I reached up and laid my hand on his cheek.
“We both made mistakes.” I rubbed my thumb over his lower lip and remembered how it had felt the first time he kissed me. Like heaven. “I’m not without blame in this, Michael. And yes, I can believe you.”
Impulsively, I pressed my lips to his chin. “Come on, we’ve got a job to do and I’d much rather do that than live in the past.”
“A job.” His smile was grim—no pun intended. “What a job—I dance with you while we are surrounded by men who cannot keep their eyes from you—and many have a hard time keeping their hands to themselves as well.”
I slid him a sidelong glance. Smirking, I added, “Don’t forget the women.” I’d had my ass grabbed by a female more than once since we’d started this particular job.
“Well, there should be some on-the-job benefits.” His face was straight, but there was a glint in his eyes, just the slightest hint of laughter.
“Pervert.” I clicked my tongue and hooked my arm through his. “C’mon. Time to get our freak on.”
Michael gave me a perplexed look. “Freak on?”
“You really do need to step into the 21st century.”
***
Get our freak on. Michael leaned against the railing, a martini in his hand, watching Elle out on the dance floor. He had to admit, the phrase made sense. She danced with three other women. He could hardly take his eyes off her.
Dancing, just like everything else, had changed greatly over the centuries. It didn’t seem right though, to call this dancing. They might as well be fucking. It was erotic enough that he had a raging hard-on just from watching them. The few times a man had attempted to join them, he had been hard-pressed to keep from tearing out throats.
Elle had saved his sanity, and the strain on his self-control, evading the men with flirtatious ease.
They had feigned a fight. They weren’t going to see enough if they kept going as they had. If this didn’t work she had said something about pretending to get drunk. Sooner or later, one of the demons would take the bait. They craved sex and Elle looked like a sexual deviant’s dream come to life.
To his surprise, Elle didn’t get approached.
He did.
The girl was young. If she was old enough to legally be in this club Michael would eat glass. Still, he pretended interest as she sidled up to stand beside him. He couldn’t quite call what she was wearing a dress—he was certain he had seen lingerie that wasn’t that revealing. Hell, there was more material on her thigh-high boots than her clothing combined.
The top was nothing more than a brassiere made of chain mail, and when she moved just so he caught glimpses of her pink nipples. The bottom wasn’t any better, thong panties with a short lace overskirt that just barely managed to cover her rump. The thin silver chain she wore around her waist looked like it had been made from the same silver as her top. Her lips were slicked blood-red, matching her fingernails. Her hair was only a few shades lighter. Red hair, nails and lips, silver and black covering that too-young body…and a demon peeking out from her eyes.
She traced one red nail along the rim of his glass and leaned in to whisper, “You look awful lonely over here.”
“And you look awful young.” Michael gave her a dismissive glance. Not that he could dismiss her—he and Elle would have to intervene here. Now. Tonight. If their chance came in the form of this woman-child, so be it. Perhaps some good could even come of it—perhaps they could save her.
This one walked a narrow line. In another day or two it would be too late for her. It might be too late now.
Her lips curved into a smile, and there was nothing childish about it. “I’m older than I look.”
“So am I.” By several centuries.
Her smile didn’t fade. “Oh, goody. I love older men…so much more…stamina.” She leaned in and touched her tongue to his glass. “I’m thirsty.”
Michael glanced at the drink he didn’t want and then offered it to her. “By all means.”
***
Oh, the little whore. I watched her lead Michael away. I couldn’t see her eyes, but I had to guess she’d been touched. Michael wouldn’t be wasting his time with her if there wasn’t a demon’s presence lingering around her.
Still…jealousy burned inside me.
One of the girls I’d been dancing with caught sight of my face and she grinned at me. “If you want to teach him a lesson, you can join me and my girlfriend. We can make him real miserable…invite him to watch.”
