I have no idea how long we stood there, devouring each other, but he pulled away at last, gasping for breath, traces of my lipstick on the edges of his mouth. “Come back with me,” he said, his voice ragged. “Come back to my hotel. I want you, Ravenna. I want you badly.”
I wanted him, too. My skin felt heavy with it, my body weighted down by lust. I took a breath, closing my eyes, trying to steady myself. “I can’t,” I said. “I have work.”
“After work, then. I’ll give you my room number.”
“I have to go home.” I looked at him, wanting him to understand. “I have people expecting me there, people I care about. I can’t just show up late, giving them no idea of where I’ve gone. I can’t just go back to your hotel on a whim.”
“Then tell them.” I could tell even as he said it that he knew it wouldn’t happen, that he knew one of those people waiting for me was Isa. “Is it cheating? Is that why you can’t?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not like that. It’s just,” I spread my hands, trying to think of how to explain it. “We’ve all been together a very long time, Toven. It’s been a long road getting here, and we’re just settling in. I can’t throw something like this–something so new—at them out of nowhere. I can’t disrupt our lives for a…for…”
“For meaningless sex.” He shrugged. “I get it.”
“That’s not–”
He stopped me with a quick shake of his head. He dug into his jacket pocket then, and handed me a card. It was a business card for a hotel, and on the blank side he had scrawled a phone number. “I wrote that after the first night I met you, in case I saw you again. Take it. If you change your mind, just call me.” He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes dark, and I shivered.
Then he turned and walked back into the bar, leaving me dumbfounded and holding the card, my body aching with the absence of him.
Nothing can stop fate, Kavi had told me once, long before he was Kavi and I was Ravenna, on one of the sweet sun-drenched afternoons we had spent in the grass. I had accepted those words easily then, taking them as proof of our love, proof that we were meant to be together, that everything we did for our love was right and good. But now the words echoed in my ears, and the sound was not sweet, but ominous, a harbinger of danger still to come.
11
Toven
I walked back into the bar aching, my nose filled with the scent of her, the taste of her mouth still lingering on my lips. Dimly, I knew she was still there, somehow going about her work as if that scorching kiss hadn’t happened, as if only minutes before I hadn’t had her up against the wall of the bar, her body soft and pliable under mine. Just the thought sent a fresh wave of lust through me, and I tried to push the thoughts away. Nathan would be here in a matter of minutes, and all I needed was to still be dealing with the considerable problem that my encounter with Ravenna had left.
You could take anyone in this bar home. Less than an hour, and you could be buried in someone warm and sweet, someone who doesn’t come with a host of problems you don’t even understand. Someone who you’ll forget as quickly as you found them.
Surprisingly, it was that line of thinking that made my troublesome erection finally start to recede. I didn’t want just anyone. I didn’t want to pick someone out of the crowd and charm them into my bed. I’d done that, time and again, and I was bored of it.
So you want the chase. The challenge.
“That’s not it!” I said aloud. A woman at the table next to me looked at me quizzically, and then shrugged, probably assuming I’d done too many drugs that night. She’s not entirely wrong, I thought wryly as I gestured to a nearby waitress.
The girl who approached my table was slender and blonde, her hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. “Can I get you another whiskey?” she asked, her eyes running over my face and down my body. She hesitated when her gaze fell on my lap, and I shifted uncomfortably. “Or anything else?”
I heard the invitation in her voice, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Ravenna pass by. She halted briefly, and for a moment I wondered if she would come over, tell the girl to leave me alone. A brief fantasy of Ravenna shooing away this waitress, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the bar and into a taxi that would take us back to my hotel flashed through my head, but I shook it away. At the same moment I saw Ravenna turn around and walk in the other direction, her back stiff and straight.
She isn’t going to change her mind, I told myself firmly. At this point there’s nothing you can do, other than what you’ve come here for tonight. Anything else is hopeless.
“Sir? Is there anything I can help you with?” The waitress had taken a step closer, and I saw her lick her lips quickly, her pink lip gloss glistening in the dim light of the bar.
Tell her yes. Tell Nathan the meeting is cancelled. Take her out of this bar, back to your hotel, and let her wrap those glossy pink lips around your cock until you forget Ravenna. Better yet, fuck her until you find out exactly what noises she makes when she comes, and then get the hell out of this city. Start over somewhere new.
That was ridiculous. Las Vegas was the closest thing I’d ever had to a home. I wasn’t going to leave just because I’d lost control of my emotions. I would find a way to help Ravenna from a respectful distance, and then I would do my best to put her out of my head, whether she stayed here or not. And after tonight, I wouldn’t be coming back to the Mine Shaft.
“Another whiskey, yes,” I said. “And a glass of Merlot for my friend, the best you have.”
“Our best Merlot comes in a bottle,” she said hesitantly. “It’s very expensive.”
I slid my credit card across the table to her. “Then bring that one. And make sure we don’t run out.”
---
I knew Nathan was there as soon as he walked into the bar. I had known him for the better part of a hundred years, but it wasn’t just that. The energy of the place shifted when he walked in, as if the collective hairs on everyone’s arms rose. Even I felt it, a tingle creeping up my spine as he approached the table.
