Bitten Beauty (Book 3 Of the Deadly Beauties Live On)

by C. M. Owens

  It’s worth a shot, and it’s the only shot I have.

  Dice snorts, then takes a bow. “I’m our alpha. Ignore my followers. They lost their manners a few centuries ago.”

  “Fuck off, incubus,” G-name guy says.

  “Hashtag, alpha. Learn it, beta bitch. Now she knows,” Dice says, grinning like this is funny.

  “Sociopaths,” I murmur, cracking my fingers as I glance around for anything I can use as a weapon.

  That one time in Bangkok that I had to use a weapon comes back to me. Marilyn’s fault. It was just a letter opener, but it stabbed through the guy’s hand like it was a knife on steroids, and we got away from the psycho drug dealer we accidentally stumbled upon.

  That was one, seriously high, somewhat slow man. This is a room full of sober, psychotic, very dangerous people. And Marilyn can’t run. Hell, she can’t even function at all right now.

  My eyes land on a crossbow in the corner, and a sense of hope fills me. I’ve never shot one, nor do I know how to, but I’m a quick study and desperate. I doubt anyone wants to sacrifice themselves, so one arrow is plenty. As long as no one thinks they’re that badass.

  “Don’t even think about it.” Zee’s voice has me snapping my eyes up to meet his deadly glare.

  Shit. How he went from my accidental obsession to my newest fear is a little too much to think about right now.

  “Too many coincidences, and not enough explanation,” Zee says, stepping in front of the crossbow. “Why would you follow a stranger into a dark house? Why aren’t you a mess like her if you witnessed all that?”

  I glare at him, and he glares back. Why was I obsessed with this arrogant asshole? He’s a lunatic and a kidnapper. A heartless kidnapper.

  Marilyn hiccups around another whimper, and I wrap my arm around her shoulders.

  “Maybe my weird-shit-tolerance level is higher. I don’t know. And we followed him because the freak with the scars disappeared. Into thin fucking air. Why aren’t you questioning any of that? Why do you act like that’s not even a big part of the story?”

  His eyes flash a scary looking blue, and they get so bright that my sanity becomes questioned yet again. That’s not natural.

  “I’m with Zee on this,” Chaz, the blonde-haired douche says.

  These guys are nothing but freaky-eyed bullies.

  One second, Chaz is across the room, the next, he’s right in front of me. My breath leaves in a rush when he gets right in my face, and my entire body trembles. Supernatural bullies is apparently a better depiction, because this shit is not natural. At all. None of it.

  “That’s real fear,” a girl says. “Back off, Chaz. If she was in with Slade, she wouldn’t be afraid at all.”

  “Why?” Chaz drawls, not backing up an inch. In fact, he leans in closer, invading my space so much that I can feel his breath skitter across my face. “Slade wouldn’t come to her rescue. She would know that. The fear doesn’t prove innocence, just intellect.”

  “You’re all crazy,” I say in a hoarse rasp. “All of this and you.”

  His eyes do a weird, gold-flecked thing mixed with black, and my skin crawls as I inch back on the sofa, wishing I could put so much more space between us.

  “Dice, take her friend home,” Zee says, making my stomach lurch. “This one is staying with us.”

  “No!”

  I grab Marilyn’s arm when the one dressed in too much leather tries to touch me, and he eyes me with amusement.

  “I know how dematerialize her without killing her. I’ll carry her,” a girl says, confusing the absolute hell out of me. “She needs her memories wiped, anyway.”

  When Marilyn vanishes from my fingertips, a wave of nausea crashes down around me.

  “I used to be the only one able to do that,” G-name guy mumbles, but I barely hear him over the thump thump thump of my own heavy heartbeat.

  “She’s fine,” a blonde girl says, pulling Chaz away from me. She gives him a pointed, warning look that doesn’t faze him, and he crosses his arms over his chest. His eyes stay on me, and I continue shaking.

  “What is she, Karma?” she asks the short-haired girl that I never saw come back into the room.

  What… what?

  “Human. Completely. Not even a blip.”

