There was a few minutes of silence among the women. Frankie looked at Jessica, her longest and best friend, and it was obvious that they were having some sort of conversation in their minds. They both broke into wide grins at the same time.
“We know what will help take your mind off of all this,” Frankie announced.
“Spa day!” Jessica shouted.
“Yay!” Brea smiled. “I need a pedicure.”
“Me too,” Leigh said.
The women were all alight with energy then, and dragged Azerial with them for a little pampering. Jessica led the way to the basement where she had her own little gym set up.
“Why is there a pole in the middle of this room?” Azerial asked. She knew what the exercise equipment was for and the padded floor, but the shiny pole seemed to have no purpose.
“Oh, Jess likes to pole dance,” Frankie told her.
“What is pole dance?” Azerial asked.
Jessica chuckled. “I will show you,” she said. She walked over to a small stereo and turned on some music. It had an urban thump to it and the man singing was more talking in a rhythm.
“It’s called rap music,” Frankie said for her ears only. Azerial nodded. She had heard of rap. She watched as Jessica tossed her shirt to the side and shucked her jeans, leaving her in a pair of boy shorts and her bra.
“Why is she disrobing?” Azerial asked.
“I can’t do it if my skin is covered,” Jessica answered. “I need my skin to hold the pole.” And that was the end of the explanation. She watched as Jessica stretched out her muscles and began her dance. She prowled around the pole at first, which Azerial thought was interesting. Then she used both hands to hold on to it as she brought both legs up. She crossed her ankles around the pole and shimmied up to the top. Once there, Jessica let go with her hands and arched her back. She bent all the way back until she was upside down, holding on with only her ankles. Azerial held her breath for fear that Jessica would fall, but she did not. She snapped upright and turned around the pole. She spun slowly around it as she descended back to the floor. Azerial watched as Jessica danced with that shiny pole in a sensuous manner until the music stopped.
“Man, that was hot Jess,” Frankie said. “I think I am a little turned on. How does Sebastian survive it?”
The women laughed. Azerial, however, did not understand.
“Jessica used this pole dancing thing to drive Sebastian nuts before they were mated,” Brea told her. “She was ruthless.”
“He needed a little push to come around,” Jessica told her on a laugh.
“More like a violent shove,” Brea muttered.
“I think I would like to learn that,” Azerial said. “You have such power in your own body, such control. I want to learn to do that.”
The women exchanged knowing smiles. “I would be honored to teach you,” Jessica said.
“Might as well teach the rest of us too,” Leigh said. “I have been trying to lose this baby weight and it just doesn’t seem to want to go.”
“Well, I guess I know what we are doing before the spa day,” Jessica said with a smile.
CHAPTER FIVE
“This is where I bagged the last one,” Samuel said as he led his new brothers into the alley. “He was sitting over there on the corner.”
“Well, there is no one here now,” Rebel remarked. “Let’s move over a few blocks.” They moved on to the east in hopes of finding another dealer. The idea was to see if they could just get him to talk.
“I wonder why the Goddess didn’t offer to come with us,” Sebastian said without looking away from the street.
“I like her at the house,” Jacque told them. “She can keep the girls safe.”
“Azerial,” Samuel said.
“What?” Jacque asked as he lightly jumped over a puddle of water.
“Her name is Azerial,” Samuel repeated.
“Yeah, we know,” Jacque said. “Such a pretty name. I guess it fits. I never met a goddess before and I guess I always thought they would be pretty, but damn. She is one fine specimen.”
Samuel didn’t even stop to think. His body took over and a ferocious growl escaped his chest. With little more than a thought, he had Jacque pinned against the wall of a nearby building. “Never look at her again,” he growled right in his face.
“Man, Jacque, you sure are good at getting pinned by us,” Sebastian laughed, remembering when Jacque had fed from Jessica before. Of course, it was a ploy to get Sebastian to admit his feelings for her and it had worked. A little too well, actually.
“You have a mate,” Samuel sneered at him. “Leave Azerial alone.”
Jacque laughed. “I ain’t looking to move in on your woman,” he said.
Samuel’s brain finally caught up to his instincts and slapped him around a little. His woman? No, that wasn’t right. He backed off from Jacque immediately and stepped away from him. “She ain’t my woman,” he grumbled. “She is a Goddess and deserves more respect than that. Don’t even look at her, ok?”
The men all exchanged knowing looks. “Sure thing,” Jacque said. “Whatever you say.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Samuel demanded.
“Look,” Sebastian said, stepping between them. “All he is saying is that we notice things. You have some pretty intense thoughts where she is concerned. We have all been there. The only question now is, what are you going to do about it?”
“She is not my woman,” Samuel said again. “And stay out of my head.”
“Not yet,” Rebel told him. “In time, she will be. You are one lucky son of a bitch. You have only been a vampire for a few months and have already met your mate. I wish I had met Leigh a century earlier.”
“Hey, heads up,” Sebastian told them in a whisper, effectively stopping that conversation. “There, one o’clock.”
Sure enough, up ahead was a drug addict. It was obvious in the way he stumbled around the corner. “I got this,” Samuel whispered. “Planting suggestion now.”
