Evil's Unlikely Assassin_An Alexis Black Novel

by Jenn Windrow

  Julian’s sister worked at a BSDM club. A tiny detail he failed to mention when he gave me the address, but became apparent the moment the cab pulled up in front of the repurposed warehouse with a neon orange and pink sign flashing the name “Cuff’s”.

  Nathan bobbed up and down in the seat next to me, clapping his hands together like an excited seal waiting for a fish. “This is going to be fun,” he half yipped and half barked.

  This was the backup plan since our visit to the Underground turned out to be a complete and utter failure. Nathan and I deposited a battered Reaper back at his place and headed out to search for Julia. So far she was our only connection, which made her our only lead.

  I paid the driver, hopped out, made my way to the entrance and stopped when I spied Julian waiting in line for admittance.

  “Think he’s here for business or pleasure?” Nathan asked.

  I really hoped the answer was business. “Guess we’ll find out.”

  I walked over to him, and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned and looked at me, my heart did an odd little two-step because of the oh-so-sexy smile that lifted his lips.

  “Out for a night on the town?”

  To my relief he shook his head. “Trying to find Julia. This is my first stop.”

  “Thought you were banned?” I nudged his shoulder with mine.

  “I was hoping to play up the missing sister, concerned brother routine and plead for mercy.”

  “I told you I’d help you find her.”

  “I know, but I just can’t sit and wait.”

  I understood what he was saying. I wasn’t the sit around and wait type either. I slipped my arm through his and pulled him out of line.

  “They’ll never let you through without waiting in line. Only VIP’s get to move to the front.”

  “Trust me.”

  I put a little extra sway into my hips, a little lick of the lips, a little pushing out of my breasts. Then I topped it all off with some vampire mojo. The bouncer looked me up and down, well more like down then up. He started at my legs, up to my hips, stomach, breasts, and then finally my face.

  He pushed open the doors. “Evening,” he said with a lift of his chin.

  I walked past him, giving him a little finger wave, and a wink. His heart rate picked up and the blood rushed through his body, most likely heading south for a nice long rest.

  The door closed behind us and cut off the protests from the people still waiting in line.

  “He didn’t even notice me,” Julian said. “That must come in handy.”

  “The vampire pheromones or the girl parts?”

  He looked at the aforementioned girl parts. “Both.”

  “They have their advantages.”

  We walked through a set of swinging doors and my arm slipped from Julian’s.

  Cuff’s was the perfect name for the club. If you were a psychopath.

  Julian, Nathan, and I were surrounded by a sea of whips, chains, and leather. From the wide-eyed looks of lust from my two companions, I was the only one who felt uncomfortable.

  Around me, men and women were engaged in all sorts of sexual acts. Some handcuffed to the walls. Others led around by leashes. Large cages hung from the ceiling with fully naked women bumping and grinding to the body-thumping beat. A large stage took up the center of the room, and men shoved bills into the barely-there panties of the women shaking it on the glitter-covered floor for their entertainment.

  “There are some randy blokes in this place.” Nathan gawked like a kid at Disneyland. “This is my kind of club.”

  “I’m so happy you approve.”

  Julian looked over my shoulder. “Nathan?”

  I nodded and made my way through the crowd, passing several naked couples getting hot and heavy on the bright pink velvet couches. Privacy was so overrated.

  Nathan’s constant commentary faded into the background. When I looked back he hovered close to one of the cages, his hands wrapped around the bar, watching an Asian girl get down and dirty with herself. Calling him would only draw attention to myself, so I opted to let him enjoy his time out, and continued to follow Julian.

  He led us through the rest of the crowd and to the bar. I tried to blend in, but I was over dressed.

  We settled into a couple of bar stools and waited for the bartender to notice us. The girl who approached us had more metal in her face than the city iron works. Her hair was dyed turquoise, and she must have used a paintball gun to apply her eye makeup.

