From Sin’s narrow eyed expression he didn’t want me here.
Releasing Nik’s arm, I backed away but his hand shot out around my waist, stopping my escape. “Stay.” With his strength what choice did I have?
“When did you start providing entertainment at these meetings?” Lothar leaned forward, his gaze traveling from my fuck-me shoes and coming to a rest when he reached the girls.
My skin crawled. With a queasy stomach, I realized how close I’d come to cornering the alpha instead of Nik.
“Pia invited herself.” Sin leaned back in his chair, his glare daring me to stay. I might have been better if I’d seduced poor Gigi instead and not come to this so-called party.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your meeting.” Prying Nik’s fingers off my hip proved more difficult than super glue. I didn’t care to stay. From Sin’s reaction, he’d charge me an admission price later and it would hurt.
“Pia is accompanying me this evening.” With a sharp jerk, Nik set me on his lap like a pet.
I stared at the empty chair to the right of us. “I think I’ll use the chair.” Before Nik could react, I shimmied myself out of his grip and took the seat. I glanced at Sin. “Unless you’re waiting on someone else?” My heart raced. What had I walked into?
Sin co-headed Lake City with my father. He policed the night and was involved in the more shady dealings supernaturals of our home might need, like protection or blood bank raids or assassinations. I tried my best to hide my head in the sand when it came to Sin’s life outside our feeding agreement. It seemed the safest thing to do.
The vampire raised an eyebrow in my direction. “Valerio canceled.”
Oh.
Awkward. Valerio hadn’t mentioned a meeting tonight with Lake City’s most nefarious crime lords. I glanced at Nik. And guest. He must have been too busy sucking the last of my energy from my body. What was my sweetie doing with these guys? “He changed his mind and thought I should learn a little more about the family business?” Oh my God, let this be over with so I could get a head start in escaping the over-possessive minotaur.
Sin struggled not to smile. I was lying out of my ass and he knew it. This meeting really could be educational. I didn’t know what Val’s family did for business except they imported/exported pharmaceuticals.
I leaned forward as Sin began a discussion about expanding distribution of some unnamed thing by using Nikodemos’ herd. Apparently, the minotaurs had extensive resources and already dealt in this type of business.
Lothar stared at my chest and didn’t seem to be listening to Sin’s report.
I sank back in my seat and adjusted the scrap of silk I wore. The more I refused the alpha’s advances, the more determined he grew at seducing me. Maybe I should just give in so he’d leave me alone.
His gaze met mine and he gave me wolfish grin. He all but lolled his tongue.
“And Flynn has agreed to these arrangements?” Nik leaned his elbows on the table.
The mention of my father’s name caught my attention. I swung my head toward Sin, who sat with his chin on his hand.
He watched my sudden movement. “Flynn doesn’t have any control in these matters. These types of deals fall strictly in my territory.” Sin always spoke with such confidence. It contrasted with his youthful, blond boy-next-door good looks.
“Until you get caught and the humans get involved,” Lothar commented. “Will he bail us out if the time comes?”
My stomach twisted in knots as I refrained from asking questions. What was Sin doing that could require my father’s help? And why was Val supposed to be at this meeting? Once more I proved that Val’s wives were correct in their assessment of my intellect.
I glanced at Nik. It seemed odd to use minotaurs when humans did most of the work from what I’d gathered prior to tonight. Maybe he wanted to expand and involve more supernaturals? Offer our kind more jobs and financial security. That seemed generous of my sweetie.
“Then it’s settled.” Nik rose. “We will knock out the details when Val can be present.” He assessed me. “Unless you have the power to make a verbal agreement in his stead.”
“No.” I shook my head and sank deeper in my seat. “No power whatsoever.”
His large hands encompassed my shoulders and I jumped at the spark the contact sent straight to my should-be-dormant libido. “Time to go, Pia,” Nik whispered by my ear.