“Toven,” he greeted me, sliding into the chair opposite mine. He breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. The bar smelled of alcohol, stale sweat and fried foods, but Nathan pulled it in as if it were a fine bouquet. “It’s been a long time since I was in a place like this.” He shivered delicately. “The energy here! Lust, eagerness, hope, anger, jealousy, despair, it’s all here! And so much more…intense. They don’t shield so well on this side of town.”
I eyed Nathan with some trepidation. His eyes were glittering with emotion, his voice high and wavering. If he were mortal, I would have thought he was on some kind of drug. But he was not mortal, and no drug would have affected him in this way. Nathan was a vampire.
Not in the coffin-dwelling, Nosferatu, turning-into-a-bat way, of course. Nathan didn’t feed on blood, he fed on emotion and energy. In a place like this, his victims would hardly notice. Their hangovers might be a little worse the next morning, or they might feel more tired than usual. But if an individual were unlucky enough to be the sole focus of Nathan’s attentions, he could drain them over a matter of days if he wished, until they died of sheer exhaustion.
Of course—he would never do that, I thought. But just then, looking at his flushed cheeks and shining eyes, the fingers of one hand drumming nervously against the table as the waitress approached with the wine bottle, I had a flash of uncertainty. I hadn’t seen Nathan in quite some time. What if he was no longer the man I remembered?
The waitress offered him a smile that didn’t quite go all the way to her eyes as she uncorked the bottle, pouring a small bit into his glass. I appreciated the gesture. This wasn’t exactly the type of establishment that lent itself to sniffing corks and tasting vintages, but Nathan picked up the glass as gingerly as if it were crystal, swirling the red liquid before closing his eyes and taking a sip, affecting a sigh as he swallowed and set the glass down again.
“Magnificent,” he breathed, fixing his blue e
yes on the waitress. She swayed slightly, and I cleared my throat.
“Nathan,” I said quietly, and he shot me an annoyed look. “Off you go then,” he said, taking the bottle out of the waitress’s hand. “Maybe later, yes?”
She nodded, stepping back shakily.
“Nathan, what are you doing?” I said, my voice hushed. “Whatever it is you’re thinking of doing with her…”
“Just what any man thinks of doing with a beautiful woman,” Nathan said with a slight huff, taking a sip of his wine. “And if I steal a little of her vitality while I do it, is it really so much worse than what you do, my friend? Why, you’ve been charming your way into and back out of the beds in this town for as long as I’ve known you. You can’t tell me you don’t throw in a little of your power to increase your odds of success.”
“I’ve been a bit off my game lately,” I said dryly.
“Oh yes. This woman you tell me about.” Nathan shuddered. “I never thought I’d hear the day when you told me you were in love.”
“I didn’t say anything about love,” I protested. “Only that I need your help.”
“It’s written all over your face, dear one,” Nathan said. “You’re sick with it. It would be doing you a favor if I told you I wouldn’t help, and let whatever bogeyman is after her take her and be done with it.”
“Nathan,” I hissed. “Stop it.”
He took another long drink, draining the glass, and poured a fresh one. “Stop what?” he asked innocently.
“Stop toying with me. What is going on with you?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do,” I said, my voice sharp. “You’re not yourself.”
“Dear friend, I’ve never been more myself!” Nathan exclaimed. “But enough about me. Where is this girl? Is she here? Which one is she?”
I inclined my head towards the back of the bar, trying not to be obvious. “The dark-haired woman at the back of the bar. Picking up two beers.”
Nathan’s eyes widened, and I felt that flash of jealousy that I was becoming more and more accustomed to. “Well, well. I see now.” He nodded to himself as he stared at her, his tongue darting out to lick along the edge of his lower lip. “I see.”
“What do you see?” I tried to keep my voice even. You need his help, I reminded myself.
“She’s very beautiful,” he said slowly, his voice almost reverent. “But it’s more than that.” He breathed in slowly, leaning forward. “She’s walking this way. Oh no, now she’s going the other direction. But still…close enough.” He closed his eyes, swaying slightly in his chair. “Oh, Toven. You do know how to pick them.”
I eyed him warily. “What do you mean?”
He shook his head, lifting one finger. “She’s got a very strange energy,” he said, his voice almost a sing-song now. “Verrryyyy strange, indeed.” His eyes opened. “She’s a mortal woman, Toven. But not mortal, too.”
I fought to keep from grinding my teeth together with frustration. I could feel tension in every line of my body. Nathan was enjoying the attention, I could tell. He was enjoying me needing him. This wasn’t the Nathan I remembered. “I don’t know what that means,” I said calmly.
“Neither do I.” He opened his eyes and shrugged. “She’s been alive far longer than she should have been,” he said, taking another long sip of his wine. “I don’t know why, or how. But she is a mortal who has far outlived her lifespan. And she’s been touched by another god—or something close to it. I can smell it on her.” He said it the way one might recount tasting a delicious meal, and he licked his lips again.