  “What can I get you?” she shouted over the music’s deep base.

  “Information. I’m looking for Julia Monroe. I heard she worked here.” I took control of the investigation.

  “You a cop?”

  “I’m her brother.” Julian spoke up.

  She turned and looked at him. “So, you’re Julian. She talked about you all the time.”

  “When’s the last time you saw her?” I asked.

  “It’s been a few weeks.”

  “Any idea where she is?”

  “No idea, but Ivy might.” She looked at the watch. “She’s due on stage in twenty minutes. Puts on a really good show, worth the wait.”

  “I guess we’ll wait.” Julian and I ordered a couple of beers and settled into a pair of bar stools to wait for Ivy to appear.

  The music changed to Nine Inch Nails Closer and Julian grabbed my hand and yanked me onto the dance floor. He pulled me tight, the warmth from his body seeping through my leather, warming me to the core.

  His hands slid from the center of back and came to rest at the edge of my low-rise pants. His fingers crept under my t-shirt, igniting tiny fires of lust up and down my spine.

  He pulled me closer, letting me know the attraction I felt for him was mutual. He buried his face in my neck, breath coming out slow and warm, body grinding against mine. It was all enough to make me forget about searching for his missing twin and murderous vampire, and start searching for the nearest dark corner.

  The DJ announced that Ivy was up next and the spell broke. Damn my stupid sense of responsibility.

  I put enough distance between us to calm my raging hormones. “We should head over and wait for her set to end.”

  He looked at me, the words are-you-sure written all over his face. I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a half smile, half frown.

  We settled into one of the tables that surrounded the dance floor and waited for Ivy to make her grand entrance.

  “I used your serum tonight.”

  He leaned forward and touched my skin, looked deep into my eyes, and then tested my pulse. “How do you feel?”

  “Normal.” I sighed. “Like a normal vampire, not a blood thirsty monster programmed to eat every other creature of the night that I come across. It seems to have controlled the angrier parts of my personality.”

  Those angrier parts would give me hell when they came back from being comfortably numb.

  “I don’t know how long the effects will last.”

  “That’s okay. I can enjoy the feeling while it’s here.”

  “You’re not like the rest of the vampires, are you?” His words surprised me.

  “A blood thirsty killer?” I couldn’t keep the humor from entering my voice. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. “I fight the urge every day.”

  “So you didn’t choose the fanged lifestyle?”

  My past wasn’t something I shared willingly and certainly not with someone I just met. Although I had just contemplated doing naughty things with him, but that didn’t give him an open ticket to my soul. Only one person knew the story of how I was turned and right now he was front and center waiting for some T and A.

  “No.” I hoped the music would start and save me from any more questions.

  “How did it happen?” He leaned his elbows on the sticky spilled-drink covered table and waited for my answer.

  It surprised me how much I wanted to open up to Julian. Something in the way he looked at me, like he really cared a
nd wasn’t just trying to fill up the time with inane chitchat made me want to share my story.

  “The village I grew up in was raided by a very old, very powerful vampire.” I stopped talking and picked at a hole in the vinyl chair. Even though all of this happened so long ago it still brought up painful memories of the people I couldn’t save. Of the lives lost. Of my humanity erased at the hand of a sadistic bastard.

  Julian placed his hand on mine and squeezed. The small touch gave me enough courage to go one.

  “My twin brother, Andre, and I were on our way back home from town when it all started. We rushed to help our family, but when we got there it was too late.” I skipped the gruesome details, not for Julian’s sake, but for mine. “The vampire gave Andre and I a choice. Leave with him, and our parents and little sister, Lysette, lived. Refuse him and they died.”

  “Why did he choose the two of you?”

  I shook my head before I answered. “Xavier, my sire, liked to collect rare items. Something about Andre and I intrigued him. Maybe it was the matching black hair and deep blue eyes, the already pale skin, the fact that we looked like real life Dresden dolls.”

