Trina M. Lee

by Alexa O'Brien Huntress Series Book 1-4 Box Set (Retail)

  It was almost nine o’clock when the trick-or-treaters stopped coming. The big bowl of candy was almost empty, only a few lollipops and chocolates remained. I’d nibbled more than a few during the past hour. After a third glass of wine, I was ready to go.

  Kylarai was permeating a positive, happy vibe as she spritzed on some perfume and gathered her purse. I was still too nervous to ask her if Julian would be at Lucy’s Lounge. She’d volunteered to drive tonight because of an early business meeting. So, I had the liberty of sipping cocktails and socializing. I was looking forward to it. I needed to get out more. Hunting and killing didn’t count as a social life. Did it?

  When we were cruising through town in Ky’s white Escalade, I began to feel an anxious flutter. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was going to be an eventful night.

  That feeling didn’t ease when Kylarai said, “You’re definitely going to have those two at each other’s throats dressed like that. Better be prepared to deal with some drama.”

  “You have my full permission to smack their skulls together if they start any trouble,” I replied as I flipped the sun visor down to look in the mirror on the back. How is it that celebrities make red lipstick look so easy and perfect? It’s much harder to maintain than any other shade.

  “Remember that you said that when the time comes. You look fine. Stop looking in the mirror.”

  The drive to Lucy’s Lounge took less than ten minutes. My senses went into overdrive the moment I got out of the big Cadillac. As we crossed the parking lot, a group of guys whistled at us. It boosted my ego immensely. They also cat called to the three girls that walked a few paces behind us, but that was beside the point.

  The club was filled with a delightful array of costumes. It was nice to see that so many people had decided to dress up. The typical blockbuster movie characters were there in full force. No Halloween party was complete without the Joker and a Jedi or two.

  Of course, the classic horror costumes from devils to Lugosi vampires were everywhere as well as sexy cops, angels and celebrity recreations. It never ceased to amaze me how creative some people get with their costumes.

  One of the local bands from the city was dominating the stage. It looked like the bar staff had made a half-assed attempt at decorating. Black and orange streamers hung from the ceiling. Matching candles adorned each table. Otherwise, it was the same drab yet welcoming environment as always.

  Arys was not there. At least not yet. I couldn’t feel his presence, but it was early yet for him. I didn’t expect him until later, after he’d take care of the blood hunger. If he neglected to do so, there was going to be trouble. The bloodlust and a crowd like this could make a deadly combination for me.

  Once we got through the traffic jammed entryway, I was able to take stock of the entire place. The werewolf energy in the club was strong. I could feel Shaz as well as Zak, which likely meant Julian wasn’t far. I ignored the urge to cast a glance around for him.

  Kylarai’s head came up suddenly, sniffing the air. Wherever Julian was, she had found him. I spotted him a moment later. He and Zak were each dressed as characters from a superhero movie. I think it was X-Men, but I’m not much of a movie buff myself. Zak crooked a finger to beckon us over. I was eager to get to the bar for a drink so I could see Shaz. I was dying to see how he was dressed. And, the last person I had words for was Julian. I still wasn’t sure if I should force him out of town or not.

  “I’m going up to the bar. Do you want a Coke or anything?” I gestured toward the dark-haired Were that drew her attention. “I know you want to go over there. Feel free. I swear, I don’t mind.”

  Impulsively, she hugged me tightly, and I almost lost my balance on the extreme heels. “You really are the best, Alexa. You’re so much more understanding about this than I would be.” Before I could reply, she was gone, flitting off across the bar to her brown wolf.

  I shrugged and turned toward the bar. The large line-up prevented me from getting a glimpse of Shaz until I got closer. When at last I caught sight of his platinum hair, my heart increased in tempo. The anticipation was eating me alive.

  I laughed despite my sudden speechlessness when I finally laid eyes on my white wolf. He was dressed as Billy Idol, complete with a badass leather jacket. A punk rock style chain hung around his neck.

  As the people ahead of me received their drinks and moved aside, I could see that he wore jaw- droppingly tight leather pants. Holy crap! I don’t know what I’d been expecting but this wasn’t it.