I had to stop myself from physically reaching across the table and grabbing him. He was looking at her again, and I wanted him to stop. I suddenly regretted ever bringing him here, ever letting him see her. “Can you help?” I asked sharply, wanting the meeting to be over. I had hoped to see my friend tonight, but I was afraid that my friend was long gone.
“I may be able to. You are right, she is very afraid of something. But I don’t think it is something here.” He didn’t look at me as he spoke, his eyes still following Ravenna as she walked across the room.
“Nathan,” I said quietly, letting some of my anger creep into my voice, just enough to lend my tone the gravity it needed. “Don’t touch her, Nathan. She’s mine.”
He laughed then, a high-pitched sound that set my nerves on edge. “Oh, I won’t touch her, dear friend.” He turned back to me, his piercing blue eyes meeting mine, and he shook his head, smiling. “But she certainly is not yours.”
12
Kavi
It was easier for me to get away from the house than I thought it would be. I laid in the quiet dark of the bedroom, still fully dressed under the covers, waiting for the click of the door latch that would signal Ravenna had come home. I waited for our bedroom door to open and for her to quietly slip inside, but instead I heard her pause halfway down the hall, and then the sound of the shower turning on. I wondered briefly what she would think when she came to bed and found me not home, but I could only hope that since she hadn’t seen me when she came home, she would assume I was simply out. Maybe having a drink with Isa—which was, after all, very close to what we actually planned to do. I laced up my boots and quietly slipped out the back door, hoping that she wouldn’t hear.
I met Isa at the venue he’d been working at that night, a fairly upscale strip club called the Raj Hall. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I walked in to find him. The whole place was done in an India-and-harem motif, complete with turbaned bartenders, cocktail waitresses in jeweled bras and harem pants, and swags of turquoise, red, and gold silk and chiffon hanging from the ceiling. I pushed through a thick curtain of shimmering beads to find Isa collecting his portion of the bar’s tip money and simultaneously dodging a particularly curvaceous dancer who seemed intent on hanging off of his arm.
“I see you have a fan,” I ribbed him good-naturedly as we left, glancing sideways at him.
“I hate working at that place,” Isa grumbled. “The girls don’t listen when I tell them I’m spoken for, and I swear it’s turned into a game for them. I’m pretty sure they’re taking bets on which one of them is going to get me to cave first.”
“And?” I wasn’t about to let him off the hook so easily. “Which one is it going to be?”
Isa glared at me. I could see the hint of his golden eyes shimmering behind the monochrome brown contacts he wore. “None,” he said flatly. “Now, where are we going?”
“The bars near the Mine Shaft.” I said decisively. He’d told me everything he knew about their strange encounter with a persistent admirer of Ravenna. She’d asked him not to tell me, begged almost, and Isa had swore to her he wouldn’t.
But he did, and I was glad of it. Still, in the back of my mind I couldn’t decide what was worse: the fact that she wanted to keep me in the dark or that Isa had lied straight to her face? Regardless, I had to know. Ravenna could be careless at times, an innate part of her mortal nature.
“We’re going to find out if anyone has talked to this man who’s interested in Ravenna and see what we can find out about him.”
Isa frowned. “What is she going to think when we’re not home like we usually are this time of night?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think she realized I was home yet at all, she went straight into the shower. We’ll just say you texted me and asked for me to meet up with you for a drink after work.”
Isa grunted. “I don’t like lying, Kavi, not to her. We’ve gone this long trusting each other, telling each other everything—the three of us. This,” he waved his hand around to indicate the city around us. “This is already a huge change. What is going to happen if we start keeping secrets? What will that do to our relationship? We should just tell her.”
“Tell her what, exactly?” I asked sharply. “That you told me what you promised her you’d keep quiet? That we’re digging around when we know very well that she would want us to leave it alone? Do y
ou think any of that would help?”
“We could just let it go,” Isa suggested. “But I can see from your expression that that isn’t a choice any longer, either.”
“Something is off here,” I insisted. “I don’t know what it is, but I don’t trust him.”
“Are you sure that it’s not just that you don’t like the idea of someone else being interested in Ravenna?”
I shook my head firmly. “I don’t care for the idea of her in someone else’s bed, but I’m not a mortal man, Isa, and neither are you. We know better than to indulge in petty jealousies. No one could keep her away from us for long.”
“I still don’t like keeping secrets,” Isa said. “For the same reason I told you, I think we should be honest with Ravenna.”
“And when she says she wants us to leave it to her? What if we did that, and something happened?” I demanded. “How would you feel then?”
Isa was silent, his lips thinning as he pressed them together. I waited for him to say something, to agree with me, but he remained quiet, falling into step next to me without another word.
---
We went to three bars before we had any luck. At the fourth, the bartender said that she had seen someone fitting the description but told us that any records of customer purchases from previous nights would only be accessible by a manager, and they couldn’t just give that information out, anyway.
It wasn’t until our fifth stop that we struck gold.
We visited a 20s themed, lounge-style speakeasy towards the far end of the trek I’d tentatively mapped out. The patrons were better dressed, and the waitresses were costumed in glittering flapper dresses. On stage, a woman in a black sequined evening gown with finger waves and a jeweled headband crooned a period-appropriate tune.
Pursued by the Gods Page 6
