Vegas Bites

by Dunbar, Natalie; Glass, Seressia; Jeffries, J. M. ; Banks, L. A.

  Not only that, but also what were their children going to be? Could they even have children? What the hell had she gotten herself into?

  Kadim looked up as Simone made a sound close to a sob. The panicked expression on her face tore at him. “Simone?”

  “Great, here come the waterworks,” Malcolm said to no one in particular. “Good thing I have a business meeting to go to.” He beat a hasty retreat.

  Kadim ignored everyone but Simone. She looked ready to bolt. What had she been thinking of to bring that expression to her face? “What is it, sweetheart?”

  “I’m sorry, I’m just—I’m just—” She took a deep breath. “I need to get you alone.”

  He knew she didn’t mean it as suggestively as it sounded, but her parents obviously didn’t. “Go on, kids,” Julius said, wrapping an arm about his wife. “Just don’t let your alone time affect the business. We’ve still got a hotel to run.”

  “Julius,” Simone’s mother admonished her husband lightly, but her eyes were concerned.

  Simone mumbled something, and then headed for the door. Kadim turned to her parents. “Thank you so much for your blessing. It means the world to me.”

  He followed after her as she headed to the private elevator. “I’m sorry, Simone.”

  She pressed the call button. “What are you apologizing for?”

  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “It seemed like a good idea.”

  She gave a sniffling laugh as the elevator opened. “I’m the one who should be apologizing,” she said, stepping into the car. “I didn’t mean to flip out at the end like that.”

  He followed her into the elevator car, pulling her into his arms as the brushed steel doors closed. “Talk to me.”

  “I’m fine, really. It’s just… it was easier to handle all of this when I thought we’d have a quick Vegas wedding. Inviting high Were society and turning it into a major event, I realized how important this is to my family and my clan. Then I started thinking about how I’d be married to you for the rest of my life, and how long that is for me, and then I realized I don’t even know how long you live.”

  She looked up at him, her dark eyes shiny with tears. “I don’t know you. You’re not the person I’ve had dinner with for the last year. He doesn’t really exist.”

  “He does exist,” he insisted, tightening his grip, suddenly afraid that if he let go, he’d lose her. “I am Kadim, the magician. I’m still the man you revealed pieces of yourself to like precious treasure over the past year. I’m the Djinni that will kill anyone who tries to harm you or your clan, the Djinni who will give you whatever you wish for. I’m the man eager to discover everything that makes you sing with pleasure. You know me, Simone, in all the ways that matter.”

  “Kadim.” She pressed her face into his shoulder, and he sighed as her arms tightened around him, grateful that she didn’t push him away.

  He whispered his true name into her hair. “I signed the contract with that name, and I’ll sign our marriage papers with that name as well,” he said. “Everyone else will see Kadim, but I’ll always be true with you.”

  She pulled back, staring into his eyes. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and that he’d meant every word he’d spoken to her parents. The words flared inside him but he held them back, doubting that she’d believe him.

  Her hand reached up, cupping his cheek. “Kiss me, please.”

  He complied instantly, covering her mouth with his. With a little sigh of appreciation, she pressed closer to him, her arms encircling his neck. Passion, pure and elemental, ignited between them as he poured everything into the kiss.

  The elevator pinged, stopped. The doors slid open onto the private hallway between the amphitheater and the backstage area. He pulled away from her slowly. “We’ll make this work, Simone,” he whispered, his voice ragged with need. “I swear we will.”

  “I believe you,” she said, her voice breathy. “You’re very convincing. I guess I just needed reassurance.”

  They stepped into the hall, heading toward the dressing rooms. Just outside the door with his name emblazoned on it in fiery lettering, Simone touched his arm. “You don’t need to worry, Kadim. I promise I won’t back out. I’m a big girl, I can handle this.”

  Those weren’t the words he wanted to hear from her, he realized. He wanted to hear her say she loved him. It suddenly mattered more to him than being protected from his old master. If she could come into his arms so willingly, there was hope for more. In time, she’d come to love him.

