by Unknown
“Are you sure you’re going to fit through there?” I asked. She was petite, but the opening looked more like an air vent.
“Yep. This isn’t my first rodeo in this club.” She winked, pulled a tiny screw driver from her pocket, and went to work on the hardware.
At least she wasn’t going back out into the club where her attacker could get to her again. “Want me to watch the door?”
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
“I’m on it, and good luck,” I said with a wave, then slipped out.
The moment I entered the hallway, Jackson grabbed my arm. “Come with me.”
“But—”
“It’s not safe,” he said, moving swiftly.
“What’s going on?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder at the restroom. Thankfully no one seemed to be headed that direction. In fact, everyone was crowding near the entry, apparently trying to leave.
“Someone cast a time bomb spell. Jorges sensed it. We have to leave right now before this place goes up in flames.”
My heart started to race, and the woman I’d met in the bathroom flashed through my mind. Had she gotten out? She must’ve, right? What if the window wouldn’t open or had been magically sealed for security reasons like the Cryrique building? I stopped in my tracks, digging my heels in. “Jackson, wait. We have to check the restroom. There was a woman in there. I have to make sure she got out.”
“We can’t,” he said, tightening his hold as he moved swiftly toward a door that read Employee’s only. He must’ve been banking on another exit.
“Jackson! She was hurt. I can’t leave without checking on her.”
“Shit,’ he muttered. Then before I could say another word, he scooped me up, pivoted, and moved so fast my vision blurred. In the next moment, we were standing in the middle of the women’s restroom lounge.
“Get out!” Jorges said with a snarl. He held Phoebe by the neck with one hand while she clawed at his fingers. Her eyes were nearly popping out of her head while she made ugly choking noises.
“Phoebe! Let her go,” I cried in a state of utter stupidity. I was a human and they were both witches. If Phoebe couldn’t hold him off, what did I think I could do?
Jorges spun, his beady eyes boring into me as he let out a growl. “You know this bitch?”
“I…”
Phoebe, who was still being held off the floor, her feet kicking out, met my gaze and mouthed no.
I shook my head. “No. I don’t. I met her five minutes ago while in this bathroom. I offered her a… a piece of gum, she declined.”
Jackson placed me on my feet, and stepped in front of me, obscuring my view. “What’s going on here, Jorges?”
“She set the time bomb. I’m not letting her leave until she diffuses it. I’m not losing my club because of this little piece of trash.”
“Your club?” I asked, surprised as if that was the most important thing to be focused on at the moment.
“Blake, not now,” Jackson muttered over his shoulder.
“Right. Sorry,” I said, but then whispered in his ear, “I don’t believe him. Her magic has been neutralized. If Jorges just sensed it before I left the restroom, there’s no way it was her.”
He didn’t acknowledge my latter statement, but he did stiffen. “Jorges, I think it’s best if we all get out of here. How about we take this up with the Arcane?”
The pudgy man shot out his hand, releasing a blinding white light.
“Fuck,” Jackson said as he tackled me to the floor. The light flew over us and hit the far wall with a deafening boom. Plaster tumbled to the floor in a cloud of dust. “Are you okay?” he said into my ear.
“I think so.” The wind had been knocked out of me, but I hadn’t been blasted apart by the crazy man’s magic.
Jackson got to his feet, hauling me with him. Power radiated from him as he once again stepped in front of me. “Christ, Jorges. Why the hell did you do that?”
I peered around him, and my heart got caught in my throat. Phoebe’s face was starting to turn blue and her feet had gone still. I wanted to scream for Jorges to let her go, but the crazed look on his face silenced me.
“I told you to get the fuck out.” He shook Phoebe like a ragdoll and once again reached out as if to send another blast of magic, but Jackson was too fast. He jumped, grabbing Jorges’s arm and twisting it back so the magic blasted the very window Phoebe had been planning to escape from.
Glass shattered, raining down on the tiled floor.
