by Kiki Howell
Without warning he pulled away, breaking the spell right along with their kiss, and he glared at her. “This can’t happen,” he panted. He turned and headed for the door, carefully stepping over the flowers. “The place is packed, have a good show!”
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Chapter Three
THE DOOR SHUT soundly behind him, and he marched down the hallway with a determined gait. Why did that woman always turn him inside out? What the hell was it about her? She made him crazy in more ways than he cared to admit. Trying to push thoughts of her from his mind had become a full-time job over the last few years. Learning to fight the longing he felt for her was easier somehow in the beginning when she was still so young.
Underage.
Jailbait.
There was no way he would have allowed himself to get caught in that particular trap. Besides, the respect he had for her father had been more than enough to keep him in check. But now things were drastically different. Lucinda was right, to an extent. All those old reasons he used to give her no longer seemed to apply. She wasn’t that young innocent girl anymore, despite his best efforts to continue trying to think of her in that way, and the thought of somehow disrespecting her father was no longer an issue now that he was gone.
He took a deep breath as he stepped out onto the main floor of the nightclub and looked around at the growing crowd. Just because those old barriers were no longer in place didn’t mean he and Lucinda should plunder their way forward. There were still plenty of reasons why hooking up with her was a bad idea, namely the volatile relationship between the shifter Alliance and the Cat faction. Things were getting more unpredictable every day, and whether Lucinda believed it or not, he was doing her a favor by keeping his distance from her, and one day she would realize that.
He glanced toward the stage where the house band trio was in full swing — piano, drums and upright bass playing a lively blend of jazz and blues four nights a week, with other live acts the rest of the week. Inferno was known for mixing it up musically, bringing in artists as varied as the different genres themselves. The live entertainment ran the gamut from rock to R&B, and everything in between. When the live sets were over each night, the house DJ took over and the place became the hottest paranormal party spot in the city, complete with techno music and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. Most of the humans who frequented the club for the live music didn’t stick around for that though. Still, Dominic had built a money-making juggernaut with Inferno, and he was immensely proud of the place.
As he stood looking it over, he sensed an approaching presence to his left – Manny, a fellow dragon shifter of his clan, and one of his right hand men. He looked the man in the eyes as he approached.
“The Cats are here, Boss. El Tigre wants an audience with you.”
Dominic tipped his head and let his gaze drift around the club once more. “I know exactly what El Tigre wants. But what he wants and what he’s going to get are two very different things.”
The Cats, as a whole, were always eager to expand their base of power. But since becoming the alpha over the feline shifter faction, El Tigre seemed to be on a crusade to dismantle the Alliance piece by piece and take over their territories. Dominic knew Inferno was the linchpin to keeping the Alliance united. If it fell into The Cats’ possession, the rest of the Alliance territories wouldn’t be far behind. Only problem was, El Tigre knew that too, and his constant attempts to acquire the nightclub through both legal and illegal channels were becoming tiresome. The tiger shifter was a growing threat to all the Alliance had been building for the last thirty years.
“What do you want me to tell him?” Manny asked, giving Dominic a stern quizzical look.
“Nothing.” Dominic’s response was definitive and unconcerned, and Manny frowned.
“Should I show them to the VIP area?”
“Dominic!”
A very pretty brunette smiled as she made her way over to them, and Dominic reached out a hand to her, drawing her close and ignoring Manny’s question for the moment as he kissed the young woman on the cheek in greeting. “How are you, Dinah?”
“Better now that you’ve come out to play!”
He gave the girl a small distracted smile and wrapped an arm around her waist before he looked at Manny again. “Are the cats Very Important People to you, Manny?”
Manny turned red. “Of course not!”
Dominic nodded as he stared into his friend’s eyes, and Manny gave him an answering nod before he walked off in the opposite direction.
