NINE
MAC
I pilefood onto my plate, extremely aware of Drax hovering, prepared to offer me anything I might need. A little salt? Something to drink? A foot massage? I shudder a little at the same time as my dragon rises towards the surface and starts to purr. I can feel my demon’s answering affection through our bond. No, notmydemon. Drax isn’t mine, no matter how confused he and my dragon are about the whole situation.
It’s been five days since I met Auri and accidentally agreed to be his mercenary, and so far, there are a few things I know. One: The food here fucking slaps. As if proving my point, Roman makes a happy growling noise in his throat as he tears into a rare slab of prime rib, letting the juices run down his chin as he chews it slowly. Two: Drax is the sweetest,strangestdemon I’ve ever met, and I have no fucking clue how I’m going to let him down gently. I’ve managed to not have any more sex with him at least, so that’s something. But the way my dick reacts every time he buries his nose in the crook of my neck and sniffs me isn’t giving me much hope that that blow job in my hoard room will be the last time I do something stupid with him. And three: This place isn’t as bad as I thought. Maybe being a mercenary could evenbe kind of cool. Or maybe that’s just the Stockholm syndrome setting in. Hard to say.
“I’ve got a lead,” Cassius announces, gliding into the dining room and flashing his pearly white fangs in a smile.
“On Rune?” I ask through a mouthful of food.
Drax and I have been scouring the library for days and haven’t come up with a damn thing. I was starting to think that old witch got his name wrong or lied on purpose as a final “fuck you” in her last moments.
The vampire nods and pours himself a glass of blood from one of the decanters on the table, swirling it in the wineglass and sniffing it like it’s the finest vintage imaginable before taking a sip.
“An old friend of mine gave me the name of a sorcerer who might know something about the mage. His name is Alenor.”
A sorcerer? I squint and try to remember whether I’ve ever met one. I haven’t been alive as long as some at this table, but long enough that things get fuzzy over time. But I can’t come up with any memories of any sorcerers. The only thing that comes to mind is the traditional human archetype of an old guy in a pointy hat with a long white beard.
“Cool. Do you know where we can find him?”
“I’m told he’ll be at the Full Moon in New Haven tonight.”
Roman stops tearing into the slab of meat he has a hold of and stares at the vampire for a second with the prime rib dangling between his teeth. Atlas drops his fork into his salad with a loud clatter, and even Drax perks up a little beside me.
“The Full Moon?” I repeat, just to make sure I heard right. “As in, the horniest dance club catering exclusively to non-humans in the human world?”
“The one and only.” Cassius takes another deep gulp from his glass then wipes the back of his hand across his mouth with no elegance whatsoever.
“Oh, hell yeah.” Roman finally swallows the food in his mouth and licks his lips clean. “Do I have time to shower?” He lifts an arm and sniffs his pit. “Actually, forget it, I’ve got a perfect pheromonal musk going. Let me just change and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Oh, you’re?—”
“Well, Idoneed to shower, so no one had better leave without me.” Cassius tilts his head back to guzzle down the remainder of his drink. The blood meal gives his pale cheeks a fleeting rosy glow as he stands right back up from the table and leaves the dining room in a blur.
“I’ll be ready in twenty,” Atlas says, pushing back from the table too, leaving his salad half finished.
“Okay, apparently everyone is coming,” I say, mostly to myself.
There’s a warm tug at the center of my chest, and Drax leans in closer to nuzzle my ear.
“They’re a bunch of underfucked, horny beasts. Can you blame them? Dancing together sounds fun though, doesn’t it?” He flicks my earlobe with his hot tongue and my cock swells immediately, the rest of my body turning to Jell-O and melting towards him.
I swallow a moan and nod absently.
“Good. Then why don’t we finish eating and go get dressed too?”
“I didn’t bring anything to wear to a place like the Full Moon.” I glance down at the plain t-shirt and jeans I’m currently wearing. Most of what I packed when we went to my apartment was more of the same. Not that there’s a dress code at the club or anything, but the last time I went somewhere like Full Moon I wore a mesh crop top and a pair of tight leather pants.
The air shimmers around my body, making my vision blur momentarily and my skin tingle as the clothes I’m wearingsuddenly turn into the exact outfit I was just remembering. My mouth falls open and I look up at Drax. His eyes wander over my bare midriff hungrily.
“Did I do that somehow? Is this the demon magic you said Auri might give me?” I pluck at the shirt, making sure it’s actually there the way I’m seeing it. The mesh feels exactly the way I expected it to, just like I remember from the last time I wore it.
Drax chuckles. “It’s demon magic, but I did it.”
“What? How?” I frown, dozens of far more concerning thoughts flooding my mind. Can Drax read my thoughts somehow? Fuuuuck, I so do not need that. Do I owe him an apology for thinking about how to break our bond? Or for thinking about his massive demon dick too much?
“Relax,” he says soothingly, sending a flood of calm through our bond. “I wasn’t sure Icoulddo it, but I thought I’d try. I figured you were thinking about what to wear, so I just pushed a little bit of my magic through our bond. I guess technically you did conjure the outfit yourself, using my magic.”
