The Vampire and the Demon Prince

by Mina Carter

  She'd had a very pleasant conversation with her about the money she owed to certain people, and she'd been very co-operative—right up to the point where Cass had pulled out the warded chains. Then she'd gone bat-shit on her. It was like the sight of the Fae-steel had brought it all home.

  "You expected someone else? Maybe the Easter Bunny? Kinky… Sorry, guys, role-play costs you extra.” The chatter rolled off her tongue easily as she stalked them. Cass was far older than she appeared, and she'd been tracking and bringing marks in since before this guy had been born, in either of his incarnations.

  Charmer's gaze latched onto Cass as she stood blocking their path, a lazy flick of her wrist snapping the chain in her hand every so often. All she had to do was get the chain on him and the wards would do the rest. It didn't matter where; just one closed loop of chain would be enough, then the enchantments would lock and seal the loop into place.

  "Bitch,” he snarled and made a break for it. He feinted right but darted to the left instead quick as a snake. Cass was ready for him. Another snap of her wrist and the chain whipped out lasso-like. Catching him around his wrist, the Fae-steel went from fluid to a solid manacle in a heartbeat.

  "That's Ms. Bitch to you.” She yanked on the chain, hauling him to her in a quick movement that belied her appearance as a newbie vamp. New vampires only had such strength just after they were turned, then the high of the conversion drained off and it took years to build up again.

  Ignored his struggles, Cass snagged the other two, and reached for the charms set into the chains. A practiced flick of her thumb triggered each of them. She smiled and waved as the magic expanded out from the warded beads and enveloped her captives in glowing orbs reminiscent of a sci-fi transporter.

  Beam me up, Scotty. The orbs shrank back to nothing, taking the chains and the vamps with them. They would reappear in holding cells back at base, ready for processing, and in three days’ time, her money would appear in her account. Minimal fuss and no paperwork. “God, I love my job.” She turned to thank her impromptu helper and stopped dead in her tracks.

  Still holding the girl she'd thrust into his arms was the hottest looking guy she'd ever seen. Well over six feet, he had a build yummy enough to make her mouth water and the face of a dark angel. Her eyes skipped over him, from the top of his shaven head—a look she'd never considered hot before—picked up the silver ring in his brow and flicked down to check out the package before she looked back at his face.

  Everything female in her went tight, a yearning she'd never felt before drawing her to him as her vampire side went cold. He was her ideal man. Just one problem…

  No way was she fucking a demon.

  Chapter 2

  She was amazing, more than amazing. Tiny's heart still raced from watching the no-nonsense way she'd dealt with the vamp. He had a healthy respect for a woman who could take charge of a situation. In Hell women were as capable as men. They had to be. A person had to look out for number one down there, end of story. However, of all the things she could have been, a bounty hunter hadn't even crossed his mind. He eyed the delicate chains hanging from her belt with trepidation.

  Warded Fae-steel with a hunter's mark, they were the kind of thing even he'd be hard pressed to get out of. Well, he could, but that would require a shit-load more power than the low-level, part demon he appeared to be should have. Using that much juice would ripple across the witching, alerting every warden and demon in the area, not to mention cluing the other staff at the club into the fact he wasn't who he said he was.

  Hell, the amount of power he'd have to use to break those chains would burn an image of his face into the witching for all to see. Like the paranormal version of “Tiny wuz here.” He smiled to himself. Perhaps he should drop his trousers and leave an imprint of his ass instead, flick the bird to the universe.

  "Something's amused you at least. Glad I could provide the night's entertainment, but hadn't you best check on sleeping beauty? She isn't looking so hot."

  Her voice pulled Tiny out of his reverie and he blinked. As the words penetrated the thick fog clouding his brain, he looked quickly at the girl in his arms—the unconscious girl in his arms. “Fuck."

  "Short and succinct.” The female vamp's lips curled into a smile as Tiny tried to find a pulse. He swore when he couldn't locate one. His fingers were too big for delicate work like this.

