Quin: A Shadow, Inc. Novella

by Cass Alexander

  Drink in hand, he went to the small table in the corner. He didn’t feel like socializing quite yet, but he did enjoy people-watching.

  Looking around the room, he saw the back of a familiar head in a booth. His brother, Eriq, was back in town.

  Choosing to not be a total asshole by ignoring family, Quin grabbed his drink and strode to the booth. He was not at all surprised to see a female with raven hair bobbing her head up and down in Eriq’s lap. Fucker was getting head in the bar.

  While acceptable, Quin wasn’t inclined to watch Eriq train the new girl, which was his specialty and one of his main roles at Shadow, Inc.

  Quin shook his head after Eriq finally noticed him standing there.

  “Q!” he blurted in surprise. “Hey. Have a seat,” he motioned across from him.

  “I think I’ll wait until you’re finished.”

  “No, no. Sit.”

  Eriq grabbed the female’s hair and pulled her head back.

  “Thank you, Lucy. I am pleased with your work, but I’d like to have a minute with my brother. Why don’t you go find Amelia and ask her if you can finish with Adam?”

  “Yes, Sir,” she purred.

  Quin rolled his eyes. Eriq loved his job as House Dom. It was the one thing he was really good at. Every girl he trained came out submissive as shit.

  However, Club Shadow catered to all types, so they needed some of the employees to be dominate. The applicants with such tendencies were never given to Eriq for training.

  Quin studiously ignored Eriq as he stuffed his junk back in his jeans. He wondered how many in the bar were now disappointed they’d be missing the show.

  “When did you get back?” Quin asked.

  “Yesterday.”

  “And you didn’t call?” Quin teased.

  “Sorry, I was too busy with work. Demand is high, and Amelia is hiring several new females.”

  “Yes, always at work, aren’t you?” Quin grinned.

  “Hell yeah,” Eriq said, flashing the dimple that made him look so innocent.

  Quin knew better. Eriq might be a lover and not a fighter on the surface, but the dickhead was dangerous. He’d inherited a power from their grandfather he had no business wielding.

  Thankfully, Eriq was a control freak and rarely acted out.

  “Are you here for the auction?” Eriq asked, eying his brother. It wasn’t really Quin’s style. Surely, he wouldn’t pull one of these girls into a threesome?

  “What auction?” Quin’s focus had been on one thing this week. He hadn’t been paying attention to the club’s schedule.

  “Vendita di Innocenza. We’ve three going up on the block tonight.”

  Sale of Innocence. A godsdamned virginity auction. Just to attend one, members had to cough up ten grand.

  They always brought in large sums of cash and everything was done consensually, but Quin took issue with some of the men who typically bid.

  Well, one in particular. Cosmo. His preference was for those who were untouched or who looked extremely young. It was disturbing.

  Here at the club, he behaved and followed the rules. None of the girls had complained aside from being left hanging. Cosmo was a selfish bastard and probably got off on denying gratification.

  Quin had heard rumors Cosmo’s activities outside Club Shadow were starting to toe the line between consensual and consensual because of coercion.

  Cosmo was famous for buying up immortals’ debts, especially those who had pretty, young daughters willing to do anything for their families.

  There had never been any proof, of course, and most families would never let it be known they’d pimped out one of their daughters. So, Quin hadn’t said much.

  His gut told him the greasy bastard was here tonight and Quin couldn’t stomach the idea of Cosmo taking anything from one of those females.

  “Are you working it?” Quin asked.

  “No. Amelia is MC tonight. I’m here to deal with everything while she works the auction.”

  “I’ll want to be there.”

  “Why?” Eriq didn’t think it was such a good idea, especially tonight.

  If Q bid and won, Eriq might have to intervene when it was over. He loved his brother, but he didn’t trust what sort of scene Quin thought would be appropriate for a female’s first time.

  He wouldn’t hurt her, but he always had another person involved when he fucked a female. Quin would feel a tremendous amount of guilt if he pushed one past her boundaries.

