hallway that stretched out ahead. Either side was lined with numbered doors, much like the hallway of an apartment building. I'd only been there twice in the past, but I'd never forget the place.
The front of the building was a regular nightclub, or as regular as it could possibly be. It looked like a regular bar, but it was mainly a place for donors to get snapped up by hungry vampires. The back was where all of the action happened. I'd naïvely believed the place was running on a give and take procedure. I should have known better. Vampires are rarely satisfied with a taste. There was more going on here than most would have ever guessed.
“I wonder where he is,” I whispered as we made our way quietly down the hall.
One of these rooms was Kale's. I'd had to drag him out of here once, after his break up with Kylarai. He'd taken it hard and had come here for days to drown his sorrows in a three-day blood and sex fest. I could have happily lived without seeing that side of him.
The fact that he bit me that night didn't help either.
“What if he's not here? Then what?”
I looked at Kale with horror. I hadn't considered that. “Well … then I'll leave a message for him.”
We came to the halfway point in the hall where it opened into a small foyer. The door leading to the bar was on one side. The rest of the foyer was mainly a seating area with a few human objects like a water cooler and cigarette machine.
I stopped and dropped my shields. Others could sense me much easier, but I needed to find him. Closing my eyes, I thought of that butterscotch sweet energy, letting the memory enfold me. Then, I felt him. He was in the club alright. In fact, if I wasn't mistaken, he was coming our way.
“He's coming!” I took a few steps away from the door leading to the club. He had to have felt me by now.
“Your heart is pounding so hard, I can hear it.” Kale nudged me, moving to stand closer. “Relax.”
I took a deep breath as dizzying adrenaline flooded me. The door before us opened, and it took all of my strength not to instinctively throw up an energy barrier around Kale and me. I couldn't tap any power unless Harley gave me a reason. Being the first to do so wouldn't go over well, not if I wanted to walk out of there alive.
Harley Kayson strode through the door with a grin on his handsome face and a tall blonde at his side. Our eyes met, and my insides shriveled. He looked much too happy to see me. Here we go.
“Alexa O'Brien. I thought I sensed your delicious presence.” Stopping a few feet away, Harley made an obvious show of looking me up and down. “Most definitely surprising. Please tell me that it's pleasure that brings you here rather than business.”
I couldn't help the memory that surfaced at the sound of his voice. I could still feel the sensation of his fangs buried inside me. My cheeks grew hot. I had hated myself for responding to him without resistance. The last time I'd seen him, he was on his knees pleading with Arys, for me.
I met his coal black eyes evenly, refusing to fall into the seductive pull of his energy.
Harley was an incubus vampire, as was Arys. It was in their nature to use the lure of desire to sway their victim.
“I need to speak with you.” I cut to the chase, unwilling to be intimidated. “If you refuse, then I'll leave without any trouble. I'm just asking for a few minutes of your time.”
I knew that there was no way he would refuse me. If anything, he'd agree simply out of sheer curiosity. At least, that's what I was counting on.
Harley cast the briefest of glances at Kale before returning his eyes to me.
Regardless of the smile he wore, there was little humor in his gaze. It was dangerous and calculating but also intrigued. I had to take that as a good sign.
“I most certainly would love to know what brings you here. In fact, I'm dying to find out.” He said it with a smirk that had me second-guessing my actions yet again. Would I ever stop being amazed at my
Bianca Giovanni
Brian Matthews
Mark de Castrique
Avery Gale
Mona Simpson
Steven F. Havill
C. E. Laureano
Judith A. Jance
Lori Snow
James Patterson