  "Don't worry. I'm picking up a heartbeat, and her heart isn't laboring, so he didn't take too much blood. You might want to get her checked out at the local emergency room to be on the safe side though. Humans can be weird when shock sets in."

  Tiny breathed a sigh of relief as he found a pulse, confirming the vamp's words. The last thing he needed was a death on his watch, particularly a vampire kill. His boss Knuckles would go insane. If there was anything Knuckles hated, it was vampires. Tiny couldn't blame him. The guy had nearly lost his wife to a bloodsucker, so it was understandable.

  Then the tone in her voice struck him, the caring, concerned note threading through the honeyed timbre. He looked up to find her closer and stiffened at the buzz of power emanating from her. The wrongness he always felt in the presence of a vampire brushed against his skin. Unlike before, though, this didn't feel too bad. Just different, like the zip of electricity in the air before a storm, but not the sick to the stomach feeling he normally got.

  Focus, he told himself as his cock twitched. Getting a hard-on with an unconscious girl in his arms was just crass, even if she wasn't the object of interest. It wouldn't make any difference; the guys—and Misty—on the door crew would still give him shit over it.

  His brows snapped together into a frown, and he took his frustration out on the only available target. “What do you care? Or do you get attached? Sort of like keeping a pet pig to fatten up for Christmas?"

  The tension in the alley mounted as he stared into deep, chocolate brown eyes. Flecks of gold danced in their depths and the tiny lines in the corners—she must have gotten those before she was turned, he mused absently—indicated she smiled a lot. Not at him though. For him her eyes were cold, and her anger swirled around her like a cloak. “I don't play with my food. I'm strictly a takeout sort of girl.” Head held high, she stalked out of the alley.

  The image of her autumnal curls bouncing across her shoulders, her straight back and the siren's curve of her ass—oh, God, what an ass—stayed with Tiny all evening. The girl was quickly seen to, checked out behind the top bar by Jac, a siren with healer training, then bundled off to the nearest emergency room to comply with human regulations the club had to abide by to keep their license.

  It was one of the ways humanity tried to put a leash on the Night Races; the only way they could. Force wouldn't work, and there was the saying the pen was mightier than the sword. If that was the case then bureaucracy was a Challenger tank.

  Tiny stood behind the main desk for a while and watched the stragglers wander in. There were always a few who decided late in the evening that a night in Moonlight & Magic was what the doctor ordered. This meant someone had to be on the door to make sure nothing…undesirable snuck in under the radar.

  On a normal night Tiny didn't mind. It was indoors and out of the cold, always a bonus as far as the demon was concerned. Tonight though, he was edgy and fractious, and he didn't know why.

  A sigh escaped him as he admitted the lie. That vamp chick had messed up his karma today, what with her attitude, mouth-watering figure and not sitting nicely in the little box he'd mentally put her in.

  Vamps needed to stay the bad guy, not start beating up other—admittedly asshole—vampires and being someone he could get to like. They were the enemy. Demons and vampires didn't get on. Ever. There was an enmity between the two races that had been running so long no one questioned it anymore.

  He didn't need to get soft and start seeing vamps as people. That way led to madness and somebody getting killed, something his conscience wouldn't allow. Especially if it was him. No, vamps were the bad guys and he
couldn't let his guard slip because of a pretty face, or a hot body. Bloody women, trouble whatever their species, Tiny grumbled to himself and pushed off from the heater. Perhaps a patrol outside would help settle him down…

  The doors next to him burst open and Misty piled through. “Tiny!” Relief flashed stark across her face. “We need you on the floor. Knuckles is on the warpath. We got a vamp inside somewhere."

  A vampire. In the club.

  "Crap! How the fuck did she get in…” It had to be her. He didn't know any other vampire who had the ability to get past the door controls. Certainly none he'd seen recently could, but this one… She walked and talked human, too human. Most people, even paranormals, would have taken her to be mortal.

  He flicked a glance at Janie, the girl on the desk. “Ring up and get someone on the door,” he ordered and followed Misty back into the club.

