Crimson Night

by Marie Hall

  That’s probably why I’m not really shocked by his seeking me out this way. Curious, yes. But not surprised, he’d had many chances to kill me and hasn’t. I’m not saying he won’t, don’t get me wrong. I’ve no doubt his cold black heart would love nothing more than to skewer my pretty little head on a pike with his trademark scroll wedged up my nasal cavity for all to see and admire.

  Just not yet.

  “Listen, Luc,” I whispered on a level human ears would barely be able to hear, “I’m gonna have to shut this off for a while.”

  “Don’t you dare!” I could almost picture him foaming at the mouth.

  “I’m sorry.” I shot a glance over my shoulder; Billy was still where I’d left him. “I’ll turn it back on when I can.”

  I pulled my shirt off, reached down and flicked the switch off, hearing Luc scream obscenities at me until the final second. I breathed a sigh of relief at the blessed silence.

  Luc had never been here, so there was little fear of him porting to find me. We can only port to where we’ve been or what we can see. Bet the bastard was kicking himself now. Served him right.

  I grabbed the dress and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The sleeves were puffy, white lace at the seams and collar. A white smock overlay the pink, the skirt flared out and it was all cinched at the waist with a...you guessed it, large pink bow.

  Was he serious?

  I snorted; did the man have a milkmaid fantasy or what? This was the most ridiculous outfit I’d ever seen. Shaking my head, I slipped it on. I felt absurd, especially when I found the Cinderella pink slippers, white thigh highs, and matching hair bows still in the box.

  “Oh come on,” I growled under my breath. “He’s got to be screwing with me.”

  “No. I’m not.”

  I jumped, twirled and stabbed my finger at his chest. “I hate it when you do that.”

  He chuckled.

  Discombobulated and annoyed, I snarled. “What the devil are you, priest? How the hell are you always getting the jump on me?” I didn’t mean to say it, but it was really starting to get irritating.

  “Turn around,” he said, not bothering to answer.

  I clenched my jaw, but did as he asked.

  He pushed my hair over my shoulder, then grabbed the zipper in the back of the dress and zipped me up. I wet my lips, nerves curling excited fingers through my stomach.

  He wrapped both his arms around my waist and my heart seized like a current of electricity had been spilled through my veins. I groaned and dropped my chin to my chest, reminding myself to breath.

  He dragged the pink ribbon through his hand, the movement agonizingly slow, then he tied it and stepped back.

  I wanted to scream at him to grab me again, push my skirt up and screw me until I died from the unbearable pleasure. I closed my eyes and tried to count to ten, but he stopped me at three.

  “Put the shoes and hair stuff on.”

  My lips twitched. For all that he was hot; he was still such a man. Hair stuff. “Barrettes,” I corrected.

  He shrugged. “Put it on.”

  I glanced at the shoes. “Not that I don’t want to please you, ‘cause oh believe me I do,” I patted my chest and gave him a sarcastic smile, “but why can’t I forgo the fugly shoes and barrettes? I’m a woman, if you hadn’t noticed. If you have some little girl fantasy you’re trying to live out with me, you should know I don’t do that sorta thing. Pretty much where I draw the line.” I flipped my hair back over my shoulder for emphasis.

  It was time I start to get some answers.

  If I bothered him, even a little, he didn’t show it. “Put them on. I’ll tell you why when we get inside the club.”

  “Wait.” I held up my hand. “There’s nothing in Sanguinary.”

  He gave me a tight-lipped grin, the type that said I didn’t know as much as I thought I did. I clenched my fists and started toward him.

  “We don’t have much time, put it on, all of it, then we’ll talk.”

  “You’re sick, you know that,” I muttered and shoved my feet into the shoes, grabbed my hair, parted it down the middle and made pig tails. “There.” I held out my arms. “I must say, never would have pegged you for the pervert. Want me to call you Daddy now?”

  His lip curled as if he wasn’t sure what to make of me anymore. I set my jaw, crossed my arms below my breasts and shoved them up so that he knew regardless of what I was wearing I was still a woman, not a child.