She gestured towards one of the little stages. They were rarely empty. I’d seen everything from fellatio to spankings to ménages taking place on those little stages—entertainment, and cheap entertainment too. The club didn’t pay a dime to the “performers”—anybody at the club who wanted to take a few minutes in the limelight could do so.
“I’d rather teach her a lesson,” I said, still glaring in the direction Michael had gone. The private rooms. I’d heard about those for the first time last night. I stormed in their direction and if it seemed very easy to play the jealous lover, so what?
I couldn’t see them any more, but I could feel him. A Grimm doesn’t feel like a human, just like a demon doesn’t feel like a human. I followed, letting my instincts guide me to a closed door. Above the lock, there was a little red “occupied” sign.
I smirked. Too fucking bad.
Pounding on the door, I screeched. Those in the hall around me barely heard me thanks to the music, but Michael heard me. Seconds later, the door opened and I got ready to tear into him. I had to keep up appearances after all. But before I could say anything, he caught my wrist and dragged me inside. He pinned me against the door and leaned in, placing his mouth right next to my ear.
“They have a camera going. Behind the mirror.”
Shit. I met his gaze as he lifted his face. Okay.
I glanced past him to look at the girl. She smirked at me, and that’s when I saw it. When I felt it. I hate being right. She had one in her. Working deeper and deeper. Wouldn’t be too long before it was too late for her.
Shoving Michael away, I stared at him and let my lower lip tremble. “What are you doing in here with her, Michael?”
“Just having some fun,” he said, giving me a cocky smile. “That’s why we keep coming here, right? For fun?”
I shifted from one foot to another and tried to look nervous, embarrassed. “I just like… Well, you know…watching.”
“Then watch.”
I knew what he was going to do—I could see it in his eyes. But still, when I watched him kiss her it was like having my heart ripped out again. All over. “I don’t want to watch you fucking some girl.”
He looked up over her shoulder and smiled. “I didn’t say I was going to fuck her.” He shifted his gaze to the other woman. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
The woman chose that moment to slide her hand down his chest, down, down, until she was stroking him through his trousers. “Make up your mind,” she whispered, her voice low and sultry. “I promise, I’ll be good…or bad…whichever you want me to be.”
“Tempting.”
She threw me a challenging look over her shoulder. “She comes to a club like this, thinking it’s all just fun and games. It’s not. It’s more.” Then she looked back at Michael and whispered, “Let me show you.”
She went to her knees in front of him.
Before she could loosen his belt, I crossed the room and buried my hand in her hair, yanking hard. Maybe a little harder than I should have. She screeched.
“Hands off, honey.”
She jumped to her feet. Even if I hadn’t already seen the demon peeking out from behind her eyes, that move—lightning quick and inhumanly graceful—would have clued me in. Not much time with you, I mused to myself as I studied her face.
I could see her muscles coiling and I braced—she might not be fully gone, but the demon in her was strong. Michael came between the two of us before she had a chance to rush m
e. He drew me close, pressed a kiss to my brow. “Darling girl, calm down.”
I saw him smile at her, flashing that devastating smile of his at his new admirer. “Give us a minute, won’t you?” He didn’t bother waiting for an answer before shifting his gaze back to me. He skimmed his fingers through my hair, then down my back. His hand rested at the base of my spine, stroking. The warmth of his touch was so distracting it took me a minute to realize that he was talking to me. “You always tease me about trying new things. I’d say we could certainly call this…new.”
“That is so like a man,” I sneered at him. “You want me to watch her give you a fucking blowjob?”
“I was thinking of something with more participation, from all of us.” Michael smiled at me.
I heard her coming up behind me, but I still flinched when her hands came around my waist. “That’s just like a man too. You get two girls at once?”
“I want to watch her touch you,” he rasped against my mouth. Then he kissed me, arching my head back. His kiss was deep, rough, and my knees were weak by the time he lifted his head.