  "She?” Misty asked, as they made their way through the crowded club to the top bar where head bouncer Knuckles was pacing. Tiny took one look at him and grimaced. Knuckles was furious, the Gargoyle's rage all but setting the air around him ablaze.

  "Yeah, caught a vamp hunter dealing with a bloodsucker in an alley earlier.” His voice low, he guided her around a group of clubbers, his hand settling in the small of her back in a protective gesture. As she flicked her hair over her shoulder, she looked up into his face, a wry smile of amusement on her face.

  Tiny winced. Of all the women in the club, Misty was one of the few who didn't need protection. From anything. “Sorry, force of habit. My mother did try and instill some manners in me."

  "Not a problem…” Her tone was dismissive. “Tell me about the vamp. She took out another vampire? I thought only their warrior caste were allowed to do that."

  Tiny's shoulder lifted in a small shrug. “Didn't see the huge-ass tats those guys normally have so guess not. I'm no expert on vamps. Listen…” He glanced at Knuckles wearing a groove in the floor behind the top bar. “Head the big guy off for me, would you? I want to catch this chick and get her out of here. She might be a vamp, but she did us a favor by taking out that bloodsucker, and I'd rather not explain why we had to clean a hunter's blood off the walls."

  Surprise flickered in Misty's eyes. Hunters were one of the few “police” forces in the paranormal world, and very much creatures of urban myth. Most people went all their lives without seeing one, but everyone knew someone who'd had dealings with one. They seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

  "Yeah, sure,” she sighed. “Make it snappy though, because he'll see through me in about three minutes flat, okay?"

  One of the few men in the place tall enough, Tiny dropped a kiss on the Valkyrie's temple. “Misty, you're a star, love you to bits."

  "Yeah, yeah whatever…” She flicked her fingers in dismissal, but he could see the pleasure in her eyes as she turned to disappear into the crowd.

  * * *

  They were a couple, had to be. Cassia watched the little interchange between the demon bouncer she'd seen earlier and a woman, also one of the security team, from the other side of the club.

  Not just a woman though. Cass recognized a Valkyrie when she saw one. Which meant tall, dark and demony was spoken for and, interesting as he might be, Cass was not pissing about with a Valkyrie's property. Her lifespan may have been extended until she was virtually immortal, but unlike a true immortal, Cass was still allergic to having her head ripped off.

  Doomed is the kyn who ever fell under the lying demon's spell…

  The old chant running through her mind, Cass sipped her drink, secure in the darkness of her booth. A minor aversion charm dangled from the bracelet around her wrist, the soft lavender light telling her it was active and keeping the cattle away as she watched the goings-on. She didn't want to be bothered, and the way she was dressed—knee-high black boots, mid-thigh black leather skirt and a black leather top under her fitted black leather jacket—would gather too much attention.

  The outfit wasn't intended to be alluring. The boots were sensible heels, not stilettos. The skirt was slightly flared in case she had to run, and the jacket only there to conceal she was packing heat.

  "Maybe someone threw a lust spell in the water or something,” she mused, studying the bar with interest as yet another guy paused for a second to look at her. She ignored him, watching the bar staff to see if she could spot any charms or spells being slipped into the drinks. A girl never knew her luck; she might be able to pick up more than the bounty on the three vamps if she could uncover an establishment like this breaking the law.

  Snagging one of the cards off the table, she checked the name… Moonlight & Magic. She'd heard of this place. Something about a club for paranormals run by paranormals, but mainstream rather than the usual seedy dives warded six ways to Sunday to keep the humans out. No, this place actively encouraged humans, allowed them to see the Night Races up close and personal…

  Everything but vampires. Cassia's memory kicked in and provided the little detail which had been tugging at the back of her mind, trying like hell to get her attention. This place didn't allow vampires in any way, shape or form. Cass swallowed, feeling a chill go up her spine. Not only that, they were reputed to enforce their rules with violence.

