Entering the room, I found a lone slender man waiting for me. Marcos had better not be trying to sell me to another client. Since I was late and only one person was in the room, it certainly didn’t look good.
Pasting my brightest smile on my face, I greeted the client in my professional tone. “Hi! My name’s Allie, and I’m going to help with your scene tonight.”
His back was to me when I came in, but he turned and gave me a dry smile. With his hands stuffed in his front pockets, and a lock of hair falling across his youthful face, most would consider him attractive in a teen movie kind of way.
“As you can see, things didn’t exactly work out the way I’d hoped,” he said as he gestured to the empty room.
I did my best not to sigh with relief, but I really was thankful he wasn’t expecting me to be his date.
“Would you like me to find another partner for you?” I asked. “We have several suitable women here who are willing to participate in scenes with our clients for a fee. I can see who’s available, if you’d like.” I couldn’t help wondering how old he was. While many preternatural species aged slowly, most appeared to be in their twenties by the time they were old enough to enter SpellBinders.
He gave me a toothy grin, revealing his fangs for the first time. Suddenly, his youthful appearance made sense. Vampires had a tendency to look like they were stuck in a perpetual state of adolescence. It was why my cousin, Mel, had so many vampires on her television show. They looked like they were still in high school, even when they were hundreds of years old.
“You aren’t going to offer to take her place?” he asked.
I might have assumed Marcos had promised him just that, but he didn’t seem at all interested in me that way. Still, I figured it was better to make sure he understood my rules up front. “I’m not available.”
“Too bad,” he said with a laugh. “I hear draining a succubus can make a vampire look less like every girl’s teen dream.”
“Really?” I asked, suddenly curious. I’d never heard that before. The COWs had gone on about the ways sex demon energy could be used to increase the power of a sorcerer, witch, and even other demons, but no one had mentioned anything about vampires. Then again, witches and vampires were usually happy ignoring the other’s existence. I was curious how the thing with the vampires worked. “Is it just taking a little blood or draining them completely that can make you look older?”
“I’ll make you a deal, Allie,” he said as he studied me in a strange way.
“As long as it doesn’t involve sex or blood, I’m willing to listen,” I agreed.
“Yeah, I’m not looking for a replacement for the woman who was supposed to be here with me,” he admitted with a sad sigh. “She’s the one, or the one I want, but that’s probably not gonna happen unless I sell my soul to the devil.”
“I wouldn’t joke about that in here,” I warned. We had far too many demons in the club. While most were harmless, there were some pretty nasty high-level demons who frequented SpellBinders, and any one of them would gladly suck up this guy’s soul.
“I actually meant that figuratively,” he said with a laugh.
“What do you want in exchange for the information?” I asked.
“Just stay in here with me for a little while,” he said. “I’m not ready to face my friends yet after being ditched.”
I felt bad for the poor guy, so I nodded my agreement.
“So, tell me what you meant about draining a succubus,” I prompted.
“It doesn’t really have to be a succubus. Any sex demon will do,” he explained. “The process is a lot more complex than I made it sound. Simply sucking on your vein won’t do much for me other than feed me. I’d need someone who could cast spells to make it work. Basically, I’d take blood while they cast a spell to release some of the demon’s soul.”
“There are sex demons who agree to this?” I asked, because I couldn’t imagine agreeing to give up part of my soul. Then again, there were plenty of sex demons who frequently engaged in risky activities just to try something new. My mother was one of them.
He shook his head. “From what I was told, they don’t ask the sex demon’s permission first.”
“That’s illegal!” I said. “You can’t steal someone’s soul.”
“And I wouldn’t,” he insisted. “Actually, I don’t even know anyone who’s tried it, so maybe it’s just an urban legend.”
That had me wondering if maybe the succubus killer could be a vampire. “Do they kill the sex demon?”
“I don’t think they need to,” he said thoughtfully. “Some vampires like to kill, so I guess it might happen. I’ve also heard that death magic can be more powerful.”
“How do you know about this?” I asked, wondering if the killer had told him about it. Maybe he’d have some idea who the killer was.
He shrugged. “It’s common knowledge among vampires. There was a time when some sex demons even sold this service to vampires, but I guess they figured out that selling part of your soul is bad for your health.”
That was true. It wasn’t that you would die without it, merely that it was easier for other demons to prey on you if your soul was weakened.
He laughed at my shocked expression. “You really are pretty innocent for a succubus, aren’t you?”
“I guess I am,” I admitted. “What’s your name?”
“Damian,” he said.
“Really?” I asked skeptically. “Your name is Damian?”
“Why are you so surprised?” he asked.
“You totally don’t look like a Damian,” I told him.
“Fine, my name’s Nick,” he admitted with a sigh.
“The vampire Nick,” I said with a giggle.
He laughed, too. “That’s why I told you my name was Damian to begin with. Nick is a ridiculous name for a vampire.”
“What’s it short for?” I asked.
“That’s the real problem,” he explained. “My parents figured they might as well name me what they wanted to call me, so my name is just Nick.”
