“I… are you the owner of this store?” She held up the box.
“Now… where did you getthat, angel?”
“From Jason Fl—”
“Shhh. We have a strict privacy policy here. I know of whom you speak. What business is he of yours?”
“I’m supposed to be watching him… helping him. But he went crazy and left his apartment. I need to find him.” She lowered her voice. “He’s not in his right mind. He might not be safe. Do you know where he is?”
The door chimed—the vampire leaving.
“I know where I told him to go, but it is no place for you, angel. Jason’s vice needs to be fed, and with that dragon fae at large, there is only one safe place to do it.”
“Where? Can I walk there from here?”
“Not if you want to arrive with a beating heart.”
Known for her even temperament, Selene wasn’t usually the type of person to act out. But she was tired and scared and woefully sick of the dark man’s cryptic language. In one slick motion, she plucked a dagger off a nearby shelf and brought it to his throat, violently gripping the man’s upper arm.
“Enough,” she said with a growl. “Take me to Jason. Now! He’s my responsibility. Whatever this place is, I can handle it.”
The man dissolved from her grip. One minute there, the next a pillar of black smoke that smelled of sulfur. He returned to human form a few feet away from her. She lowered the blade.
He rubbed his shoulder where she’d gripped him. “No angel, indeed,” he murmured. “Very well, I will take you, but I won’t be responsible for the consequences.”
11
Jason climbed the steps of Maison des Étoilles mechanically, awake but with arms and legs moving toward the bordello without any conscious effort. When he reached the door, it opened of its own volition. A slight figure with silky black hair and long pale limbs welcomed him inside. She was naked other than a grouping of starlike light that hovered over her nipples and dripped like icicles down her abdomen and between her legs. Fae magic.
“Welcome.” The smile the fae gave him sparkled unnaturally in the dim light.
“One,” he said. He handed her a wad of cash.
She whispered something into a small microphone in a language Jason didn’t understand. “Is there a name you’d prefer to be called?
“No names.”
She bowed slightly. “As you wish. Follow me.” She led him deeper within the dark paneled walls and red velvet of the bordello. “We don’t ask your desires here at Maison des Étoilles. Every girl is capable of reading your thoughts. She will adapt the session based on your deepest fantasies.”
“How adaptable are they?”
“Within these walls, we can take on the form of anyone, man, woman, or beast. If you’d like multiples, one can become two, but any more require additional help. She’ll ring me if she can’t accommodate you.” The hostess gave him a wink.
“One… woman is all I need. Thank you.”
Opening a door for him, she fluttered her lashes in his direction. “As you wish. But please understand, our only goal is to please you. There’s no need to hide anything from us here. We are rarely surprised by our guests’ deepest desires.” She turned and swayed down the hall toward the hostess stand.
He stepped into the room, the light from the hall extinguishing as the door closed behind him. For a moment, he was lost in darkness; then a red light clicked on, illuminating a four-poster bed with a gauzy white canopy. A curvy brunette slunk from the shadows, completely naked except for a black mask that covered most of her face.
“Look at those amber eyes. Someone is hungry,” she said. “Veryhungry. We won’t waste another minute.” She reached for his belt buckle, her full breasts bobbing with the effort of unbuckling it.
She was good, he had to admit. This was what he desired. A fast, surgical coupling that would appease the wolf and give him control over his life again. It didn’t matter what she looked like or what she said or did. That wasn’t why he was here.
Naked in a matter of minutes, Jason let his wolf take control. He spun her around and bent her over. The wolf didn’t bother with foreplay or asking her name or analyzing his desires. It was instinct. Dominance. Action. He was about to thrust into her when she turned her head, looking at him over her shoulder. Her mask disappeared and the curvy brunette transformed into a long-waisted beauty with caramel tresses and violet eyes that flashed in his direction.
“Selene,” he murmured. The change in her appearance did nothing to quell his desire. On the contrary, it ignited a yearning deep within him. No longer did he want a quick fuck. He wanted to touch her. Wanted to feel her silky skin. He reached out, his fingers coasting along soft pale flesh.
Her full lips parted in response, a moan spilling over that perfect pink tongue. She pressed her hips back, but he didn’t enter her. Couldn’t, although he wanted to. Not Selene. Far from being a pleasurable experience, touching the Selene look-alike triggered shockwaves that rolled through him like a ball of barbed wire. He could take her and it would satisfy his wolf’s hunger, but it would also shred him. She was too good. Too pure. And he wasn’t worthy. The heavy, sinking feeling in his chest had a name. It was shame, pure and simple.