  "Crap.” Tipping her head back, Cass drained the last of her drink and shivered as the whiskey burned all the way down. There was something about a good whiskey she couldn't give up, even though she couldn't get drunk anymore, which was a pain in the ass—some days she'd kill to be able to get completely plastered and forget her woes for a night. She'd even welcome the bloody hangover afterwards. Vampires didn't get drunk on human alcohol, and even though she could get the same effect drinking Fae blood, Cass didn't think trying to cadge a meal in here would go down well.

  No, discretion was the better part of valor, Cass told herself as she slid off her seat and stood. Her hands automatically smoothed down the back of the skirt to make sure she wasn't flashing her panties. The aversion charm was good, but not that good.

  Out of nowhere a hand clamped on her wrist and twisted that same charm. A silent pop pressed against Cassia's skin, telling her it had just gone dormant. “Hey!” She started to turn but her movement was cut off, and she was hauled back into a hard, male body instead.

  "If you want to keep your pretty little head attached to your body, I suggest you shut up and do exactly as you're told."

  It was him. Cass didn't need to turn around and see his face; his voice was instantly recognizable. Everything female in her woke up and took notice. A shiver ran down her spine and blood raced to her cheeks as her pussy clenched in anticipation. Her body was getting itself ready for his, and all he'd done was growl a warning in her ear. Jeez, what the fuck was wrong with her?

  Cass gritted her teeth. She didn't know much about demons other than the “kyn good, demon bad” thing, but she sure hoped they didn't have the same keen sense of smell as vampires did. Otherwise he would be able to smell her interest, and that would be embarrassing.

  No such luck. A very male sound of surprise and appreciation rumbled through the big chest behind her, and a chuckle sounded in her ear. “Baiting the tiger there, doll, or should I say baiting the demon… And believe me, you don't want to do either."

  She didn't, she really didn't. Vamps and demons didn't mix. No way, no how. Cass knew that, but her body wasn't getting the message and clenched tight with yearning. Instinct told her he would be an excellent lover. Something about him said he knew how to please a woman. Cass tilted her head back against his shoulder to look up, her eyes heavy-lidded and sultry. “Perhaps I do…"

  Heat flared in his eyes for a second. Heat and something else, something dark and dangerous, which made the fluttering in Cass's stomach a hundred times worse. He dragged a breath into his lungs, his eyes riveting to her lips as he bent his head. He was going to kiss her. A fierce ache descended and took over, making her body pliant as she lifted her lips…

  "Shit.” The expletive was
short and sharp as the pair were shoved from behind. Instantly, Cass was wrapped in a strong hold as her “protector's” free hand shot out to brace him against the wall, shielding her with his larger body. “Fucking idiot, watch where you're going,” he snarled at the group who had almost knocked them sprawling into the shadowed booth.

  "Oh hey, sorry, man, didn't see you there,” one shot back, his tone flippant until he turned and caught sight of Tiny. He paled and turned tail to disappear into the crowd.

  "Young. Human. Male,” she commented. “So, handsome, where were we?” She turned in his arms to look up at him, an inviting expression on her face.

  His eyes, an azure blue like a tempestuous sea waiting for a storm to break, met hers. “You were playing with fire, as I recall.” He eased closer to her to get out of the way of another group of club-goers, but stayed there instead of moving back again. The heat of his body burned through her clothes, warming her skin. It was like basking in front of a hot fire, and all Cass wanted to do was wrap herself around him like a cat.

  Were all demons like this, this warm and intriguing?

  They weren't though, she knew that. On a normal day she couldn't stand to be in the same room as a demon. Their very presence, their aura, set her hackles to rising and she couldn't get comfortable until she put some distance between her and them. But this one was different. The normal unpleasant buzz was more of a pleasant whisper across her skin, like a teasing caress.

  "I'd like to play with something else…” she trailed off suggestively and ran her hand up his chest. Solid muscles met her fingers as she pushed his jacket open to explore. Hell, the guy was built like a brick shed.

  Hard fingers closed around hers, like a striking snake, and stopped her explorations. “You would, would you?"

  Her gaze shot upwards. A muscle in his jaw pulsed and the expression in his eyes…a battle royal raged there; lust and need warring with something else, something she couldn't identify.