Dominic turned back to his pretty companion again. Dinah was a nice girl. A little shallow for his tastes, but she was gorgeous, and she’d proven to be an effective remedy whenever he had a certain itch that needed scratched. Like several of the female dragon shifters he’d dated in the past, he knew Dinah was hoping his attention would blossom into something more permanent, but he simply wasn’t interested. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a life mate. He just refused to mark someone unless he was absolutely certain she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. At the moment, there was only one woman he could even imagine marking, but she was also the one woman he knew he shouldn’t want.
He sighed and tried to pay attention to the girl on his arm. Dinah was busy prattling on about something, but Dominic wasn’t really paying attention. Instead his gaze drifted around the club until he spotted El Tigre and a small group of cat shifters milling around across the room. His eyes narrowed as he watched them.
Inferno was known as a safe zone, if not exactly neutral territory, and they welcomed all types of shifters each night, not to mention other paranormal types like witches and fae. Hell, even a small contingent of the pale damned ones liked to hang out here on occasion, and Dominic went out of his way to keep a reserve of fresh O negative on hand behind the bar just for them. But it was rare that a cat of any species dared to even step foot inside Inferno. El Tigre and his men had balls, that was for sure.
The crowd began to applaud and Dominic watched as the cat shifters took seats at a table near the front of the stage. The lights dimmed as the pianist introduced the house band’s new singer, Lucinda Lindley. When the music started up again, he turned his attention to the stage.
His mouth fell open when the spotlight hit her. The skin-tight, barely-there, peek-a-boo red dress strategically covered what it needed to, but it left extremely little to the imagination, and Dominic’s gaze traveled slowly over her body from head to toe and back again. His heart pounded in his chest, the blood churned through his veins, and his mouth actually began to water. His manhood stood up in reverent salute as he watched her. The sexy torch song she sang about a seductive kiss brought an image of their aborted kiss from a few moments ago securely to the forefront of his mind, driving home the sensations of longing he was lost in. He wanted that woman more than anything in the world, but he knew he had to fight it. For her sake.
From the stage, Lucinda could see that she had gotten his attention, and she was pleased with the reaction her dress had stirred from him. She smiled when his eyes met hers, but the connection was short lived. The petite brunette standing next to him tugged on his arm and then placed her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look her way. Lucinda watched, dismayed, as the woman smiled and led him away to one of the black leather sofas in the VIP section.
As she continued her number, she turned her attention to the crowd, trying not to watch Dominic and the woman. Trying not to see the way the harpy insisted on hanging all over him. Two could play at that game, she decided.
She smiled at the crowd as she made them her total focus, singing her heart out just for them. She stuck one long shapely leg through the high slit in her dress, moving seductively to the music as she descended the three steps down into the audience. She made eye contact with them, playfully flirting with a few of the men seated at a nearby table as she sang. Then, in a moment of inspiration, she slid onto the lap of one of the gentlemen, caressing his face as her song came to an end
.
The crowd erupted into cheers and whistles when her scorching number was over, and Lucinda grinned at the adulation as she sat on the strange man’s lap. “Oh, you’re way too kind. Thank you all so much for the warm welcome! I think we’re going to be great friends.” She turned to the gentleman providing the seat and smiled at him. “And thank you for the lap, kind sir.”
She hopped up to return to the stage, but the man gently grabbed her by the wrist, and she turned to look at him.
“Anytime.” A salacious smile parted his lips as he stared at her.
Lucinda giggled and hurried back up to the stage for her next number.
Across the club, Dominic’s jaw clenched and his gaze narrowed as he watched the exchange. What the hell kind of game was Lucinda playing? Did she know whose lap she had landed on, or was it a coincidence? Was she somehow acquainted with the ruthless tiger shifter? More importantly, why the hell did he feel the sudden urge to fly across the club and take El Tigre’s head off? He raised a hand and snapped his fingers to no one in particular. Manny was at his side in an instant.
“Bring the tiger to me.”