It’s a damn good thing this was a job. Because if he had asked me that, and kissed me that way, I don’t know that I would’ve been able to tell him no. Of course, when he kissed me that way, it was hard to remember what no was.
I could feel her behind me, rubbing against me. As her hands came up to cup my breasts, I caught her wrists.
We can’t do this here, I thought, staring at Michael and hoping he picked up on my unspoken message.
He gave a tiny, imperceptible nod. Moving away from the girl, I turned and rested my back against his chest. “What’s your name?”
“Call me Velvet,” she said, her voice a seductive purr.
I didn’t have to feign the hesitation as I looked around the small room. It had been cleaned, but I could still smell it— sex, sweat, even the faint metallic scent of blood. “I’m not having sex here.” I didn’t have to feign my revulsion either.
Michael’s arms came around me. He nuzzled my neck. I shuddered as he scraped his teeth along my sensitive flesh. “Maybe a hotel?”
Velvet frowned. Glancing around the room, she said, “What’s wrong with this room?”
“My lady is fastidious.”
We both saw it in her eyes, a reluctance of her own. She didn’t want to leave here. She might not instinctively understand it, but I knew the demon inside her felt safer with more of her own kind around.
But we couldn’t do this here.
So we would just have to tempt her away.
Michael stroked his hands on my hips, under the hem of my brief dress. Blood rushed to my cheeks as he touched me in front of her. Renewed interest flared in her eyes and I felt the demon’s presence more strongly.
The problem was I couldn’t relax in front of her.
Then don’t think about her, I told myself. Think about Michael.
Or better yet…don’t think at all.
Squeezing my eyes closed, I focused on him, the way his fingers circled around my clit, and the hard, firm length of his cock cuddling against my ass. I whimpered and sagged in his arms.
Need boiled inside me. Self-preservation was the only thing keeping me on my feet—well, that and Michael.
“We’re leaving, Velvet.” Michael pulled his hand away from my sex and lazily licked his fingers. “You’re welcome to join us, but we’re leaving.”
Velvet followed us out.
Chapter Six
A hotel wouldn’t do.
Not enough privacy. Michael waited until they were a few miles away from the club before he did anything. Pulling up on the side of the road, he turned and faced Velvet.
She blinked and glanced around, looking confused. “What are we doing…”
“Be silent.”
For a split second, a dazed, helpless look appeared in her eyes. Then it was gone, chased away by demon heat, demon hunger…and fear. If the succubus hadn’t figured out yet, she would shortly.
Narrowing his eyes, Michael pushed at her with his mind. “Tell me where you live.”
Once more, she looked dazed and helpless. In a monotone voice, she gave him directions. Michael committed them to memory and then asked her, “What is your real name? Do you have a family?”
“Vanessa.” Tears appeared in her eyes. “I have my mom. But she’s not here. She’s back home.”
The small, rundown apartment wasn’t much better than a hotel room. At least here Elle could do what she needed to do, and when they were done they could leave Vanessa here, knowing she’d be safe.
It took them less than twenty minutes to get from the club to Vanessa’s little apartment. It took another three minutes to get into the apartment building with the door locked behind them.
The demon was fighting harder now. In the back of his mind, Michael could feel the thing struggling and jerking against the bonds Michael had laid on Vanessa’s vulnerable mind. He looked at Elle. “You need anything?”
Elle shook her head.
“If I hold her mind, can you do what you need to do? Or do I need to let it go?”
“It will be best if you’re not touching her…physically or otherwise.”
Vanessa’s eyes were huge, dark in her pale face. They wheeled back and forth between his face and Elle’s. She didn’t move—couldn’t move, not unless Michael let her. But her entire body was tense, tight. Ready to flee or fight.
“She’s going to try and take off the minute I release her,” he warned Elle.
She nodded. “I figured.” Jerking her head, she said, “Go stand by the door. Just in case.”