  Trust was important during intimate acts, even if it was just fucking. No one knew that better than Quin, who still hadn’t answered Eriq.

  “Q?” he prompted

  “Take the attendance fee from my account. There’s more than enough.”

  “That’s not the issue and you know it. Why do you want to attend?”

  Quin stood, setting his tumbler down on the table a little more forcefully than intended.

  “I don’t know. Call it morbid curiosity. Just make it happen.”

  He rapped his knuckles on the table then left, leaving Eriq to ponder what in the hell had gotten into his big brother.

  4

  The doors to the salon opened promptly at 8:00 p.m. Amelia greeted each guest. She was flanked by two large members of the club’s security team.

  Quin hung back, allowing the others to enter ahead of him. Cosmo was one of the first to arrive, so it was best if Quin didn’t get too close.

  This constant state of nonstop stimulation he was experiencing shortened his fuse. Hopefully, Cosmo would behave, and all would be well.

  It was mostly men, dressed in suits, participating tonight. A handful of females had also shown.

  Amelia noticed Quin once the group had gone past her. She smirked. Quin had never been on one of her auction lists, not even the slave auctions some of his brothers were so fond of.

  “I must say, Quin, I was surprised when I saw your name,” she teased, good-naturedly.

  “Yeah, join the club,” he chuckled, running his hand across the top of his short hair.

  Now that he was about to enter the salon, he was questioning his decision. What other people did in private was not his business, as long as no one was harmed. Even Cosmo wouldn’t dare to cause injury.

  “I, uh, I’m not exactly sure what I was thinking.”

  Amelia put her hand on his arm and patted.

  “It doesn’t matter. You might just find something of interest tonight. In fact, I think it may be a positive experience for you,” she winked.

  “We’ll see,” he shrugged.

  “Go on in,” she said. “There’s plenty of seats. We only have three on the agenda tonight.”

  Quin walked through the doorway and took a seat off to the side, away from the dozen or so seated in the front.

  The salon was a large room. It was his favorite room in the manor. It reminded him of Washington’s Mount Vernon with its intricate and detailed décor.

  The pale blues and whites gave it a calming effect. The room, filled with wealthy beings dressed in fine clothing, was deceptively innocent. No one would guess this was a place to buy and sell sex.

  Amelia entered through another door connected to a powder room. It was where Quin assumed the females were waiting.

  “Welcome, everyone, to this evening’s Vendita di Innocenza! We have three very special offerings for you. Before we begin, let me remind you of the rules.”

  She held up the stack of papers in her hand.

  “First, you all signed contracts. You will be held to the agreement.”

  Her tone was firm. The contracts were ironclad. Not legal, but definitely binding. Amelia would use her ability to be sure they were enforced. Sirens were the only ones who could use compulsion on immortals.

  She released her siren power, her melodic voice ensnaring the small crowd.

  “No harm shall come to anyone. You will uphold your end of the contract. If, at any time, you are told ‘no,’ you will stop and ring for security. Your partn
er will be removed, and you will not intervene. You also forfeit the monies paid and risk expulsion from the club, depending on the situation.”

  Quin felt his head nodding in agreement. Her compulsion was strong, and it ensured the innocents were safe from physical harm. Of course, the first time might hurt a little, but that was part of it.

  Amelia’s gaze landed on Cosmo when she spoke next.

  “Lastly, please remember our guests tonight volunteer for a variety of reasons. You are told very little on purpose. Do not assume you hold power over any of them, in any way, especially financially.”

  Quin held back the snort wanting to come out. She was vicious. He liked it.

  “First up, is Josef.”

  Quin was surprised to see the male nereid come out from behind the door. Josef worked in the kitchen. He never would have guessed one of the employees had yet to do the deed. Maybe he was saving it for tonight.

  The females were bidding rapidly. It was like watching a tennis match. Quin’s head was twisting back and forth as the paddles shot up until the last bidder won.

