“Th-th-th-thank you, miss.”
I winked at him before I slid out of the seat.
A cold night breeze hit me as soon as I shut the car door. I shivered, thinking I should've grabbed a jacket on my way out, but I remembered that Cass said I had a room next door, so I didn't need to worry about it. It would just be another piece of clothing to keep track of.
Vex was a special type of demon bar, catering exclusively to the elite type of demon, which was just a fancy way of saying powerful. You had to have a certain power level in order to pass through their magical barrier at the door, which made it all the more intriguing. It was meant to be an exclusive hang out for demons that didn't want to be bothered while they were being fed.
The owner of the bar was a mid-tier consumption demon, Garth, who long ago found a way to bottle sins and infuse them into drinks. Each sin had a specific taste that could heighten the natural flavors of your drink. For example, Lust was sweet, Envy was bitter, Pride was sour, Gluttony was salty, Greed was savory, Sloth was ice cold, and Wrath was burning hot. These drinks were a delicacy that demons from all over the world come for.
I walked up the stone steps quickly to get out of the chill. As soon as I got within a few feet of the entrance, the glass doors opened and the doorman came out.
“Come in, Ms. Lillian, before you catch a cold.”
I nodded and smiled indulgently, because we both knew I couldn’t catch a human cold.
“How is the boss treating you, Lenny?”
He was the night doorman, the first level of security for this building. All of the businesses from the first floor to the nineteenth were run by humans. Everything on floor twenty and above was run by demons. Every once in a while, a human needed to be brought into our world for various reasons, mostly to blend in better, but they got marked with a seal of ownership, so that when they interacted with demons, they were protected. Lenny carried Garth’s seal and was the one who would direct humans to the human businesses and demons to the demon side.
When I’d first came into town, I was a mess. Lenny had seen me—with his seal-magicked eyes—wandering the streets, sucking up power trails like an addict, and brought me in to see his boss, Garth. Having spent all of my life in Hell, I didn’t really know how this realm worked.
Garth was the only demon who took pity on me and taught me the ropes. He taught me how to lessen my power and hide my aura from others. That way I wouldn't tip them off to how powerful I really was. Garth was also the only demon on this side of the realm who knew I was Lucifer's daughter.
“Of course, Ms. Lillian. He has always treated me right as long as I do my job.” He tipped his hat as he looked out the door window, taking his job very seriously. “Have fun, Ms. Lillian,” he called over his shoulder with a wink, and I waved to him.
He was a sweet man who had just caught up on hard times and needed an out when Garth came into his life. That was when most demons come into your life: when you are weak and vulnerable. It was much easier to take over a human’s life that way.
I walked to the huge double elevator at the end of the row, and it dinged open. As I passed through the threshold, I could feel the aura of another demon in here, even though there was no one visible. I acted like I didn't care, turned around, and faced the elevator doors as they closed, but I had my magic at the ready for anything.
As soon as the doors shut, the demon shimmered into visibility next to the button panel. He was dressed like the doorman and waved his hand over the blank area above the buttons to reveal the glowing purple button that took us to Vex.
He pressed it and then settled back into his position. I didn't look at him. Looking would mean I needed to see him—and that was a sign of weakness for demons—but I wanted to know what was up.
“New security?”
I glanced at his face in the reflection of the metal surface as he nodded.
“A bumbling human made its way up to the floor and saw something they shouldn't have last week. We took care of it, but Garth thought it would be best to also have extra security on staff.”
Before I could say anything, the door dinged open and I walked out. Normally I would’ve said thank you or something to that effect, but again, I was dealing with demons, so I had to have my extra bitchy boss face on tonight.
I walked through the dark hallway that led to Vex’s red glowing door. I placed my hand on the cool metal and gave it a shock of power. The door groaned and lit up with fire before it clicked open, granting me access. The magical entrance was another way to ensure that only the right kind of beings were let into this bar.
You would think that with all of this magic being thrown around just to get into the bar, it would be just as magical inside, but it wasn't. It really did look like some fancy sky rise bar you would see regular human business people in. It was dim, and on one whole side of the room, floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the city. An impressively large mahogany bar was in the center, with two bartenders making drinks. Other than the stools at the bar, the room was lined with secluded booths—some already paid for in advance and some open for the casual out-of-towners.
My booth was one of the nearest to the window facing the door. I always liked to have the exit in my line of sight, and I paid a hefty fee for that luxury.
I started to make my way over, nodding to the bartender and mouthing to send a lemon drop over to my booth, as I looked to see who all was here. It was a light night with only a couple of the regulars’ booths being occupied. It looked like the Serpentine brothers were not in. I pouted. There went my good time.
I got a few heated looks from some of the out-of-towners I didn't recognize, and I thought that maybe the night wasn't truly a bust. I could find some cheap thrills as long as I was boozed up and ready.
The second I sat down, the air in the room shifted. I glanced at the door to see one of the most mouth-wateringly hot males walk in with the swagger of a billionaire. I had to clench my jaw to keep it from dropping open when the sheer gorgeousness of this man walked up to the bar. His short golden locks glittered whenever a scrap of light hit them, making it look almost like a halo. But when my eyes drifted down, I caught that sinful smirk on his lips, and Iknewthat he wasnotsent from the heavens.
All eyes were glued to him. His royal blue suit stood out in the sea of grays and blacks worn by others. He made them all look inferior. His confidence oozed out of him, like he knew could turn any and every male’s or female’s head his way with just a glance. A pop of red from his pocket square drew my eyes down to his chest. It bulged at the seams of his white button down underneath. It was a European style shirt, but damn if it didn't make me think of what that impressive chest would look like underneath my nails in my bed while I rode his cock to kingdom come.
My drink was suddenly set down in front of me, but I couldn't tear my eyes from this male, drinking all of him in instead. He unbuttoned his suit as he sat down and looked at the bartender as he gave his drink order. Then he grinned at her, and holy fuck.
His smile lit up this dark, dank room, causing all of us who had darkness inside of us to lean forward, to crave his light. It was the kind of smile that made women make very bad decisions just to get another glance at his pearly whites. He was so golden and perfect that I had to remind myself that no angel would be caught dead in this bar.