  “So, he collected you?”

  I nodded. “Yep. Just another rare item to him.”

  “And your family? Did he let them live?”

  “No.” I picked the bottle of beer up off the bar to give me something to focus on. “After we agreed his goons grabbed us. As we were being led out of the barn he had our parents’ throats slit. When we struggled to get free he used Lysette as a bargaining chip. Our cooperation for her life. He took her with us to ensure we did what he asked.”

  The slow, sensual lyrics of Sex (I am) cut off his next question. It was for the best because the story I had to tell only got worse from that point on. Pain. Betrayal. Torture. The start of my vampire life wasn’t pretty or magical or whatever the goth kids thought when they played pretend. It was vicious.

  Ivy strolled sensually up to the pole in the center of the floor. The multi-colored lights reflected off her short black hair, adding a rainbow of colors to it.

  She wore a hot pink bejeweled bra and panty combo, and plenty of body glitter. Her breasts were round, solid, large, and fake, but her taut skin, and tight ass showed that she took care of herself.

  She completed her striptease to a round of catcalls and whistles and collected the bills scattered all over the stage, tucking them in her G-string. Julian raised a twenty over his head and she wound her way to our table.

  She looked at both of us like we were dessert and licked her lips. “Who gets the lap dance?”

  “Neither.” My voice came out a lot higher than I intended. But the tips of her nipples were right in the line of my sight making it hard to focus on anything else but the silver glitter that covered them.

  Julian laid the twenty on the table and pushed out the chair between us. “We’re looking for information about Julia Monroe. I’m her brother, Julian.”

  Ivy leaned close and whispered, “I’ve got to keep up a show for management, or they’ll make me move on.” She turned the chair around and straddled it, slipped the twenty off the table and put it with the rest of her collection, making sure to pull the silky fabric out and give Julian a peek. “You haven’t found her yet?”

  He pulled his gaze away from her crotch. “When was the last time you heard from her?”

  “About a week.” She placed the tip of her finger between her teeth like she was thinking and then drew it down her breast. “When she started dating Terrance she became more and more withdrawn from me.”

  The flirting was getting to be a little much for me. “Can you tell me anything about Terrance? Where he hangs out. How to get a hold of him?”

  She turned her attention from Julian and onto me. She licked her lips and reached out and touched my hair. “You two into threesomes?” Maybe I should have let Julian handle her.

  “Not tonight.” Julian answered for us. “Anything you can tell us about Terrance would be extremely helpful. He pulled another twenty out of his wallet. Ivy thrust her hips closer to Julian and waited for him to tuck it into place.

  “He used to brag that he was the most powerful vampire in the city. That he had plans to be the leader of the vampire race. No one was allowed near him unless they wanted to join in his little army.”

  “Do you know how to get a hold of him?” Julian asked.

  “He left a number with a few of us in case we ever met anyone interested in being part of his merry band of psychos. I’ve got to make the rounds, but when I get a chance I’ll run back to my dressing room and get it for you. I’ll leave it with the bouncer.”

  “How long?” I was anxious to leave.

  “Give me ten minutes.” She got off the chair and sauntered off to the next table willing to pay for her services.

  “Looks like we might have our first break in the case,” I said.

  We sat back in our chairs and waited out the ten minutes with light conversation and front row seats to our own private strip show.

  A little bit later Ivy wandered to the back and then headed to the front door. “Looks like it’s time to go.” I stood and waited for Julian to join me.

  We got to the front door, asked for the number and left the building.

  I expected to part ways with Julian, but he pushed me against the brick wall and leaned close. He touched underneath my chin with his index finger, and gently tilted my head until our lips were millimeters apart. “I’m really glad I met you, Alexis,” he said with a wicked smile.

  He closed the distance between us. Tentatively, gently, questioning. His lips touched mine. I leaned in and we kissed.

  A spine melting kiss. A toe curling kiss. A kiss that made me forget about vampires and naked women and morals.

