The Better to Eat You With: The Red Journals

by Cara Villar

  My eyes widened.

  “An alternating scent might be more inviting, suggesting she’s open to new offers,” Vince pondered, and my jaw dropped.

  “But you’re an Alpha. That’s distinctive. And I’m not exactly young. Any poachers will scent that immediately.”

  “I’m right here!” I snapped, feeling the limo take a turn and slow. My god, I can’t believe they’re talking about sharing the responsibility of ‘relieving the pressure’ when I am perfectly capable of doing it myself. Jeepers, it’s not like I hadn’t had a while to perfect my own technique. I knew exactly what I liked and how I liked it. I didn’t want the two Neanderthals poking, prodding and trying to learn the nuances on how to get me off. Holy crappers. Just… Holy crappers.

  “No one, and I mean no one, is going to touch me, mark me, or relieve me of anything.” Felix went to speak and I cut him off as the car came to a halt. “Unless specifically invited, neither one of you will attempt to do any of the above. Do I make myself clear?”

  “You don’t know what your scent will do, darlin’.”

  “And you don’t know what I will do, Cujo.” I gave him a dark look as I sat back. “I won’t be claimed by an Alpha wolf or a primitive Vampire. So back off.” I turned to Felix. “Both of you.”

  I got out of the car before either could answer.

  Emerald City was exactly what I had expected from Jade. It was sassy, modern and full of the bored upper-class. Once past the heavy security at the door, if you’re lucky enough to be on the list, you’re greeted by a sweeping grand staircase decked out in glittering black marble and stainless steel railings. Green fluorescent dots of light lined each step, and right at the top was a balcony and a curtained doorway with more beefy security guards in black suits and bright jade ties. Bars lined either side of the curtain, and multiple groups of angry, impatient peers of society glared at the unfazed guards.

  Felix and Vince were silent shadows at my back as I climbed the stairs. I paused before the curtain, the Alpha’s hand smoothing over my ponytail. I glanced at him, but he was looking around as if he hadn’t even noticed he’d touched me. I shrugged and looked at the one of the security men, shaved head and golden yellow eyes, who had pulled out a clipboard from behind his back.

  “Name?” he growled, voice low and deep, green light gleaming off his shaved scalp as he tilted his chin down to the list. By the scent of him, and the sheer size, I knew he was a lion-Shifter. None of the angry posers at the bars were getting past these two unless invited.

  “Ash Redding,” I replied, using my usual name for Jade’s clubs. Felix arched his brow, and Vince’s strokes on my hair paused. I arched a brow at them both. “What? I have to put something on my driving license.”

  The security man gave me a head to toe sweep, and then the two men behind me. Then he smiled, warm and inviting, and his scent drifted around me with a distinctive spicy aroma that indicated interest.

  “I will let Jade know you are here,” he growled enticingly. “Enjoy Emerald City.”

  The other security guard pulled back the curtain, and I looked in. Women, scantily clad in the latest fashions, preened and danced on stages and platforms with cages or poles, and entertained amidst the masses with alluring, sensual movements. Men of all makes of Immortal, adorned in expensive suits with expressions of cold disdain sat in groups around the large room—despite the fact that their eyes burned with a fiery hunger.

  The balcony continued around the main floor, curtained-off sections indicating pleasure rooms for those willing to spend a little more for their vices. Green lighting and strobes fluttered against the heavy beat of the music, glinting off sparkling black marble, sharp white furnishings and the enormous fluorescent chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

  Bodies moved in a wave before the dark DJ booth, stirring in a rhythmic chorus to the music. The erotic scents in the air, glittering like champagne as they mingled with my inner wolf, drew out reactions to lust, desire and sex in me. The bar was a circle right in the center of the room, with a cage at its heart. A beautifully pale woman with white blonde hair and a glittering tail of iridescent scales down her spine rippled and undulated within. Snake Shifter.

  I gave the lion-Shifters a naughty little smile. “She’s out-done herself this time.”

  “She had a large budget,” the lion-Shifter replied dryly.

