The Serpent's Kiss

by Claire Marta

  The guy jumped back with a yelp. Eyes round, he backed away rubbing at the spot. Jasmine could see a small round singed mark on the man’s brown shirt where the mage’s finger had touched.

  “Trust me dip shit, you don’t want to piss me off.” Twitch’s voice had become strangely dark and low. The oddness of it made Jasmine freeze. Her friend was a techno mage. Up until recently he had only been able to cast magic when he had a piece of technology at hand. That had changed a few weeks ago when the nature magic he had inherited from his mother had awakened. Now Twitch was able to summon his magic almost on command. He was much more powerful that he had been before. It was something that scared Jasmine. There were times when she caught glimpses of a darkness in him which had not been there before, and Jasmine was not sure he had noticed.

  He also was still trying to gain mastery over this unique ability. Strong emotions seemed to make it flare up. Twitch had already blown up the TV and started several minor fires in the house when he’d gotten angry. Still grieving for the loss of his twin sister, he was struggling with what he kept bottled up inside. He also refused to talk to Jasmine about it.

  Holding his hands up in surrender the protester backed further away, his features pale with a look of fright. His cohorts scurried out of the way as they watched his defeat. Jasmine didn’t miss their hateful glares. She knew stuff like this could only lead to trouble. They had to be careful. Adjusting his grip on Jasmine’s waist, Twitch manoeuvred her forwards until they stood opposite the club doors.

  “You gotta wait in line.” The muscular bouncer told them gruffly as they reached his side. He had been watching their interaction with interest. Jasmine could sense he was a shifter of some kind. A type she hadn’t run into before as she did not recognize his energy. It was calming. Patient. Yet with a leashed untamed strength.

  Twitch huffed. “Look my friend here knows your boss personally. So you better let us in.”

  The man’s gaze danced up and down them. He did not look very convinced. Jasmine did not blame him. They weren’t really dressed for a night out. It made her wonder just how many times he had heard that line before. She managed to give him a faint smile. This was so not going to work. What the fuck were they going to do? Jasmine dug her nails into Twitch’s back as pain hit her once more. Going cross eyed, she pressed her lips together to hold in a scream.

  The mage clucked his tongue. “If you don’t believe us, ask. You have a walkie talkie, use it. Her name’s Jasmine Hunter.”

  Grunting, the bouncer tugged the device from his pocket. Turning his back slightly to them, he began to mumble into it for confirmation. Jasmine felt Twitch’s magic fizzle to life. His lips were moving ever so slightly and she knew he was casting a spell. She only hoped he wasn’t about to get them into trouble.

  The man turned back to them with a renewed gleam of interested in his gaze. “Ok you can go in. Welcome to Liquor & Lust.” A few of those in the waiting line groaned. Jasmine did not miss the jealous stares.

  “Twitch remember not to overdo it. This new magic…..” Jasmine began to whisper the moment they were out of ear shot.

  “Is fine in small doses.” He interjected. “And I don’t use it much. It’s fine Jazzy, don’t nag.”

  Jasmine was not so sure she agreed.

  The club interior was modern. It looked like no expense had been spared doing the place up. A huge dance floor dominated the space. Ringing this were booth like table and chairs where you could sit and enjoy a drink. Waitresses were flitting around carrying trays. All of them were dressed up in short sexy black skirts and tank tops.

  The place was already heaving with bodies. Jasmine could sense the vampires among the humans. Her sixth sense tingled with their presence. A feeling she was becoming accustomed to. Excited murmurs were filling the air. She found it odd that no music was playing. Everyone just seemed to be standing about. Twitch helped her towards the bar. Grasping the edge she propped herself against it using it as support.

  “I’m ok,” Jasmine grunted as he released her. “Let’s just get this over with.”

  “Calm your tits,” Twitch muttered back. “Let me see what I can find out. I’m sure one of the bartenders will be nice and chatty.” Thrusting some messy hair from his face, he turned to the bar.

  Nervously Jasmine began to glance around. The Master vampire of London would be somewhere in the crowd. This seemed to be his favourite club out of the four he owned or that was what she had learnt. Jasmine nibbled on her lower lip.

