by LJ Swallow
"Sorry, man!" he calls and turns to a girl beside him, who has no issue with letting him wind his arms around her waist.
I step to one side and Vee resumes her path through the crowd, in the direction of Xander and the bar. I resist my instinct to put a hand on Vee, to broadcast a signal she's with me to anybody tempted to touch her. But I have no right myself. Besides, her appearance already sets fire to a need that should remain at a smoulder, and touching Vee wouldn't be a good idea.
Xander rests against the bar and clicks his fingers at the bored-looking barman. Two beer bottles appear in front of him and he leans in to ask Vee something. A few moments later, the barman places a coke beside the beers.
I rest against the bar, elbows behind, and watch the people around. Vee sips her coke, wide-eyed, but Xander appears oblivious to her discomfort.
"Have you seen Arlo?" I shout at Xander.
He shakes his head and drinks.
"What does he look like?" asks Vee.
"Very tall, skinny, white hair streaked with purple. Can't miss him."
"What? Even amongst this crowd?" she asks and her laughter sounds over the music. Then she straightens and points behind me.
I look over and see Arlo moving through the crowd. Dancers part as he passes, most not registering him. The guy's weird looking to them, but he's normal looking for a fae. I wrinkle my nose at his usual outlandish outfit. Tonight he wears tight, white trousers and a silver vest exposing his wiry muscles and tattoos. Neon eye make-up and lipstick accentuate his unorthodox look, and hide his fae side further.
Arlo's eyes fix on us as he approaches, and the light bouncing from his pale face highlights that he's unamused.
He stops short and tips his head upwards, looking down his narrow nose at us. We're the same height so he has trouble with this. To humans, this guy appears to be in his twenties. In reality, Arlo's well over a hundred. As one of the original "migrants" to the human world as a child, he's unhappy with fae politics and long since immersed himself away from their society’s traditional side. He's loyal to his kind, but he won't yield his life to control by royalty.
Arlo’s magic’s strong so he's left to his own devices for fear he'll attempt to interfere. Involvement in the Portia plot crossed my mind, but the guy's too comfortable in this life to tip the balance and threaten his existence.
We had issues early on with Arlo allowing supernatural clientele into the club. They paid him well and, at first, Arlo denied to us that they attended. We caught him out the day we found a vamp and non-donor hidden away in a side room. Since then, we visit regularly, as much to keep tabs on whether demons moved into the area and need clearing up. Occasionally stray, younger vamps wander in unaware we'll report them to their Houses for being here.
Shifters are fine to come if they’re with pack members, when grouped they never touch humans in a way that could damage or kill them. Other fae can be problematic. The younger kids enjoy living side by side with humans, whereas the elders worry they’ll attract attention and prefer they don’t. Less come here recently; there’s a fae-only underground club nearby aimed at their teen vices and where weird shit goes down. The Four stay away. Not our circus, not our monkeys.
"This is an unexpected visit," says Arlo.
"Didn't you hear about the trouble?" asks Xander.
Arlo cups his ear as if he can't hear, which he probably can't, and gestures to the edge of the bar away from the dance floor. The music's still loud here, but at least conversation is more audible.
"Trouble in Portia's kingdom?" asks Arlo and rubs long fingers across his chin.
"As if you didn’t know."
"I heard something." He waves a dismissive hand.
"Drop the clueless act. All fae know. As you live in her realm, this concerns you. We want to know if you've sighted any demons in here recently."
"Me?" He gestures to himself in mock surprise
"Yes. You," says Xander.
Arlo ignores him and switches his attention to Verity. "Is this your new friend?" He holds a hand out. Vee looks at his purple painted fingernails and long fingers before taking hold. He snatches his hand back; touching her confirms what we want to hide.
"Oh, she's your missing Fifth? You found her, then?" Arlo cocks his head as he studies Vee’s face. "She’s very pretty."
"Did you know any of the others looking for her?" I ask.
Arlo laughs. "A lot of people look for the Truth."
I pull myself to full height and scowl down at him. "Anybody you're friendly with?"
"Me? No. I don't get involved, you know that."
I turn to Vee. "What do you think?"
