“Thank you,” I replied, stepping inside. There was a long, red leather sofa, a mini-bar, and a pole.
“Do you prefer blondes, brunettes, or redheads?” she asked, handing me a menu.
An image of Chelsey popped into my head. She had the shiniest auburn hair and I couldn’t imagine trying to replace her with a cheap substitute.
“A brunette,” I replied quickly.
“Caucasian? Hispanic? Asian? African American? Indian?” she asked and then proceeded to name off more nationalities.
“I don’t care,” I said, beginning to feeling foolish. “Is there really a difference?”
“It depends on their cuisine, although, some of our clients are interested in more than just blood.”
“I’m only here for that, so just make sure she hasn’t had any spicy wings or Limburger cheese.”
She smiled. “I know what you mean. Okay, I’ll let Shawna know that you’re here, too.”
“Don’t disturb her. Hell, I don’t even know the owner.”
“She’ll want to know that you’re here, though,” replied Amanda.
I shrugged. “Okay.”
She walked over to me and touched my chest. “If you are interested in more than just a meal, I get off in two hours. We could get together, you know?”
I stared back at her. She was very beautiful, but something about her reminded me of Melody. “You’re lovely and I appreciate the offer, it’s just that you remind me too much of someone,” I explained. “Someone I think of as more of a sister.”
“Too bad,” she answered, with pouty lips. “I could wear a wig?”
I laughed. Even that sounded like something Melody would say.
Just then, the door opened and a tall, woman with long dark hair entered the room. She was beautiful and smelled of vampire; I knew right away who it was.
“Thank you, Amanda,” said Shawna, smiling at me. “You may go.”
“It was nice meeting you. Maybe we’ll run into each other again,” said Amanda.
“Maybe.”
“And that offer still stands,” she said, winking at me as she walked out the door.
“Slade, welcome to Kincaid’s,” said Shawna offering her hand.
I shook it. “Nice to meet you, Shawna.”
She nodded and smiled. “You’ve never been here before,” she stated.
“No. This usually isn’t my thing.”
“I’ve heard that about you.”
“Oh, you have?”
“My husband knows your drummer, Liam.”
“I should have known. Your husband is a Lycan?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.
She nodded. “Yes. Anyway, I just wanted to stop in and welcome you personally to the club. If you need anything other than what’s on the menu, I’ll do my best to find it for you.”
“I appreciate that, although, I’m sure you have more than what I need.”
She smiled again. “I’m sure, but I like to make sure my guests have anything and everything they need. Especially the special ones.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “I appreciate it.”
Her cell phone began to buzz in her hand “Duty calls,” she said, reading the message on it. She sighed. “Apparently we have some unwanted guests. Anyway, enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks,” I replied, as she turned and left.
The door closed behind Shawna and I sat down on the sofa. Opening up the menu, I began to read through the listings, only to discover that one could order an array of sexual fantasies with your blood.
Just the blood, I told myself, as I stared at the Ménage à trois listings. I imagined two beautiful girls pleasuring me, like the ones I’d passed in the club, and my crotch sprang back to life.
You’ll get that much more…
A knock on the door startled me out of my fantasy. Releasing a ragged breath, I shut the menu. “Come in.”
Amanda stepped back into the room with three girls, all of different races and all stunningly beautiful. There was a short, petite Asian, a tall curvaceous African American, and a Middle Eastern girl with enormous eyes.
“These are for you,” said Amanda, smiling. “A gift from Shawna. On the house.”
“A gift?”
She nodded. “Yes. She said to enjoy them any way you’d like, if… you know what I mean?”
I looked at the three girls, who were smiling at me, but something in their eyes, was quite unsettling. I also didn’t like the way Amanda referred to the girls as ‘These’. It was dehumanizing. I stood up. “I have to leave.”
“What? No,” said Amanda, laughing nervously. “You’ve been given full access to Shawna’s girls. You can’t leave.”
“Sorry to waste your time,” I said, moving around them to the door. “But, this was a mistake.”
“No mistake,” said the pretty Asian, grabbing my arm. “Don’t go.”
“She’s right,” said the dark-skinned beauty, moving to the other side of me. “We’ll do anything you want. Anything.”
The third girl swung her hair to the side and bared her neck. “This is yours,” she said, also moving over to me. “And if that isn’t enough, you can have this, too.” She grabbed my hand and placed it on her breast. “Please.”
I snaked my hand away. Although my fangs were protruding and I had a raging hard-on, I knew that they’d been charmed. As far as I was concerned, taking anything from them was nothing short of rape and I couldn’t do it.
“You realize they’ve been charmed?” I said to Amanda.
She shrugged. “It makes it easier for everyone.”
“Do they know it?” I asked.
“Of course.”
Right.
I looked at the girls and although the monster inside of me wanted to take everything they were offering, I knew it was wrong. Without saying another word, I walked out the door and headed toward the door, my head down.
“Leaving so soon?” asked the bouncer, when I walked by.
“Yeah,” I said. “Have a good night.”