  “She had one when she renovated my house,” I murmured, inhaling deep the addictive energies of the club and watching Felix move towards the balcony railing inside, his gaze scanning with the focus of a true predator. I turned back to the lion. “People call me Red,” I said, holding out my hand and ignoring the rumbling growl of warning from the Alpha at my back.

  The security man grinned, yellow eyes sparkling. “Leo,” he replied, taking my hand and placing a hot-lipped kiss on my palm, unfazed by Vince’s display.

  That’s the difference between Shifter and Weres. Shifters are born, and only display dominance with pack members. Weres are mortals who have been bitten by a Shifter or a Were, infected with the changeling gene, and survived the transformation.

  Since only Shifters could birth to Shifters, and Weres owed part of their existence to Shifters attacks, there was a slight...animosity. Shifters of any race considered themselves elite, and the Weres lower-class. What the rest of the Immortal world knew was that Weres could beat Shifters ass three ways from Sunday. Their animal was always closer to the surface, despite the fact that Shifters beasts were more naturally innate.

  “Pleasure,” I breathed coyly, withdrawing my hand as I was swept past the curtain by Vince. A big hand clamped around my nape and spun me, and I looked up, startled, into blue eyes that had gone from California skies to arctic ice. The wolf was looking back at me, and the shiver of awareness that ran through me seemed to only please the wolf more.

  “Vince?” I whispered, pushing against his chest as he backed me to the wall of a heavily shadowed corner. Where the hell is Felix? Damn Vampires.

  “Stop,” He growled softly, “encouraging the wildlife.”

  I swallowed, but not in fear. Oh no. My damn body was warming with a healthy flush that made certain body parts react in favor of the animalistic romp he offered. Jeepers, he’s punching out some heavy Alpha mojo.

  “I was just introducing myself,” I hedged.

  “You were offering yourself,” he corrected, and my sharp intake of breathe was laced with sunshine and sea salt, lust and need.

  “I was not!”

  “I can give you much more than that damn lion, Red.”

  “I don’t want—”

  “Yes, you do,” he interrupted, and his nostrils flared, his eyes’ glow brightening. “I can smell the want in you. It’s as thick as…honey,” he purred the last word, making it shudder down my spine and pool in my panties, as if he had commanded and thus it had appeared.

  I squirmed, pressing my shoulders back into the wall and my fists to his chest. “You over-step, wolf.” It was meant to come out stern, but he was so close that his breath mingled with mine, and practically stole the words as they left my mouth as he leaned in even closer.

  “I haven’t covered nearly enough ground, hybrid,” was his darkly sensual reply.

  I all but melted into a puddle. Call me Ms. Chocolate Teapot. His hand on my nape shifted, pulling me forward even as he pressed flush against me, pressing my body to the wall, pinning me there with his large frame. My breath caught as my neck arched to keep contact with his eyes, my fingers splaying on his chest. The heels added to my height, taking me from chest height to chin height on him, but he was still a big man, and the feel of those big arms and shoulders enclosing me wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

  I’ve lost my goddamned bloody mind.

  And then Vince kissed me.

  Oh yeah, I’ve gone totally pissing nuts.

  Power zinged through every cell, shuddering and shivering with little electrical jolts as Vince’s Alpha aura washed over me, swamping me, coating me like
a warm blanket as big, hot hands curved around my waist and up my back. I gasped against his lips as another bolt of lightning shot through me, rippling over pleasure points his hands were creating. Vince took advantage, swept his warm, seeking tongue into my mouth, demanding I respond, demanding I give as good as I took.

  That’s when I realized; this wasn’t so much Vince’s way of seducing me. Oh no. This was Vince’s way of telling me he didn’t need to. That he could have me any time. That my protestations were just a formality he adhered to out of politeness. This kiss, this wild rush of California beaches and undiluted desire, this crazy sense of possession, was all Vince. And the wolf in me couldn’t resist. It recognized the power in him, the potency of his wolf, and in the wild, only the strongest survive. My wolf wanted this Alpha, because he was strong, but she didn’t know why. Friend? Mate? Pack?

  My body shivered. Vince knew how his wolf would affect mine. He had to know that.

  He’s inviting me to play with him. He is? Shit.