I sprinted forward, grabbing for Jorges’s hand, desperately trying to get him to release his victim.
“Blake!” Jackson pushed me back with his free hand, sending me flying into the rubble of plaster, but I didn’t care. Jorges, clearly out of his mind, had released Phoebe while trying to attack me. Jackson who was much quicker than Jorges, caught the man’s arm, forcing both behind Jorges’s back.
“Phoebe!” I cried out again as I raced to her side. The witch was unconscious, but her chest rose and fell indicating she was breathing. I glanced over at Jackson. “Thank God. He didn’t kill her.”
“Not yet,” Jorges spat, struggling against Jackson’s iron grip.
“Not tonight,” I shot back, the urge to smack the snarl off his face nearly getting the better of me. “Not ever, if I have any say in the matter.”
“Yeah,” Phoebe croaked out, her voice barely audible. “Because I’ll take you out first, you dirty bastard.”
“What happened?” I asked her.
“She’s trying to blow up my club,” Jorges said again.
“Lies,” Phoebe said as she sat up. “There’s no magical bomb. Not yet. He was planning to kill me, then destroy the place and pin it on me.”
Though I barely knew her, I had no trouble believing her. Jorges had given me the creep vibe straight off. “Can you stand?” I asked her.
She nodded. “I think so.”
“Get her outside,” Jackson said. “Then call the Arcane. They’ll get this sorted out.”
“Yeah, the Arcane,” Phoebe said and then spit in Jorges’s direction. “They’re going to love the evidence I collected on you.”
Jorges reared forward, struggling to break Jackson’s hold. But his effort was futile, much to my extreme pleasure.
I put my arm out to Phoebe, letting her use me as support, then slowly helped her out of the club. The moment we stepped outside, a large gray and white wolf bounded up to us and stuck to Phoebe’s side. Most of the people from the club had already left, but there was a small crowd of first responders and officials milling around.
Phoebe patted the wolf’s head. “Hello, Link. I suppose this means Willow and Tal are here?”
The wolf let out a small yelp and pressed his body to her leg.
“Friend of yours?” I asked.
She gave me a genuine smile. “Only when he’s not stealing my shoes.”
A second later, a tall, blond fae appeared. He handed her a steaming cup of something that smelled foul and ordered her to drink it. She obeyed without question. Immediately the color started to come back into her cheeks and she let go of my arm.
“Thank you, Blake,” she said, the scratch in her voice gone. “Tal is a healer. I’m in good hands now.”
“You’re very welcome.”
The front door of the club burst open. Jackson hauled Jorges out. The big man was screaming obscenities and threatening to ruin Jackson and his family if he didn’t let him go right that instant.
Jackson ignored his rants and forced the security director into one of the Arcane’s magic-resistant vans. Once the man was secured inside and we’d both answered a trillion questions, Jackson returned to my side. He gave me a tired smile. “It appears the Arcane is going to be looking for a new head of international security.”
“Looks like it,” I said. “But I still don’t understand why he wanted to destroy his own club.”
“Insurance. And to get rid of the witch who’d been investigating him. Turns out he’s b
een selling Arcane secrets to cover his bad investments.” He shook his head, clearly disgusted. “The insurance money was to save his house that’s gone into foreclosure.”
“Holy hell,” I said, scanning the crowd for Phoebe. I spotted her talking with a pretty red-head fae and the healer she’d called Tal. The wolf was still stuck to her side. “I think I’ve had enough for one night.”
“You and me both,” Jackson said. “I already have a cab waiting.”
3
“T his is it.” I unlocked the guest apartment on the top floor of the Cryrique condos. “I’m certain you’ll find everything you need. The place is fully stocked. Towels, toiletries, wifi, every cable channel known to man, wine, coffee, etc. But if you need anything, I’m one floor down, number 1414.”
He stepped past me into the plush condominium. It was high end, just like all of Allcot’s properties. Marble counters, expensive furnishings, whirlpool tub, king-sized bed that looked like heaven on earth.