“I guess it’s a good thing they didn’t like the name Dick,” I told him, trying hard not to laugh.
“They do,” he said with a grin. “I have an older brother named Dick.”
Now, I was laughing so hard I had to sit on the bed. When I finally got my laughter under control, I was lying on the bed with Nick beside me.
“So, your brother is a vampire Dick?” I asked with a giggle.
“In his case, the name fits,” Nick said with a grin. “Thanks, Allie.” He reached over to squeeze my hand.
“For what?” I asked.
“Making me feel better,” he explained. “This evening was pretty crappy and about to get really embarrassing. Now, at least when my friends start making fun of me about Zoe leaving me, I won’t feel like a complete loser.”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“I got to spend time with the coolest succubus I’ve ever met,” he explained with a shy smile.
That’s when Dylan stormed into the room to find me on the bed, holding hands with Nick. I expected him to be mad, but he just shook his head. “Another one, Allie?” he asked as he closed the door behind him. I’d ask what he was doing in the room, but I was pretty sure it would begin with something Marcos said.
“What do you mean?” I asked sweetly.
“You’re looking at him just like you look at Trevor and Gryphon,” he replied with a sigh.
“Isn’t Trevor having another party tonight?” I asked because I seemed to remember Trevor saying something about it.
Dylan nodded and settled on the bed on my other side. “Yep, tomorrow’s a holiday, so he figured he’d party tonight since he won’t have any appointments in the morning.”
“We should go,” I told Dylan, enjoying the annoyed look he cast my direction. “You should go with us, Nick,” I insisted. “You’ll love Trevor, and you could use a party after what happened tonight.”
“I’m not su
re I’ll be in much of a party mood after my friends get done teasing me about being ditched,” Nick said.
When Dylan looked over at Nick, my heart did this funny little flip flop thing that made me nervous. “You’re planning to keep this one, aren’t you?” Dylan asked.
“Keep me?” Nick asked.
“Allie has a tendency to collect people in need,” Dylan explained.
“What am I in need of?” Nick asked with one raised eyebrow.
“Friends who won’t make fun of your pain,” I said.
“Guys do that sort of stuff,” Dylan argued.
“You’d make fun of Trevor’s pain?” I asked him in disbelief.
“Of course,” he said. “I’d probably cheer him up first, but I’d have to make fun of him.”
“They’re not likely to take me out to cheer me up,” Nick muttered with a sad sigh.
“Then you’ll go to Trevor’s party with us after I get off work,” I said as if he’d already agreed. “You can hang out with Dylan until then.”
I was wondering how Dylan would react to my suggestion that he spend the evening hanging out with Nick, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“I’ve got an idea for dealing with your friends,” Dylan said with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. “Trust me. They won’t make fun of you after this.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Dylan
I still couldn’t believe I’d suggested something like this, but I was sure it was Allie’s fault. She was rubbing off on me, making me want to help near strangers. After twenty minutes of hanging out with Nick, I had to admit that he was an okay guy, and Allie was right about him probably getting along with Trevor. Nick had the same hopeless romantic quality my friend did, which is how he’d ended up pursuing a girl named Zoe. That girl had quickly ditched Nick for another guy after suggesting they go to SpellBinders in the first place.
The three of us exited the room with Allie in the middle. Her hair was messy, and her panties were sticking out of Nick’s pocket. The panties were actually spares that were kept in all playrooms at SpellBinders, but Nick’s friends wouldn’t know that. Nick had his arm wrapped around Allie’s waist, and mine was around her shoulders. When we were sure Nick’s friends were watching, I lifted my hand from Allie’s shoulder and stroked Nick’s cheek. He batted his eyes and smiled at me. We passed his friends on the way to the bar, and I almost laughed because their mouths were quite literally hanging open. It seemed unlikely they’d make fun of Nick for tonight, especially not after they saw him leave with us later.
Allie gave us each a sweet smile and headed off to the office to see Marcos about her next assignment. As soon as she walked away, two of Nick’s vampire friends approached. Both had the same youthful look Nick did. One was a blond with dark eyes and skin so pale it was nearly translucent. The other had brown hair and unnaturally green eyes, making me wonder if he was wearing contact lenses. The second one also had darker skin, meaning he had a spray tan. Since vampires didn’t get any sun, they were all pretty pale.
“Hey, Nick, you ready to head out for a bite?” the one with the spray tan asked.
“Nah, I’m gonna stick around here,” Nick said.
“You don’t need to worry about Nick. We’ll take care of him,” I said before dismissing the other vampires as if they were nothing.
The vampires stood there for a moment, obviously unsure what to do next.
“I’m fine, guys,” Nick assured them.
The blond didn’t look convinced, but after a moment, he shrugged. “Okay, well, have fun and call me tomorrow night if you want to hang out.”
“See ya,” the dark-haired one said, and they left without another word, gathering up their other friends and heading out of the club.
“Thanks for that,” Nick began. “I really didn’t want to leave with them and have to explain about Zoe. They obviously know she ditched me, but they’d still ask me questions and laugh at me for being stupid enough to fall for her.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t ask for details while they were here,” I said. “You seemed pretty sure they’d give you a hard time.”