If I slipped off my stilettos when we hit the outside stairs, I might be capable of racing him to my car. With the right motivation, I could hit speeds that would impress a cheetah. Hooves couldn’t have a good grip on icy ground.
Nik made sure to place his body between mine and the table where Sin and Lothar continued a quiet discussion. His movements as he angled his body behind me, was almost a herding gesture.
I twisted so I could make eye contact with Sin and pleaded for intervention.
He turned his back on me.
The knots in my stomach tightened and sent a wash of nausea up my throat. Someday Sin would wake with the sunset to find himself trapped by his ‘toys’ with me in control. I didn’t have a sadistic bone in my body but for Sin I’d grow one.
Nik retrieved our coats while his guards blocked the exit outside.
I smiled as he helped me with my jacket. He was a little overbearing but he had an old world charm certain vampires I knew lacked and a non-murderous attitude that a certain incubus just acquired. “Nik, it was pleasure to meet you but I have to return home to Valerio.”
He settled his own long coat around his shoulders. “I’ll accompany you there.”
Before I could stop myself I stomped my foot. It was hard to tell someone to piss off when they were so polite.
Raising his eyebrow, he settled an amused look upon me. “Pia?”
“I doubt my fiancé would be happy about that.” I tried to squeeze past his guards but they didn’t budge.
“Doesn’t your kind wear bracelets around their wrists when they are promised?” He held my bare wrist up and inspected it. “I don’t see anything.”
His finger grasped gently but they could have engulfed my arm with ease. Inter species relationships could be complicated. I’d learned this the hard way with a human a few years ago. I couldn’t fathom why Nik couldn’t let me go home already. We’d had sex. It wouldn’t happen again, it was time to move on.
“The engagement is new and I haven’t found anything I liked yet to wear.” I plucked his fingers off. “Look, I—”
“What Pia is avoiding telling you is that Valerio is especially possessive of her.” Lothar, the canine Don Huan of Lake City, joined our conversation without invitation. He smirked.
“She’s obviously not so enamored with him,” Nik responded.
Lothar nodded to Nik before passing the guards and escaping this mess.
I tilted my head to view Nik better. “Why would you say that?” What had I done to make him think I didn’t love Val?
He cleared his throat as his gaze traveled to the coat room.
The enlightenment shone upon me. Sex meant something more to minotaurs then my kind? That would cause problems. I should have jumped Lothar instead. I might have had to vomit afterwards and shower with bleach but I wouldn’t be hurting a sweet guy’s feelings.
Someone chuckled and I glimpsed Sin strolling behind Nik. “Pia, minotaur live in herds and don’t deal with marriages like some of the other races. She didn’t realize what she was proposing when she jumped you, Nikademos. She’s a little…naive.”
I gasped and swung around to face him. “I can’t help it when the hunger takes over. You of all people should know that.”
“Then you should have gone to my club and fucked some human instead barging in here.”
“I was trying to find you so I wouldn’t—wouldn’t get into a situation like this.” A blush scorched my cheeks and I covered my face with my hands. Could this night get any worse? Maybe I should go kick a puppy as an encore.
Nik gestured for h
is guards to leave then faced us. He snorted, pretty much like an angry bull. “She played with me?” Nik’s voice cut like a sharp blade.
Sin smoothly set himself between the minotaur and me. “Not play. Fed. They can’t help it. Vampires act similarly with blood.” He tossed a pitying glance over his shoulder. “Yet my nest can feed with fewer consequences. It would be best if you didn’t concern yourself with Pia. She’s more trouble than she’s worth.”
I gasped. He spoke the truth, but it didn’t make the pain any less. The hurt his words caused me was greater than I’d ever expected.
Nik turned his angry gaze on me. “I don’t understand. You are not attracted to me?”
The wounds Sin inflicted on my self-esteem bled. Nik hadn’t treated me like a whore even though I had acted like one. “Physically, I am—” And he really seemed nice. “It’s hard to explain.” Why couldn’t I be heartless like my sisters? “I am shopping for suitors though.” Oh, what was I saying?