“Join me for a moment?” he asked without a hint of seduction. All that was there was a wariness left over from the night’s events.
“All right,” I said automatically. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get the image of Jorges strangling Phoebe out of my mind long enough to get to sleep anyhow. I strode into the apartment and stood at the floor to ceiling window, enjoying the view of the Mississippi river.
Jackson stopped just behind me.
I glanced over my shoulder at him and gave him a tired smile. “Do you get to enjoy all of this in the daytime or will we need to take the tunnels in the morning?”
Allcot, along with his inner circle of vamps, were all daywalkers. I didn’t know the details, but they’d somehow found a way to survive in the sun. That wasn’t true for all vamps, though and one never knew unless they saw the vampire soaking in the rays.
“Allcot has tunnels from here to his offices?” Jackson asked.
“Sure. Otherwise visiting vamps would have to stay over at corporate, and as nice as some of the offices are, they have nothing on this place.”
“That’s convenient,” he said almost to himself.
“It is for me when I work late. Otherwise I’d need to take a cab or Uber and that gets expensive. This way I don’t have to worry about a thing. Only people in this building have access.” I turned around, meeting his serious gaze. “Plus they are air conditioned. Complete bonus, considering this August has been the hottest on record.”
“Bonus. Right.” He gazed down at me, his eyes darkening as he brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I’ve been wanting to do that since I first saw you at the Red Door.”
A nervous laugh erupted from my lips. “Nice line.”
His fingers trailed down my cheek to my neck, his thumb caressing my quickening pulse. “It wasn’t a line. You’re lovely. Creamy skin, soulful, steel-gray eyes, and this silky raven hair is enough to drive any man insane.”
Or any vampire. “Mr. Barré, you’re coming on to me,” I said breathlessly.
He searched my eyes for a long moment. “Do you wish for me to stop?”
His words held no challenge. Did I? If I said yes, I knew he’d back off, respect my wishes. Only the thought of leaving him, of returning to my apartment alone after the night we’d had was almost unthinkable. I wanted him to touch me. To cherish me. To make me feel alive.
“Blake?” he asked. “Should I walk you to your apartment?”
I shook my head. “No.”
It was all he needed to hear. Taking a step closer, he slipped one arm around my waist and pulled me to him. His hard body pressed against mine, making me feel safe for the first time all night. I all but melted right there in his embrace.
“So perfect,” he said, brushing a finger over my lower lip. His touch was featherlike, but sent a bolt of heat straight to my center, making my knees weak. “And these eyes.” He bent his head and placed a whisper of a kiss on my temple. “Hauntingly beautiful.”
My breath left me, leaving me almost dizzy. I snaked my hands under his shirt, both thrilled and shocked at the coolness of his skin. But as I ran them over his well-defined muscles, all that mattered was exploring more of him, touching every ridge and valley until I knew every inch of him.
“Kiss me, Blake,” he murmured, his mouth only inches from mine.
Gladly. I parted my lips, lifted up on my tip toes, and pressed my lips to his, my tongue already darting out, eager and wanting.
He let out a low moan of approval, and in the next moment, he was tipping me backward, devouring me with his kiss. He tasted, licked, and teased, until I was breathless and panting with desire.
“Jackson,” I gasped out when he pulled away.
His eyes had turned dark gray and the intensity radiating from him heated my blood from head to toe. “Are you sure you want this?” he asked.
I nodded and reached for him, but he took another step back.
“Have you been with a vampire before?”
The air seemed to evaporate from the room with his words. I stared up at him and very slowly, shook my head. “Does that matter? If you’re going to turn me down now because of my inexperience, then—”
“No. I’m not. Never for that reason. I just want to make sure you’re okay with this… with me.”
I lifted my hand and pressed it to his chest. “I’m more than okay with you. I want you. More than I should probably, but I don’t really give a damn about that. Not when you’re able to light a fire in me from just one glance.”