  My fingers curled around the lapels of his jacket, prepping myself to push him away. But then one of his hands slid down my back and over my rump to cup my backside under my skirt, his index finger slipping down between my cheeks and between my thighs, dipping down into the heat he was inducing in me.

  I instantly tensed, eyes flying open, meeting bright blue ones that glittered with amusement. I could feel his lips curve into a smile against my parted mouth, even as my whole focus seemed narrowed down on the light caress at my core. I tried to squeeze my legs together, but his knee was jammed between my thighs, keeping me open for his little explorative foray.

  His shoulder shifted, and my grip on his jacket tightened when his finger suddenly slipped under the useless barrier of my panties and dipped into my core. I sucked in a sharp breath as my walls quivered around the intrusion, and then it was gone. His hand left my panties and backside, and he was leaned back. I released him, pressing my spine into the wall.

  Vince lifted his hand up between us, and my eyes narrowed on his fingers. One of them was glistening.

  My cheeks burned.

  “Hmmm,” Vincent mused, and my wide gaze snapped to him. “Maybe I have over-stepped.” He then proceeded to place his finger into his mouth and suck off the slick evidence of my arousal.

  I think my ears are on fire.

  “Yo, chic!” My head snapped around at the familiar sound of Jade’s husky, accented tones, and I bolted past Vince as fast as my heels would let me, pretty sure my entire head was aflame.

  “Jade!” I bounced over to her, my stomach and chest thrilling at seeing her again. And she hadn’t changed. Jade, a.k.a. Calandria Duenos because she didn’t use her real name at work, was a panther Shifter—born and bred. You could see the cat in every nuance of her being, just as you could perceive Vince’s bossy wolf in his.

  Jade had long dark hair flowing about her shoulders in thick waves, violet eyes as mischievous and sharp as ever, and never missing a thing since she was good few inches taller than me, making crowds a non-issue. Those eyes sat on high-cheekbones and elegantly arching brows, with a short, little nose that wrinkled in the middle when she giggled. Her body was lithe and curvy, flowing across the dark floor with a feline grace that only accentuated her model beauty, rather than distracted from it. She was dressed in a deep green cap-sleeved turtle neck that hugged her like a second skin, a black micro leather skirt, and black leather thigh-high boots.

  And she rocked them!

  Her smile, as she hugged me, drew attention to her full lips and high cheekbones. Wide-set eyes, sparkling and slightly up-tilted, matched her mocha skin, giving evidence to her Spanish background. She was incredibly beautiful, and a far cry from the squalling baby and pimply teenager I’d once babysat. As she drew back, I inhaled the white orchid scent of her, so fresh, natural and clean in the smoky, sweat-stained air of her club. No matter how much time she spent in places like these, she never smelled bad. She smelled like family.

  “It’s been too long,” she said, her words almost lost to the thumping music.

  “Since I’ve been in one of your clubs?” I laughed. “Maybe.”

  Her grin turned wry. “You only visit to make trouble.”

  “Why change the habit of a lifetime?” I replied, just as dry.

  Her gaze flicked over my shoulder, and I turned to see Felix coming up beside Vince, and gesturing to his face. Vince licked the corner of his mouth and threw me a heated glance. My cheeks flushed white-hot.

  I cleared my throat. “Jade, this is Vincent Kelsey and Felix Grant. Guys, this is Jade, owner of Emerald City.”

  Jade’s smile widened, and her hand, when she extended it, was all sultry coercion. For a moment, I tensed, but not because of Jade’s obvious interest, but because, on top of being a Shifter, Jade was psychic. One touch, and that person’s entire life, and every single thought, shot through her mind like a movie on amphetamines. I knew to block against it, after knocking her unconscious with the less pleasant aspects of my long life.

  Jeepers, what the hell will Felix do to her?

  They all shook hands, Felix with his cool Vampire iciness, Vincent with his playful Alpha grin. I rolled my eyes, even as I saw Jade’s briefly dilate. She’d seen something, and I sure as hell made a mental note to ask about it later.

  “So where’s Fletch?” The little USB in my pocket was starting to burn a hole, as the book, no doubt, was doing to Felix’s. Boy genius was my big bet in breaking a hole in this thing.