  “If you want to take time, we’ll take time,” he said, pushing open the door to his dressing room for her.

  “We don’t have time,” she replied as she entered the room. “Not if your master’s on—” her voice broke off abruptly.

  Kadim stepped into the room, and then stopped, ice filling his veins.

  His former master stood in the center of the room, a gun held to Simone’s forehead.

  “Hello, Hassam. If you ask me, I’d say your time’s up.”

  Chapter Seven

  Kadim saw Simone tense, ready to spring. “Don’t move, Simone!”

  She kept her gaze on the older man, seemingly unfazed by the gun at her throat. Why not? He’s only human. He’ll be dead before he can pull the trigger.

  Aloud, she said, “Pointing a gun at me is not going to make my family sell the hotel to you, Westwood.”

  He laughed. “I like your courage, girl, stupid as it is. Trying to buy your hotel was just a means to an end. It’s always been about getting my property back.”

  “Excuse me? I don’t think you have any property here. And even if there was some property available, it’s not for sale to you.”

  “Simone, please,” Kadim said, acid boiling in his gut. He’d planned for everything. How had he not planned for this? “My former master doesn’t draw a gun unless he’s already made up his mind to use it.”

  She stilled, her eyes wide with surprise. “The guy that’s been trying to take over our hotel is your old master?”

  Westwood grinned, a smug bearing of teeth that Kadim had always hated. “And about to become his master again, isn’t that right, Hassam?”

  “My name is Kadim,” he growled, “and you aren’t my master.”

  “I don’t give a damn what you call yourself,” Westwood declared. “I already know what it takes to bind you. And I promise, no more glass bottles this time.”

  “I’m not going to let you have him,” Simone vowed. “I’ll kill you first.”

  “You might want to think twice before jumping me, little wolf lady,” Westwood claimed, the gun held steady in his hand. “Same goes for you, Hassam. You see, I have specialty shells in here, silver shells, held back by a hair trigger. I’ll drop you before you even think of shifting. And I promise, if I hit you with these, you’re staying down.”

  Damn! Kadim felt hope draining away. Westwood was one of the few humans he had met who could sense magic, which was why he’d kept his magic to a minimum since escaping. The older man would pull the trigger as soon as he felt Kadim call his magic. He also couldn’t risk attacking Westwood now, not without risking Simone. Even if a bullet only grazed her, silver residue would infect her system like a poison.

  Westwood smiled as if he could see Kadim’s every thought. “You should have just let her bind you.”

  Kadim balled his hands into fists, but he didn’t dare make a move on Westwood. Simone spoke before he could. “What makes you think I haven’t?”

  Westwood’s thick face reddened with laughter. “He hasn’t told you anything, has he? If you’d married or bound him, I’d already be dead. Genies have an obligation to protect their masters, since only their masters or accidents can free them. I’m guessing he hasn’t given you his true name or told you how a Djinn marriage ceremony works either. Means he’s only marrying you for necessity. It’s his insurance against being bound against his will. Course, making a bargain with you is close to the same thing, just better benefits.�
�

  Kadim would have given anything to wipe the stricken expression from Simone’s face. He’d botched everything. He should have courted her properly instead of tricking her. He’d forced her into the engagement as surely as Westwood had forced him into servitude. If he hadn’t, maybe Simone would believe that he truly did love her.

  “Your word,” he said, not looking at Simone. “Give me your word that you won’t harm her, and I’ll do what you say.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” Simone gagged as Westwood tightened his arm about her throat. “You can’t do this. You can’t go back to him!”

  “And I can’t let him hurt you.” He kept his gaze on Westwood. “Despite everything, he is a man of his word. If he says he won’t harm you, he won’t.”

  Westwood beamed. “That’s right. I give you my word that I won’t harm your little Were-bitch.”

  Kadim, I can smell his intent. If he doesn’t kill me, he’ll make you do it after he binds you.

