Dare Me

by Parker Blue

  I’d never really had guy problems before Mom kicked me out, and I just wasn’t used to having anyone to talk to. “Why are you asking about Austin?” I asked defensively. “You know I’m into Shade.”

  She shrugged. “I just noticed Austin really seems to have a thing for you. I wondered if you noticed.”

  I snorted. “I don’t really think he has ‘a thing.’ I think he thinks he ought to have a thing, so he does.”

  Gwen looked confused. Heck, I’d confused myself. “Never mind,” I said. “Look, Austin is totally sexy and everything, but I’m not interested. Why are you pushing him on me, anyway?” A flash of brilliance suddenly assailed me. “Is it because you figure another vamp-demon couple would help you not feel guilty about playing footsie with Micah?”

  “No, nothing like that,” she said, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  Bingo. Now that I understood where she was coming from, it was a little easier to take.

  Gwen shrugged. “I just thought you should know what kind of man he is.” She paused, then added, “He’s one of Alejandro’s lieutenants for a reason. He’s very well respected in the Movement and is the primary PR liaison with the general public because of his charm.”

  “Charm? Ha!”

  Gwen punched me in the arm.

  “Ouch,” I exclaimed. “Cool it with the vamp strength there, Gwen.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I still forget sometimes. And don’t change the subject. You know Austin has a lot of charm. He just doesn’t always see the need to use it around you.”

  I threw up my hands. “Enough with the Austin love fest. I’m into Shade. And I’m not planning on changing my mind.”

  Gwen looked at me thoughtfully. “Does Shade feel the same way?”

  Ouch. Hit me where it hurts, why don’t you? “I think so.” But I wished he’d show it.

  “Shade has some issues,” Gwen said carefully. “I’m not sure he’s good for you.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. “So you think dating a vampire is better than dating a guy my own age, with whom I share demonkind in common, and who is totally hot?”

  “Are those the only reasons you like him?” she asked softly, one eyebrow raised.

  “No, of course not. Those are just the superficial reasons. There’s also his intelligence, his loyalty to the Underground, his geeky brain—” I stopped, annoyed. “Why do I have to justify this to you?”

  “You don’t,” Gwen said. “Like I said, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t letting your hormones—and Lola—overrule your head because of a pretty face. You shouldn’t let anyone control your relationships.”

  “Isn’t that what you’re trying to do here? Control mine?”

  “No, but I know we girls tend to romanticize the first time, the first guy we sleep with. For you, that was Shade.”

  I grinned. “It was almost your brother, you know.”

  She smiled back. “I know. I don’t think you’re right for each other, either.”

  “So Dan and Shade aren’t right for me, but Austin is?” Becoming a vamp had obviously done something to her brain.

  “I didn’t say that,” she reassured me. “Just think about it, okay? Being in a relationship can be a lot of work. Both sides have to work at it, or it won’t last. All I’m saying is, don’t let it be one-sided. If Shade won’t come around, maybe you should look elsewhere. You can’t avoid feeding Lola because it might upset Shade.”

  I sighed. She wasn’t going to shut up until I agreed. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

  “Good. Shall we go back in the other room to see if they’ve learned anything more?”

  “Okay.” I wouldn’t let the conversation bother me. She was probably just trying to justify her feelings for Micah.

  When we returned to the living room decorated in the latest in slasher décor, Micah’s face brightened when he saw Gwen.

  And weirdly, Austin’s face seemed to light up in a quieter way when he saw me. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy . . . until I regained my sanity.

  Crap. Wrong guy. I wished Shade’s face would do that when I entered the room. Unfortunately, I didn’t know if it did or not. His expression was too often obscured by other-worldly swirls, and right now, he wasn’t even in the room.

  HE WENT WITH ELSPETH TO HIS ROOM TO WORK ON HIS MEMORY, Fang explained. SOME OF HIS MEMORIES ARE RETURNING.

  Really? What memories? What are they about? I groped for anything that might help me understand the shadow demon a little better. And, darn it, I should be there with him.