  Shaz’s white blond hair was a mess of spikes and gel. Combined with the barest smudge of black around his jade green eyes, the look was so sexy on him that I was instantly flushed. I would have fanned my face with my hand if it would have made any difference. He had only minor bruising around his left eye from his scrap with Julian. He looked damn fine.

  Though he had yet to see me, he knew that I was there. I was impatiently waiting for the four women ahead of me to get their drinks and get the hell out of the way. Knowing my wolf was so close yet out of reach was making me crazy.

  All at once, the crowd seemed to disperse before me, and I sauntered up to the bar with a look that oozed sexuality. Our eyes met, and Shaz’s mouth literally dropped open as he took in my attire. The watchful wolf inside me did not miss the sudden increase in his heart rate.

  I flashed him a playful smile and a wink. I was playing it cool, but my guts were twisting in knots. He looked good enough to climb over the bar for in front of all of the people waiting behind me. I couldn’t help but feel like I was staring at him stupidly.

  “And, what can I get for you?” Shaz’s eyes roamed over my body, lingering on my fishnet-clad thighs. He swallowed hard, and my pulse raced. “Other than the extreme fucking I am dying to give you.”

  His boldly uncharacteristic statement had me literally tripping on my own tongue. I couldn’t get over how delicious he looked. Punk rock was a really good look for him.

  “You are so sexy right now. I could just eat you up.” I licked my red lips teasingly. “Red wine, please. And, please tell me this is a joke. You can’t be working now. I have to have you.”

  He raised an eyebrow, and a mischievous grin spread across his luscious lips. “I love your costume. It’s so perfectly you. The wolf disguised as the innocent.” He turned away momentarily to grab a fresh bottle of wine and a glass. I gazed hungrily at his leather clad behind. “It really makes me want to bend you over one of these tables. I’m abandoning ship here as soon as Tawnie gets in. Don’t disappear on me.”

  He pressed the wine into my hand, refusing to let me pay for it. What a sweetheart. I didn’t want to move, but the line of people pressing behind me gave me little choice.

  “I’m not going anywhere, baby.” I blew him a kiss and left the bar.

  The glow that filled me just from that brief interaction with my white wolf had me buzzing. Waiting for him to be free of his responsibilities was going to be torture. Every instinct I had as both woman and wolf demanded that I touch him the way I so desperately wanted to.

  No sooner had I turned away from the bar than I both sensed and saw the tall, lithe leopard enter the Lounge. Jez looked gorgeous, dressed to kill as Beatrix Kiddo from Kill Bill. She looked deadly in the yellow outfit with black stripes, replicated from the film. She even carried the notorious Hanzo sword on her hip. Impressive. Her golden hair hung long and silky straight down her back. I was instantly jealous.

  She spotted me right away, and I moved to meet her. “You did the red lips like I told you to. It looks so hot.” The first words out of Jez’s mouth shouldn’t have been surprising, especially followed by, “I love those boots.”

  The crowd continued to grow as the next wave of partygoers started showing up. So much freely exuded positive energy was more potent than the red wine in my hand.

  She grabbed my arm and pulled me along to the nearest shooter girl. I assumed it was to hit on her, but then she thrust an oddly colored shot into my hand. Drinking wa
s one thing but shooting drinks was another.

  When I eyed the blue concoction, she leaned in close and said cheerfully, “Here’s to being carefree for a night. Happy Halloween, wolf girl. Bottom’s up!”

  She tossed it back like a trooper, and I followed her lead, grimacing in response to the sour taste. I should have known. Leave it to a cat to choose a Sour Puss as her choice of shot. I preferred the wine.

  We walked around the lower floor, from one side of the large building to the other. Jez wanted to check out everyone’s costumes and send out her “single girl” radar. I was more than happy to take in the entire place.

  I experienced a flash of disappointment when Jez asked a passing waitress to bring us drinks. I wanted to feast my eyes on Shaz again. Seeing him from a distance was an absolute tease. In the back of my mind, I could think about nothing but touching his rock hard body.