  I opened my mouth and our tongues met and danced. His hands started at my shoulders, traveled down to my arms and then one cupped my breast. The other grabbed my ass and lifted me until I was straddling his hips. He pushed me into the wall, the brick cutting into my flesh only adding to the excitement of the moment.

  “I want you,” he whispered. “Here. Your place. I don’t care where, just tell me you want me too.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was hot and horny because of the visit to the strip club or the attraction I had felt since the day I met him in the morgue, and right now I didn’t care.

  “Let’s go to my place.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  We burst through the elevator door. A trail of shoes in our wake, lips pressed together, my legs wrapped around his hips, his hands grabbing my ass.

  Raja pinned her ears, growled, hissed, and then took refuge on her cat tree in the corner. She’d just have to get used to having Julian around, because if I had my choice he’d be here more often.

  I tossed my keys in the general vicinity of the kitchen table, not caring where they landed. Right now the only thing on my mind was getting Julian naked. Well, that and not eating him during sex, hopefully the serum continued to work, because having Eddie come roaring back to life during sex would be a major cock block.

  He carried me over to the couch, and slowly laid me down, his mouth never leaving mine. The heat between us could melt metal. His hands roamed over my body and then caressed my breasts through the thin fabric of my t-shirt.

  A small tremor shook my apartment.

  Nathan poofed in. “Rude vampire. Couldn’t even wait for the burlesque show to…” His mumbling stopped. “Damn fine specimen.” The last words I heard before he disappeared.

  But even Nathan’s presence couldn’t extinguish the lust riding me hard.

  Julian removed his lips from mine, and I instantly missed their warmth. “Did the room just shake?”

  “Nathan’s back.”

  “Do you want to stop?”

  “Not a chance.” I pulled him close and kissed him, hoping to show him how much I really didn’t want to stop.

  His mouth clamped down on mine again and he kissed me back, lon
g and slow.

  His tongue slipped between my lips, playfully touching mine.

  Hands that knew what they were doing crept under my shirt, and followed an invisible trail up my stomach to the underside of my breast. I silently begged that he wouldn’t stop and he didn’t. He undid the clasp of my bra, and pulled my tank top up over my head. He bent down and licked my nipples, teased them, nipped them between his teeth, until the mixture of pleasure and pain drew a groan from my mouth. It was intoxicating, and I never wanted it to end.

  His mouth moved to my belly button then to the edge of my leathers. He undid the button and crept just below the waistband of my panties. Leaving feather light touches. “Oh god.” The breathless words left my mouth when he replaced his finger with his lips.

  “I’ve wanted to do this all night. Hell, I’ve wanted to do this since the first moment I saw you.” He slid my pants down my hips, removing the one layer of clothing that kept us from being skin to skin. Then hooked his fingers in the edge of my polka dot silk panties and ripped them off.

  He stared at my naked body, taking in all my curves as though memorizing them for later. His eyes darkened with lust, and for a moment I imagined they went from blue to amber. “Perfect,” he said before lowering his mouth back to mine.

  His hand stopped between my thighs and his fingers dove deep, working me, teasing me to the point of orgasm, then stopping, causing me to cry out in frustration. He looked at me, something savage glinted in his gaze, and a half smile curled his lips. Lowering his head, he separated my fold with his tongue, licking deeper and deeper. Entering me with his fingers, driving me to orgasm. I ran my hands through his hair, forcing more pressure on my sex, forcing his mouth to move deeper. His tongue moved faster, so did his fingers. The orgasm ripped through me, tearing a trembling cry from my throat, leaving me panting and breathless.

  Eddie stirred, woken by the flutters that ran through my body. I took a deep breath and waited for him to settle again. Refusing to allow that part of my life to enter into this part of my life. The beast had a specific time and place and during sex was not it.

  And as much as I enjoyed what Julian had just done, it was my turn to be in control.