“You got it, Boss.” Manny disappeared, and Dominic looked back at the stage where Lucinda was already into her second song. The crowd appeared to love her, which was great. But he suddenly found himself wondering whether he would be able to survive her working here after all. He couldn’t have her falling prey to his enemy, and he sure as hell was not prepared to watch her flirt with other men night after night. Even if it was only an act.
Dinah touched his arm, trying to get his attention once more, but it was a lost cause. He couldn’t take his eyes off the angel on the stage.
Manny returned with El Tigre and the rest of the cats in tow, and Dominic glared him, secure in the knowledge that his clansmen had his back. They were already taking up strategic positions round the VIP booth he was seated in, forming a virtual wall of dragon shifters around him. They knew their jobs extremely well — protect the alpha of the Alliance faction at all costs.
He turned to his lovely companion and gestured with a slight nod of his head. “Go enjoy your night.”
Dinah pouted, clearly not happy at being essentially ignored for the last twenty minutes and then flatly dismissed. But she left quickly, without protest or further conversation. No doubt eager to not get caught between the cats and the dragons if a fight broke out. When she was gone, Dominic looked up at the cat leader again.
“You wanted to see me?”
The man snickered. “You kept me waiting.”
Dominic cocked an eyebrow at him. “You’re lucky I’ve granted you an audience at all. In fact, you’re damn lucky I’ve allowed you and your men to stay and enjoy my club. Inferno is hot tonight, wouldn’t you agree?”
A subtle but deliberate taunting jab he couldn’t help lobbing. The tiger shifter only glared at him.
“What can I do for you?” he asked as he gestured for the man to sit down.
“You are a very stubborn man, Dominic Draco,” El Tigre said as he sat down on the opposite leather sofa. “But then, I suppose that’s a dragon trait. Nevertheless, it’s annoying as hell.”
Dominic chuckled. “And you are persistent, I’ll give you that much. Still, I can’t help but wonder why you would even want a club that sits smack dab in the middle of dragon territory in the first place. I mean, it’s not like any of you cats have some special love for our kind, so what could you possibly want with Inferno?”
El Tigre stared at Dominic and gave a half-hearted shrug. “My interest is personal.”
Dominic nodded his head. “It couldn’t be the fact that my operation is key to holding the Alliance together, now could it? Glaring proof that all the different shifter species can actually come together in peace and work together to uplift us all? Or maybe it’s my sterling reputation and legitimacy in the human business world that you want, hmm? The fact that humans actually trust me, and feel safe doing business with me?”
“Thanks to your good friend, Jonathan Lindley,” El Tigre sneered. “Oh, sorry. Your dead friend. My condolences, by the way.”
“May he rest in peace,” Dominic said as he stared at the man. “It is good to have friends. Even the ones who are no longer here. Sometimes they look after you best once they’re gone. Like guardian angels.”
“Lindley was no angel,” El Tigre said as he glared at Dominic.
“Maybe not. But he was always good to me.” Dominic’s gaze bored into his opponent as he thought about how Jonathan had taken him under his wing. Criminal or not, he had learned more about doing business from that man than he ever had in business school.
The tiger shifter only grunted at the response, and Dominic leaned forward as he continued.
“Let’s you and me cut to the chase, shall we? See, I think you envision a scenario where you take over my club, and along with it all of the Alliance territories, and my legitimate business holdings in the human world so that you can use them to hide your illegal heroin operation. Oh, and that little human trafficking ring you started dabbling in a few months ago.”
El Tigre looked stricken for a second before he quickly recovered, attempting to give nothing away.
The corner of Dominic’s mouth ticked up. “Yeah, I’m aware of your little ... project. You’re disgusting. And I think you’re getting desperate enough to try just about anything to get what you want from me.” He stared at the man for a long moment, and then he leaned back in his seat and crossed one leg over the other. “Did you come here to try and take me out, El Tigre?”
The cat shifter smiled. “I don’t need to take you out, Draco. I just need to take you down.”