“Damn, Blake,” he said on a groan. Then he swept me up into his arms and strode the length of the apartment to the master bedroom, the one with floor to ceiling windows.
Daywalker, I thought right before he set me back on my feet, slid his hands under the skirt of my dress, and cupped my ass, pulling me into him, the evidence of his excitement pressing against my stomach.
“Oh, yes,” I nearly whimpered. Every nerve came alive, awakening my long-suppressed desires. It had been months since I’d allowed myself to enjoy a man. And even longer since one had turned me on to the point of near insanity. “Off!” I ordered, once again tugging on his shirt.
That slow smile claimed his lips as his gaze bored into mine, holding my attention. Then he slowly tugged the black T-shirt over his head.
I let out an audible gasp. “Christ,” I whispered, unabashedly staring at his rippled chest. His skin was tanned from the sun, and muscles rippled everywhere. “You’re gorgeous.”
“So are you. Your turn.” But instead of waiting for me to slip out of my dress, he untied my sash and pushed it off my shoulders, leaving me in my black lace. And even though it wasn’t cool in the room, I shivered under his hungry gaze.
Everything stilled in that moment as we stared at each other, and suddenly something shifted inside me. I was no longer content to let him take the lead. I wanted this man—vampire—more than I’d ever wanted anyone.
“Lie down,” he said, jerking his head toward the massive bed.
I shook my head, reaching to unbutton his pants. “Not yet. It appears I’m at a slight disadvantage here.”
“Right,” he said, and slid his hands up my arms as I quickly relieved him of the rest of his clothing.
I took a moment to admire his naked form, then slid my hand down and wrapped my fingers around his pulsing cock.
His eyes fluttered closed as his fingers dug gently into my upper arms. A bolt of self-satisfaction surged through me, knowing my touch was starting to drive him mad. I became drunk on it as I slid my hand up and down, working him until he moaned his pleasure and my name slipped from between his lips.
Lust infiltrated my veins and it was no longer enough to just be touching him. I reached up and kissed him roughly, then tore my mouth away and dropped to my knees, still holding his cock in my hand.
“Blake, you—oh, hell.”
He was mine in that moment. Surrendered to me and my mouth as I licked his cock from the base to the tip, making him shudder. Then I wra
pped my lips around him, satisfied when he tensed and let out a primal groan.
I took my time, tasting, teasing, torturing; imagining him inside me, thrusting into me. And I nearly came undone at the image. Instead, I took him deeper, quickening my movements, until his hand tightened in my hair and he ordered, “That’s enough, Blake. My turn.”
And before I knew it, I was on my feet with Jackson behind me, his lips pressed against my pulse. “I think you enjoyed that a little too much.”
I started to shake my head, but stopped. He was right.
His soft chuckle reverberated over my skin. “That’s what I thought. Now I’m going to have my revenge.”
Heat and desire pooled between my thighs at his promise.
With one hand on my stomach and the other teasing my breast, he brushed the lightest of kisses down my neck to my collar bone.
I responded by pressing my ass against his cock, desperate to be touched in my most sensitive places.
“I know, love. I’m getting to that,” he said.
“Now,” I whispered, closing my eyes, waiting.
But he took his time kissing my shoulder and teasing my erect nipple through the thin lace of my bra. Savoring me.
“Jackson, please,” I practically whimpered when I was close to my breaking point. If he didn’t get on with it, I was going to lose my mind.
“Please what, Blake. Tell me what you want.”
“Oh, god.”
“I’m not sure he can help you here.” His hand inched down toward the waistband of my panties, but stopped just as he reached the edge. “Tell me,” he urged again.
My head was spinning from the torture of having his hands on me, but not where I wanted them. Forming words seemed to escape my abilities. “Here,” I managed to force out as I moved his hand between my legs, pressing his fingers into my opening through the fabric.
“And?” he asked.
“My neck. I want to feel your fangs.”
He froze.