  THAT’S HIS BUSINESS, Princess reminded me sharply. IF HE WANTS YOU TO KNOW, HE’LL TELL YOU.

  Well, excuuuuse me!

  SHE’S RIGHT, Fang said, though his apologetic tone let me know he realized Princess could have been more diplomatic. SHADE NEEDS TO BE READY TO TELL YOU HIMSELF.

  Okay, I said. But I didn’t like it. I glanced around the main room. Micah, Lieutenant Ramirez, and Austin were making plans around the coffee table. Mood sat sulking on the couch. Guess that meant Shade didn’t need her right now, either. Good.

  “I’m going to check on the puppies,” Gwen said with a smile.

  I couldn’t blame her. Looking at adorable fuzzy pups sounded like a whole lot more fun than joining the testosterone fest. Sighing, I hitched up my estrogen and took a seat.

  Lieutenant Ramirez hung up the phone. “Good, you’re here,” he said to me. “We got a hit on the fingerprints of the guy you have in custody. His name is Jorge Ortiz, and he’s from New Mexico.”

  “New Mexico?” I repeated in surprise. “Why would someone from New Mexico want to assassinate a shadow demon in San Antonio?”

  “That’s what we need to find out,” Micah said.

  “How?”

  “Well, let’s go pay Mr. Ortiz a visit.”

  Fang declined to go with us, preferring to stay with his newly increased family. Ramirez didn’t want to be seen condoning the existence of the Underground jail, so he decided not to go either.

  So, it was just Micah and me. “Is Austin coming, too?” I asked.

  He grinned. “Miss me, darlin’?”

  “As if. I’m just not sure if Micah wants you to see where we keep the prisoner.”

  “If you’re going, I’m going,” Austin said firmly. He gave Micah the beady eye, as if to show he meant it. “Besides, Elspeth told us about the cell where she used to live.”

  Micah nodded. “If we are to be allies, we need to trust each other more. Come on, we’ll take my car.”

  We took his Lexus to Club Purgatory, where booze was flowing, and the joint was hopping despite the fact that this was a week night. Micah took us through the front door and had to peel off a couple of groupies who pouted when they learned he wasn’t scheduled to dance tonight. That’s how Micah fed his incubus—by taking small amounts of lusty energy from the women he mesmerized while he was on stage. He’d never gotten involved with any of them, or so I’d heard. Probably because it was hard to tell how women felt about him when all they felt was lust when they got near him. Which made me wonder what had happened between him and Gwen when they were kidnapped together, and why neither of them seemed to want to pursue it openly.

  Micah led us down to the room where he stored the wine and beyond, into the part of the cellar that held several jail cells. One had belonged to Elspeth before I took the demon out of her and rendered her sane, and I’d even occupied one of them for a little while. Not because Micah put me there, but because one of his people had been trying to get my attention—and my support. It wasn’t my favorite place in the world, but at least this time I was on the outside of the bars.

  On the other side was Jorge Ortiz, who knelt in prayer at the cot in the cell.

  “Mr. Ortiz?” Micah said.

  The
man looked up. Surprise flickered in his eyes momentarily, then he said, “So you know my name. It doesn’t matter.”

  “We also know you are from New Mexico,” Micah said calmly. “What are you doing in San Antonio, besides shooting this man?” He indicated Austin.

  Austin rubbed his shoulder. “It’s nothing.”

  The man’s eyes widened, and he crossed himself. “You are vampiro,” he stated, looking more disgusted than frightened. “You should be dead.”

  “Thanks to my sire, I am undead instead,” Austin said cheerfully. He sauntered up to the bars of the cell. “And you were looking for a shadow demon. Why? Do you want to make him dead, too?”

  “All demons should be dead,” Ortiz said flatly. “The good book says, ‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.’”

  “We were talking about demons, not witches,” Austin corrected him.

  “It is all the same. The holy one protects me from such as you.” And with that, Ortiz crossed himself again and turned his back on us to resume his prayers.