  We paused on the edge of the dance floor to wait for the waitress to return. The crowd on the dance floor appeared to be having a great time. I was eager to join in.

  “Do you think Kale will show up?” Jez asked as she openly admired a tall brunette in a Roman goddess costume. “I invited him.”

  I glanced over to where Kylarai was shooting pool with Zak and Julian. From where I stood, I could see bruises marring Julian’s skin. It brought a smile to my face.

  “I kind of hope he doesn’t. That wouldn’t go over very well.” I sipped my drink and glared at the lesser wolf, the one that dared to think he could ever be Alpha anything.

  When I looked back at my cat-eyed companion, she was giving me a knowing look. “She doesn’t know he kissed you.”

  “She doesn’t need to. They’re not together anymore. And, that was personal.”

  She clearly didn’t believe that’s all there was to it. “If you say so.”

  I had to avoid the temptation to step on her toe as the waitress walked up with our drinks. Jez passed her a twenty, and she put up a hand in refusal.

  “I have strict orders from the bar not to let you two pay for anything. I will happily take a tip though.” She beamed and giggled, despite looking uncomfortable dressed as a French maid.

  Jez gave her the twenty anyway, making her promise to keep an eye out for us. “Free drinks all night,” she quipped to me. “You must be giving it to that wolf good.”

  Her comment warmed my cheeks, and a fire started in my stomach. “Trust me, I am waiting very impatiently to do just that.”

  Her musical laughter peeled out like ringing bells. “Come on, let’s hit the dance floor. I have energy to burn.”

  Jez was naturally graceful and seemed to move like a willow tree caught in a breeze. Dancing in heels didn’t feel as natural to me as she made it appear. I felt eyes on me and looked up to find a dark-haired pirate giving me the eye. His attention was flattering, but I was grateful when he danced on by. I didn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.

  The waitress made good on her promise and came back to us. Despite my higher tolerance, I found myself to be getting quite tipsy. I had to cut back before I did something to embarrass myself in these boots.

  After three or four songs passed, my foot developed a cramp, and I begged Jez to use her additional height to find us a table. Miraculously, a couple vacated one nearby almost as soon as we started looking.

  I sat down with a sigh of relief after shoving all of the empties to one side. I could see most of the club from where we sat. The stage was in front of us but against the opposite wall. Diagonally to the left was the bar in the center of the room, the staircase behind it and the pool tables to the direct left. The entry and those passing in and out to smoke were between both sides of the room.

  Shaz’s hair was visible from a distance but the constant line up at the bar prevented me from getting a good look. I wondered how many girls had already tried to slip him their number.

  Jez dug into her tiny purse and pulled out a lipstick and a compact mirror. “This place is really hopping. If Kale doesn’t show up, I’m going to kick his ass. He always misses out.”

  I watched her reapply her perfect lipstick without the slightest smudge. No fair. “I just hope he doesn’t go to the Kiss. That place is going to ruin him.”

  “No shit. I’ve been telling him for ages to just kill something already and stop torturing himself with that dive.”

  We chattered on, watching the activity of those around us. I wasn’t surprised when a fight broke out on the other side of the bar between two drunken fools dressed like Batman and Captain Jack Sparrow. I shook my head at their human foolishness, glad they weren’t my responsibility.

  Like usual, Shaz reached them before the bouncers did. It didn’t take him long to separate them. I watched closely, my heart beating out a tense rhythm. No sooner had the bouncers taken over than he beamed a grin my way and headed over.

  Jez kicked me lightly under the table and said, “That’s my cue to go chat up that beautiful brunette dressed as Cinderella. I’ll catch up with you later.” With a wink, she clinked her glass against mine and sauntered off.

  Shaz’s scent filled my lungs as he approached. I could have breathed it in all night in absolute splendor. He closed the distance between us, kissing the end of my nose lightly. “Give me fifteen minutes, and then meet me by the staircase.”