  The girl has dark circles around her eyes, as though she’s tired or maybe sick. Not that I mention that aloud.

  “You should go rest. You’ve been working yourself too hard,” the leather-clad guy with the weird name tells her, kissing her as though all is normal tonight. The blonde regains my attention as she shifts closer.

  “Your friend will wake up tomorrow with no recollection of this night. Roslyn just took her to take care of her memories. She’ll feel hungover and possibly a little dizzy at first, but otherwise, she’ll be fine.” She takes a seat beside me, and she blows out a breath. “My name is Ella. It might seem hard to believe, but we’re actually the good guys.”

  Swallowing down the impossibly huge knot at my throat, I ask, “How?” It’s barely a squeak of a word, but she seems genuinely concerned and nice. Unlike the savages she’s in company with.

  “Magic,” she says simply.

  Such an explanation would have sounded absurd this morning. Now… Fuck me. Anything and everything seems twisted and distorted.

  “And me?” I ask, again finding it impossible to use a stronger tone.

  “We’re going to ask you some more questions, and the same process will be repeated on you. It doesn’t hurt. It’s simple, painless, and you won’t remember a thing. It will be just another day, and you’ll wonder how you passed out last night.”

  “I’ll do the real interrogation,” Chaz says darkly, and I shudder.

  Dice looks away from his conversation with the girl who appears to be on the verge of collapsing so he can speak.

  “No. I’ll handle it. I have more finesse, and she won’t be able to stop herself from speaking. It’s my shining point.”

  He looks smug and too pretty to be harmful, but I’ve learned looks can be very deceiving. In a desperate attempt to stall, I do something ridiculous and pray it works.

  I pretend to freaking faint.

  Chapter 6

  ZEE

  “Damn it,” I hiss as Leah lifelessly collapses to the couch. Ella gently maneuvers her so that she’s lying down, and then she stands up to glare at all of us.

  “A human can only tolerate so much intimidation, jackasses. She’s endured a seriously traumatic experience tonight, and then Roslyn yanks her friend away without any warning. Then you dickheads act like you’re going to gut her. What did you think would happen?”

  She’s yelling. Ella doesn’t yell very often. I have to wince because she’s very high-pitched when she yells, and that shit hurts my ears.

  “I offered to take over,” Dice points out, even though his attention is mostly focused on a very weak looking Karma.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I ask, motioning toward the demon hybrid as she stumbles to a chair and sits down like she can’t force herself to stand.

  “Baby?” Dice prompts, kneeling in front of her.

  “So tired,” she mumbles around a yawn.

  “Every time she uses her powers, she gets weaker,” Kimber says, frowning as she gets closer. “It’s like it’s draining her. We stopped practicing, letting her recharge, but she’s not getting stronger.”

  “She is sitting right here,” Karma grumbles. “And she can be asked questions.”

  Dice lifts her into his arms, cradling her against his body. “I’ll take her upstairs. What do we do with that?” he asks, motioning toward Leah with his head.

  I don’t want the incubus touching her with his charm anyway. My skin felt like it was burning just to think about it. Which is an entirely new set of issues. It was all I could do not to tackle Chaz when he got too close to her.

  Fucking perfect. This is the last thing I need to deal with.

  “What’s got you in such deep thought?” El
la asks, snapping me out of my reverie.

  I apparently missed Dice leaving, and I don’t know if his question was answered.

  “Primal instincts,” I mutter, moving toward Leah’s limp body. “Do we know if she’s really human? Karma was wrong about Roslyn.”

  “Roslyn had a spell separating her entities. For all intents and purposes, she was human when she thought she was,” Chaz tells me as he comes to lower himself next to me.

  Again, just seeing him so close has rage clawing at my chest. Several deep breaths seem to help, but it’s barely enough.

  “Step away,” I tell him calmly, hoping he listens.

  He cocks an eyebrow at me, but he does as I request without hesitation. Then his look grows knowing and he groans.

  “Fuck,” he snarls. “Really? Her? Of all the damn people out there, it’s her?”

