by Trina M. Lee
I rolled my eyes, although vampire business wasn’t entirely wrong. When taking from willing victims, it did tend to be a formal transaction of sorts.
“Where are you going?” Not that I expected him to tell me, but it didn’t hurt to ask since I knew it had something to do with me.
“I’m going to do whatever I can to keep the heat off you and Ghost. Can’t make any promises. Wish me luck. If you believe in that kind of thing.” With that, Nova was gone. The air moved in response to his exit, like a heavy current rippled through.
To the empty place where he’d just stood, I whispered, “Good luck.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
NOVA
As soon as I left Blaze, I went straight to the location I’d been given. The address here in the city didn’t surprise me. Anyone sent by The Circle of the Veil powers that be to speak on their behalf always chose a meeting spot that couldn’t be traced back to where they’d come from or to those who sent them. The identities of those at the very highest places of power were unknown to all except those who worked closest with them. Everyone else, myself included, received instruction from a handler.
Before I walked in the door of the upscale downtown piano bar, I snapped my fingers, clothing myself in the expected attire for the place. I wasn’t much of a suit guy, but I’d learned to play many roles for The Circle.
Hands shoved in my pockets, I ambled up to the table where Kylo sat sipping wine like he was some kind of goddamn connoisseur. Holding his glass out, he used it to motion for me to take the seat across from him at the tiny round table. Kylo, like me, was an immortal. The Circle had been sending him to deliver messages and speak on their behalf long before they created the team at Mayhem House. Dressed in quality threads from the other side, he looked like he should’ve been attending a party at a castle rather than slumming at a high-end jazz bar. His dark-brown skin made his teal eyes gleam especially bright in the dimly lit room. He watched me sit down, looking smug as fuck.
The thing about Kylo that made him especially unbearable was, though he was immortal, he was no demon. This jerk was an angel.
Naturally he’d chosen a table near the back where he could watch the entire room. It was littered with people in fancy dress, out for a night of forced fronts. A stage near the front housing a baby grand piano was currently occupied by a woman crooning about a man who’d done her wrong. Humans. So pitifully tied to their emotions that they’d give the power to manipulate them to another.
“Nova, nice of you to arrive on time. For once.” Leave it to Kylo to open with an insult. He gestured to the glass of wine in front of me. “I took the liberty of ordering for you. I hope that’s all right. You strike me as a red kind of guy.”
So he wanted to play it shallow and barbed, did he? Knowing he wanted to bait me made it easier to pick up the glass with a nod of thanks and take a drink without giving him the reaction he sought.
“There’s no spy on my team,” I declared, getting right to it. “I suggest you doublecheck everyone on the watchdog team.”
Kylo swirled the wine in his glass while staring at me intently over the rim. “Not possible. The watchdog team is heavily vetted. If there’s a spy, it’s in that house. What makes you so sure it’s not the two vampires?”
Tasting the wine, it immediately soured in my mouth. I forced myself to swallow. “It’s not them. They were jumped by the Feds because someone gave their location away. Why should they be held responsible for that?”
“They went willingly. Why wouldn’t they have put up a fight?” Kylo finished his wine and reached for the bottle of white next to the bottle of red in the middle of the table. Pretentious bastard.
“Because they were outnumbered. They chose to play it safe and wait for an opportunity to escape. As soon as they got one, they took it.” My tone was light but clipped. I’d known the powers that be were going to be cunts about this.
“And what opportunity was that?” he countered, taking great joy in his job. And who could blame him? I’d have enjoyed it too. When I didn’t answer fast enough, he added, “It benefits nobody if you lie, least of all your vampires.”
A demon did his best work when he could deliver a total truth and still have it work out to his advantage. I didn’t feel that this was one of those situations. Knowing Kylo would go ahead and label Blaze and Ghost spies, I had no choice but to be honest.
