the horrid dancing reality show she was addicted to on the television. Mostly he appreciated watching Chloe dance around the room he’d had retrofitted for her.
“Wow! I can’t believe your apartment came with a studio like this.”
“I know. I was shocked myself. Not sure what I’ll do with the space, but you’re welcome to use it while you’re here.”
He’d had the gym renovated with mirrors, a wooden floor, and a practice barre two months after they’d met. It had taken less than a week when the right money was thrown at the project.
It had been an impulse decision. Gavin didn’t usually get impulsive about humans. So when he felt the urge, he indulged it. Luckily, it had garnered many hours of pleasure for both Chloe and himself. Chloe because she liked to dance. Gavin because he liked to watch her.