  He couldn’t fault the nereid for volunteering. He’d just made six figures. Most of the immortal population was wealthy. Few were virgins. It made sense sexual beings would covet another who remained untouched. Anything rare was worth more.

  As security led Josef and his new lady friend off to another room, Amelia brought out the second guest. This one was female.

  Her name was Eliza and she was cute as a button, though, he couldn’t tell what sort of immortal she was. He’d need to be close enough to smell her for that.

  Almost everyone bid, including a couple of the females. Eliza must have been very willing with the preferences she marked on her application. Interesting.

  Quin’s boner had never died down completely. He considered bidding but refrained. Eliza was too doll-like in her looks for his taste.

  He feared he’d break her. He would probably scare her when he brought in another male. It wasn’t really a first-time thing to do.

  He noticed Cosmo only bid twice and both times he low-balled the number. Cheapskate.

  Amelia waited until Eliza and her companion exited to announce the last volunteer. The female must have been nervous because she stepped out before her name was called.

  Quin’s world stopped spinning.

  He couldn’t pull air into his lungs.

  His cock swelled.

  His body shook.

  Primal need like he’d never known bore down on him. Heavy and suffocating. Worse, so much worse, than it had been this week.

  Mine, his mind howled inside his head with an intensity that scared him.

  What was her name? Vanessa. Amelia had called her Vanessa. He could barely hear the siren above the whooshing of blood pumping through his veins.

  The most magnificent vision of beauty in all the realms stumbled towards Amelia, tripping over her own feet.

  Graceless, his Little Fawn was graceless. Quin would teach her to control her body. He would teach her the pleasures of the flesh. He would …

  Fuck. He clenched his eyes shut, as if doing so would make her disappear.

  What was he thinking? He couldn’t take this virgin up to his suite. This redheaded virgin. He hadn’t touched red hair since Josette.

  It turned him off. It sometimes made him feel ill. He shouldn’t be reacting to Vanessa like he was.

  Scrubbing his face, he opened his eyes to see Cosmo with his hand up, his tongue grotesquely flicking in and out of his mouth at Vanessa.

  Quin was disgusted. No way in hell was he going to let Cosmo defile the exquisite creature, red hair or not.

  He waited to hear the current bid. A man behind Cosmo had just bid $250,000.

  Quin would not waste his time in a bidding war over peanuts.

  “One million,” his voice rang out across the room.

  There. Beat that, assholes.

  5

  “What a generous bid, Mr. Marcellus,” Amelia stated looking at Vanessa’s nervous expression.

  Her eyes were about to jump out of her skull.

  Vanessa swallowed. The largest male in the room had just offered an exorbitant amount of money to pop her cherry.

  She knew she would make bank, but this was ridiculous. Oh well. She would consider it an added bonus in addition to the experience.

  She looked around, wondering if anyone else would bid. The dude was massive and scary-looking. His face was too intense. He was probably super-attractive when he smiled, but he looked like he would murder anyone who went against him.

  When no one raised a hand, she felt a small amount of relief. Vanessa did not want to end up with the aggressive asshat making obscene gestures with his mouth. Who does that?

  “If there are no counterbids, then I declare this round closed,” Amelia announced.

  Quin stood and stalked towards his prize, feeling her eyes on him as he approached.

  As he got closer, Vanessa felt her panties dampen. They must have pulled the moisture straight from her mouth, because it had gone bone dry.

  She liked that he was the only one here not in a suit. She was more comfortable with casual attire.

  His slacks were snug, as was his white button-down. She didn’t think it was because of the style. It was because he was so fucking huge.

  Her eyes flashed to his crotch, knowing a giant lived inside those trousers.

  She was curious and terrified at the same time. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen or touched one before. She just hadn’t let it go further than a hand job or a blow job.

  Quin saw Vanessa’s eyes lower to the front of his pants and he smirked. His Little Fawn was curious, and he couldn’t wait to give her a lesson.