“One of them has power in the blood. Once shed, it sets off a violent reaction. Incredibly powerful and most definitely useful. But due to the sensitive nature of the magic, it can only be used in dire circumstances.” Inwardly I groaned at my effort to paint Blaze’s magic in a light that showed it as an asset for our cause. Who was I trying to convince here?
“Which one? Let me guess. It’s the woman with the sinfully red hair. Seems exactly your type. Have you bedded her yet? No, don’t tell me. It’s more fun to guess.” Kylo chuckled wickedly into his wine glass. “So what I’m hearing is that she’s a loose cannon and you didn’t want us to know about it.”
I’d learned long ago that it wasn’t worth the energy it took to argue with Kylo. As much as I’d have loved to smash a wine bottle across his face and slice him open with the shards, I knew the punishment for doing so would include at least six months of torture on the other side.
“Yeah, I guess that is what you’d hear. But that’s because you don’t fucking listen. She’s powerful. Rare. She’s not like most vampires.” My delivery lacked venom but it rang with condescension. Anyone who overlooked Blaze’s capabilities was a fucking idiot.
Knowing he had me on the ropes, Kylo pushed me a little further, testing my patience. “What makes her different from any other blood-sucking killer? If it were up to me, we’d eliminate every last one of them.”
“Do you forget that they were human once? Or do you just not care?” Poking holes in his superior façade, I shoved my wine away, losing interest in playing along.
“Of course I care,” Kylo huffed like I’d insulted his haircut, which was a carefully close-cropped swath of dark curls. “Killing them would set them free from their murderous ways. Maybe then they would finally know peace.”
A fucked-up way of thinking in my opinion, but that wasn’t the point here. “You can’t talk about every vampire as if they’re the same. What about Alexa? Nobody ever expected that scrappy little vaewolf to end up where she has. A powerful queen in this city and someone whom The Circle has kept alive despite many transgressions on her part. I can’t claim that Blaze is as powerful as Alexa, but she’s valuable and she deserves a fair chance.”
Rules could be bent and broken to protect the elite when in The Circle’s best interests, but a rogue was sentenced and executed without so much as a word said in their defense. In some cases it was so open and shut, no defense would have worked. But Blaze, and even Ghost, deserved a fair shake. Nobody else could speak for them but me.
“Lucky for you, Nova, I don’t make the rules. I’m just the messenger. A job that does have its perks most days. Not every day.” Taking his time, Kylo sipped the wine slowly, like he savored each drop. “So here’s what we’re prepared to do. You will be punished for knowing about your vampire’s magic and keeping it to yourself. However, your vampire will be the one to carry out said punishment.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I snapped, no longer keeping a leash on my attitude. “If you want to punish me, go for it—take your best shot—but leave her out of it.”
Feigning innocence, Kylo poured the last of his wine into his glass, making short work of the bottle. “If you want to prove there’s no spy on your team, send her back into the FPA base to get proof. If they’ve infiltrated any of our people anywhere, there will be records. Get the proof and she lives. If her magic is so special, as you claim, she should have no problem getting out again.”
The asshole knew how many of my nerves he worked. All of them. We both knew I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
With great difficulty I
kept my glamour in place and did not bare fangs in his smirking face. I’d kept two details from Kylo. I hadn’t shared that Blaze’s aura was red nor had I shared my own personal theory on that matter. Not that I’d ever breathe a word of it to anyone.
Taking what I could only consider a win as far as The Circle of the Veil was concerned, I clenched my teeth and fists. “Fine. She’ll get your damn proof.”
Kylo finished off every last drop of the white wine before standing up. “I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that you’re not allowed to help her.”
“Sure, whatever you say.”
“You don’t mind grabbing the bill, do you? Oh and, Nova, if your vampire is a loose cannon, I suggest you get that under control before we’re here having another unpleasant conversation.” With a quirk of his brows, Kylo sauntered out of the bar with a kick in his step.
One might ask what kind of angel derived such enjoyment from handing out punishments to undeserving people? Most angels were the stalwart guardian warriors people imagined them to be.