  She had also been warned how ruthless he could be. The Italian vamp didn’t tolerate mistakes from those he ruled over. Those who tried to oppose him he crushed. He was said to be as cold-blooded as the creature he was nicknamed after. A snake. It sounded different from the male she had met in Prague. The man who had saved her life. A vampire who had kissed her more than once.

  The light in the club began to dim. Darkness descended. More than a little confused Jasmine directed her attention to the end of the room. The vampire she was looking for stood centre stage. Asier Serpico.

  He was just as she remembered. His appearance alone was seductive. Striking lavender violet eyes set in a flawless olive skin. His sexy long midnight black hair was now in a messy man bun on the top of his head. He was more beautiful than handsome. A dark angel. His chiseled cheeks and sculpted features reminded Jasmine of a finely-carved statue.

  The hip-slung harem pants he wore would look ridiculous on anyone else. On Asier, they just looked perfect. A silvery nipple ring glinted in the light. His smooth, muscled chest was bare, the well-developed muscles on display. He had the streamlined body of a male dancer.

  Beautiful red and green ink of an ouroboros tattoo decorated his left side. The detailed eyes ferocious as it rounded devouring its own tail. So realistic, the beast looked like it might peel off and take a breath. A more disturbing tattoo graced his right forearm. This was a demonic face, tongue poking out between vicious looking fanged teeth and eyes that seemed to follow people around the room as if possessed. He looked like a fantasy from the Arabian nights. A fierce inked warrior of old.

  Jasmine released a deep breath. She had been attracted to him in Prague. It was not as overwhelming as her attraction to Eric. There was something comforting about the Italian vampire Master though. For some reason he had made her feel safe. The only other place she had experienced the same sensation had been in Eric’s arms…

  Asier stood barefoot, holding a flaming torch in one hand. Confidence and self-assurance was in every line of his posture. It spoke of a dominant male.

  Raising his face to the sky, he lifted his hand and let fire stroke fleeting against his mouth, his chin. Murmurs rippled over the crowd. Some gave gasps of shock.

  Vampires normally feared fire. It was something that could so easily destroy them. Yet Asier held no fear. In fact he looked like he was enjoying it. He welcomed the kiss of the eager flames. Revelling in its destructive touch. Lowering his head, he showed the crowd that he had been left unaffected. The smoothness of his skin unblemished.

  A smirk tipped his lips. Those unusual eyes of his were bright with excitement. Jasmine could sense it in the air like a palpable force. See it in the way he moved.

  Elegantly, he held out his free arm and caressed his flesh with the fire. It licked greedily against his muscles but was unable to burn. Bringing the flame to his mouth once more, he pursed his lips and blew. It crackled and snapped outwards, nipping hungrily as the flames shot out. A cheer left the crowd. Their full attention glued to the male on the stage. They were lapping up his performance. Everyone enthralled.

  A woman stepped up beside him. She was dressed in a short slinky dress. With a cheerful smile she took the torch from the vampire’s outstretched hand. A moment later Asier accepted a pair of arm length chains. Attached at one end was some kind of wick. His hands settled expertly around the handles, and seconds later the ends sparked, fizzing and leaping into life.

  Jasmine noticed the smirk which slid ac
ross his lips again. The vampire Master was doing this more for himself than those around him. Slowly, he began to spin them in circles at his sides. Now all they could see were the play of shadows and flames. Asier began to rotate them faster. The orange became a shimmering blur of colour as he moved with amazing grace and speed. He twirled the chains, weaving them in a deadly beauty. They became part of him.

  The whole time he was moving gracefully on swift feet. Shadows danced across the rippling expanse of his bronzed chest, arms, and back. The movements were subtle and looked easy, but Jasmine knew they were not. This was borne from years of practice. Abruptly, he changed quickly from sides to front and then back again. All the while he was following a beat no one else could hear. He was in full command of the dance. Unaware of the crowd who watched. Lost in the moment.

  The flames weaved around his body, smooth and seamless. Red and yellow ribbons intertwined. They flowed and merged. Jasmine was mesmerized. Pain forgotten for a moment, her eyes were drawn to his muscled torso. She could feel a pull towards him. One that pulsed within the confines of the club.