Her lips purse. "He's telling the truth."
Arlo snaps his fingers. "Ah! She spots lies! Clever trick! That must make life fun between you five. Have you asked them anything interesting yet, Vee?"
"Like what?" she asks.
"Whatever you want, if they can't lie. Man, I'd give my right arm to play games with these guys." He runs playful fingers along Xander’s arm.
Xander pushes his hand away. "Look, we just need to know if there've been any unusual ‘customers’ here recently."
"No." His response is definitive and firm.
"What about those vamp teens who dressed up like they were from a TV show and lured girls back to the House?"
Arlo scowls. "No fucking way, once we discovered them, we reported to their Elders and they were dealt with. Do you think I want to get involved with that shit? Nope."
His eyes shine brighter and anger masks his face. Vee shifts away, closer to me. I look at her and she nods, confirming his truth.
Arlo laughs. "Your very own lie detector. That'll make life easier for you all." The appraisal he makes of Vee's body and in particular her legs irritates me. "In some ways. How does it work then?"
"How does what work?"
"Between the five of you. Do you take turns? Or all at once?"
I clench my teeth at the amused curl to his mouth. If he were human, I'd smack him in the face for rudeness, but Arlo's only asking based on his personal norms.
"Take turns doing what?" asks Vee.
Xander leans in and whispers something. Vee blinks rapidly then looks at the ground. Now I want to punch him.
"We're all friends," I say. "Like family."
Arlo crosses his arms, mouth tipping up at one side. "Sure, Ewan. I wonder how long that will last?"
I bristle again and look to Xander, who pulls out his phone and shows Arlo the images of Hunter. Vee's eyes remain on the ground, and now she's frowning.
"You okay?" I ask and touch her arm.
She snaps back to reality and tiptoes to reach my ear. "I'm going to the bathroom," she says and her hair and breath brush my skin.
Vee's scent lingers, clouding my mind, as she heads towards the open hallway opposite where we stand.
7
VEE
In my old life, I'd never come to a place like this. On the rare nights out I spent with Clone Club, we visited brighter lit, bigger places filled with shiny, happy people.
Not a freak show like here.
Hypocritical of me, I know, considering what I am. And odder still, these people scare me. Can the guys detect if any are demons too? Their continued vagueness and protection begins to piss me off. Aren't I their equal?
I definitely can't detect demons, although I recognised Arlo as fae. His similarity to the guy who attacked me set hairs on my neck, but I can't fear everybody of his race based on one event. Bloody rude comment though. Sure, I've pictured more than one of the guys naked but certainly not all five of us together. Omigod, no way. Hell, what would a girl do with so many...uh, appendages? I haven’t watched enough porn to know the answer to that one, and I don’t think I want to know.
The queue stretches out of the bathroom door, and I rest against the black painted wall to wait and duck as a ripped poster attacks my head. The brighter area highlights people's unfriendly faces more clearly than the gloomy club, a
nd I keep my eyes to the floor, something I've spent a lot of time doing since I arrived here.
Ten minutes later, I emerge from the bathrooms having paddled in water and attempted to wash my hands in a sink blocked by paper towels.
So far, I'm unimpressed by my introduction to the fun Horsemen have when hunting. I wish I'd stayed home. Seriously.
The hallway's crammed with more bodies, some passing between the dance floor and bathrooms, the others queuing for or leaving the bathrooms.
A guy, similar height to me, stocky, catches my eye as I pass. His vibrant green hair's spiked, chains hanging from his leather pants. Seconds later, he bumps me sideways and I'm trapped between him and the wall as a hand slides around to my ass.
"What the fuck?" I shout and shove at his hand.
He leers at me and runs a pierced tongue along his lips. "Hey, beautiful."
His voice slurs, eyes awash with alcohol and my anger rises. "Get the hell off me!"
I'm about to bring my knee firmly into his crotch when he stumbles backwards, dragged by the shirt.
"Hey, man. I don't think you should do that." I watch as a taller, slimmer man looks down at my assailant.
The green-haired guy shoves him in the chest, but the other grabs his wrist. The second guy may look as if he has less strength, but the bigger man yelps in pain as the guy twists his arm round.