Some, however, were simply demons too chickenshit to take the fall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The taste of fresh blood in my mouth should have perked up my mood. But the sense of dread coiling like a snake in my gut only grew.
A trip to The Wicked Kiss, the vampire bar downtown, helped take the edge off my bloodlust. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. It had been too long since I’d hunted for the kill. Vampires could make do with willing victims, taking just enough to get by for a while, but at our core we were killers, and that need eventually had to be satisfied.
Killing anyone right now, even the worst piece of human scum, was too risky. The Circle of the Veil already had a target on my back. I wouldn’t give them more to use against me.
I’d played it so damn safe that I hadn’t taken more than a nip from the young woman who’d volunteered her wrist to me. She’d rambled animatedly, nervous and excited, about how it was her first time but she wanted to pop her vampire cherry – her words not mine – with someone safe like me before trying to get cozy with one of the incubus vampires who frequented the place. I was too distracted by my own problems to be insulted.
Music greeted me the moment I exited the elevator. The Wicked Kiss had recently moved into a former hotel. Bigger than the previous location, it boasted a nightclub, gambling parlor, and suites available for private feedings and whatever else people agreed to exchange behind closed doors.
As I strolled out, through the large, spacious lobby, winding my way around those waiting to get into the nightclub, I had just one thing on my mind: getting back to the house and into a hot bath. The Circle could bring the hammer down anytime. Until I knew what my fate would be, I planned to lay low and do whatever I could to avoid drawing further attention to myself.
I smacked straight into the hard chest of the man that appeared right in front of me and rebounded off him before I realized that it was Nova. He grabbed my elbow to steady me but didn’t let go. Instead he used it to walk me backward as he advanced forward, moving us back the way I’d come.
“How did you find me?” I blurted, happier to see him than I wanted to let myself be when I knew deep down that he brought bad news.
Nova gazed down at me, anguish flickering in his blood red eyes. “How did you possibly think I couldn’t? I told you that you can’t run from me.”
“I’m not running. I’m right here. Could we slow down a little? Or at least let me see where I’m going.” Warm and cozy sensations crept over me, fueled by his touch. He’d proven to both of us that my attraction to him wasn’t based on his influence alone. Not anymore. I don’t think either of us knew what to do with that.
“I want you, Blaze. I need you.” Nova jerked us to a halt then and kissed me hard, a passionate plea. “Now.”
I pulled back to meet his gaze, wondering if he’d lost his mind. “Here? Are you serious? Wait, does this mean The Circle wants me dead? Why else would you be willing to take a risk like this?”
“What? No, it’s not like that. We can’t talk about it here.” Nodding toward the throng of people mingling about the lobby, he pulled my hair back to whisper naughtily in my ear, “Let’s go upstairs.”
Upstairs where the suites were? The look in Nova’s eyes told me all I needed to know. He’d come to talk and a lot more than that too. Why else would he find me here, in a place where we could be alone together away from the house?
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” My voice grew breathy as he nuzzled my ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth. Any thoughts of resistance went right out the window.
“I’m not sure about anything anymore, but I’m pretty sure this is a great idea.” Between lusty kisses Nova pulled me along to the elevator.
Logic told me to stop him before he could get too deep in my head, among other places. Resisting him got so much harder each time, and I just didn’t want to anymore. Especially if The Circle of the Veil was about to have me killed.
The elevator doors had just slid closed, trapping us in together, when I pushed away, struck by a horrible thought. “Are you here to kill me? Is this your way of making it easier?”
To my utter annoyance, Nova burst into boisterous laughter. “Does it look like I’m trying to kill you? Actually I’m trying pretty hard not to fuck you in this elevator.”
My face warmed. Pressing my back to the wall of the elevator, I eyed the demon with poorly fueled suspicion. “Why should I believe you?”