  Kadim shuddered as something close to physical pain wracked him. He wanted to believe that he wouldn’t hurt Simone, but he simply wasn’t sure. He’d done things for Westwood he’d never tell Simone about, things as a bound spirit he’d been powerless to stop.

  Simone, you’ll have to bind me.

  No!

  You must. If I must be a slave, I would be yours. Say my true name, and then say these words—

  “Wait!” Simone exclaimed.

  “Why should I?” Westwood demanded.

  “Because Kadim owes me another wish.”

  Kadim frowned. Simone, what are you doing? You gave me three wishes right? When you told me to wish myself into your care? I couldn’t do that unless you’d granted me wishes, and I know you like doing things in threes.

  Aloud she said, “When he revealed his true nature to me, he gave me three wishes. I’ve only used two.”

  Westwood looked at him. “Is she telling the truth?”

  “You’re holding a gun to my head. Why in the hell would I try to lie to you?” Kadim turned to Westwood. “She speaks true. I do owe her another wish. I gave my word as a Djinni.”

  “You think this is checkmate?” Westwood demanded, digging the barrel of his semi-automatic into Simone’s forehead so roughly she winced. “You’re in no position to bargain, neither of you.”

  Kadim forced himself to bank the rage that had exploded inside him. He’d kill Westwood for hurting Simone. He’d kill him slowly and painfully until it seemed his screams would echo for all eternity.

  “I don’t want to bargain,” Simone said. “I want to make my wish, and then get the hell out of here.”

  “What?” Kadim took a step backwards, staggered by her words.

  “He knows I didn’t want a part of this,” she said, speaking to Westwood. “All I wanted was a damn magic special and the money it would bring in.”

  Westwood pressed the gun into her temple. “Don’t screw with me, wolf. The moment you wish me dead is the moment a silver bullet enters your brain.”

  Simone swallowed past fear and pain, unable to watch the look of betrayal seeping into Kadim’s features. She said a silent prayer of thanks that he could only hear her thoughts when she projected them, not read her mind. “I’m not going to wish you dead, Westwood. Promise that you’ll leave my clan and the hotel alone, and I’ll give you a Djinni present.”

  Kadim said something she didn’t understand, but she clearly understood the tone and the intent. He wouldn’t ever forgive her, but she had no other choice.

  Westwood chuckled. “This is the woman you pinned your freedom on?” he asked, obviously relishing the moment. “That’s what you deserve for thinking you could betray me and manipulate others into doing what you want.”

  Simone felt him loosen his hold on her neck. “He manipulated you from the start. It’s all his kind knows how to do. That’s why they need to be bound, or else they’ll just cause chaos. Of course, if I get rich in the process, so much the better.”

  He shifted the gun to the back of her head. “Go ahead, make your wish. I must admit, I’m curious to see what you plan to do to him.”

  Kadim’s dark eyes bored into her. “Wish well, Simone,” he said. “Once I’m bound to him, I won’t be able to help you.”

  “I know what I want to wish for,” she said. There was only one wish she could make, one wish that would protect him. And if it didn’t work, she’d rather be dead anyway.

  Simone pressed her left hand against her thigh, out of Westwood’s view. Slowly she shifted it, her nails lengthening into claws. Taking a deep breath, she quickly spoke Kadim’s true name, then added, “I wish for you to be set forever free by being impervious to any and all attempts to bind you against your will.”

  “You bitch!” Westwood screamed. Simone heard the unmistakable sound of a gun’s hammer being cocked.

  With a silent prayer, she ducked and spun, raking her claws at Westwood’s chest before throwing herself to the floor. Shouting a curse, Westwood fired, the sound loud in the dressing room. She tensed against the impending strike of the bullet. If it passed through, she might still be able to completely change and rip Westwood’s throat out.

  No bullet struck her. She looked up, stared. “Kadim.”

