“You call that a little argument? If I hadn’t stopped you two, you would’ve wrecked the entire nightclub, probably kill each other too!” Emily’s words were harsh as she stepped forward. “What were you two arguing about anyway?”
“Look. We apologize for what we did, but we’d rather not get into that.” Lloyd’s deep voice came as a surprise. Emily looked up, her eyes narrowing in his direction. “But we’re willing to pay for all the damage.”
Emily didn’t move for a minute before she sighed and sat on the sofa’s armrest. Foster gulped, realizing that Emily’s ass was now close enough for him to touch. His fingers burned with a deep urge to touch her, but he managed to restrain himself, not wanting to upset her any further. “I appreciate the gesture.” She said, her voice softer now. She placed her glass on her knee and ran her finger over the rim in silent contemplation before looking at Lloyd, holding his gaze. “But I don’t know if it’s worth the trouble. The nightclub will be closing soon. As I said yesterday, I simply don’t have the money to keep this place running. If I don’t give up now, I’ll go bankrupt.”
The dragons frowned, noticing her melancholy. Foster gently rested a hand on her thigh, rubbing it in a soothing motion. “How about we help you in any way we can? We’re actually quite well off financially. We’d love to help.”
“Oh?” Emily turned, looking at him. As she leaned down, Foster found himself eyeing the low cut of her shirt. He bit his lip, itching to reach up and grab the large, beautiful breasts, but he held back, his heart hammering and the back of his neck itching with a layer of perspiration.
“What my brother means is that we’ll help you fund The Den. It is the least we can do after we destroyed most of it.” Lloyd added in, finding Foster stumbling for words in his arousal.
“Oh… I couldn’t ask you guys to do that… we barely know each other.” Emily gnawed at her bottom lip. It would be a risky business move to ask these men to be her partners, but at the same time, her credit had dipped so low that she would never be able to get the loan she needed to revamp the nightclub.
“Well, why don’t you think about it and give us an answer tomorrow? For now, let’s go downstairs and dance.”
“Dance?” Emily asked, cocking her head to the side.
“This is a nightclub, isn’t it?” Without hesitation, Lloyd got up and grabbed Emily’s hand, hoisting her to her feet. Her body fell into his and as he tilted his head down, their lips came dangerously close. “Come on.” He grinned, holding her hand and guiding her out the door. Foster was left on the sofa, in a state of shock.
Finally, he clambered out of the cushions and ran out the door before the couple could disappear. He spotted them on the edge of the dancefloor. Lloyd was making a complete fool of himself as he danced in an erratic fashion as if he was constantly doing the robot.
Emily laughed at his antics, thinking he was being silly just to cheer her up. As Foster approached them, he moved behind Emily, his hands on her hips. Unlike Lloyd, his movements were smooth and fluid. “Wow! You’re a really good dancer.” Emily giggled as Foster took her hand and twirled her around before he dipped her down until her hair touched the floor. As they came back up, their bodies locked together, their hips moving in a sensual dance.
“I used to take dance classes.” Foster lied effortlessly as he looked at Lloyd who seemed horribly out of place. His teeth were clenched as he watched the couple flirt and dance together like they had been doing this all their lives. “But the real question is where you learned to move your hips like that!”
Foster stepped back, grinning wildly as Emily shook her hips back and forth with the tempo of the music. “I’m part Spanish.” She answered, a smirk painted on her pink lips. “And I practiced salsa for almost ten years when I was younger.”
“Well damn girl, you still got it.” Taking her hands, he moved into step with her. Their movements in perfect sync, as they lost themselves in their own little world. “So tell me about yourself.” Foster leaned in, whispering in her ear.
“What do you want to know?” She asked, raising her eyebrow as their hips got even closer.
“Everything.” Foster breathed.
“That’s a rather long story.”
“I have the time.” He grinned. “But to start, why is a girl like you living in an apartment above a nightclub.”
