Sinfully Spellbound

by Cassandra Lawson

  Chapter Thirty

  Allie

  With Dylan’s hand on my cheek, I found it impossible to speak. There was so much desperation and confusion in his question that I had no idea what to say. I didn’t even know if he really wanted an answer.

  The pounding on the door was not a welcome interruption when I felt like something big was happening, but I was probably late getting back from my break, so Marcos was likely mad at me again.

  “Damn!” I said, pulling away from Dylan. “That must be Marcos. He’ll assume we’re in here fooling around when I’m supposed to be working. Of course, he was almost right.”

  “Marcos is an asshole,” Dylan muttered as he turned to snatch his shirt down from the security camera. Luckily, part of it was dangling so he could reach it without too much effort.

  “You’re right about him being an asshole,” I agreed. “In this case, he’s probably got a right to be mad. He is paying me to help customers, not mess around with my boyfriend.”

  Dylan had just slipped his shirt back on, and he was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Why are you suddenly in such a good mood?” I asked cautiously.

  “You just called me your boyfriend,” he said and came over to kiss me on the nose.

  “I did not,” I argued before realizing he was right. “Fine,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. “You win, we’re dating. Just don’t be surprised when I start getting death threats from the other single witches.”

  As I reached for the door, Dylan caught my arm and gave me one quick kiss before letting me go. “I’m sorry about making you late getting back from your break, but I’m really glad we had this talk. I know you’re afraid I’ll hurt you, and I appreciate you giving me a chance to prove I won’t.”

  “You’d better not,” I warned with a playful smile, despite the fact that I was freaking out a little on the inside.

  Marcos had pounded on the door some more while we talked, and I wasn’t sure if he’d be outside the door or in his office getting the key to the room. I found him leaning against the wall outside the room with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

  “You have a client, Al,” Marcos said in a bored tone. “While I understand your warlock is enjoying that addictive pussy of yours, you have a job to do, and he’s not paying to fuck you tonight.”

  Marcos had spoken low enough that Dylan hadn’t heard him, which was a good thing because I really didn’t want Dylan to beat the hell out of Marcos. Actually, that was a lie. I did want him to beat the hell out of Marcos, but it was still a bad idea. I couldn’t blame Dylan for his hatred of Marcos. It took a lot of effort to avoid snapping at Marcos, and I’d had more experience dealing with him.

  “Which room?” I asked.

  “Red room,” Marcos said.

  I nodded and made my way to the red room. All the rooms had names, but most wouldn’t make much sense to anyone who didn’t work at SpellBinders. The room I’d just been in with Dylan was the paisley room. The red room was one of the few that made any sense. It was the one decked out in red satin.

  Entering the room, I found a lone slender man waiting for me. Marcos had better not be trying to sell me to another client. Since I was late and only one person was in the room, it certainly didn’t look good.

  Pasting my brightest smile on my face, I greeted the client in my professional tone. “Hi! My name’s Allie, and I’m going to help with your scene tonight.”

  His back was to me when I came in, but he turned and gave me a dry smile. With his hands stuffed in his front pockets, and a lock of hair falling across his youthful face, most would consider him attractive in a teen movie kind of way.

  “As you can see, things didn’t exactly work out the way I’d hoped,” he said as he gestured to the empty room.

  I did my best not to sigh with relief, but I really was thankful he wasn’t expecting me to be his date.

  “Would you like me to find another partner for you?” I asked. “We have several suitable women here who are willing to participate in scenes with our clients for a fee. I can see who’s available, if you’d like.” I couldn’t help wondering how old he was. While many preternatural species aged slowly, most appeared to be in their twenties by the time they were old enough to enter SpellBinders.

  He gave me a toothy grin, revealing his fangs for the first time. Suddenly, his youthful appearance made sense. Vampires had a tendency to look like they were stuck in a perpetual state of adolescence. It was why my cousin, Mel, had so many vampires on her television show. They looked like they were still in high school, even when they were hundreds of years old.

  “You aren’t going to offer to take her place?” he asked.

  I might have assumed Marcos had promised him just that, but he didn’t seem at all interested in me that way. Still, I figured it was better to make sure he understood my rules up front. “I’m not available.”

  “Too bad,” he said with a laugh. “I hear draining a succubus can make a vampire look less like every girl’s teen dream.”

  “Really?” I asked, suddenly curious. I’d never heard that before. The COWs had gone on about the ways sex demon energy could be used to increase the power of a sorcerer, witch, and even other demons, but no one had mentioned anything about vampires. Then again, witches and vampires were usually happy ignoring the other’s existence. I was curious how the thing with the vampires worked. “Is it just taking a little blood or draining them completely that can make you look older?”

  “I’ll make you a deal, Allie,” he said as he studied me in a strange way.

  “As long as it doesn’t involve sex or blood, I’m willing to listen,” I agreed.

  “Yeah, I’m not looking for a replacement for the woman who was supposed to be here with me,” he admitted with a sad sigh. “She’s the one, or the one I want, but that’s probably not gonna happen unless I sell my soul to the devil.”

  “I wouldn’t joke about that in here,” I warned. We had far too many demons in the club. While most were harmless, there were some pretty nasty high-level demons who frequented SpellBinders, and any one of them would gladly suck up this guy’s soul.