  “Quin,” Amelia said, trying to drag his attention away from Vanessa. She needed to talk to him before he went upstairs.

  “Later,” he growled, grabbing Vanessa by the waist and teleporting directly to his room. Only full-blooded immortals could teleport. He rarely used this gift. Tonight, it couldn’t be helped. He vaguely registered Amelia’s siren voice telling him something as he vanished.

  When they landed, he let go, needing a second to calm. He walked to the bar and poured a drink then downed it.

  “May I have one, as well? Or is that against the rules?”

  Quin wiped his mouth and poured her a drink. Before he could hand it to her, there was a knock at the door. No one ever knocked on his door unless he ordered service, which he hadn’t.

  “Sit,” he commanded, pointing to one of the chairs. He set her drink down on the table next to it and went to the door.

  She raised an eyebrow but sat without a word.

  Quin opened the door and found a smiling Eriq on the other side.

  “I didn’t think you had it in you, bro.”

  “What the fuck do you want? I’m busy.”

  Eriq winced. “Yeah, about that. Amelia sent me up here.”

  “Why?”

  You figured out what Vanessa is yet? Eriq asked telepathically.

  They didn’t advertise what sort of immortal the volunteers were, but scent gave it away. Sometimes, you could tell by looks.

  Quin looked over at Vanessa, who was calmly sipping her drink and staring right back at him, smirking.

  Saucy wench. This might actually turn out to be fun.

  Her hair was dark red and long, down to her lower back. Her eyes were hazel with golds and greens mixed.

  Her clothing was simple. She wore a white tank and low-slung black cotton pants. And flip-flops.

  How had he not noticed before? She was dressed like she was getting ready to do laundry, not sell her body in a sex club. She didn’t even meet the dress code requirements to get in the front door.

  She was different from the others who came to Club Shadow. She wasn’t trying to act sexy or flaunt her body in a tiny dress. She’d dressed for comfort for an event that was far from normal.

  Vanessa hardly appeared phased. She didn’t appear to be sel
f-conscious in the least. It made her more attractive—if that was even possible.

  He looked at Eriq and lifted a shoulder, grinning, feeling like he’d won the godsdamned lottery.

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m keeping her.”

  Now get the fuck out of here.

  Eriq rolled his eyes. Quin, who was usually so calm, cool, and controlled, could also be stubborn as shit. But they were brothers, and this was important, so Eriq wouldn’t leave until he knew Quin was okay.

  She’s a succubus, Q.

  Quin’s face blanked, his body became eerily still.

  Damnit, Quin. It’s not a big deal. She’s a virgin. She is not Josette. She is not a threat to you.

  Quin didn’t respond. He was fighting between his pressing need to possess the female in his room, and to avoid anything and anyone that reminded him of his past.

  “Do you want me to stay? I’ll stay if you need me,” Eriq offered.

  Quin’s head, acting quicker than his thoughts, shook no. When he imagined Eriq seeing his Vanessa naked, or knowing how she looked when she came, his inner beast snarled.

  Quin didn’t get it. Ever since Josette had tried to steal his lifeforce with her succubus powers, nearly turning him mortal, he’d been more than careful with whom he brought to bed.

  The selfish bitch had wanted his god powers. Her father had been human. So, even though she could live forever, she would still die if her head was removed from her body.

  When he realized the female he loved was trying to kill him, his heart had shattered. He’d held it close ever since, only trusting family with his affections.

  “Quin—”

  “No. I’m good … I think. Shit. Stay close, okay? Just, don’t come in here.”

  Eriq nodded.

  Actually, why don’t you watch the cameras? Quin suggested. He wasn’t sure if it was Vanessa or himself that might need rescuing.

  Every room had live feeds. The family, however, had theirs turned off unless their partners were into it. Quin had never left his feed on, preferring privacy.

  “Alright, Q,” Eriq said, turning to leave. “Holler if you need me.”