  He looked where I hoped he’d look, then he nodded as if to say, I know. “Follow me.”

  Billy jumped off the roof.

  “Show off,” I mumbled, peering over the edge. This building was at least thirty feet. No way I’d be able to jump straight down. But I could hop from balcony to balcony.

  I made easy work of it. The dress, though poofy, only came to my knees. I was on the final balcony when the urge to have a little “accidental” fun with my costume hit me. I bit my lip to stop the grin, grabbed the metal railing and hopped in such a way that the skirt flared out around me, exposing my sheer pink and black thong to him. I made a big theatrical show of pushing my billowy skirt back down, muttering low under my breath for good measure.

  Billy lifted a brow.

  “What?” I gave him my best innocent look.

  His eyes flicked down to my skirt.

  “Oh. Oops,” I giggled, having too much fun with this, “you caught that did you? If I’d known I was gonna be playing dolly for you tonight I’d have worn Hannah Montana underoos instead of the see through thong.” And with that enticing thought I then primly rearranged my bows and gave him a saucy wink. “Ready whenever you are, Daddy.”

  His lip curled and I laughed.

  Chapter 20

  I’m not sure what Billy did, but I felt a shiver of magick and somehow he parted the sea of people waiting to get inside the club without a spoken word.

  A kid, with a wicked long green Mohawk and piercings through his brows, chin, and nose, cocked an eyebrow when he saw me. To others he was weird, but for him, I was the weird one.

  I couldn’t help myself; I pointed at Billy’s back and said in a stage whisper, “He’s got a serious Dad fetish.” Then I shrugged.

  Billy turned with a growl, grabbed my hand and nearly yanked me off my feet. “Daddy says stop talking,” he said, and swatted my rear hard, so that even through the layers of fabric I still felt a hot tingle.

  I yelped, shocked. My cheek burned. I couldn’t believe he’d done that. But then I realized something even more disturbing, I wanted him to spank me again and this time without the clothes on. Just thinking about him working my backside with my black leather paddle made my nipples bead.

  He gave me an evil grin as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. I snapped my fangs at him and he laughed.

  Once inside, Billy scanned the room for several seconds. I leaned in to try and be heard over the sound of the music. “What are you looking for?”

  “C’mon,” he said, jerking me forward and making a bee line straight through the crowd. He bumped into several people, but all of them reeked of alcohol and drugs and could have cared less.

  He growled. “He’s in the john. We’re gonna have to wait.”

  I frowned. “He? What? Okay, enough.” I swatted his chest, snaring his attention. “I’ve been more than patient with you.” I tapped my slippered foot. “You either tell me what’s going on, or I hightail it out of here. You need me, I don’t need you, or have you forgotten that?”

  “You want inside the club don’t you? This is the way in?”

  Nice diversion, wasn’t gonna work though. I shook my head. “I think we’ve already established you have a supposed...” I did finger quotations, “way in. What’s your game, Priest? You’ve tried to kill me three times already; you think I’m stupid enough to believe you’re done with me?”

  He struck, so quick I didn’t even see his blur. His arm snaked around my waist and before I knew it I was smashed against his solid chest, our
bodies swaying in time to a beat only we could hear.

  My heart thumped so loud in my ears I was sure he’d hear it even over the din of the crowd. For a moment I was speechless, lost to the feel of him, the sensation of his strong fingers running up and down my spine.

  If his intention had been to kill me, I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. Even in front of me, watching him, I hadn’t seen him strike until I was already in his arms. Neph move fast, but this...

  “I scratched the crap out of your face last night and you’re already healed. Who the hell are you? What are you?” I whispered.

  Billy traced my cheek. “I’m not your enemy.”

  I stopped dancing, alarm bells in my head clanging loud and obnoxious. “What are you doing to me? Why the games?” Angry, I shoved him back. “Don’t tell me you’re not my enemy. Of course you are, your kind has killed mine for centuries. You hunt my people and you expect me to believe you’re not my enemy. Ha.” I shook my head. “You see a girl and automatically assume I’m just gonna fall for your nice guy routine, well I’m not,” I said through clenched teeth, and yanked on his tie, dragging his face to mine.