  This male was weaving a spell around the crowd. Everyone stood silently transfixed. Jasmine had no idea how long they remained gawking before the overhead lightening abruptly switched on. Blinking rapidly, Jasmine found the trance broken. Voices rose as the people around her exploded into cheers and wild clapping.

  Glancing up at Twitch she found a goofy smile on his face. His attention was across the bar.

  Jasmine frowned. “You ok?”

  Gaze jumping down, he met her stare with a slight blush. “Yeah sorry.”

  Jasmine noted the pretty female bartender with pink hair he had been staring at. She was young and curvaceous, wearing bright pink lipstick that matched her hair. Her breasts were large and contained beneath a t-shirt which had the word ‘Liquor and Lust’ printed on the front.

  The D.J was now playing a tune through the speakers and a swarm of club goers had hit the dance floor. Coloured lights flashing, they gyrated their bodies to the contagious beat.

  “Well, the Italian certainly makes my girlie parts tingle.” Twitch shouted over the music.

  “You don’t have girlie parts.” Jasmine shouted back. She couldn’t take her eyes of Asier. The vampire Master moved with a cocksure gait. Like a male who knew he could take whatever he wanted. After watching his fiery performance, Jasmine was more than sure he could. She was not the only one watching him. Lustful glances were being shot his way from a mix of sexes as he stepped down off the stage.

  He padded up a set of metal spiral stairs to a VIP area which over looked the dance floor. She could see he was not alone. But her gaze refused to waver from his bare-chested form. Jasmine watched as he sank down idly into a throne like chair and surveyed the crowd like a Roman emperor. A tranquil expression had settled over his features. He looked relaxed. A skinny blonde with a barely there dress slid happily onto the vampire’s lap.

  “We better get his attention quick. The bartender told me he’s soon going to head into the back where all the sex dungeon kink takes place.” Twitch informed her sliding closer.

  “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Jasmine replied having second thoughts. “We can just ask one of the vampires down here. I don’t even need to talk to Asier. This could just lead to a whole heap of trouble.” Her attention darted around. Surely there were vamps here that would bite her. They did not need to bother Asier. He was busy with some floozy.

  “Too late now.” Twitch purred as Kane glanced their way.

  The fire dance always calmed and focused Asier. He did not perform every night. Only when the need in him called. Tonight had been particularly soothing. Strangely though he had been more aware of the crowd than usual. He had been aware of eyes on him. The heady pleasure of anticipation and excitement had been heavy. The desire for him radiating from the humans in the club, both male and female, had also not gone unnoticed. Perhaps tonight one would be lucky to share his bed.

  The human woman giggled as she straddled his lap. Blonde and slender, she was more than eager to please. The dress she wore barely covered a thing. Asier could see the taut outline of her nipples. Her skirt was so high he was easily treated with a view of her little black lacy thong. Asier smiled. She would do for the evening, after he finished his meeting with the Russians. He wasn’t feeling particularly fussy. Unfortunately for her, she would soon learn that behind his angelic features lurked a masochistic streak.

  Crooking his finger in a male or female’s direction was all he had to do to get them nowadays. Seduction and temptation poured from his every word, every movement. It was as natural to him as the beat of his heart. He had full mastery over the city he governed which made him even harder to resist. The nick name he had acquired, “The Bladed Snake”, was more than just a title. Asier was a master of every kind of blade. Knew how to brandish them with a deadly skill. With sweet promises and bargains he did not always intend to keep, he could win over the most stubborn of allies or enemies. Seduce the most innocent of souls. Make them sin.

  Kane cracked his knuckles. Asier felt the woman on his lap shiver. He knew it was with fear. He could smell it in her scent. Kane was intimidating, so it was not a surprise. The other vampire grinned as he adjusted one of the thick ash blonde braids that rested against his shoulders. A flash of amusement in his blue eyes. He liked them frightened. Enjoyed it.

  Leaning over he whispered in Asier’s ear. “You won’t believe whose sweet little arse walked through the door while you were performing.”