He jumped right into the guys mind and told him that they were looking for a score and were just plain humans. While he was in this guy’s head, he found out something else.
“He is a vampire,” Samuel blurted out.
“No way,” Rebel said. “He’s fucked up. Can’t be a vamp.”
“I’m telling you he is,” Samuel said. “Let’s go talk to him. He won’t recognize us, I already saw to that.”
They approached the vamp cautiously. “Hey man, what’s up?” Rebel asked him.
The man looked up and grinned and sure enough, he was sporting a pair of fangs. His eyes were dilated so big that it was almost all pupil. “Evening fellas,” he remarked.
“You are high as a kite,” Samuel said.
“Yep,” the vamp told him through his goofy grin. “Magic V is the shit. Now, why don’t you get on over here and let me drink your delicious blood. I can smell it you know.”
“Not today,” Sebastian warned him. “You stay over there. What is Magic V?”
The vamp shrugged. “I got no idea, just know that it works man,” he slurred.
“What does it do?”
“It makes everything so clear and so vivid,” the vamp said. “I can see everything… like that angel over there.” He pointed to somewhere behind the guys. Sam turned but saw nothing.
“He is hallucinating,” Rebel whispered.
“Yeah, that’s it buddy,” the vamp said.
“Where can we get some of that magic V?” Samuel asked.
“Over on Fifty-Second street. Tell them Billy sent ya,” the vamp said and gave them a toothy grin again.
“Thanks,” Samuel said and then ventured into the vamps mind again. He picked out the image of the dealer in his head and then he erased any notion that he might have seen the men and that he told them where to find the drug. He then sent the vamp on his way.
“Magic V?” Sebastian asked.
“Beats me,” Samuel said. “I’ve never heard
of it before.”
The men moved with silent grace through the night until they reached the location given to them. Sure enough, Samuel spotted the man dealing the drug.
“I hear you are the man to see about some Magic V,” Samuel said to the human.
“It ain’t cheap,” the thug said. “Two fifty per syringe. No negotiation.”
“We’ll take it,” Samuel said.
Sebastian dug out his wallet and retrieved the money.
“How do I know you ain’t cops?” the dealer asked.
Rebel flashed him his fangs. “Even if we were, we couldn’t bust you.”
“Right,” he said, nodding his head. He opened a metal case by his feet and pulled out a hypodermic needle. He handed it to Sebastian and took the money. “Pleasure doing business with ya,” he said. “Better get somewhere where you can’t cause any trouble before you dose it.”
“Yeah, sure thing,” Samuel said as they turned to leave.
“You did good,” Sebastian said, once they were clear of the dealer.
“You have no idea how hard that was for me to not bust his sorry ass,” Samuel said.
“Yeah I do,” Sebastian told him as he handed the syringe to Jacque. “I was getting all kinds of bloody images from your head. I am proud of you, Brother.”
“Humph,” Samuel grunted.
“Let’s just get this home and see what the fuck it is,” Jacque said. “I gotta know what is fucking up vampires.”
“And now we know why Abaddon didn’t want us poking around,” Sebastian said.
“Dealing to vamps makes it Angel’s business,” Rebel said. “And now we are involved.”
CHAPTER SIX
Anora paced her living room. Her guest had shown up unannounced and to her, that was just rude. “I did not invite you in this time,” she snapped. “You can’t just show up and make yourself at home.”
“I only ever need one invite,” he said. “And I have come with news for you.”
“What is it?” she demanded.
“I have successfully drawn the vampires into our plan. They are now seeking the reason I came to them. Soon, they will realize that I am behind so much more than a drug cartel.” Abaddon leaned back in the chair as if it were his own house he had just invaded.
“You just keep your end of the bargain,” Anora told him.
“Fear not, little fey,” he said. “You will get your just desserts for assisting me.”
“I want them all destroyed as they destroyed my life,” she said.
“Why, might I ask, is it so important that the king of vampires pay to you?” he asked.
“He wrecked my plans for my clan’s future. He basically stole my only daughter. I had plans! The king in Israel was to eventually wed me! I am nothing but a clan leader here, but there, I would have been all powerful. It would have joined our clans permanently and I would be the most powerful fey queen!” She continued to pace as she ranted. “Now, I will never wed the king and I am stuck here.”
“I can understand your irritation. But total annihilation? Are you certain that is what you want?”
“I want the power he has taken from me!” Anora yelled at him. “I want what is rightfully mine.”
“And your daughter,” Abaddon said, “What if she gets in the line of fire? What if she is injured?”
Anora glared at the demon. “If she is stupid enough to put herself at risk, then she can pay the price.”
“We have a deal then?” Abaddon asked with a sly grin. “I will bring down the vampires and give you the kingdom you seek, but in the end, the price is your soul. When your days are over on this earth, your soul will be mine.”
Anora rolled her eyes. She was fey and therefore immortal. Sure, why not? “Of course we have a deal.”
Abaddon ran his nail on the palm of his hand, drawing blood. He then moved too quickly for Anora to react and grabbed her by the wrist. He sliced her palm as well and slapped his bleeding hand to hers. “A blood oath,” he said. “I will do my part and you will do yours. It’s a win-win.”