Nick laughed. “Yeah, but I guess they were afraid to start something with you here, or maybe they were being cool about it so they wouldn’t mess things up for me with you and Allie. Most likely, you intimidated them.”
What Nick said didn’t sit right with me because vampires tended to be arrogant creatures who felt they could take on anyone, so them taking off simply because Nick was with a warlock was very unusual.
Nick grinned at me. “I can see you’re wondering why they’d leave because of a warlock.”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” I admitted.
Nick leaned in and spoke quietly. “None of us are old enough to get in here. We all used fake IDs, and we don’t want to do anything to draw attention to ourselves.”
That explained it since Marcos would not only kick them out, he’d probably let the other local clubs know about the fake IDs, and the vampires would be limited to human clubs. That might work fine when the vampires needed blood, but it was hard being surrounded by humans. You couldn’t fully let your guard down because you had to worry about letting something slip. As I understood it, the vampires frequented several of the goth clubs where some humans had dental work done to make it look like they had fangs. It was easier for them to blend in there. Needless to say, the vampires didn’t always want to be limited on their options, which is why many younger ones had fake IDs.
I figured I’d better text Trevor to let him know we were going to his party and warn him about our extra guest.
ME: We’re planning to stop by your place after Allie gets off work. We’re bringing a guest.
Trevor’s response was surprisingly quick. I’d expected him to be busy with his guests.
TREVOR: Is it Allie’s hot cousin?
Then a second text came.
TREVOR: Her cousin, Melina.
This was why Trevor ended up with clingy witches. He fell into a crazy infatuation with most single witches within a few minutes of meeting them.
ME: No. I don’t think you have a chance with her. Allie picked up a vampire at SpellBinders tonight.
Trevor was slow to respond. I’d already finished my drink while hearing about Nick’s family—probably the most boring conversation of my life—by the time Trevor responded.
TREVOR: Make sure the vampire eats first.
ME: No problem.
“Did you already have blood tonight?” I asked Nick.
He nodded. “I fed before we came here.”
ME: Just confirmed that he’s eaten already.
TREVOR: Can’t believe you’re coming to another one of my parties. See you soon.
I couldn’t believe I’d agreed to go to another party, either, but since the last one had turned out so well, I wasn’t dreading this one nearly as much.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Allie
My last clients of the evening didn’t need much in the way of help, other than having me discuss the various types of restraint in their room. That had actually been kind of fun. The demon couple told me they’d been married for more than five centuries, and it was obvious they were still in love. Apparently, they’d been given a gift card for SpellBinders as an anniversary gift and decided to try something a little daring. Helping couples like them set up their perfect fantasy was always fun and rewarding. Too bad they couldn’t all be like that.
Surprisingly, Marcos hadn’t assigned me any disgusting cleanup for the end of my shift. Instead, he’d seemed inexplicably pleased that I was leaving with Nick. The jerk probably thought I’d already let Nick screw me and was hoping this meant I’d be open to servicing other clients. Much as I hated to admit it, Dylan and my dad were right about me needing to find another job. Things hadn’t bothered me so much at first. Then again, I’d just been grateful to avoid having sex with virtual strangers right after my breakup with Chad.
Nick had his own car
, so he followed us to Trevor’s. The drive was surprisingly quiet, but not uncomfortably so. Dylan seemed much more relaxed than he had earlier in the evening. Whether that was because we were no longer at SpellBinders or he was just happy I’d agreed to date him, I had no idea.
Trevor met us at the door, likely because he was shocked that I’d convinced Dylan to go to another one of his parties. I wasn’t really a big party person myself.
Wrapping his arms around me, Trevor kissed my cheek and spoke close to my ear. “I was really hoping your cousin would come tonight. I invited her, but she told me she was busy. Do you think you could convince her to come?”
I almost flinched when I realized that Mel was Trevor’s new obsession. This was not good. Trevor wasn’t going to get anywhere with Mel, and she could be pretty mean. I love Mel, but she was probably the bitchiest witch I’d ever met. I figured it was best to discourage Trevor from pursuing her.
“Mel’s not much of a partier, and I can already tell you she’s not going to fall all over herself for you like other witches,” I warned him. “I’m only saying this because I care about you, Trevor. You need to leave Mel alone.”
Trevor pulled away, giving me a pout that almost made me laugh. “Who’s your friend,” he asked, gesturing to Nick with his shoulder.
“This is Nick,” I said, putting a hand on Nick’s arm to pull him forward.
Nick gave him a shy smile, ducking his head in an adorable way. “Allie and Dylan saved me from being thoroughly humiliated in front of my friends tonight, and they said it’d be okay if I came with them to your party.”
Trevor frowned and studied Nick before giving him a curt nod. “Don’t feed on any of my guests,” was all he said.
“Sure,” Nick agreed, looking uncomfortable.
“I need to check on some things,” Trevor said before stalking away from us.
Sinfully Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 1) Page 15