Right now Nova was without his demon attributes. Aside from those red eyes, he wore a convincing human guise. It was almost easy to let myself believe he wasn’t born of darkness. A demon. Try as I might to let that scare me off, it didn’t.
Nova was not a great, all-around upstanding guy. I’d seen examples of that. Hell, I’d been an example of that when he used me as bait. Demons had their own agenda, and they didn’t hesitate to act on it. Still, though he was streaked with evil, bits of good emerged. Not all bad, he had tried to help me control my blood magic. He hadn’t owed me that in any way, nor did he owe it to me to speak on my behalf in an effort to spare my life.
In a move that stunned me into silence, Nova grabbed my hand and placed it on his hard cock. The fabric of his relaxed other side warrior garb was soft and thin, outlining every amazing inch. “Believe it or not, I don’t get hard when I kill, cherry bomb. Trust me, that’s not what I’m here to do to you.”
With a chime the door slid open. I jerked my hand away but not before the group waiting to enter saw. Damn demon.
Undeterred Nova pulled me along out of the elevator and down the hall to the first empty room we came across. The room was nice, not overtly luxurious but comfortable and clean. Welcoming.
A small couch and coffee table sat across from a flat screen TV on the wall. The window looked out onto the street below. A king-size bed in the corner tempted me to throw caution to the wind and find out why incubus sex was such a big deal.
“Nova, have you lost your mind?” I asked when he locked the door and unfurled his hidden wings. “You said yourself that we can’t do this. Isn’t the craving already bad enough?”
His tortured crimson gaze drifted over me. “I can’t look at you every night and not have you. I’ve tried. Don’t ask me what makes you different than other women or why I have no self-control when it comes to you because I don’t fucking know.”
My mouth opened but no sound came out. I couldn’t process how fast this was happening. Keeping a sober mind in the presence of his intoxicating vibes was especially challenging. I didn’t want to keep fighting his pull when Nova was around. His incubus touch might have enhanced the effect, but he’d shielded it completely and I’d still wanted him.
Fuck me. This was happening.
Because I had no words, I let what I felt drive me. Right into his arms, where I wanted to be every time I looked at him. Sliding my arms around Nova’s neck, I kissed him, plunging my tongue into his mouth. If we were going to do this,
then I didn’t see any sense in half-assing it.
My sudden forwardness momentarily surprised him. Tense at first, Nova relaxed into the embrace. As our hungry kiss deepened, he backed me up against the wall between the bed and the couch. Those big wings curled around to trap me on either side. A strong hand captured my jaw as Nova peered into my eyes. His pupils were huge, outlined in the thin red of his iris. His aura buzzed with excitement.
“I’m about to blow your mind and make your pussy scream my name for the rest of your life. But there’s just one thing I have to ask first.” Nova’s hand trailed down to my neck, continuing on down the middle of my body. When he reached my waist, he grabbed each of my wrists in his strong hands, creating an inescapable vice. Gentle but firm, Nova raised my restrained wrists and pressed them to the wall above my head. “Do you trust me?”
A small surge of adrenaline rose up in response to the way he held me bound and trapped. That thrill reminded me that I’d allowed myself to get into what could possibly be a deadly situation without so much as a second thought. Except Nova didn’t instill genuine fear within me. Somehow I knew that he’d never hurt me here like this, and my panic never rose.
Not like it had with Rem. Not like it did with true danger.
However, that didn’t mean I could trust him with all of me. If I owed Nova anything it was truth. “I trust you with my body, but I still don’t trust you with my heart.”
The flicker of disappointment in his eyes was eaten up so quickly by lust that I thought I might have imagined it. Releasing my wrists he went for my neck, nipping playfully with fangs that could have torn me to shreds. “Good enough for now.”
For now? Had I heard that correctly?
The thought that perhaps allowing this to happen would somehow lead Nova on didn’t have the power to stop me. Not when he peeled my clothes off one item at a time and not when he turned me around to face the wall, bent me over, and got on his knees behind me.