“You, too,” he replied, thankfully not asking me any questions.
When I reached my motorcycle, my phone began to ring. It was Aiden.
“How are things going?” he asked me when I answered.
“Fine. How are things in Dublin?”
“Pretty good, considering. I took the girls out to dinner, in fact, we’re still here. I stepped away from the table so we could talk in private.”
“About what?”
He told me about the confrontation he’d had earlier, with Lucian and Talia.
“And they’re gone now?”
“Not quite yet. Supposedly their plane leaves at ten-thirty. I brought the girls to dinner, mainly so that we’d be away from the castle. Just in case. Knowing how much the egotistical asshole hates my kind, he might decide to retaliate, before leaving the country.”
“Good idea.”
“There’s another reason that I called you, however. I’m a little worried about Chelsey.”
“Chelsey? Why?”
“We believe that Lucian charmed her.”
My stomach tightened into a knot. “What gives you that idea?”
“She gets this dreamy look in her eyes when she talks about him. Thinks he’s the cat’s meow.”
“Did you see any marks on her?” I asked, clenching my jaw. The thought of Lucian putting his teeth or hands on Chelsey made my blood boil.
“To be honest, I haven’t really looked.” He lowered his voice. “Jesus, do you think he might have bitten her?”
“I don’t know but if he charmed her, it was for something that he wanted.”
Aiden groaned. “Dammit, I should have never let the bastard inside of the castle. I knew he was up to no-good, I just had no idea that he’d go after one of the girls.”
“Don’t blame yourself.”
“Easier said than done.” He sighed. “Well, I’d better get back to the table and ask if she’s seen anything unusual on her bo
dy.”
“Have her look for fang marks. Small holes that look like insect or spider bites”
“I’ve seen them before. I know what they look like.”
“If this is anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I shouldn’t have left her alone,” I mumbled, running a hand over my face.
“We don’t know if anything has even happened. He might have been just playing with her.”
The thought of anyone playing with Chelsey made me even more frustrated. “I’m flying back out to the castle.”
“Why? He’s gone. Liam and I will protect her. Now that we know he charmed her, we won’t let her out of our sight.”
“Where is she now?”
“In the restaurant.”
“And you are?”
“Outside.”
“And she’s with Liam?”
“Yes.”
I let out a sigh. “I’m still returning. I don’t want her to know, however. I’m going to keep watch on the castle. From the outside. Make sure he doesn’t show up in the middle of the night.”
“You don’t think he’ll come back for her, do you?” asked Aiden.
“I’m not taking any chances.”
“I understand.”
“What did Talia have to say about everything?” I asked, curious.
“She looked genuinely upset. I think she’s in love with Lucian.”
“She is.”
“How do you know? Did she tell you?”
“I overheard her talking on the phone to him. There’s one more thing I found out.”
“What?”
“Talia is really Vanessa,” I said and went on to explain how it came about.
Aiden was shocked into silence.
“Crazy, huh?”
“Yes. I’m just trying to process everything.”
“Take your time. It shocked the hell out of me, too.”
“I can only imagine. Jesus, I don’t even know what to say… how are you dealing with it?”
“Easier than I would have thought.”
“So, she finally came clean and told you about it?”
“I overheard her talking to Lucian and then later confronted her.”
“Are you still in love with Vanessa?”
I took a while to answer. “Part of me will always love the woman she once was,” I said, truthfully. “As far as the conniving vampire that she’s become? I feel only contempt and sadness.”
“Yeah, I’m not very happy with her myself. She’s lucky I didn’t hurt her. I wanted to. God, I wanted to.”
“You wouldn’t have.”
“I would have if she attacked me.”
“She didn’t?” I asked, a little surprised.
“No.”
“You’d better get back to the table. I’m still flying back out there tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll look for you.”
“You won’t find me. I’ll be watching from the castle’ turrets.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll have my phone on, though. If you see something that I don’t, call me.”
“I will. That reminds me… I gave both girls a cell phone.”
“Good idea. Can you text me their numbers?”
“Certainly.”
After we hung up, I drove back to my condo, left the bike in the garage, and went upstairs to talk to Mira.
“Come in,” she called, after I knocked.
I opened the door and found her in the rocking chair, next to her bed, reading.
“I’m leaving again. I won’t be home until tomorrow,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “What? You just got back. What happened to spending more time at home?”
“I know. Aiden needs me, though.”
Her face softened. “That dear boy. How is he?”
I smiled. Although she’d only met Aiden a handful of times, she was very fond of him. “He’s good.”
“Tell him I said ‘hello’.”
“I will. Listen, you haven’t had any more phone calls from Talia, have you?”
“No.”
“If she calls, give her my cell phone number.”
“I thought you didn’t want her to have it.”
“Well, now I do. Just tell her to call me there.”
“Okay.”
“Goodnight, Mira.”
“Goodnight, Slade. Have a safe trip.”
“Thanks.”