Both males went still.
Yeah, I ought to get that brain-mouth filter checked. I wish I could blame it on my close encounter with my demonic-needing nature, but this happened more often than not.
“What is a suitor?”
Sin closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Val is going to spank you, Pia, and then he’ll try killing me by nuking my nest.” He sighed and opened his eyes again to face Nik. “Suitors are contracted lovers that will feed a succubus. You sign to agree to feed her on a scheduled day, which has been all screwed to shit the last three months, and in return she fucks your brains out.”
“This sounds like an empty way to live.” Nik held out his hand to me. “If you wish, you could join my herd instead.”
My mouth went drier than a nun’s vagina. “I don’t doubt your sincerity, but sex is food.”
“You’re a cheeseburger.” Sin grinned. “I’m more like chocolate.”
Nik pinned me with his gaze over Sin’s head. “I think I’ve had my fill of succubi.” Then returned his attention to my vampire somewhat savior. “If this is what dealing with incubi is like then I retract my acceptance of Valerio’s offer.” Nik opened the door and exited outside. His clicking hooves faded as he descended the narrow stairs.
I fisted my hands and let loose a snarl of frustration.
“That could have gone better.” Sin turned to face me and zipped my coat closed. “You single-handedly wrecked a deal me, Val, and your father have been working on for three months. I’m almost proud.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I just wished you’d done it to someone else.”
“Thanks for making me feel better.” I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. “How bad is this screw-up?”
“Your father loves you too much to beat you. I’m not sure which will piss Val off more, the deal break or your offering the minotaur a suitor contract.”
“And you?”
“I have very bad things planned for you.”
“I thought so.” Opening my eyes, I watched as he set the chairs right and closed the lights. The clock on the wall read close to three in the morning. If I arrived at my parents’ this late, they’d be full of questions. I’d rather keep Val’s feeding issues to myself. Like it or not, some of it stemmed from my lack of suitors. So did tonight’s fiasco. I sighed. “Can I hang with you for awhile?”
Sin was a jerk, but a reliable one. He didn’t let Nik take me even though it cost him something.
“I thought Val didn’t like it when you visited my nest.”
“He doesn’t.” Incubi weren’t the jealous types but Val had a sore spot for Sin. If he could, Val would abolish our feeding contract and Sin wouldn’t ever see me again.
“Then of course you can hang with me.”
I sighed again. “Of course.”
Chapter Seven
I followed Sin’s motorcycle in my car. Only a vampire could drive a motorcycle in the dead of winter. How was I going to explain to Val that not only did I fuck up his deal with the minotaurs, but I also fucked their leader? After this he might agree with his wives and break our engagement.
The palms of my hands ached from the strangle hold I had on the steering wheel. I eased my grip and forced my back to relax against my seat. Somehow I’d fix this.
Sin parked his motorcycle and leaned against it as I pulled in next to him.
Jumping out of my car, I raced around to block his entry to the nest. “How can I make this whole Nik thing better?”
He stopped short of running me over. “Pia, it’s cold. Let’s get inside.”
“You’re a vampire. The cold doesn’t affect you.”
Shoving me toward the opening door, Sin steered me past the guards posted in the alcove. “Doesn’t mean I like it.” He punched in the million numbers long security code and waited for the foot thick steel doors to slide open.
Much like Fort Knox, Sin took defending his nest seriously. Nobody messed with his vampires but him, and no one in the nest disobeyed him unless they were masochists. I searched the receiving area and found all the couches empty. At this time of the night most of the nest was still out hunting and no one really hung out close to the surface except for the occasional party Sin allowed them to throw. The real living spaces were deep underground far from the sun.
We took the elevator deeper into the nest.
Staring at the numbers counting down, Sin ignored me.
“Well?” I poked his side. “How can I fix this if I don’t even know what is going on?”
“You should learn about the other supernatural races. Knowledge is power and if you really plan on being one of Val’s wives, I’m sure he’d appreciate the effort.” He frowned. “I know I would.”