"I said, you shouldn't do that."
Others in the hallway glance at us and then away again, as if the occurrence isn't unusual. The stocky man drops his challenge, then stumbles away, muttering and rubbing his arm.
"Thanks," I say as I pull myself away from the wall.
"No problem. You okay?" He smiles down at me. He’s blond, piercing-free, and the most ordinary person I’ve met in here.
"I’m fine." I shift my eyes in the direction of the bar, desperate to head back to Xander and Ewan.
"I haven't seen you in here before."
Oh great, he's hitting on me too.
"First time," I say brightly and sidestep a passer-by.
"On your own?"
"With some friends."
The man nods. At least his gaze remains on my face and doesn't wander elsewhere. "Having fun?"
"Uh—"
"Oh, look at me with all my questions!" He laughs. "Sorry. I'm Danny."
"Hi. Vee."
"Vee? Cool name. Short for something? Veronica? Violet?"
I shake my head again. Without Xander and Ewan close, I'm uncomfortable sharing who I am. "Just Vee."
Someone behind Danny knocks into him, and he holds out a hand, arm outstretched as he touches mine. This innocent gesture disturbs me because his touch lingers on my bare skin longer than it should. I look down at his fingers and frown. Danny slides them along my arm, and his face changes, eyes darkening as he does.
Call me paranoid (plenty do) but following the last few days, people behaving strangely bothers me.
"Sorry. I was pushed into you and your skin's very soft I couldn't resist stroking," he says, voice soft.
Uh oh. Creeper. This is worse than the guy pinning me to the wall. I stare back into his friendly eyes, which now show more interest in me than I’d like. Oh, for fucks sake... I'd rather deal with a mob of demons than people like him. They'd probably make my skin crawl less.
Before he can touch or talk to me again, I push my way passed a couple of girls, who’re heading towards the bathrooms, and back to the bar. I look down at my arm. A small red mark appeared on my inner arm where he touched me, and I rub at the spot, which feels warm against my fingers.
Ewan and Xander are in the same spot, but Arlo's no longer with them. Ewan pushes hair from his face as he looks at me.
"Are you okay?"
"No." Damn. I can avoid answering direct questions if I concentrate, but at times like these, I’m caught off-guard.
Ewan moves closer, creating a block between me and those around. "What's wrong?"
"This place is full of weirdos. Two guys touched me up on the way back here."
He pulls himself to full height and glances around. "Who? Where?"
"God knows, the place is packed, they've probably moved on elsewhere by now. Hit on some other lucky girl."
"That's it. You don't go anywhere else in here on your own."
I smile at his concern. "I'm okay. I don't need protecting, I can look after myself."
Xander glances over from where he's drinking and resting against the bar. "What's going on?"
"Some dudes groped Vee."
"I'm fine," I say as Xander's brow tugs down too.
He gives a curt nod to Ewan. "Stop looking at Vee as if she's an ordinary human chick fending off guys. I'm pretty sure Vee can look after herself."
"It's not the human guys who worry me. She isn't used to dealing with demons yet."
Xander drains his bottle and wipes his mouth with the back of a hand. "Okay. Fine. I don't care what Arlo says, I swear there're demons in here tonight. We can practice your new powers on them. Right, Vee?"
I nod, wishing my confidence in using my unknown powers matched Xander’s. With the movement, a wooziness comes over me, my vision blurring for a second, and I blink it away before either guy notices my slight sway.
I should've eaten before drinking.
The sensation washes again, and I grip the edge of the bar.
Thankfully Ewan's and Xander’s attention is elsewhere, and neither see. I pull in a breath. The heat and claustrophobia in here doesn't help the intoxication.
"How long are we staying?" I ask.
"Xander wants to hang around even if we don't find any demons," says Ewan and inclines his head.
A girl serving behind the bar leans on the counter, breasts swelling against her tight blue vest top as she bends forward to talk to him. Xander's interest is plain as he winds a finger around her long blonde hair and gives a smile guaranteed to charm any girl.
Ewan shoves him in the shoulder. "Oi, Romeo! We haven't finished yet. Didn’t you just say we needed to look around?"