  His eyes narrowed, my skin prickled with the rising thrum of our power.

  “Let’s get one thing straight right now, you and me, I may want to screw you until I turn black and blue, but I don’t trust you worth anything, priest. So if you’ve got me thralled, might want to cook up another way to kill me, I’m not gonna let you take me down so easy.”

  He grinned and again I didn’t see him move, I was back in his arms, his hands exploring my back making a mockery of my words. Violence and lust warred within me, my need for his blood dwarfed only by my need to feel him inside me.

  “One day, you’ll know the truth,” he said, mint breath fanning my ear and raising goose bumps along my body.

  “I know it already,” I moaned, clutching his back, wondering about the ridged bumps running vertical down it, “and one day, priest, I will kill you.”

  The vibration of his laughter, rumbled through my chest, making me moan and writhe on his leg to try and stop the ache building between my thighs.

  He could laugh all he wanted, but a demon always kept their word. I would kill him, even if the thought of it was killing off a piece of my soul.

  Then he moved his hand across my shoulder and when he touched my breast, it was like flames shooting down my belly and settling in my aching center. I forgot everything in that moment, the vamps, the strange club inside a club, the fear, everything but him. I ached, burned for him. He cupped me, thumb flicking over my nipple and I grunted, on the verge of spilling over into the black death of orgasm.

  Then he traced his finger along the underside of my breast, feeling the wire.

  My stomach clenched. He said nothing. But I knew he’d felt it. Mouth dry, I watched as he continued to explore me with his hands. He traced the flare of my hip, my thigh, hiked up my skirt and when his fingers grazed my naked flesh I cried out, jerking against him. The sweet torture consumed me until I nearly wept from it.

  His arm wrapped tighter around my waist. I nuzzled the side of his neck, enveloped in his familiar scent and dragged it deep into my lungs.

  He found the black box taped to the inside of my thigh. I stilled, growing cold and gave him a hard look, daring him to try and rip it off.

  “Who’s listening? Who gave you this?” He clenched his jaw.

  It was nice, for once, to have the upper hand. I gave him a secretive smile, but said nothing.

  A furtive movement caught our gazes at the same time. My eyes grew wide and I pointed at the tall man I’d seen walk down the alley yesterday. He was coming out of the bathroom, head low and cutting a path through the people with hurried footsteps, headed for the door.

  “I know him,” I hissed.

  “C’mon,” he growled, nearly yanking my arm out its socket as we raced after the man.

  “Hey!” I snapped, pulling myself free of his death grip, “need that arm, thank you very much.”

  “Just keep up,” he muttered, shoving people aside, their disgruntled oaths ringing bitter in my ears.

  The tall man’s head bobbed out of sight the minute he walked out the club.

  “You take the left, I’ll take the right. Don’t let him get away,” Billy snarled, pointing in the direction I should go.

  I didn’t stop to argue his orders, intrigued myself as to what the tall man was up to. I ran, eating up the blacktop as fast as my Cinderella flats would allow. But I didn’t find him.

  I circled the length of the building before finally catching sight of Billy tucked behind several rows of empty beer crates, straddling a figure on the ground, hand at his neck.

  I knelt by his side, sucking in air. The tall man’s eyes were wide, bloodshot and filled with such panic I could taste the acrid bitterness on my tongue.

  I glanced from Billy, who looked like a pit bull ready to tear the man’s throat out, to the man and back again.

  I licked my teeth. “So umm, not to seem lame here or anything, but now might be a good time to tell me what you got planned, oh wise one. Are we gonna kick his tail for breathing, talking, or just for the fun of it?”

  The man whimpered and I had to admit to being a little disgusted. This was the same man who’d dragged a helpless child into whatever godforsaken thing was going on down there. I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him. Actually, I kind of hoped Billy would agree to a pummeling. I popped my knuckles, leering down at him. I might look pink and girly, but this demon was ready for some action.