The door slid open to a narrow hallway. Cameras and automatic weapons followed our progress. This was a new check point in Sin’s arsenal of defense.
He waved a keycard in front of a scanner so another door opened to a large gathering room filled with tables and sofas. The biggest flat screen TV ever made hung on the far wall. Gigi sat in front watching Beaches by herself with a tub of popcorn.
I loved that movie.
She waved. “Want to join me?”
Yes.
Sin blew her a kiss. “Not tonight. Pia needs to learn about minotaurs and how to not jump their ass in a coat room.” He grabbed my upper arm and dragged me to another elevator on the far side of the nest. This one needed a key and led straight down to the bowels of the nest where Zur-Sin made his home sweet home.
This time I glared at the numbers above the door and did my best to ignore Sin.
He chuckled. “You never cease to amuse me.” He leaned into my view and offered his sexiest crooked smile. A long time ago in a city far away this jerk had saved me from my own stupidity and gave me back my life. Ever since then he’d repeated the act countless times.
“You usually yell at me a lot when I screw up.”
“Doesn’t work apparently. Would it make you feel better if I did?”
“Maybe…”
The door opened to his apartment and I trudged inside, dropping my coat on the closest chair.
He snatched it and hung it on a hook, muttering something under his breath about discipline and untidiness. I’d be wearing the coat on my way out so what did it matter if I set it on a chair?
I hit the mini fridge he kept for me and found my chocolate replaced by fruit. “What’s this?”
“You have terrible eating habits. Fruit will stabilize your blood sugar. Maybe help with the mood swings.” He settled in his leather chair, ankle resting on his knee.
Picking an apple, I smelled it. It should be against the law to touch a succubus’ snack stores. How was I supposed to maintain my strength?
“Why did Val leave you in such a state? I know he’s aware of your lack of suitors. Seems uncharacteristic of him to leave you starved and on your own.”
I could sense Sin’s stare boring into my back. “Isn’t that what incubi do? Feed from succubi.” Taking a bite, I sav
ored the tangy sweetness and did my best to ignore the vampire.
“Pia.”
I tossed him my best glare over my shoulder. “What?”
The shadows playing on his face as he frowned only enhanced his dangerous beauty. A dark heart beat within his chest. Though sometimes I caught a glimpse of what he must have been like as human all those centuries ago. Tonight wasn’t one of those times. “This is a dangerous game you’re playing. I doubt your parents would recover if they lost you.”
But not him?
Sighing, I rose and crossed the room, opting to sit on his lap instead of the sofa across from him. I picked at the hem of my dress and shrugged. “He was hungry.”
A growl rumbled in his chest. “At Val’s age, he should have better control over his hunger. Even I don’t leave my human victims in the state you must have been in that you had to jump a stranger.” His eyes narrowed as they met my gaze. “I know you, Pia. You’d never have seduced Nikademos unless you were desperate.”
Sin rarely expressed concern. This was a Kodak moment and I lacked a camera. “You’re worried for me?”
“You feed only from two people. That’s not healthy. I didn’t spend six months nursing you back to the living so you can develop another eating disorder.”
I rolled my half eaten apple in my hands. “That was years ago.” All I really wanted was to toss my problems at Sin so he could fix them, but it wasn’t his responsibility. I shouldn’t be his to take care of. If Val and I were truly in a relationship then we’d work this out together. No matter the consequences.
I should be sitting on Val’s lap right now discussing how he would fix things with his wives, and how I would repair the damage I’d caused with Nik, instead of leaning on Sin for support. Old habits were hard to break.
Sin leaned back against the sofa and spread his arms over the top. “Don’t make me get the box of bad toys.”
Reflexively, I swallowed. Bad toys could be fun when wielded by the right hands, and Sin’s were magical.
A slow smile turned his frown upside down. “You want me to get the box, don’t you?”
Sinful Cravings: Erotic Paranormal Romance (Lake City Stories Book 2) Page 5