  “I actually meant that figuratively,” he said with a laugh.

  “What do you want in exchange for the information?” I asked.

  “Just stay in here with me for a little while,” he said. “I’m not ready to face my friends yet after being ditched.”

  I felt bad for the poor guy, so I nodded my agreement.

  “So, tell me what you meant about draining a succubus,” I prompted.

  “It doesn’t really have to be a succubus. Any sex demon will do,” he explained. “The process is a lot more complex than I made it sound. Simply sucking on your vein won’t do much for me other than feed me. I’d need someone who could cast spells to make it work. Basically, I’d take blood while they cast a spell to release some of the demon’s soul.”

  “There are sex demons who agree to this?” I asked, because I couldn’t imagine agreeing to give up part of my soul. Then again, there were plenty of sex demons who frequently engaged in risky activities just to try something new. My mother was one of them.

  He shook his head. “From what I was told, they don’t ask the sex demon’s permission first.”

  “That’s illegal!” I said. “You can’t steal someone’s soul.”

  “And I wouldn’t,” he insisted. “Actually, I don’t even know anyone who’s tried it, so maybe it’s just an urban legend.”

  That had me wondering if maybe the succubus killer could be a vampire. “Do they kill the sex demon?”

  “I don’t think they need to,” he said thoughtfully. “Some vampires like to kill, so I guess it might happen. I’ve also heard that death magic can be more powerful.”

  “How do you know about this?” I asked, wondering if the killer had told him about it. Maybe he’d have some idea who the killer was.

  He shrugged. “It’s common knowledge among vampires. There was a ti
me when some sex demons even sold this service to vampires, but I guess they figured out that selling part of your soul is bad for your health.”

  That was true. It wasn’t that you would die without it, merely that it was easier for other demons to prey on you if your soul was weakened.

  He laughed at my shocked expression. “You really are pretty innocent for a succubus, aren’t you?”

  “I guess I am,” I admitted. “What’s your name?”

  “Damian,” he said.

  “Really?” I asked skeptically. “Your name is Damian?”

  “Why are you so surprised?” he asked.

  “You totally don’t look like a Damian,” I told him.

  “Fine, my name’s Nick,” he admitted with a sigh.

  “The vampire Nick,” I said with a giggle.

  He laughed, too. “That’s why I told you my name was Damian to begin with. Nick is a ridiculous name for a vampire.”

  “What’s it short for?” I asked.

  “That’s the real problem,” he explained. “My parents figured they might as well name me what they wanted to call me, so my name is just Nick.”

  “I guess it’s a good thing they didn’t like the name Dick,” I told him, trying hard not to laugh.

  “They do,” he said with a grin. “I have an older brother named Dick.”

  Now, I was laughing so hard I had to sit on the bed. When I finally got my laughter under control, I was lying on the bed with Nick beside me.

  “So, your brother is a vampire Dick?” I asked with a giggle.

  “In his case, the name fits,” Nick said with a grin. “Thanks, Allie.” He reached over to squeeze my hand.

  “For what?” I asked.

  “Making me feel better,” he explained. “This evening was pretty crappy and about to get really embarrassing. Now, at least when my friends start making fun of me about Zoe leaving me, I won’t feel like a complete loser.”

  “Why’s that?” I asked.

  “I got to spend time with the coolest succubus I’ve ever met,” he explained with a shy smile.

  That’s when Dylan stormed into the room to find me on the bed, holding hands with Nick. I expected him to be mad, but he just shook his head. “Another one, Allie?” he asked as he closed the door behind him. I’d ask what he was doing in the room, but I was pretty sure it would begin with something Marcos said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked sweetly.

  “You’re looking at him just like you look at Trevor and Gryphon,” he replied with a sigh.

  “Isn’t Trevor having another party tonight?” I asked because I seemed to remember Trevor saying something about it.

  Dylan nodded and settled on the bed on my other side. “Yep, tomorrow’s a holiday, so he figured he’d party tonight since he won’t have any appointments in the morning.”

  “We should go,” I told Dylan, enjoying the annoyed look he cast my direction. “You should go with us, Nick,” I insisted. “You’ll love Trevor, and you could use a party after what happened tonight.”

  “I’m not sure I’ll be in much of a party mood after my friends get done teasing me about being ditched,” Nick said.

  When Dylan looked over at Nick, my heart did this funny little flip flop thing that made me nervous. “You’re planning to keep this one, aren’t you?” Dylan asked.

  “Keep me?” Nick asked.

  “Allie has a tendency to collect people in need,” Dylan explained.

  “What am I in need of?” Nick asked with one raised eyebrow.

  “Friends who won’t make fun of your pain,” I said.

  “Guys do that sort of stuff,” Dylan argued.

  “You’d make fun of Trevor’s pain?” I asked him in disbelief.

  “Of course,” he said. “I’d probably cheer him up first, but I’d have to make fun of him.”

  “They’re not likely to take me out to cheer me up,” Nick muttered with a sad sigh.

  “Then you’ll go to Trevor’s party with us after I get off work,” I said as if he’d already agreed. “You can hang out with Dylan until then.”

  I was wondering how Dylan would react to my suggestion that he spend the evening hanging out with Nick, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  “I’ve got an idea for dealing with your friends,” Dylan said with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. “Trust me. They won’t make fun of you after this.”