  Micah glanced at me, one eyebrow raised. Obviously, he wanted me to use Lola to see what info I could squeeze out of him. Unfortunately, Lola was still weak, even after feeding on Austin, but I did as he asked. No go. Lola’s energy tendrils slid off him like he was Teflon and she was a limp noodle. The amulet didn’t work, either. I shook my head. Ortiz was still being controlled.

  Micah motioned us out of the room and led us to his office upstairs. “If he’s still being controlled, what’s our next step?”

  “Maybe we should go to New Mexico,” I suggested.

  Micah thought for a moment. “I have a better idea. Let me call the Albuquerque Underground.”

  I wasn’t sure anyone would be there this time of night, but a woman by the name of Kathryn answered.

  Micah put the phone on speaker. “I’m here with my Paladin, Val Shapiro, and another ally. We have a situation here I’m hoping you can help with.” He explained what had been happening here, ending with, “Do you know of some sort of super vampire, or a mage demon in the area, or any other kind of creature that could control someone from afar? And would want to kill a shadow demon?”

  “A super vampire?” The woman sounded scornful, and Micah looked embarrassed.

  “We’re just trying to come up with an explanation that makes sense,” he said defensively.

  “I heard from a friend there that someone is after shadow demons, but I don’t know of a mage demon here or any other kind of demon that can control a man’s mind. None of the ones we have here, anyway. Don’t you have an encyclopedia that explains that?”

  Micah grimaced. “Yes, and we are searching through it, but the entries are surprisingly incomplete. Could you keep an eye out for anything like that?”

  “We have problems of our own,” she said, sounding snappish and tired. “Someone is picking off our demons one by one, and my Paladin is missing when I need him the most.”

  “Do you think our situations might be related?” Austin asked.

  “I doubt it,” the woman said. “There doesn’t seem to be any mind control going on here. Just someone singling demons from out of the herd and taking them down.”

  “Shadow demons?” I asked.

  “No, we don’t have a shadow demon in our membership,” she said. “They’re targeting demons randomly. Sorry I can’t help you.”

  “Thank you,” Micah said and hung up. He turned to Austin. “Do you have any contacts in Albuquerque who might know something?”

  “Maybe.” Austin got a number from Alejandro and called it, but didn’t have any better luck. But the vampires, too, seemed to have people missing.

  Micah frowned. “This seems too coincidental. We still might need to go to New Mexico to check this out.”

  “You think someone is methodically taking out demons and vamps?” I asked.

  “Like a demon hunter? Or vampire hunter?” Austin asked.

  Like me, he meant. “I only stake the evil ones,” I reminded him. Giving him an innocent-looking smile, I asked, “What’s the state of your soul right now?”

  He grinned. “Pure as . . .”

  “The driven snow?” I’d heard the expression used before but didn’t even know what “driven” snow was.

  “Pure as yours, anyway,” he said with a wicked smile.

  And once again, Lola stirred. I couldn’t blame Mood for it this time, but I wasn’t blaming myself either. Lola liked to be near any man, but since she’d already had a taste of Austin, she rather fancied a big slurp this time. Luckily, I only had a mild struggle with keeping her in check.

  Micah frowned, apparently sensing Lola’s weak reach. “Val, you need to feed. You’re no good to me as Paladin with your primary weapon blunted.”

  “I still have the encyclopedia,” I said. And the amulet, but it was best not to remind him of that. Besides, how could I tell Micah now that I’d already fed on Austin earlier?

  “The book only has a limited number of spells—and they put your other skills in jeopardy,” he said with a stern look. “As your leader, and an incubus who knows it’s dangerous to let your succubus get so weak, I’m telling you to feed right away.”

  “I keep offering,” Austin said with a shrug.

  I cast him a dirty look, but it did no good.

  “I know,” Micah said. “Val, take him up on it. We all know it’s business, not pleasure. For the sake of the organization, for the sake of Shade’s safety, just suck it up and do it. Now.”