  Roaring filled Simone’s ears as Kadim rose above her in his natural form, a whirling dervish of wind and fire. He moved toward Westwood. The human fired his gun again, but the bullets bounced harmlessly away.

  Then Westwood aimed the gun at her. She jerked at the collar of her halter dress, ready to shift, when he screamed.

  The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the room as Westwood dropped the gun to the floor, his hand blistered and sizzling. With his good hand, he grabbed for his throat, his face turning a dangerous shade of reddish purple as his skin bubbled with heat. Simone watched, transfixed, as the human fell to his knees, and then collapsed onto his side. She heard it when his heart burst as he roasted to death inside his own skin.

  His body erupted in flames. Within heartbeats, he’d disappeared, as if he’d never been. Shaken, Simone tried to climb to her feet, but her body refused to obey.

  A hand, still wrapped in flame, stretched toward her. Without hesitation, she reached out her left hand.

  The diamond flared, heat stinging her fingers. Before she could cry out, the ring turned to dust. She knew then that her wish had worked completely.

  “Simone, what did you do?”

  She reached out to him, but neither skin nor fire touched her hands. “I gave you what you wished for. You’re completely free now.”

  “Why did you do it?” he cried out. “Why did you include yourself in that wish?”

  The ceiling above their heads split open in golden light. Kadim’s form flowed toward the rift with a sound as terrifying as a tornado. In the space of a blink he was gone, the silence loud.

  “I did it because I love you.”

  Sinking to the floor, she wrapped her arms about herself, trying to hold the pain in. It swirled inside her, gathering strength and purpose until she had to let it out or be consumed.

  She threw back her head and howled.

  Chapter Eight

  Three days later

  Simone waited until the celebration was in full swing before putting in an appearance, hoping the Weres would be too deep in full moon fever to notice her arrival.

  She was wrong.

  The entire pack fell silent as she made her way through the crowd, heading for her parents. Whispers followed her, and even though she couldn’t make out the words, she knew what they were saying. It still surprised her when one of the females, Vivianne, stepped into her path.

  “I have no quarrel with you, Vivianne,” Simone said, wanting nothing more than to congratulate her parents and return to her suite. She’d emerged only because she’d lose face if she didn’t. Life and death were natural occurrences in the clan, and no one mourned someone who wasn’t their mate or part of the alpha pair. But then, Simone had never stuck to hard and fast c
lan rules.

  Vivianne didn’t budge. The other woman, turned some forty years ago, had never liked any of the women in the Temple clan, though Simone and Solange had both tried to make her feel welcome. Simone wondered now why she’d even bothered.

  “First Xavier, and now the magician,” Vivianne smirked. “Aren’t you tired of being a black widow?”

  Simone didn’t think; she reacted. One moment she faced the female, and the next she had Vivianne pressed into the carpet, her claws poised above the other woman’s throat. Four deep gouges in the woman’s cheek filled the air with the scent of fresh blood.

  Silence fell as the pack pressed close. “This is my parents’ time, a time of celebration,” Simone said, her voice just human. “I don’t want to disrupt it with a fight, but I will be more than happy to oblige you. My wolf hasn’t had nearly enough blood.”

  Vivianne stared up at her with wide, wild eyes. Simone had to suppress a smile. Vivianne hadn’t expected an attack, just like she hadn’t expected an offer to fight. Simone knew then that the days when she’d back out of a fight were gone.

  Thanks to Kadim.

  She dropped her face closer to the other woman’s, grinning as she scented the sharp spike of fear. It was all she could do not to taste the blood running down the other woman’s cheek. “Fight or yield,” she whispered. “Right now, it’s all the same to me.”

  Vivianne looked up at the people surrounding them. The clan wouldn’t intercede, and they both knew it. “I paid a lot of money for this dress,” the turned Were said, then averted her gaze. “I don’t want to ruin it.”

  Simone backed off, rising. “Go lick your wounds, then come back to the party,” she suggested as Vivianne made it upright. “But if you ever mention Xavier or Kadim again, I won’t go for your face.”