by Ariel Marie
She moaned as she imagined how his tongue would feel in between her legs. She could feel herself grow slick with need, and her other hand traveled down and slid inside of her shorts, finding her sensitive nub.
Her eyes snapped open. What the hell was she doing? Frustrated, she pulled her hand out of her shorts and turned over onto her side, knowing that if she got herself off, it wouldn’t do anything for her. She craved the real thing.
Chapter 3
Adrian
“Did he show up?” Nicu asked as Adrian sat down in the chair in front of his brother’s desk.
“No.” Adrian thought back to last night. The rogue didn’t show, at least not that he was aware of. Nicu had wanted Adrian to follow the rogue, in the hopes they would find where the others were congregating. Discovering where they were staying would help lead the Shadows in taking them down in the city.
This particular rogue would have certain information that they needed. If Nicu was right, capturing a rogue that worked for the necromancers would give them a leg up on what was going on in the necromancer’s camp. The Dark Shadows had certain ways of torturing subjects to get information that had proved to be useful. It was dire that they capture this rogue, and soon.
“How was the nightclub?” Nicu asked, his ice blue eyes locked on Adrian’s. Adrian shifted in his chair. His brother’s stare was making him uncomfortable. Nicu knew something.
“It was nice and clean. Marcel has a fine establishment,” he said, his mind going back to the blonde and brunette.
He had been left unsatisfied with the two of them. His mind had been on the small vampire waitress the entire time. The only thing that got him off was that she was watching. He had hoped that she would realize that it was her he really wanted, and that the two were just substitutes, fulfilling a need only.
And not very good substitutes, either.
“Was there any entertainment?” Nicu queried, a smirk tilting the corner of his mouth up.
“Yes, they had decent entertainment,” he acknowledged, his mind again thinking of the waitress. He wished he had gotten her name. “Marcel has certain areas of the club warded, where vampires can feed without humans seeing what goes on.”
“Nice,” Nicu mused. “I may have to check it out someday.” The heat from Nicu’s glare intensified.
Adrian would have sworn that the room had grown colder, as his brother refused to look away from him.
Shit.
Adrian knew when he was about to get his ass chewed out by his older brother, and that was about to happen—now.
“Next time I send you to observe and look for a target, you damn well better keep your dick in your fucking pants!” Nicu roared, his hand slamming down on the desk. “I called Marcel and told him who I was looking for. He had never seen this rogue Jaxon before, so he emailed me the security video, and guess who I saw walk into the club while you were fucking the club’s donors?”
Adrian cursed under his breath. It wasn’t the two women who had kept him distracted from keeping his eyes open for the rogue. It was the little waitress who he couldn’t keep his eyes off of.
“Nicu, I swear I didn’t see him—”
“Feeding is one thing Adrian, but to actively engage in sexual relations while hunting a target is unacceptable,” Nicu snapped. “I would expect this behavior from Teague, not you.”
“Expect what behavior from me?” Teague asked as he strolled into the room. Since completing the bond with his mate, Bella, a Valkyrie turned demigoddess, the smile had not left his face since.
“Adrian to fuck up the way he did,” Nicu muttered. “How is the mated life treating you?”
“It’s fucking awesome,” Teague bragged.
His story almost had a tragic ending. Adrian thought back to six months ago, when Bella had died, saving their mother from the black magic witch. She had been stabbed with a dagger containing poisons, that immediately took her life. Bella had actually died in Teague’s arms, then days later, her body disappeared.
Two months later, Bella reappeared, the Gods allowing her to return to Earth as a demigoddess, since her mother was of Aphadore, and her father was Adros, the God of all deities. Bella was now known as the Goddess of Death, allowed to walk on this Earth with her mate. Apparently, even the Gods didn’t mess with fate.
“So, what did my dear older brother do?” Teague asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“I fucked up,” Adrian admitted, slouching down in his chair.
“You went to Temptress?” Teague asked, eyebrows raised.
“Yes,” Adrian grimaced, as he rolled his eyes. Next time he went back, he swore his dick would stay in his pants. That was, as long as the waitress didn’t offer anything. If she did, then all bets were off.
“How many did you fuck up with?” Teague slapped his leg, laughing at Adrian’s misery. “I’ve heard about that club. Been there a few times myself.”
Both Adrian and Nicu automatically turned to stare at their brother.
“Way before Bella,” Teague clarified with a cough, holding his hands up.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Adrian snapped. He was not in the mood to be ridiculed by his younger brother. “Nicu, I fucked up— I’ll admit it. I’ll go back, and I promise, it will be all business this time.”
“See that you do,” Nicu stated, his ice cold gaze locked on Adrian again. “We can’t afford any more fuck ups, and we need to get a step ahead of the necromancers. Word on the street is Sodan is still willing to pay for my head. That is why we need this Jaxon. Not only could he lead us to the necromancers, but he may give certain information that only the rogues have to help us defeat the necros.”
“I won’t let you down this time,” Adrian proclaimed.
“I know you won’t, because this time, Phaelyn will be going with you.”
“Prince Adrian, two visits in the same week,” Vivian gushed, as he and Phaelyn walked through Temptress behind her. “We are honored to have you and your guest.”