“Couldn’t afford rent for both this place and an apartment so I decided to consolidate. I tried to rent out property with some of my girlfriends from college, but they’re all married now. Most of them have kids.” She rolled her eyes.
“Why don’t you? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking. You’re a beautiful woman, I’m surprised you haven’t been taken off the market by now.”
Emily sighed and shrugged. “No one’s really caught my eye until now. Sure, I had a few boyfriends in college, but when you study something like international politics, you only meet privileged men who think they can save the world.”
Foster cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“When guys study international politics, they think they can just barge into other countries, change their governments and make everything better with a snap of their fingers.” Emily shook her head in disgust.
“So why did you end up studying something like that?”
“I wanted to make a difference in the world… I wanted to help other people. I actually spent a year abroad in Argentina to help the impoverished communities there. To be honest, it was one of the best years of my life.”
“So, why’d you move back to New York?” Foster asked, his hands resting on her hips.
“My mom’s health declined, so I came back to take care of her… but enough about me. What about you? How’s your life been?”
Foster just grinned and spun her around, dazzling her with his dance moves so he wouldn’t have to answer right away. In his head, he was already coming up with the perfect cover story. On the sidelines, Lloyd was quickly forgotten.
A few women tried to flirt with him, but he shrugged them off. He didn’t want any of the gaudy females that offered themselves up to him. All he wanted was the blonde that now danced with his step-brother.
He was about to pry them apart when he heard her happy laugh. She tilted her head back, her whole face lighting up. After remembering the deep look of depression on her face, he knew he couldn’t take away this moment of cheerfulness. Biting back his jealousy, he walked over to the bar, granting Foster this tiny victory, knowing the war was still far from over.
Chapter Four
Foster and Emily danced the night away until the sun started to come up. Lloyd was one of the only people left at the bar as he watched the couple with burning eyes. With a shot of vodka in his hand, he felt his body starting to change. His temperature surged and his nostrils flared. Looking at his watch, he noticed the time.
Quickly, he walked up to Foster, tapping him on the shoulder. “We have to go.”
“Five more minutes.” Foster hissed back, his arms still around Emily’s waist.
“Now. The sun is rising.” The urgency in Lloyd’s voice finally broke Foster out of his lovesick stupor.
“Is something the matter?” Emily asked.
“We have to go.” Lloyd pressed.
“Oh…” Emily’s face fell at his words.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be back tonight,” Foster promised. Without another word, he followed his brother toward the exit. Emily was left hanging in the middle of the dancefloor, feeling like a part of her was missing now that the two men had gone.
Outside, the dragons climbed the fire escape as quickly as they could. As they stood on the roof, the sun rose past the horizon and their transformation was inevitable. Their bodies shook and their limbs elongated until they were once again full-fledged dragons. Suppressing the urge to roar, they beat their wings and shot into the air, swiftly making their way back to their homeland.
***
Later that night, Foster ascended to Emily
’s apartment with his wallet full of human currency. He had exchanged some of his prized gems with a whelp. After the transaction, Foster had the lingering feeling that he had been ripped off by the lesser dragon, but he had been assured that a quarter million dollars was a lot of money. Foster had taken his word for it. In any case, it wasn’t as if those few gems made a huge dent in his hoard of treasure.
“Are you sure you brought enough?” Lloyd questioned, trailing behind him.
“The whelp told me it’d be more than enough.”
“You trusted a whelp?” Lloyd asked, disgust in his voice.
“It’s not like I had a choice. They’re a lot more familiar with the human ways than we are.”
“So much for you being an expert on the human world.” Lloyd scoffed. Their bickering was cut short as they arrived at Emily’s door. Foster knocked softly.
Seconds later, Emily answered, looking surprised to see the two men. “I thought you were kidding when you said you’d come back.” She admitted before stepping aside, allowing them into her home.
“We said we were going to help you and we meant it,” Lloyd stated.
Foster nodded in agreement. “Did you think it over?”
“Think what over?”