  With a frown, Asier turned his head. It took him only a second to find the source of his friend’s entertainment. A familiar looking slender male, dressed entirely in black, with a mop of long messy hair stood by the bar. Beside him was a small redhead. Jasmine Hunter. The woman who had intrigued him some weeks ago stood now in his domain. Asier sat up straighter. His entire being now focused below.

  She knew they were something far more powerful than turned vampires. Somehow, she had sensed it. It was a gift he had never seen before. This made her both coveted, and dangerous. A combination Asier found irresistible. He adored dangerous things. How risky to them was this mortal female? Those jade green eyes reminded him of the lush fertile fields he had played in as a child back in Italy. Her hair the fiery red of a Roman sunset.

  Asier felt his heart increase with anticipation. Had the devil been so enraptured by Eve in the Garden of Eden? Jasmine had that innocent allure, a beguiling goodness which he had not been able to forget. However, by Vampiria law, she was off limits to him now. The girl belonged to another, bound to his friend Eric by blood. Asier had never cared for rules that were not his own. Especially if they interfered with something he wanted. And he wanted Jasmine.

  In one swift movement, he pushed the half-naked woman from his lap. She fell with a squeak in a tumble of limbs to land in a dishevelled heap on the floor. Gaze unwavering from Jasmine, he stepped over her and headed for the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, he hurried down. The couple had not moved. They were waiting for him. With her wary stare pinned to him, Jasmine watched as he made his way through the throng of dancers.

  Asier took a second to collect himself. She was here. There was no need to rush. For a moment, he let his gaze search for Eric. The other Vampiria was nowhere in sight. They’d always had a good natured rivalry between them. A strong friendship. With this female though, things had been different. Asier knew he had to tread carefully.

  Eric, the last he had heard, had been in Germany. He always kept tabs on him in case he might interfere with his plans. Asier’s spies had not alerted him to his return. He could not be in the country so soon. Was Jasmine here without him? It seemed like the only explanation.

  “Jasmine?” Surprise showed plainly on Asier’s expression as he reached her. “Bella, what are you doing here?” He knew he had invited her to visit his club last time they had met. It was something he thought Eric would never allow. His friend had been possessive of his
pet. Not that he was surprised. Asier had expressed an interest in the girl. He had even stolen some kisses from her lips. One had unfortunately been witness by Eric. It had led to her punishment.

  Even now he felt a strange sense of guilt for what had happened. Something that normally wouldn’t bother him.

  “I’m looking to get bitten.” She couldn’t maintain his gaze.

  He noted the way she had her back pressed into the bar. How she had begun to fidget with the hem of her jumper. The way her hands were shaking.

  Confusion washed over him. “Eric…”

  “We aren’t together...” Jasmine informed him. “We were never together. He’s nothing to me.”

  The words raced through Asier’s head. She was free to be pursed. Even blood bound to Eric, he could still have her.

  He could not prevent the smirk which crept across his lips. “And so you have come to my club to seek some fun, or are you here on police business?”

  Twitch cleared his throat beside her. “Look, she just wants a vamp to bite her, that’s all. That’s what you do here isn’t it?”

  “Among other things,” Asier informed him with narrowed eyes. “And why are you here? Are you now her boyfriend, mage?”

  Twitch wrinkled his nose as he answered. “I’m her cousin and her best friend. I'm here to make sure she doesn't get into trouble with any over eager vamps.”

  “We can go somewhere else, it’s alright.” Jasmine cut in as she slid away from the bar and backed away. She nervously kept glancing at Asier’s bare chest.

  “No. Stay. I will give you what you want.”

  She looked startled at his words. “You…I thought...” Her gaze flickered around them at the dancers.

  A genuine smile touched Asier’s mouth. “I would not let another touch you cara.” Had she enjoyed being bitten so much? It looked that way.

  None of the vampires in the city would want her now. Not after they had seen his interest in her. Eric’s Vampiria were another matter. But they rarely came to this particular club, preferring one of the others he ran which was much closer to their nest. So the girl who had been driving his friend and adversary crazy was no longer with him. This was perfect.