  “Where do you think?” Jade grinned, an all-to-knowing glint in her violet eyes, turning to guide the way.

  “The Command Center,” we said in unison.

  18

  I followed Jade’s sleek form through the press of the crowd, heading towards the bar. The scent of lust, sex and sweat were so thick around the dance floor that my heart started to pound and my muscles clenched. My breathing became almost rapid as the scents rushed over me. One glance at Vince’s flared nostrils and flushed cheeks, and I knew I wasn’t the only one affected.

  Jade’s clubs catered to those who suffered the Moon Fever—Weres whose sexual drives were composed by the fullness of the moon. The fuller the moon, the harder the drive. Shifters spend their whole lives searching for their soul mate. Something innate within them demands that, in order to be complete, they needed to find the other half of their soul. With Weres, the same rule applied, but the urge to dance, to seek partners and companions, raged at fever pitch around the full moon.

  I’ve always been spared the Moon Fever.

  Or at least, I used to be.

  Jade waved to a young male behind the bar as we grew near, and the buff, young, red-haired male scurried over and looked up adoringly at the panther-Shifter I arched a brow as Jade smiled benevolently, and touched his sweet, freckled cheek before leaning forward to murmur something in his ear. I’d seen Jade do this before. She had a thing for young males, especially those with little to no sexual experience. I don’t know what the draw is, but the prospect of corrupting something so pure and unspoiled seemed to really rock her jollies.

  “He’s cute,” I remarked, when the copper-head scampered.

  She shrugged and turned to head to the back of the club, calling over her shoulder, “I like the instructional aspect.”

  I snorted and rolled my eyes, following in her wake.

  We walked past pole dance stages, attached to long walkways that led to full stages that led into the back rooms where the dancers changed and entered. I had a strange feeling, a sense of foreboding really, that I would be getting up close and personal with such a stage sooner than I liked. I shuddered. I may be part Were, but my exhibitionism was on the lower end of the scale. I’d explored most facets of it in the first half of my life, and then left it far behind me in my second half. Mostly.

  Unfortunately, on one particular night out with Jade, she’d managed to procure some Moonshine, and I’d gotten well and truly off-my-tits drunk. As a result, Jade, and half of the state o
f Missouri, has seen me dance on top of a bar in nothing but a pair of hot pants and cowboy boots, swinging my bra around over my head.

  Ugh… Had to be Jade. And how the bloody fuck did she find a Moonshine dealer in the middle of nowhere? Whatever.

  Half-hidden behind a curtain in the far corner of the club was a steel door. My inner wolf pricked her ears in fascination as Jade swiped a card, pressed her hand to the small box beside the handle, then leaned forward to have her eye scanned. Fletch’s security measures had obviously been modified for the new toys.

  “What’s she got back there?” Felix murmured in my ear. “Crown jewels?”

  I stifled a snicker and lightly elbowed him in the stomach. “You watch your own crown jewels, vamp boy,” I replied softly, following Jade through the door. “Fletch doesn’t like people touching his toys.”

  “As long as he doesn’t touch my toys, I won’t touch his, pet.”

  I arched a brow at the sensual Vampire, trying to gauge the real meaning behind his comment. He merely gave me a wicked little grin that made my already-frazzled hormones dance.

  Men.

  “Whoa.” Vince’s hushed comment dragged my gaze from Felix, and centered it on Fletch’s most current Command Centre. A smiled slowly spread across my face. Jade wasn’t the only one to have outdone herself this time either.

  Fletch’s domain was a room that was at least twenty-five foot wide but twenty deep, and the entire back wall was lined in a gentle crescent of large flat-screen monitors, each one showing different areas and rooms of the club. Before that was a long line of tilted panels, with five chairs sitting before them, each chair filled with a Shifter who tapped, dragged, zoomed and enhanced by simple touch on the panels before them. He was Maestro, conducting with soft words and flicks of his hands. Once you got past the impressive display of screens, you saw that the walls were a rich green with swirling vines of glittering black running through it, and the carpet was lush and thick beneath my feet.