  “Work your magick,” Billy said, voice near a low rumble, never taking his eyes off the man.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked slowly, hoping he wasn’t asking me to do what I thought he was asking.

  He pinned me with a cold stare. “Do you want inside?”

  “Do you follow me around all the time, or do you have a crystal ball on you? How the hell do you know so much about me?” I ground my jaw, muscles ticking.

  “Just do it.”

  In our exchange he must have let off some of the pressure on the man’s neck. He wiggled, fighting against Billy’s grip. Billy punched him in the face, blood squirted everywhere. I jumped back, not wanting to get my sparkly shoes dirty. Hey, they might be ugly, but Billy bought them for me.

  He slammed the man’s head against the concrete and I heard a sick crunch. I winced, not in sympathy, but recalling how he’d had done the same to me last night. I touched the back of my head remembering the goose egg I’d sported several hours afterwards.

  “Hurry up,” he snarled, “we’re too exposed out in the open.”

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s human, priest, you split his head open like a melon. What am I supposed to get out of him now?”

  “He’ll survive.”

  I sighed, knelt and touched my finger to his sweat slickened forehead. The man moaned, eyelashes flickering open. I thralled him so that he couldn’t look away.

  I grabbed his head to keep him still and pushed my glamour at him, trying to sift out whatever information I could through the pain addled brain.

  It was like trying to wade through swamp. All he could focus on was his pain. It was nearly impossible to find that secret place inside him where truth lay naked and exposed.

  “Billy, you suck at finesse, you know that? You could have at least waited for me to turn before you bashed his brains in.”

  My lips quirked at the sound of his low chuckle.

  I shoved my glamour at him harder, cutting through the muck of driving pain until finally, I found it. It sat like a little treasure trove in the corner of his mind, but unlike most prey, his was padlocked shut, dark and foreboding.

  Cold shivered down my spine, I licked my lips knowing I would not like what I found. When desire is this hidden, this buried, it’s because it’s so perverse it’s shameful. I steadied my nerves, then flung open the floodgates and almost retched when I saw it.

  The man whimpered, s
weat poured freely down his face. “No, no, no,” he whispered.

  I growled, anger riding me hard and my demon shrieked to life. My nails grew into sharp claws, piercing the man’s flesh. He tired to scream, but Billy cut off the sound by squeezing his vocal chords until all that came out was a muffled rasp.

  Now I knew why Billy had bought me this outfit.

  “You sick pervert!” I hissed.

  Blue eyes, blazing with pain and fogged with fear, pleaded for mercy. But there would be none from me. Yesterday he’d intrigued me, today, I hated him.

  And my hate was Lust’s hate. She fed off my energy, growing darker, filling me fuller, gaining strength and stretching me wide. My breathing grew heavy.

  Memories of a little girl, her skirt hiked up with a man’s leering face staring down at her as he thrust himself deep inside, over and over, ignoring her strangled pleas for mercy as she bled out, seared my mind. I screamed, lost to the vision, smelling the sweat and the musk of his body, the blood of my own.

  Take it, Demon. Take it. This is what you’re good for. This is all you’re good for... that was the night I’d first killed, the night I realized that as much as I wanted to be all human, sometimes the demon needed to come out too. I’d been ten.

  “Neph,” Billy’s voice was a gentle warning.

  I hissed, and twirled on the voice. My eyes swirled with bands of lavender and deep purple.

  “Pandora.”

  I blinked. That was me. I blinked again. I wasn’t in a marshy field. I was here. With him. With Billy.

  “Priest,” I whispered his name like a prayer.

  “Yes.” He nodded. I trembled, his silky voice cutting through the memories like a swift blade.

  “Yes. Listen to me.” He was cool reason, pulling me back from the demonic abyss. “You can’t kill him, not now.”

  The muscle under my eye ticked as I fought to understand and regain control of myself.

  With one hand still firmly pressed against the man’s throat, he reached up and cupped my cheek. I swallowed hard, taking a deep breath. After several seconds I was finally able to open my eyes.

  “You okay?” he asked softly.