Xander whispers something to the girl who nods and looks at him from under her lashes. He joins us. "We'll scout around the rest of the place, and if Arlo’s right and there’s no one here who shouldn’t be, you can head home. I'm hanging here for a while in case the situation changes."
"Oh yeah? So we'll see you in the morning, huh?" Ewan pulls his mouth into a knowing smile.
"Maybe." Xander indicates the girl with his head. "That’s up to her. Come on, we have a better view of everyone if we head upstairs to the balcony. Another?" He gestures at the empty bottles.
Ewan shakes his head. "We’re driving, remember?"
"I won't be. Not until tomorrow." He winks. "Vee? Drink?"
I shake my head. A mistake as the surroundings remain shaky once I stop. I stare at Ewan as he speaks to Xander. Holy crap, the man's hot. He's removed his jacket, and taut biceps emerge from the T-shirt sleeves. There's a raw power to Ewan he could play up if he wanted, and his lack of arrogance is more attractive to me than Xander's attitude. The barrier that this brooding guy hides behind makes him oh so much sexier.
That and his killer body.
I imagine how he’d touch me. Ewan wouldn’t be gentle; he’d know what he wants and would overwhelm me. I moisten my lips as he turns, and a sudden, intense sexual need flows through as he meets my eyes.
I swear I'm an ounce of self-control from pushing myself against him, grabbing his hair, and kissing the hell out of him. Right here. Right now.
I blink. What is wrong with me?
Ewan looks away quickly, and I do too. How obvious was my intent?
"Come on. Upstairs." Oblivious, Xander takes a beer he ordered from the bar and ploughs into the dancers. Ewan follows and reaches behind to take my hand.
His touch explodes fireworks beneath my skin, stronger than any reaction to the other three guys. I stumble after him, body lit up as if someone spent the last ten minutes focusing on my arousal.
Hell, I wan
t somebody to spend the next ten minutes focused on my body.
I want Ewan.
What is this? I drop Ewan’s hand, worried about my next reaction to the effect he has, and continue to follow. The crowd swells between us, moving in unison to the music, side to side, and jostling. I focus on following Ewan's head visible above the people, but when a guy as tall as Ewan steps in front of me, I lose sight of him.
Shit.
The disorientation hits again. Hands pull me into the throng, and the room spins as faces fade in and out of view. I stumble around, confused by the world lurching from side to side. I need to find Ewan and Xander.
I push in the direction of the stairs, craning my neck to try to spot their tall figures on the balcony.
"Vee."
Somebody grabs my hand again, and I’m about to snatch my fingers away when I look into Ewan's face.
"I thought I’d lost you!" I shout over the music.
Ewan inclines his head toward the stairs and pulls me after him. We don’t reach them; instead he veers to the right and pulls me into the shadows at the edge of the dance floor.
"Everything okay?" I ask.
Ewan places a hand in the small of my back and pulls me to him. Hard lips hit mine, knocking my breath away in surprise. He pulls me closer still, fingers splaying across my back as he cradles my head with his other hand. My desire takes over as I return his kiss, lacing my fingers into his hair and holding his face to mine. I was right. There’s nothing gentle about Ewan’s passion as he parts my mouth with his tongue, and deepens the kiss.
This is different to kissing Heath, as none of Ewan’s memories appear in my mind, and the link remains purely physical. I’m engulfed by need, but not by a need to connect. Am I disappointed I wanted to feel more with Ewan? That maybe Heath's right and something different exists between me and each guy? Right now, hell no because any man who can trigger the building explosion inside with just a kiss is the one I want.
People either side jostle us, but I barely notice, oblivious to anything but Ewan. I wrench my mouth away, desperate for air.
Ewan looks up, towards the balcony where Xander headed. "Not here," he calls in my ear.
Arm around my waist, Ewan guides me back in the direction where I stood at the bar with the two guys earlier. Insanity follows me along a narrow hallway and into a small room towards the building's rear, containing a blue fabric sofa and a table strewn with empty glasses and fast food wrappers. I catch sight of a staff roster on the wall before my view's obliterated by Ewan as he seizes my face and kisses me again.