“Well, I enjoyed myself immensely, so I figured I would bring a friend this time,” he said, motioning for Phaelyn to walk in front of him.
Again, the nightclub was packed with partiers, human and supernatural. His eyes roamed the bar and the club, looking for her.
“We have the same booth available for you, My Prince,” Vivian offered, as she motioned toward the booth. “I’ll have your waitress come over to get your orders. Will you be requiring entertainment this evening?” she asked, a seductive smile spreading across her face as she looked between Phaelyn and Adrian.
“No, not tonight,” he said. “The waitress from the other day… is she here tonight?”
“Angelina?” Vivian asked, shocked. A sour expression crossed her face, before disappearing as fast as it appeared. “She is working tonight, but I can get you a better waitress, someone who is full—”
“No. Angelina will do,” he insisted, dismissing the hostess. She huffed before turning, and stomped away.
“Only Angelina will do?” Phaelyn joked, with a tilt of her head.
As the only female Shadow member, she had proved that she could handle herself. A couple centuries ago, it was Nadira, his younger sister, who had turned Phaelyn. She would have died from a brutal attack had it not been for Nadira saving her life.
“She was a good waitress,” he lied, trying to make an excuse.
His eyes began to roam the club. He squinted, as the hazy lights were not making it easy for him to see the partiers. He would need to stay sharp while he looked for the rogue.
“Sure she was.” Phaelyn gave a short laugh. “You’re not very good at lying. You know that, right? Nadira always said it was easy to get information from you.”
“Well, Nadira has her ways. I was never able to keep secrets from her,” he smiled, thinking of his only sister.
No matter what, Nadira had always had him wrapped around her little finger. She could always get the deepest, darkest secrets out of him with one expression.
>
“How’s the mated life going?” he asked Phaelyn, changing the subject.
Phaelyn had recently completed the mating bond with the Olaru’s royal guard, Idris. It was during her mission to rescue him from the necromancers’ clutches that she and Idris finally admitted that they’d had a thing for each other.
“Mated life is bliss,” she responded. A soft look passed through her eyes before she looked away. “Maybe you should try it sometime.”
“Fate hasn’t blessed me with her yet,” Adrian murmured, looking around the club for the small vampire that hadn’t left his mind.
“Let’s not mess up tonight,” Phaelyn said, flinging her long blonde hair over her shoulder. Tonight she was dressed to blend in, with a black leather miniskirt, a crimson red blouse, and killer heels. “This is an easy job, and I’m not going to allow you to mess this up on my watch.”
Chapter 4
Angel
“Angelina!” Vivian’s voice snapped Angel out of her thoughts. She was currently in the middle of bringing clean glasses out from the back. Whatever idiot was on shift before her, apparently didn’t feel the need to wash glasses before they left, leaving them for Angel to do.
“Yes, Vivian,” she replied.
Dread filled her stomach at the tone of Vivian’s voice. She hated when someone called her by her full name; she was just Angel. Angelina was the person she was before that fatal night, when she was attacked and turned.
She knew that Vivian didn’t care for her and she didn’t hide it, either. She had no clue what the hell she did to warrant such an attitude toward her, but she tried to stay out of the vampire bitch’s way whenever she could. She walked through the double doors with the rack of glasses, and sat them down on the counter.
“Your services are being requested,” Vivian snapped, as her eyes narrowed on Angel. “I don’t know what the hell you did for the prince to have him specifically request you—”
“I didn’t do anything!” she exclaimed, backing up as Vivian advanced on her.
The prince was back, and he was specifically requesting her services? Her heart did a little jig at the thought.
“Well, see that you don’t fuck this up!” she snapped. “Having royalty is a good look for the club, and will help boost patronage.”
“I won’t,” Angel blurted out.
“I don’t even know why Dave hired you,” Vivian hissed. “Whatever the prince requests, you better damn sure give it to him,” she snapped, her eyes roaming Angel’s body, making it easy to understand the innuendo. “Now go! He and his guest should not be left waiting!”
Angel grabbed her pad and pen as she walked from behind the bar. The clicking sound of her heels was drowned out by the thumping of the heavy bass of the music. She literally felt as if butterflies were fluttering in her stomach as she got closer to the VIP section, where she knew the prince would be. Angel was confused on why he would request her to be his waitress tonight. She didn’t do anything special the last time he was here, except watch him with Mindy and Babs.
Her footsteps slowed as she got closer to him. In the booth with him was a stunning woman, with long blonde hair, dressed in a miniskirt that showed off her legs that went on for miles. Compared to the stunning woman, she felt like a little runt. The heels that the nightclub required her to wear put her at a solid five foot four. She knew she was a little curvy, but there was nothing she could do about it.
She looked to the prince and found his ice blue eyes on her. “Good evening, Angelina,” he said, with a wide smile spreading across his face.
“It’s Angel,” she corrected him.
She refused to fall for his charm, as he was here with a date. She sighed internally, wondering what she had done so wrong in life to now be tortured to have to watch him with yet another female.
“Angel,” he murmured, as if tasting it out on his tongue. “I like it,” he concluded, as he settled back on the couch, with his arms spread along the back of it.
