2
“Damn, you weren’t kidding.”Vik whistled, taking in the ghouls, goblins, and other assorted wraiths crammed into a tiny apartment. A man who appeared mostly human strolled by wearing nothing but a thong, a smile, and a pair of horns. Vik whirled around to follow the guy’s movements. Oh, yeah. Hot. But not a keeper to take home to Mother. “What is thisplace?”
“We surface demons host a lot of masquerade parties—gives us a chance to score with humans and each other without anyone ever knowing who we really are.” Ralph leaned in close and whispered, “Last week, I even got my taillicked.”
“Lick… your tail?” The liquid in the glass Vik clutched in an iron grip suddenly evaporated in a hiss of steam. Fuck, but it’d been a long time. And nobody licked demon tail like his former flame, Prince Diomede. Hmmm… just because their mothers weren’t talking and Mom ordered anyone caught sneaking up to the fifth level punished, didn’t mean they couldn’t find neutral ground to hook up on, right?Maybe…
Ralph grinned. “Yeah. Reallyhot…”
The glass in Vik’s hand melted and oozed between his fingers. Oh shit! Too busy dancing to a pounding beat, no one seemed to notice but Ralph. Vik stashed the evidence in a pottedplant.
“Now.” Ralph rolled up the sleeves of his clown costume. “First off, let’s find you a man. Take some pressure off, and I’m sure we’ll think ofsomething.”
Vik, who’d donned overly-tight jeans and specially made boots to hide his hooves, ran his hand up his bare chest, considering his own costume. Wasn’t much he could do about red skin and three-foot horns but duck in doorways and avoid ceilingfans.
“You make it soundeasy.”
“It is! A catch like you, prince and all that? Mom, the Big Fucking Deal of the Sixth Level? Piece of cake.” Ralph sounded a touchenvious.
Vik didn’t know what cake had to do with anything, unless Ralph planned to use it for manbait.
“Mingle. See if someone strikes your fancy.” A guy smiled from across the room. Ralph smiledback.
“Doeswhatto mywhat? Is that as good as getting your tail licked?” Ah, Home. If Vik had known tail licking was involved he’d have visited Ralphsooner.
Ralph rolled his moon-colored eyes. “See if anyone puts lead in yourpencil.”
“Huh?” Put lead in what pencil? Vik preferred the pre-leaded kind himself. Lessmessy.
Again with the eye roll. “If someone gives you a hard-on, let me know.” Ralph handed Vik his half-full glass of something red and spicy-smelling and stalkedoff.
Oh, surface dwellers and their human lingo. What part of a demon was the “fancy”? His dangly bits, maybe? Don’t strike those, stroke them, though Vik wouldn’t mind some hunky male swatting his ass a time or two. Above the tail, that is. Tails weresensitive.
Ah, now the tall one over there. He’d do nicely. Vik saunteredover.
And stopped three feet away. Another guy stepped up ahead of him. “Hi,handsome!”
Damnation. If not for the whole remaining undetected thing, he’d reduce his rival toash.
Oh! Tall, dark, and sinister! By the potted plant. Vik hoofed onover.
A short little demon dressed as a leather daddy beat Vik to his prey. “There you are! I’ve been looking all over foryou!”
The human squinted down at the demon. “Do I knowyou?”
The demon winked. “You will.Intimately.”
The human smiled and wrapped an arm around Vik’s competition. “I live right across thehall…”
In Vik’s brain a clock went tick, tick, tick. His mother, tying him forever to a demoness who could crush his nuts during a moment of passion. Brrr… The mere idea wilted hishorns.
After an hour of false starts and a growing inclination to quit his search for someone to stroke his fancy, a high-pitched squeal jerked him from his alcohol-induced stupor. One more drink and he’d be in danger of his breath igniting on his nextbelch.
“Oh. My.God!”
“You’re not even close, buddy,” Vikreplied.
A guy dressed from head to toe in form-fitting black giggled and sauntered across the floor, skin-tight fabric leaving little to the imagination. “Where did you get those fangs and crazy lenses?” A pair of piercing eyes peeked out from an eye slit in the hood—glowing amber, lined with black. Lithe and a bit on the thin side, like Vik’s favorite singer, the guy reached out and stroked his fingers along Vik’s lefthorn.
