He sneers at me.I expected this.As if Roman would ever do anything out of the kindness of his heart.I lean close to him.“Rumour has it, Marcel was taken to a different club.What if I promise to get your brother a message?”
Marcel was working with Roman to overthrow our family and steal the crown.He was sentenced the same as Roman.But he was recently moved to another club.
Roman looks me up and down with so much disdain, it peels away every layer of confidence I had.
I grit my teeth and stand firm.“Don’t fucking look at me like that, do you want in or not?”
He presses his lips together and then gestures for me to lean close.I don’t trust him one bit.Not one fucking bit.
But this is what I came for.So, what choice do I have?I hate that that is becoming a mantra.
I do as he asks and move to hover just above his neck.Anyone glancing our way would think I was feeding.His skin smells salty and stale, that deep unwashed dirt that only skin can hold.But it’s the energy he gives off that makes my skin bristle.Round goosebumps rise up my flesh.Morrigan was right, this man is evil to his core.It literally billows off him.
I stay there, my heart pounding as he makes me wait and wait.And wait.
Right as I’m about to step back he says, “You know the thing about you, Pen?For all your beauty and allure…”
“Get to the point.”
He laughs, a nasty sneer of a thing that crawls down my spine like the clack, clack, clack of scorpion pincers.
He jerks suddenly.There’s a clank and a crunch as metal buckles.I yelp; he catches me.He must have ripped his arms from the cuffs.He grips the back of my head and pulls me in for a kiss.
His breath is worse than his skin, full of decaying, unwashed teeth.I scream and gag as he presses his filthy mouth against mine.
I claw at his face, slapping and scratching at him.But he holds me tight.
I bite down on his lip.He growls, shoves me back so hard I crash to the floor.A gang of vampires piles on top of him.Pinning him.But he fights back, smashing faces and breaking jaws.Blood, bone and tissue splatter the floor and furniture.Finally, they drain him until he passes out or hopefully fucking dies.They drag his blood-covered body away.None of the vampires look too healthy, but I guess they’ll heal a lot faster than him.If he even does.He looks grey.Gods, I hope he’s fucking dead.
I brush myself down, my outfit is squiffy, my hair a mangled mess of tufts and pins half fallen out.
A shadow looms above me.I peer up; it’s a woman holding her hand out.I take it and she hauls me up, only for me to realise too late how cool her skin is.
Cool enough to be a vampire.
She cocks her head at me, chin-length hair cut into a suave set of waves.Her features are chiselled, her body muscled.What stops me breathing though, are her eyes.So potent, so dark and the strangest mix of chaos and curiosity.She’s stunning.I’ve only been with one woman, but gods, if she were a magician, I’d genuinely consider getting on my knees for her.The way she stares at me sets a fire blazing in my stomach.
“What are you?”she says.
“Pardon?”
“You smell like a vampire but look like a human.So, stranger, I’ll ask you again… what are you and how do you know Roman?”
She takes a step closer; I step back.She moves forward, again and again until my back hits the wall.Then, she places her palms either side of my head, pinning me in place.
Fuck.The fire in my gut turns to adrenaline, butterflies dancing, and I’m not sure why.Fear or fury or a furnace of desire?
My heart pounds so loud it throbs in my ears.Fuck.Fuck.This is exactly why I shouldn’t have come here.I know what she is.What she could do to me.
Gods… whatcouldshe do to me?A vision of the vampire and human fucking as I entered flashes through my head.I need to get a fucking grip.She could just as easily snap my neck.
“I… I shouldn’t be here,” I stutter out, my fingers and toes tingling with the urge to run.I don’t know who she is, but I do know she’s a predator.
“Is that so?Secrets to hide, hmm?”Her voice is silky.My heart rate slows, steadies until I feel like I have control again.Did she do that?Is she doing that thing?Fuck.What was it Quinn said.Compulsion?
“What if I do?I heard this club keeps everyone’s secrets…” I say, my confidence returning.I’m a fucking princess, after all; I’m not going to be dictated to by some vampire trash.
“Quite the attitude for a stranger who shouldn’t be here and currently has no way of escaping…”