As Michael did, Elle prowled around the little apartment. Her eyes landed on a black silk scarf draped over the coffee table. She grabbed it and approached Vanessa. “Don’t let her go until I tell you.”
“I won’t.”
Vanessa began to struggle against his mental hold, harder and harder.
Elle used the scarf as a makeshift gag and Michael closed his eyes. He could feel her fear through their mind link, feel her terror. And the demon…rousing. Stretching against her skin. Whispering to her… Call…call for help. Call for help and they’ll leave you alone.
But Michael wouldn’t loosen his grasp enough for her to do that. She couldn’t so much as twitch a finger, much less call for help.
“Okay, Michael.”
Elle was standing in front of Vanessa, her willowy body braced, like she was facing down a linebacker instead of a young woman who stood just an inch or so over five feet.
Michael dropped his hold and Vanessa lunged. She didn’t make it two inches before Elle caught her and used the girl’s momentum and body weight to take her to the floor.
“Listen to me. I’m not going to hurt you,” Elle said, catching first one wildly swinging fist, then the other.
Vanessa whimpered and bucked, trying to knock Elle away.
“Easy…easy…”
Michael felt it when she started. He hadn’t known if he’d feel anything—there was a light push, followed by a rush of cold and loneliness. Pain that stretched on without end. Emptiness.
His own eyes stung with tears and Elle wasn’t even focused on him.
Beneath her, Vanessa sobbed.
“It doesn’t get better,” Elle whispered, her voice sympathetic and gentle. “It just gets worse. One day, you’ll want somebody who doesn’t want you…but you’ll need it too much. You’ll want it too much, and since you’re stronger you’ll just take it. You’ll hurt people…unless you die first.”
Vanessa averted her face, but both Michael and Elle had seen the tears on her face.
Without a link to her mind, Michael didn’t know what she was thinking. But he didn’t need to be linked to her to recognize the pain inside of her.
Elle’s voice dropped, soft and low. “Is that really what you want? Is that who you want to be?” Carefully, she eased the gag down, letting the girl talk.
“You’re lying… I don’t like hurting peop
le. I wouldn’t.”
“You won’t have a choice. The demon inside you is getting stronger—sooner or later you won’t be able to fight it.”
“Demon?” Vanessa shook her head. “I don’t have the demon inside me.”
“Yes, you do. And I think you know it. You feel it…that darkness inside of you, so alien, so cold, so hungry. It’s not a part of you—you know that, even though you don’t completely understand it.” Elle’s face darkened with a frown. “You don’t remember inviting her in, but you did. It’s the only way they can get in, and once they’re inside, you start to feel different. Very different. I bet you even remember when it happened… Yes, you do. I can feel it. You can’t hide it from me. She can’t hide it from me.”
Vanessa started to shake. She stared at Elle, terror written all over her features. “No.”
Abruptly, the young woman’s body arched and started to spasm violently. Elle swore and shot Michael a desperate glance. “Help me.”
Demon-strong. Michael caught her legs and kept them from thrashing. Elle held her upper body down, a cold, hard smile curling her lips.
Keep fighting, Michael thought. Just keep fighting.
If the succubus fought hard enough she would wear herself down. Without a body to jump to, she would have to retreat to the netherplains and rebuild her strength. It would take her a few days at least, which would give them a little bit more time.
It was also possible that she had invested too much strength in Vanessa. That the succubus would die without her connection to her host. That would just be an added bonus as far as Michael was concerned.
Vanessa’s mouth opened, but the voice wasn’t hers. The succubus…she wasn’t human and she never had been. “You’ll pay for this. My queen will hunt you down. You’ll die screaming while my brothers and sisters fuck you both until you bleed.”
“Do you promise?” Elle purred, her voice husky. Michael didn’t need to see her face to sense her excitement, to feel her adrenaline rush.
Elle was all about the hunt, it seemed.
The succubus shrieked.
No Prince Charming: Grimm's Circle, Book 2 Page 6
