His pierced brows arched. “Azkaban?”
“It— Nevermind. Silly me thinking you’re the kind of guy that reads.”
Normally I wasn’t so standoffish when it came to guys, but this one just rubbed me the wrong way. And stupid Reckless Jess—what I called the part of me that liked to do stupid things on the weekend—wanted me to hang around him for whatever reason. Maybe to figure out why he rattled me so much when I’d never actually met the guy.
That part of me didn’t make sense most of the time. A doctor at the hospital where I worked had diagnosed me as bipolar. Although, I wasn’t so sure. Reckless Jess was more like a bundle of instincts that seemed to focus on getting me in trouble rather than keeping me alive.
Typically, I fought her on things. Like not wanting to go to work or not opening bills. But on the weekends, I let her loose a bit. She was a thrill-seeker and an excellent counterbalance to my other side. Sane Jessica was responsible. She went to work, had a hard time saying no to double shifts, took care of her ailing father…
In a way, Reckless Jess kept Sane Jess, well…sane.
“Stop staring at me,” I snapped at the bouncer, who was still looking me over like I had something growing out of my forehead.
“Then go inside,” he countered through an off-putting grin.
“I’m waiting for a friend.” I put the cigarette to my lips and inhaled, its cherry-tip reflecting in the bouncer’s blue eyes, like an erupting volcano buried beneath the ocean surface.
He was an interesting creature. Not human, that was for damn sure. There was some kind of energy rolling off him, something that made Sane Jess nudge me to go find a normal bar, for humans. Someplace safe.
I ignored her. To hell with that, this was more interesting.
“So, what are you supposed to be? Some kind of troll who guards the bridge, collecting fares?”
He snorted. “There’s no cover charge to get in if that’s what you’re asking.”
He knew damn well that wasn’t what I was asking. “Fine, don’t tell me what you are.” I shrugged, exhaling a puff of smoke and watching its tendrils dissipate in the rain.
His gaze scraped over me, his brows pulling together in confusion like I was the weird one. “And what are you? You look like you got lost on the way to a costume party.”
“I’m an actual nurse, asshole.”
The corner of his mouth pulled up with a smirk. “A nurse who smokes. That’s—”
My indignant snort cut him off. “Spare me the speech, will you? I get enough of that from the asshole doctors I work with.”
It’s not like I was stupid. I knew how dangerous cigarettes could be. I was a nurse for crying out loud. But lately, life was smothering. I was working impossible shifts at the hospital, all so I could not just support myself but my dad as well. This was Seattle; rent wasn’t cheap. The duplex I rented out for us was bleeding me dry. And dad’s social security checks were a joke. Cigarettes were a way to take the edge off the constant stress weighing on me. And I was getting pretty damn tired of people telling me things I already knew, like they knew what was best for me.
The bouncer let out an irritated snort. “What I wasgoingto say that it makes sense now.”
I blinked at him. “What makes sense?”
“You being here. Humans don’t come here. Not because they don’t love the idea of a strip club filled with succubi, run by Satan himself. You mortals love theideaof danger. But when it’s placed on a silver platter smack in front of them, it becomes too real. They all listen to those ancient survival instincts, that little voice that tells them they have no place among the supernatural creatures inside. But among the sheep, there is always a moth.”
I wrinkled my nose in confusion. He was completely losing me. “A moth?”
He leaned over and plucked the cigarette from my hand, his smirk turning cruel and mocking as he took a deep inhale and blew the smoke in my face. Asshole.
“Yeah, a moth. A tiny little insect, so easily destroyed yet it flocks to its destruction all the same because it craves the light.”
I frowned, unable to come up with a response. What was I supposed to say tothat?
The bouncer chuckled, smoke spraying from his flaring nostrils like a bull. He moved to open the door for me. Red, hazy light sliced through the Seattle night, a low, pulsating bass rattling my spine. It was like he’d just opened the door to another dimension, a dangerous, exotic world, and he was right.
I was drawn to it. Something inside beckoned me.
“Don’t worry, Little Moth.” He said through a sinister smirk. My stolen cigarette hanging from the corner of his lips, wobbling with his words. “You’ll find the destruction you crave inside.”
Chapter Two