“Letting us help you.” Foster reminded her. “If you’re willing to allow us to become your business partners, we’ll take on any financial burden the nightclub might accrue in the foreseeable future. Once things have stabilized and profit comes in, then you can worry about repaying us.”
Emily stood there, her mind buzzing with the dragon’s words. “How do I know you’re not going to screw me over?”
“You’ll just have to trust us. Besides, the nightclub is going under anyway. That’s what you said, isn’t it?” She nodded. “If that’s the case, then you really have nothing to lose.”
Emily toyed with the hem of her dress as she contemplated her options. “I suppose you’re right… We better step into my office.” She turned around and walked through the kitchen, toward a small brown door at the end of the hallway.
The dragons followed her into the small, cluttered office. There were papers stacked on the desk. Boxes filled with folders lined the walls. Sticky notes covered every surface of the room. “What do you need?” She asked, eager to get things going.
Foster stepped forward and sat down on the rickety-looking office chair, shuffling through some of the expense reports on the table. “Just leave everything to me.” Emily watched him as he went through the papers, looking at the numbers. Feeling lost in the sea of clutter, she moved toward Lloyd, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder, much to Foster’s frustration. He, however, just continued to work. Emily was counting on him and he wasn’t about to let her down.
With the sound of the nightclub pumping through the room, Foster ticked a pencil against the desk. “Would you be against bringing in some foreign stock? We have some connections in Germany. Quality booze at an affordable price.”
“Honestly, I don’t mind what you do as long as it works, but do you really think that changing the alcohol selection will make that much of a difference?” Emily asked, sounding unsure.
“Well, you have to consider your clientele. From what I could tell, you had quite a few Germans in the crowd. At the bar, I noticed they weren’t very impressed with the potency of the alcohol.” Foster spoke carefully and clearly. He was cautiously weaving a net of lies to keep Emily blind to the fact that dragons existed. By addressing the whelps as Germans, he could easily bring in some Dragon’s Ale to satisfy all the whelp customers, without arousing suspicion from Emily.
“You think they’re such heavy drinkers? Isn’t that just stereotyping?” Emily questioned.
“Trust me. I spent quite some time in Germany. They’re very particular about their alcohol.”
Emily bit her lip, wondering how she should proceed. She was taking business advice from a man she barely knew, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but trust him. He seemed so confident. “Alright. Do whatever you have to do.” She nodded, giving him the okay to continue.
***
“I can’t believe this actually worked…” Emily whispered as she stood on the balcony overlooking the nightclub. “This turnout is unbelievable.” Behind her, Lloyd grinned with satisfaction. While Foster had crunched the numbers, he had spread the word between the whelps that the club now stocked premium Dragon Ale. “I don’t know how you two managed all of this…”
“We told you we’d help.” Foster chuckled, leaning against the railing, his hand moving closer to hers. Gently, their pinkies touched and he blushed, looking at her. Their eyes locked and Emily felt her heart skip a beat as she fell into the deepness of his dark eyes.
“Thank you…” She found her face gravitating closer to his, her cheeks crimson as she fixated on his soft pink lips. She closed her eyes, picturing their kiss before Lloyd’s booming voice startled her.
“It’s a fantastic reopening event, isn’t it?” There was a smug look on his face as he glanced over at Foster who was red in the face with anger. He couldn’t believe Lloyd would interrupt his near-kiss with Emily. He had come this close to kissing her and Lloyd had ruined the moment.
“That it is…” Emily whispered, focusing on the bustling crowd below. The Den was filled to the brim with people dancing and having a good time. Beer steins filled with frothing Dragon’s Ale flowed from the bar like a river. The whelps sipped away with a glow on their cheeks as they appreciated the taste, while humans were impressed by how strong the drink really was. All it took was a few gulps to get a human completely smashed on the Ale. Lloyd chuckled, seeing a couple of men stumble out of their stools and collapse on top of each other. “That German liquor is really strong. I didn’t think it would sell so well.”
“What did I tell you? Germans like to drink.” Foster chuckled. He felt a slight tinge of guilt keeping a secret from Emily, but he knew it was for her own safety. If she knew about the dragon world, she would be targeted by the council, a special group of dragons determined to keep the existence of dragons a secret.