  Oh, crap. His tone and his expression brooked no argument. I had to get all up close and personal with Austin. Again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Val

  “YOU CAN USE my office,” Micah said. “I’ll tell Tessa not to let anyone else in. Just get it done.”

  And with that, he strode out and locked the door. I was left with Austin. Alone. I had kind of a sick feeling in my stomach.

  He still had a crooked grin on his face, but this one was half sad, which I totally didn’t get. Holding out his hand, he said, “Come, Slayer. Let’s feed that succubus of yours some more. We need you at a hundred percent if at all possible, and I can help you get closer.”

  I hesitated. “But I already fed on you earlier. Are you sure you’re strong enough for more?”

  He laughed. “I can handle it. Besides, Shade isn’t here, so we are the only ones who will know what happens. What happens in Club Purgatory stays in Club Purgatory.”

  I gave him a half-hearted smile at his lame attempt at humor.

  “Besides,” he added, “Micah will be able to sense if you fed or not, won’t he?”

  Crap, he was right. I eyed him warily, but the smart ass grin was gone, and so was the attitude. Maybe this would even be bearable. I sighed heavily. “Okay. Let’s sit on the couch,” I suggested.

  We settled on the sofa Micah kept in his office, Austin propping one boot on the other knee and his arm across the back of the couch. I sat next to him, almost in the circle of his arm, feeling like I was a teenager at her first dance. Not that I’d ever had that experience, but I imagined it was similar.

  “Do you need to touch me again?” he asked softly.

  Not always, but given Lola’s weakness, it was probably a good idea. I nodded and moved in next to him, reminding myself I was doing this for Shade. It was just another way of getting the sustenance I needed to maintain my existence. Nothing wrong with that . . . despite the fact that the sustenance in question was lust.

  He dropped his arm lightly on my shoulder. I stiffened.

  “Relax,” he murmured into my ear. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just going to sit here and let you do whatever you want to me.”

  I hid my face in his neck, certain it was flaming red by now. Sheesh, I was a succubus. Talk of doing the deed, or even
sucking up wayward lustful energy shouldn’t make me embarrassed. Unfortunately, it did.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

  “I want you to shut up,” I muttered. If I didn’t have to look at his face, didn’t have to remember this was Austin I was feeding on, maybe it would go better.

  He chuckled but obediently zipped his lips. I placed one hand in the middle of his chest and closed my eyes. Lord, he smelled good. Like crisp autumn leaves, a smoky bonfire, and the wild scent of musk. I let his scent fill my nostrils and felt something tingle deep inside. Lola.

  Oh, yes. Lola liked.

  I urged her toward the cowboy smorgasbord waiting patiently for her to fill her plate, and her thin tendrils reached for him, sinking into his chakras. He let out a soft “ah” as if that’s what he’d been waiting for.

  Lola tried to draw hard on that energy, but her suction was too weak, and Austin’s chakras weren’t as full as they were earlier. I moved closer to the man feast, putting both hands on his chest and straddling his lap so our energy fields meshed together.

  There. That was easier. I melted into him and let Lola do her thing. Austin’s arms came around me, and it was as if he held me in a cocoon, transforming this plain caterpillar into the beautiful butterfly that was Lola. Warmth rose within me, and tingling spread throughout my body, especially where I was sprawled against Austin. I drew more energy, and it was heady stuff, making me light-headed and a little giddy. Wow, I didn’t expect it to feel this good, especially when things were tingling that I really didn’t want tingling.

  Reluctantly, I pulled away. That was enough for now. Lola was maybe at forty percent now, but too much, and I’d probably have a lust hangover. Better take it a little at a time.

  “Are you good?” Austin asked, his husky voice vibrating along my nerves. “You can take more if you need to.”

  “I’m okay for now,” I assured him. “Thank you.”

  Suddenly realizing we were in each other’s arms, and Austin’s lips were only a kiss away, I froze, wondering how to get out of this with dignity and my ego intact. “Uh, can you—”