Dominic’s mouth kicked up at the corner in an almost sinister grin. “Well, you can certainly try. But like the mythological Hydra ... you cut off this dragon’s head and three more will rise to take its place. Look around you, tiger. You are in my lair, surrounded by my entire dragon clan, plus many loyal Alliance friends from the wolf, bear, and hawk communities. Why, there’s even a small coven of witches counted among my long list of personal friends. You see, I’m a great boss. Shifters and paranormals of all kinds love working for me. That’s what happens when you foster an environment of inclusiveness, friendship and cooperation.”
He watched as El Tigre’s gaze drifted around the nightclub.
“I don’t really think a war is what you and your fellow cat supremacists want, but that’s exactly what you’re going to get if you keep coming at me. So, for the last time, Inferno is not for sale. And even if she were, there is no way in hell I would ever sell the place to you. I will keep the Cats from gaining a foothold in Alliance territory, or die trying. Now, if you think you can take Inferno by force, then by all means, let the games begin.”
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Chapter Four
DOMINIC DRACO WAS a cocky son-of-a-bitch. That was the impression El Tigre formed of him back when they had first met, and over the years the slimy dragon shifter hadn’t done anything to make him change that view. Overconfidence seemed to ooze from the reptilian’s pores, and El Tigre wanted to wipe that perpetual smirk from the man’s face.
“Well, if we’re not going to rumble tonight, please feel free to stay and enjoy your evening.” Dominic gestured to one of his men as El Tigre glared at him. “Send these gentlemen a bottle of our finest, on me.”
“You got it, Boss,” Manny answered with a nod before he walked off toward the bar.
Dominic turned back to El Tigre. “Nice talk. I hope we understand each other.”
The self-important dragon shifter stood up and walked away, and El Tigre watched as he stopped to speak to one of his men. With a twitch of his ears, he zeroed in and allowed his shifter hearing to pick up on the private conversation.
“Keep him, and all the cats he came here with, under constant supervision until they leave. And when they do, follow them. Make sure they leave our territories. Call on the wolves to trail them if you have to.”
“Yes, s
ir.”
He watched the dragon walk away as a winsome bar maid brought over their complimentary bottle of Dom Pérignon, and his compatriots joined him in the lush VIP booth. Most of the dragon shifters who had been watching their alpha’s back dispersed when Draco walked away, and only a handful stood by now just a few feet or so away, keeping an ever watchful eye. El Tigre glared at them before turning to look each of his men in the eye — three of his most trusted advisers, and his young nephew, Stripe.
“That scaly bastard is going to regret disrespecting me. Underestimating my reach and power,” El Tigre snarled at them. “I’ll make him pay for that arrogant attitude of his. Conceited bastard. I’ll make him and his entire clan pay.”
“Yeah, who does he think he is anyway?” Stripe quipped as his gaze bounced around to the others. “I say we torch the place. Let’s burn the fucker to the ground. I mean, if we can’t have it, why should they?”
El Tigre gave him a deadpan glare. Why had he agreed to take on mentoring his sister’s kid? He didn’t have time for this babysitting bullshit, he needed a young warrior he could train and mold. He pointed a finger at the young shifter. “Don’t open your mouth again until you can say something that doesn’t show the rest of us just how stupid you really are!”
The kid turned a deep shade of red and glanced around at the other cats.
“Think before you speak. We’re dealing with dragons here, junior. Fire is their medium. You try to torch this place and they would manipulate the flames in two seconds flat. They don’t just breathe that shit, they’ve got some kind of weird dragon command over it! Like magic or something. Not to mention that would completely destroy the club itself. Our goal here is not merely to eliminate the competition. Our goal is to take Inferno over.”
El Tigre stopped and let his gaze dart around the nightclub for a moment. “Look around this place, Stripe. It is a gold mine. Popular with shifters, humans and other paranormals. The money this place rakes in each night rivals what our drug operation can pull in one week! Imagine what we could do with this place in our possession.”