I shut the door and made my way to the balcony, determined to get back to Dublin as quickly as possible. I couldn’t be in Chelsey’s life, but nothing would hold me back from protecting it.
AIDEN RETURNED JUST as our food was being served.
“Did you get ahold of him?” asked Liam.
“Yes,” he replied, sliding back into the booth. “He thinks she’s been charmed, too.”
“Who?” I asked.
He looked at me. “Slade.”
I grunted. “How does he know? He went home this morning.”
“It doesn’t matter. He’s a vampire and knows more about his kind than anyone.”
“Right,” I mumbled. “They certainly are a confusing lot.”
“Chelsey, have you noticed any teeth-marks on your person?” asked Aiden.
My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Oh my God, does Slade think she’s been bitten?” gasped Melody.
My hand instinctively flew to my neck, which from what I could tell, felt normal.
“Let me look,” said Melody, brushing my hand away from my throat. She leaned closer and began examining my skin. “Huh… I don’t see anything.”
“It doesn’t have to be there,” said Liam. “It could be hidden under your clothes.” He smiled wickedly. “Why don’t you let me have a look?”
“God, you’re such a perv,” said Melody, rolling her eyes. She looked back at me. “Did you notice anything when you were getting dressed?”
“No,” I said, truthfully.
“Does a charm usually involve biting someone?” asked Melody.
Aiden took a swig of his beer. “No, but we’re wondering if Lucian might have fed on her. That might even be why she was charmed in the first place.”
I stared at Aiden in shock. “You don’t really think that he drank my blood, do you?”
“I hope not. Make sure to look at every part of your body when you get home, like your back and even under your feet. Check for tiny marks. They might be so small that you could miss them.”
“I’m still volunteering to help,” said Liam. “It’s better to be safe than sorry. You couldn’t inspect every inch of your body. But,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “I certainly could.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at him. “How gallant of you, Liam. I’ll keep your offer in mind. Not.”
“Melody can help you,” said Aiden, giving Liam a dirty look. “Don’t be such an arse.”
Liam’s smile fell.
“Yeah, I’ll definitely help you,” she said, patting the top of my hand. “If that asshole bit you, we’ll find it.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I doubt you’ll find anything, though. I don’t remember him doing anything and I certainly don’t feel as if I’m missing any blood.”
“You wouldn’t. Not if it happened earlier and he didn’t take much,” said Aiden.
Lucian’s face popped into my head and I just couldn’t imagine him stealing blood from me.
“I’ll check, but as I said earlier, I can’t imagine Lucian touching me inappropriately. It’s just not like him.”
“Oh hell, make sure you help her, Melody,” said Aiden, grabbing his fork. “He might have even charmed her into believing she doesn’t see the damn holes.”
“I have to say, I’m really not a fan of vampires,” said Melody.
“What about Lycan?” asked Liam.
“You’re growing on me,” she said. “And from all accounts, so far, you’re definitely more honest.”
I had to agree with her there.
IT WAS SHORTLY after nine p.m.
when we returned to the castle. As the limo driver let us out, I noticed that Aiden looked very glum. I wondered if he was still feeling put out by the fact that the waitress he’d wanted for dessert had told him where to stick his spoon. At the time it had been comical, but now I felt a little bad for him. He wasn’t like Liam, who flirted with almost every girl he met, and Aiden obviously worked very hard. From what I could tell he wasn’t a playboy and it seemed like he’d be a very good catch for woman.
“You okay?” I asked, as we stood outside of the castle.
Aiden turned around. “Yes. I’m fine. Why?”
“You’ve been so quiet.”
His eyes scoured the misty moors beyond the castle. “I’m just keeping an eye out for uninvited guests.”
“Are you expecting some?” I asked, shivering from both the cold and his answer.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure,” he said, looking up toward the top of the building “But, we need to be cautious.”
“Why?” I whispered back.
“In case Lucian returns.”
“Do you think he really would?” I asked, surprised.
“To try and save face, he just might,” he replied, a smug expression appearing on his face. “I did make a fool out of him. He can’t fight worth squat.”
I followed his gaze, toward the turrets above. “He wasn’t hurt too badly?” I asked, feeling sorry for Lucian. I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that he wasn’t one of the good guys. I hoped they were wrong about him.
“Not badly enough,” he replied, sighing. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”
Liam and Melody, who we could hear laughing and fooling around in the limo, got out.
“Keep your hands to yourself, woman,” said Liam, backing away from her. “If you know what’s good for you.”
“Is the big bad wolf scared of little old me?” she teased, her fingers raised and ready to tickle.
“Aiden, tell her to keep her hands to herself,” said Liam, a smile on his face.
“Somehow I doubt she’ll listen,” he replied, watching them with a frown.
“Here comes the... tickle monster!” cried Melody.
Laughing, Liam turned around and raced toward the castle, with her at his heels.
“She never gives up, does she?” asked Aiden, shaking his head.
“No. Once she sets her mind to something, she doesn’t back down easily.”
Toxic (Venom Series) Book Three Page 11