“Well, I’m glad my name pleases you,” she snapped, irritation flooding her. “What can I get you tonight?” she asked, turning to the female.
She could feel that little thing called jealousy creeping up into her chest again. She didn’t understand why, but she wanted to kick this female in the face. In reality, she knew she couldn’t act on that and keep her job, so she took a deep breath to calm herself down, and offered the woman a small, genuine smile.
“I’ll just take a gin and tonic,” the female vampire said, smiling back at Angel, which made Angel feel like a heel. She turned her eyes back to the prince, waiting for his order.
“I’ll take what I had the other night,” he replied, his ice blue eyes again taking her in from head to toe, making her want to squirm.
“The whole bottle, with a glass?” she asked, watching the female’s eyebrows rise sharply.
“No, just a glass would be fine for now,” he replied with a cough.
Angel quickly turned to leave, confused about the emotions that washed over her. She made it over to the bar to make their drinks.
Todd, the bartender for the night, was slammed with the customers surrounding the bar, and she knew he would be making drinks for the other waitresses. Tonight, Temptress was busier than usual, and it was only Thursday. She quickly made the prince and his lady friend their drinks, and placed them on her tray. She grabbed a couple of napkins before making her way to their table.
Vampires were unable to consume regular food, but were able to drink regular fluids. Blood was the only substance that provided vampires with all the nourishment that they needed.
That was hard for Angel to get used to, since she was a turned vampire. She could still remember the taste of a juicy hamburger and fries, from the restaurant she would frequent back in her human life.
“Excuse me,” she said, pushing past a couple of drunk humans as she left the bar. She expertly dodged drunks and groping hands in her killer heels, as she made her way to the prince and his date.
“Let’s get this over with,” she muttered to herself.
~Adrian~
“Is that him?” Phaelyn pointed toward the entrance of the club.
She crossed the booth and kneeled on the other side of the couch, as she looked out into the throng of partiers. Adrian stood, so that he could see where she was pointing.
“Yes, that’s him,” he growled, as his eyes narrowed on the thin vampire with stringy dark hair. Jaxon stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the humans. The strobe lights flashed across his features, displaying his unusually pale skin.
Adrian’s eyes followed the rogue Jaxon as he walked around the crowded club, scanning the room, as if looking for someone, and stopped off in a dark corner near the bar. Adrian moved toward the entrance of his booth, waiting to see what he would do.
“Who is he looking for?” Phaelyn asked.
“I have no idea,” Adrian replied, not taking his eyes off of him.
Within seconds, a smaller male made his way over to Jaxon. He kept his face turned away from Adrian’s booth; the collar of his jacket up and his head low. Adrian’s eyes were locked on their swift exchange of words, before the male scurried away. Adrian slowly made his way toward Jaxon, trying not to draw attention to himself.
He knew that he was supposed to follow and capture him, but if he needed to kill him, he had plenty of weapons hid on his person, and he was sure that Phaelyn did too, even with the little amount of clothes she had on.
His eyes caught sight of the little dark-haired Latina waitress that had been haunting his dreams, making her way toward him, and realized that she had to walk past the rogue to get to him. He glanced back at Jaxon, and found his eyes locked on Angel.
Adrian picked up speed. His heart stuttered as Jaxon grabbed Angel by the arm, yanking her to him. The sound of her scream, and her tray crashing to the ground was drowned out by the blaring club music. Jaxon began dragging her, as she struggled, toward the back of the club, straight toward Adrian.
&
nbsp; “Let her go, Jaxon!” Adrian growled. His gums began to burn as his incisors descended. The rogue’s eyes widened at the sight. Adrian felt a presence at his side, signaling the arrival of Phaelyn.
“This does not concern you,” Jaxon hissed, as Angel continued to struggle to break free. She cried out as the rogue gripped her around her throat, holding her against his chest. The music suddenly cut off, and the entire club’s attention was on the four of them.
“This will be the last time I tell you to release her,” Adrian growled, taking a step closer.
Angel’s eyes were wide with fear as she stared at him, causing his heart to clench. He felt Phaelyn slip away from his side, but he kept his eyes on Angel and Jaxon, knowing that she was making her way around, to place herself behind him.
“Why do you care?” Jaxon hissed. “She’s nothing to you.”
“Phaelyn,” Adrian commanded.
Phaelyn sprang into action. Whipping out a small thin wire, she roped it around the rogue’s neck, allowing Angel to get loose and stumble away. Adrian grabbed her before she fell, and pulled her into his side.
Phaelyn, even in heels, was a force to be reckoned with. She calmly dragged the struggling rogue by the wire around his neck toward the back of the club, and out the emergency doors.
“My Prince!” Vivian shouted, frantically dodging through the panicked crowd to get to them. “Are you harmed?”
“I’m fine. Where is your security? Have them get the crowd under control,” he barked, pulling Angel toward the back door.
“Where are you going with her?” Vivian questioned, following behind them. “She’s just a nobody.”
Adrian stopped and turned a hard stare at the hostess. The color quickly faded from her face, leaving her even paler, as she stopped in her tracks. His hand tightened on Angel, as a growl escaped his throat.