  Before I could reply, he had jogged back to the busy bar. I watched him go, in those butt hugging, leather pants, with a goofy smiled plastered on my face.

  Rather than make myself a lone target for the single guys, I figured I would mosey on over to the staircase to wait for Shaz. I was halfway there, carefully picking my way through the crowd when I felt him. My dark vampire had arrived.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I turned to the front entry, waiting expectantly. Everything that made me more than human was on full alert as that cool, dark power approached.

  When Arys emerged from the sea of people lingering near the door, my heart paused and dropped into my feet. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to get so lucky, but as his blue eyes fell on me, I didn’t care. The tingle that swept me with a warm glow woke the power curled up within my core.

  I honestly hadn’t expected him to show up in a costume. Not after the comments he’d made about Halloween. So, I was definitely taken aback to see him dressed to the hilt as Johnny Depp’s Sweeney Todd. It couldn’t have been a more perfect fit.

  He had the outfit down to a tee. I had never seen him dressed like that. He looked as if he had stepped out of another time.

  Desire slammed through me. His hair couldn’t have looked hotter. It was still typically mussed up but with a strategically placed style. Down to the white streak in the front, he had it. He looked sensational.

  From the moment his eyes locked on mine, I was frozen in place. Nothing drew his attention from me as the distance separating us fell away.

  “You are easily the most heart stopping creature I have ever laid eyes on.” He greeted me, his velvety smooth voice tantalizingly beautiful.

  “You’re insanely gorgeous yourself.” I reached up to brush a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you dressed up.”

  He grinned and leaned in to kiss me softly. “Only for you, my precious wolf.”

  Everything about him tested my control. The inviting power of our bond enticed me to sink into the pull, to allow it to control us. It was agony to resist.

  “I’m glad.” I beamed up at him, my hand clasped in his. It was warmer than usual. That was a good sign. He slid a hand beneath the front of my skirt, stroking it along the edge of my thigh high stocking. The breath was knocked out of me, and I blushed.

  “I knew you’d look sensational. I couldn’t come underdressed.” Despite his neutral tone, the heat from his hand on my thigh caused a rush of blood to flood the private place between my legs. I sucked in my breath and quivered uncontrollably. This brought a smile to his lips, revealing fangs.

  Between him and Shaz, I wasn’t sure how I could handle this much smoking hot man flesh.
I wanted them both with an equal ferocity but for very different reasons. Was that even possible? I forced the thought from my mind, scoffing at the absurdity of it.

  I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder, towards the bar where Shaz had gone. “I seem to have my hands full tonight.”

  Those entrancing eyes gazed at me with their perfect frame of silky black lashes. “Is that so?” He followed my gaze to the bar before looking back at me. “Do you think you can handle both of us?”

  The blush that warmed my cheeks was instant. Only this bold vampire would head down that trail of thought.

  “That’s not what I meant,” I laughed nervously and looked away. “Though I can’t say that I wouldn’t love to find out.” It was something that slipped out freely, something I never would have said to Shaz.

  I felt Arys studying me, enjoying my discomfort and embarrassment. He leaned in close so that his lips brushed my ear, whispering, “Be careful what you wish for.”

  A jolt of electricity slammed through me from where his lips touched me, all the way down my spine. His words were shocking due to the passivity of his tone. There was a lot about Arys that I had yet to understand.

  When he pulled back, he wore a strangely disconcerted expression. I felt the shift in his energy as if it had been my own. His instant wariness had me glancing around suspiciously.

  “What?” I asked him, a little too fast. I didn’t sense anything amiss. “What do you feel?”

  He looked over my shoulder to where Shaz now waited in front of the staircase. A petite redhead dressed like a cop was showing him her handcuffs.

  “I’m not sure. Go to your wolf. I’ll come find you.” He was gone in the time it took me to blink, moving rapidly through the crowd in search of something I could neither see nor feel. A chill stole over me in his sudden absence.

  I went to Shaz but couldn’t deny the urge to look over my shoulder. The redhead looked up at my approach, vacating promptly when I boldly kissed him full on the lips, sliding my tongue between them.