  “I’m missing something,” Gage says, coming closer.

  “He wants to sire her. I can practically see it in his eyes,” Chaz answers, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

  Gage’s eyes widen, and I bite the inside of my jaw to keep from losing my fucking cool and exploding on everyone in the room.

  “It’s instinct. Not choice,” Ella says, coming to my aid.

  “That’s just bloody terrific,” Dice grumbles as he returns. “Hashtag, bloodsuckers and instincts.”

  I start toward him, but Ella pushes back on my chest.

  “We have bigger problems. Like for one, finding out if Slade is trying to set us up for something. He left those bodies there to be—”

  “They’re gone.” Roslyn’s voice is sudden as she appears next to us, and her eyes are full of… That’s not good.

  “What?” Ella, Chaz, and I all ask in unison.

  “The bodies, the blood… all of it is gone. It’s like it never happened. I wiped the girl’s memories, went back to clean it up myself, and everything was gone.”

  That’s all the more confusing.

  “That’s not all,” she goes on. “I need help in the city. The locals are losing it. I swear there must be jinn here, because there’s nothing but chaos. And that’s definitely a jinn thing. I know a spell to counteract their presence, but I need help. Everyone else can keep the locals from acting out on buried resentment that is coming out very violently.”

  “Never a moment’s peace,” I mumble.

  “Jinn don’t have that power,” Kimber says, stepping up. “I worked with one in the Somage. They evoke some anger when they need a distraction, but they can’t cause utter chaos.”

  I don’t know shit about jinn, so I stay out of it. Apparently Chaz doesn’t know much either, because he seems completely silent.

  “You’re talking about blue jinn,” Roslyn argues. “I’m saying red jinn are in Pine Shore. Judging by the amount of chaos, it’s either one really, really strong one. Or a few strong ones. Or several somewhat strong ones. There’s no such thing as a weak red jinn. The weakest ones can still take out two powerful witches with a flick of their wrists. Blue jinn feed on the anger in humans. Red jinn feed on the magic of fey. The human chaos is bait for those of us who go to help. So eyes open.”

  “Red jinn are extinct, so I don’t see them being the reason for this. Humans are just crazy,” Chaz says with a shrug, acting all too casual about this. I guess he knows more about them than I do. “We should be more focused on the blood-starved night stalkers. I doubt we’ve hunted them into extinction yet, and we know they infect all the ones they bite. Then there’s the girl Zee wants to sire and how she’s connected. It doesn’t make sense for her to be human.”

  “Zee wouldn’t have the compulsion to sire her if she wasn’t human,” Thad points out, coming to tug on Roslyn’s hand. “And if Roslyn says red jinn are here, then they’re here. We need to go calm the chaos regardless, because we really don’t need any more attention from possible hunters like the anointed.”

  “Red jinn are definitely not extinct,” Roslyn growls. “I know. I saw them—at least four—in the rings.

  Before Chaz can argue, they disappear, and Ella groans while following behind, dematerializing from the room.

  “She can’t get out even if she wakes up. I’ve spelled the house,” Gage says. “As soon as I go, no one will be able to leave, so you need to go first.” My entire body tenses, and he eyes me before adding, “Or… not.”

  “Just go help Roslyn,” I mumble, cursing as I drop down in front of the couch where Leah is still motionless. Usually someone wakes up a little faster than this after fainting.

  “You’ll be stuck in here,” he repeats.

  Chaz disappears, leaving a gold trail of dust in his wake. All I want to do is… Nope. Not happening. I need to put a little distance between us.

  Kimber is the next to go. The others are guarding the queen’s estate that is hidden outside of Pine Shore. Kane’s shore house is mine for the time being. I want Leah in it instead of Gage’s house.

  “Call if you need me to come back and let you out,” Gage says on a sigh when I get lost inside my own head.

  I don’t mention wanting to move her. I really don’t need to be left completely alone with her right now. Dice needs to come back down.

  When Gage vanishes from the room, all my attention unfortunately falls on the girl I need to stay away from. Fate is a cruel bitch for pushing us back together.

