Asmodeus: Demon of Lust---Part One (Princes of Hell)

by Humphreys, Sara

  Another loud, bass-driven song tumbled over the crowd as Sadie’s voice floated into her head.

  Hey, boss. I see our VIP table is full again tonight with your boyfriend and his crew.

  Olivia threw an irritated glance over her shoulder at Sadie and shot back. He’s not my boyfriend. He just wishes he was. What a termite. She could hear Sadie stifle a giggle as she navigated the crowd and made her way to Michael’s table.

  How long has it been since you got laid? I forget.

  Olivia did her best to ignore that last jab from her friend. Other than Vincent, Sadie was the only one who knew that Olivia had been celibate since becoming a vampire. Don’t you think you’ve tortured yourself long enough? I never knew this Douglas guy, but if he really loved you the way you say he did, would he want you to spend eternity alone?

  I’m not alone. Olivia threw a wink over her shoulder. I’ve got all of you, and sex is overrated anyway.

  Damn. Sadie’s laugh jingled through Olivia’s mind. Now you’re just talking crazy.

  Olivia shook her head and smiled. Her heart had been stolen long before Vincent made it stop beating, and besides, even if she did have her heart to give, Moriarty certainly would not be a candidate.

  Michael was a greasy little worm who used his family’s reputation to get what he wanted. He came to The Coven every Saturday night with his gaggle of dirtbags, and Olivia could smell his fear and feelings of inadequacy a mile away. He’d been trying to get into her pants for months now, and apparently, was still trying, even after a multitude of rejections.

  She felt his eyes on her all night and had managed to ignore him, but now, it was time to play the game. She had to placate the little weasel. Jerk or not, he was a customer—a customer who spent a lot of money in her club.

  Olivia flashed the most charming grin she could muster as she approached Michael and his motley crew.

  “Hey there, hot stuff.” He leered, and his lips curved into a lascivious grin. “I was wondering how long it was gonna take you to get your sweet ass over here.”

  She wanted to bite his face off. What an asshole.

  “Hello, Mr. Moriarty,” she said through a strained smile. “Are you gentlemen finding everything satisfactory this evening?”

  “I’d be doin’ a lot better if you’d come here and sit with me.”

  Olivia smiled tightly and looked at him like the black-haired little bug he was. “Well, gentlemen, I hope you’ll let me buy the final round here. It’s almost last call.”

  She motioned to the waitress who covered the three VIP tables opposite the bar. Suzie, one of only two humans who worked at The Coven, came over quickly, but Olivia sensed her anxiety long before she arrived at the table.

  “Sure, baby.” He leered. “You can buy me a drink.”

  Olivia wanted nothing more than to glamour this guy into dancing naked in the middle of the club with only his socks on, but the image alone would have to be enough to get her through.

  “Suzie. Please get our guests their last round.” She flicked her gaze back to Moriarty. “On the house, of course.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” She looked like a skittish lamb surrounded by wolves. She almost hadn’t hired Suzie due to her naive nature, but Olivia was a sucker for hard-luck cases. Suzie was straight from the farm and as green as the fields she hailed from. By hiring her, she figured she could at least keep an eye on her.

  Olivia nodded and said a brief goodbye before working her way to the front door. The place was starting to thin out, since it was just about last call. The tension in her shoulders eased as soon as she set eyes on the only other human who worked at the club—their bouncer Damien.

  Damien, unlike Suzie, knew what Olivia and the others were. He was what some referred to as a familiar, but Olivia hated that term. It seemed like a dirty word, laced with innuendo and ill intent. Most humans who worked with vampires did it out of love and friendship.

  However, Damien wasn’t just a friend—he was more like family. He was the only human who knew what Olivia was and kept her secret, and not because he had to, but because he genuinely cared. She’d met him when he was a boy, spending most of his nights on the streets and clearly heading down a bad path.

  She’d heard his cries one night, and even though it was against Presidium rules to interfere with humans and their problems, she couldn’t help it. That cry of a young boy in the dark overrode any rules she was supposed to follow, and before she knew it, she was plucking him from what was sure to be a deadly situation.

  She planned to rescue him from the local drug dealer and send him on his way. Yet the second she looked into the soulful, brown eyes, she was hooked. At first, she told herself that she would only check on him for a few nights to be sure he was safe, but those few nights turned into weeks, and then years. Since vampires couldn’t have children, Damien was the closest she’d ever have to a child, and she loved him as if he was her own.

  “Moriarty’s still here?” Damien had barely finished the question, when Michael appeared in the vestibule with his posse.

  “We were just leaving, big guy.” Michael gave him a smack on the back as he walked to the enormous stretch limo waiting at the curb. Olivia put her hand on Damien to keep him at bay. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to go after him, because she wanted to punch the little bastard’s lights out too.

  “You know, Olivia, one day that guy is gonna get what’s coming to him,” Damien said quietly as the limo pulled away. “I just hope I get to see it.”

  “You know what they say, babe,” she said quietly. ”Be careful what you wish for. Besides, his money is as green as anyone’s.”

  “I realize you’re not into live feeds like most of your crowd, but boy, does that guy deserve to be dinner or what? I know you can handle yourself, but I don’t like the way he speaks to Suzie or any other woman for that matter.”

  She rubbed her temples absently as various patrons pushed past as they left. Live feeds were always best, but Olivia tried to avoid them. While the live feed was most rejuvenating, it was also the most dangerous. Live feeds were like a drug. The more she did it, the more she wanted it, and each time it got harder and harder to stop. Besides, blood memories came with it, and she wasn’t interested in anyone else’s baggage. She had quite enough of her own shit to deal with.

  As she turned to go back inside, an oddly familiar voice floated over, and the scent of the ocean filled her head.

  “Excuse me. Can you tell me where I can find Ms. Olivia Hollingsworth?”

  Olivia stopped dead in her tracks, and the tattoo on the nape of her neck burned. Her fangs erupted, and little licks of fire skittered up her spine, as one note of that smooth, velvety voice banished all self-control. She closed her eyes and willed her quaking body to settle.

  It can’t be.

  Terrified and hopeful, Olivia steeled herself with courage she’d forgotten she had. She turned around, excruciatingly slowly, and found herself face-to-face with the man of her dreams and the love of her life.

  The problem was he’d been dead for almost three hundred years.

  About the Author

  Sara Humphreys graduated from Marist College with a degree in English literature and theater. She started her career as an actress, with credits including Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Rescue Me. She specializes in public speaking, presentation development, and communication skills training. But she has loved romance novels and sci-fi/fantasy worlds for years, beginning with Star Trek (she had a huge crush on Captain Kirk). She is now married to her college sweetheart, with whom she has four boys and two “insanely loud” dogs. They live just outside of New York City, a perfect inspiration for where things go bump in the night.

  Sara’s fascination with sci-fi/fantasy eventually grew into a love for all things paranormal, including ghosts, shapeshifters, and the undead. She considers herself a hopeless romantic and a sucker for happy endings.

  Sara’s first manuscript caught the eye of a major national b
ookseller, who championed her publishing career. Sara utilizes her acting skills during her writing, using sense memory recall and creating backgrounds for her characters so they have a history. Even for shape- shifters, she researches the animals and utilizes their natural traits in her characters who take on their forms.

  You can find information about upcoming books on her website: www.sarahumphreys.com

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