“Well, why don’t we go down there and celebrate? I got to get my hands on some of this infamous Ale.” She giggled, grabbing their hands. She pulled the two men along as they exchanged glances, wondering what Emily would be like once drunk.
“Are you sure you want to do that? It’s really strong.” Foster warned.
“Don’t underestimate me. I can hold my liquor quite well.” Foster gulped, unable to say anything else. In silence, they followed her down the stairs. Emily’s confident attitude made it easy for her to push her way through the crowd of people. When the overworked bartender saw his boss, he quickly straightened up his posture.
“Can I help you M-Miss M-Moore?” He stuttered under the weight of her piercing gaze.
“Three Ales.” She smirked, looking back at the dragons who still looked uneasy. The bartender nodded and filled three steins from the tap. A pure white froth flowed down the side of the glass, settling in a puddle on the counter. “And don’t forget to keep things tidy around here.” She ordered, noticing the declining condition of the bar. If things continued to go this well, she would have to hire a few more bartenders as soon as possible. “Well, boys, drink up!” She took her glass and started to chug it down.
Foster was about to stop her, but she had already finished her glass. Lloyd just burst out laughing. “I’m impressed.” Her gusto and fiery attitude were just two more reasons for which Lloyd found her incredibly attractive. As he watched her cheeks turn crimson with the effect of the alcohol, he felt deep carnal instincts rage up inside of him. He licked his lips, about to jump on her when Foster grabbed his shoulder, squeezing down hard.
“Don’t.” He warned, his nails growing and digging into Foster’s skin. “Or I’ll make you regret it.”
“What are you two whispering about…?” Emily asked, her voice high-pitched and giggly. Her words were not yet slurred, but in a few minutes, she wouldn’t be abl
e to utter a coherent sentence.
“Nothing,” Foster answered quickly.
“Don’t you lie to me!” She hiccupped and laughed before she fell back, stumbling. Lloyd caught her before she could hit the ground. Foster ground his teeth, watching his step-brother dig his fingers into her ass, coping a feel. “Ooo…” She whispered, tilting her head back and exposing her neck in pleasure as she felt Lloyd’s hands squeeze her flesh. In her drunken state, her body felt hypersensitive. It was like every inch of her skin was alive with electricity. Her heart was hammering as if she could jump up and run a marathon.
“Come upstairs with me.” Emily swallowed some of her syllables as she looked up at Lloyd, her eyes burning with desire as she pushed her body into his. Her hips moved seductively as her fingers ran through his hair.
“Come on, you’re in no state to be down here.” Foster managed to pry her away from his step-brother who stood there with a raging hard on.
“Hehe.” She hiccupped again, falling into Foster’s arms. Her head rested on his neck, her lips gently brushing against his skin. “You’re cuteeeeeee.” She dragged out her last ‘e’ as she looked up, puckering her lips in Foster’s direction. He contemplated kissing her but then decided against it. He wasn’t going to take advantage of her while she was intoxicated.
Sighing, he bent down, placing his arms behind her knees, hoisting her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style up the stairs. She could do nothing but stare at him wide-eyed, wondering how someone so skinny could be strong enough to carry her up the stairs without even breaking a sweat.
“Shh,” Foster whispered softly as he opened the door to her apartment and brought her into the bedroom. “You just need to sleep, okay?” Pulling the covers back, he laid her on the bed with utmost care.
“But…” She wanted to ask him to stay, but her tongue felt like it had taken up all the space in her mouth. She was incapable of saying anything, even if she wanted to.
“It’s okay… I told you the Ale would be too strong for you…” He sat down on the edge of her bed and gently caressed her hair. The soothing motion calmed her and soon, her eyes grew heavy as she started to feel fatigued and sluggish. Soon enough, she was fast asleep. Foster pulled the covers over her before turning toward the door.
A Secret Baby for the Vampire Page 71