“Go back to Hell and get to work,” she spat as she yanked her hand out of his. She didn’t bother to look at the black scar the oath had left on her palm. All she could see was her revenge.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“You have so much hair,” Jessica remarked as she attempted to pull all of Azerial’s hair into a bun. It wasn’t working.
“I have had long hair for as long as I can remember,” Azerial said. “Allow me to help you,” she said as she waved her hand over her head. Just like that, her ankle-length locks were restrained on her head.
“I wish I could do that,” Leigh mumbled.
“I shall help you,” Azerial said and waved her hand again. Leigh’s hair was pulled up into a perfect knot at the base of her neck. A few wisps escaped here and there, but overall it was lovely. Azerial repeated the process and all the women had salon quality up dos when she was finished.
“That is freaking awesome,” Brea grinned.
“Ok, let’s get started,” Jessica said. She inspected each of the women’s outfits. She had loaned them her sports bras and exercise shorts to practice in. All of them were approximately the same size and the clothes were cotton, so they had some give where it was needed.
“I am not sure I will know what to do,” Azerial said.
“Just pretend that the pole is Sam. That will help,” Jessica said.
“I don’t think I can crawl inside the pole,” Azerial muttered.
Jessica laughed. “You do have it bad.”
“It seems that I do,” Azerial agreed.
Jessica couldn’t believe the change in Azerial. That girl was hot! Under those robes and hair, she was sporting a killer body that any girl would die for. “Azerial, you go first,” she said as she turned the music on.
When the men arrived back at the estate, they were expecting the women to be waiting for them, so it was with a huge amount of surprise and disappointment that the foyer was empty. So was the living room. “Where the fuck is everyone?” Samuel asked.
Sebastian cocked his head to the side. “Oh God,” he said on a heavy breath, “They’re in the basement.”
Jacque groaned and Rebel smiled. Samuel, of course, didn’t get it.
“Let’s go,” Sebastian said. “No use in pretending we don’t want to.”
“Right behind you,” Jacque said.
“I don’t get it,” Samuel said.
“You will,” Rebel told him.
Each of the men filed down the stair to Jessica’s exercise room. Sam watched as they each took a seat on the stairs where Angel was already sitting.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” Sebastian said as he sat next to his leader.
Samuel was so confused. Didn’t Angel want to know what they found? What on Earth could be more important than that? He marched down the stairs to the bottom and was getting ready to demand someone turn off that noise when he saw it.
All of the women were gathered around a chrome pole in the center of the room. Jessica was currently sliding down the pole with her head thrown back. They were all dressed, if you could call it dressed, in skimpy shorts and bras.
Samuel wanted to look away, he did. But then Jessica waved Azerial over to the pole and she took it in her hands. His eyes traveled from her hands up her arms to her nearly bare shoulders. Her long golden hair was piled on her head, exposing her long, lovely neck. Her shoulders were strong and he could see the muscle move under her silky, perfect skin. He let his eyes travel down, where he found her breasts straining against the fabric of the sports bra she was wearing. He could even see where her nipples were.
A low growl was emanating from him by this point, but he couldn’t manage to make himself move or even speak. Her abdomen flexed as she lifted her long legs around the pole. When she turned, he got an excellent view of her backside. Two perfectly rounded cheeks stared back at him and he could swear he heard them calling him to nibble on them.
He watched, stunned into silence as she did what Jessica told her to do. It was as if she were making love to that damned pole! He imagined that he was that pole and she was making love to him instead. He would have claimed that it was that thought that woke his cock up, but that was not true; it had made itself known the second he saw her.
“Oh my,” one of the guys said from behind him. Samuel remembered that this was not his private peep show and that there were four men sitting there watching his woman on display. The animal in him reared its ugly head at that moment and he snarled at them. The noise got Azerial’s attention and she lost her grip on the pole. She slid down quickly, landing on her rump.
Samuel reacted without thinking. In a flash he was by her side and shucking his coat. He knelt and draped it around her. “Are you ok?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered with a lovely blush creeping up her cheeks.
Samuel turned his attention to the men. “Get out of here! Never look at her again!” he growled at them. And then he turned on Jessica. “What the fuck were you thinking? She is a goddess!”
Jessica rolled her eyes at him. “Bout time you noticed,” she said, grabbing a towel and wiping her face. “Come on ladies,” she said. They left Samuel alone with Azerial, but not without some measure of giggling. Samuel waited until every person had left the basement.
“What were you doing?” he asked her as he helped her to her feet.
“I was dancing,” she beamed. “I asked Jessica to teach me.”
“Why?” Samuel asked, doing his best not to acknowledge her state of undress.
“I saw her do it. It was so fluid and sensual. It made me want to do it. So I did.”
“Sensual,” Samuel repeated.
“Oh dear, did I do it wrong?” she asked. “I tried so hard.”
“Oh no no no, you did it perfectly right,” Samuel said. “Too right. I thought I was going to have to rip the eyes out of my new family for looking at you.”
Forbidden Love Series Book 6: Into The Divine Page 3