  Blowing out a breath, I sit down on the edge of the couch, staring at the way her chest rises and falls. It’s… distracting. Without permission, my hand moves to her cheek, and to my surprise, she flinches.

  Fucking shit. She’s faking.

  ***

  LEAH

  Strong fingers stroke my cheek, and my entire body tenses. I immediately curse myself silently. Maybe he didn’t notice—

  “Might as well wake up, little faker. Game over. Sleeping Beauty never flinched.”

  Crap.

  His deep, rough voice is also smooth, which sounds contradictory, but it’s the only way I can describe it. Everything they’ve been discussing makes no sense to me, but it’s obvious Zee wants to do something to me.

  Though I’m not sure what exactly that is.

  I really don’t understand the twisted way it makes me feel seduced.

  Therapy. Lots of therapy needed.

  “Open up,” he says again.

  Very slowly, I peel my eyes open, wishing my acting skills were so much better. I could still be closing out this bizarre new world if I had taken drama class instead of dance. A lot of good that did me anyway. I have the rhythm of someone with inner ear problems.

  Zee’s cocking an eyebrow at me, almost seeming amused and pissed at the same time. If anyone has the right to be pissed, it’s me… Not him.

  His faux hawk has tips that are red now. How did that happen? Why does that even matter?

  “What really happened in that house? Why did Slade let you live?” he asks, staying much too close to me. He’s sitting on the edge of the sofa, and his scent is all around me.

  He smells like a perfect mixture of all my favorite things—chocolate, cherries, strawberries… So much more. My mouth actually starts to water, but I swallow hard.

  When my tongue darts out to wet my lips, his eyes follow the motion, and his gaze darkens even as his blue eye color lightens. A small growl emanates from his chest, and something inside me almost feels drawn to the sound, like some sick freak.

  “You have to stop doing things like that,” he says absently, running a finger over my lips.

  Gravity works against me, and I lean into the touch instead of away. It’s like there’s a heady cocktail of desire and want, and I have no control over anything.

  “What’s… What’s…” My words trail off, and he rolls his eyes while pulling his hand away.

  “It’s me. For some reason, I want to sire you. You’re trying to fucking bond with me.”

  I swallow hard again upon hearing that answer, and I fight the urge to touch him.

  “What does that mean?�
��

  “Night stalker,” he says, pointing to his chest. “Human,” he adds, pointing at me. It’s then I realize he’s talking to me like I’m an idiot. The dickhead.

  Still doesn’t make me recoil the way I want to, though.

  He moves closer, and thumbs my bottom lip. My breath catches in my throat as he leans down, putting his lips so close to mine that I can almost taste his breath. It’s just as good as his scent.

  “Right now,” he says in almost a whisper, keeping his eyes locked on mine, “I’m your every desire. Every scent you love, every taste you crave, and every touch you’ve ever wanted. It’s part of the allure when the sire calling hits. It’s rare. Very fucking rare. Usually my kind just takes what they want. We like to own things, and as your sire, I’d own you in every possible way.”

  His hand slides down my shoulder and keeps going until it’s past the curve of my waist. He grabs my ass and jerks me around until he can come down on top of me. The second I feel him settling in between my legs, I should panic, but instead, I press closer.

  It’s almost painful not to grind against him when I feel his erection, but I remain somewhat sane and resist. His lips brush against mine, as he pins my hands above my head.

  “Hearing the calling is almost unheard of. Trust me when I say I’m using every ounce of my strength to deny it. You’ve stalked my club, almost as though you want to be turned into a monster.”

  My breath becomes trapped this time, because those fake fangs aren’t fake. Not at all.

  I watch in disbelief as those sharp points barely peek out, and curse myself for finding the seduction in them. I try to think Dracula instead of Cullen. Vampires are not seductive. Vampires are not seductive. Vampires are not—

  “Then you land in my lap tonight after I’ve worked so hard to avoid you. Do you have any idea how tempting it makes it? Now you’re trapped under me, your heart is racing, and the scent of your fear is intoxicating. It only makes me want you more.”