But I’m scared. So very scared. What if I am not good enough? What if I can’t pleasure him, or the others, the way he wants me to? What if I can’t make them feel the heat and intensity I do when they touch me?
I stood in front of the mirror tonight and searched for the woman I once was. The one afraid to touch a man. To be touched. With relief, I couldn’t find her. Gone was the self-conscious girl who didn’t know how to please herself, let alone a man. She doesn’t exist anymore. And for that, I am thankful. I don’t want to be her anymore.
When I stare at my reflection now, I see a confident, sexy creature who knows her purpose. As Alex says, women are meant to pleasure and to be pleasured. I realize this now. I know what must be done. I close my eyes now and simply imagine the touch of his hand on my body, and I shiver. To conjure a fantasy of his mouth exploring my skin is all it takes to get me wet and wanting. The pleasure I feel with Alex makes everything else so . . . unimportant. I can hardly remember existing before now. How did I do it? How did I make it through the days? I need this. I need Alex.
Jolene felt the hot tears on her cheeks without even realizing she’d been crying. Emotion had taken hold the minute she’d started reading. She swiped at her cheeks with shaky hands and set the journal on the bed. The person who’d written those words was not her friend. Carrie had loved her job as a chef for the Sweet Bakery. Loved it. Her dream had been to open her own restaurant. Guilt tightened Jolene’s stomach. She should have noticed how different Carrie had become. Deep down, Jolene knew she had noticed and simply failed to act. That realization only served to dig the knife of her guilt deeper.
She’d even known Carrie was going to sex clubs, because Carrie had invited her to go with her. Jolene had refused and even tried to talk Carrie out of going. One night not long before Carrie’s disappearance, they’d fought, Jolene warning her friend about the underground, trying to get her to see the light. But clearly, Jolene hadn’t tried hard enough. After that, Carrie had pulled away from her. To complicate matters, Jolene had been away from home a lot, spending long hours preparing for a comic-book convention. Jolene squeezed her eyes shut, disgusted at her excuse making. That’s all those long hours were: An excuse. She shouldn’t have let this happen.
Pushing to her feet, she knew she had to act. She charged toward her room, determined to dress in her most seductive outfit. The Purple Room was surely inside Purple Magic. She saw no option but to seduce her way inside the club.
Even if it meant seducing Alex.
***
Drago stood in the security booth of Purple Magic watching the many cameras. Each held images of naked bodies. Of erotic explorations made of fantasies and of bold, hold-nothing-back desire. Drago understood this world. He’d lived it now for damn near a year. And he knew of five of the six clubs Alex ran. It had taken time to become a trusted part of Alex’s world. Time to establish himself as someone to be included in the inner circle. To do this, he’d watched far too many human women become pawns in Alex’s games. But Drago had been forced to sacrifice a few to save many. He had to shut down Alex completely.
Skyler, one of his security guards, sat in front of the control panel. Drago had never quite figured out Skyler. The vampire kept to himself, rarely speaking to anyone. He took Alex’s orders, but Drago had sensed hesitation in him on more than one occasion. As if Skyler didn’t completely support Alex’s ways.
Skyler let out a low whistle. “Check out the entrance camera.”
Drago eyed the woman displayed by the camera, talking to the doorman, and everything inside him stilled. Jolene. Damn it! His efforts to scare her away hadn’t worked. And now . . . now, he could only hope she didn’t get inside the club.
He watched her on the monitor, his eyes ravished by the erotic vision she made in a short black skirt, long, pale legs that elicited images of having one of them raised to his hip. His zipper tightened uncomfortably as he thought of how close he’d come to ripping away her panties and sliding inside her. He wondered if she wore any now.
And her blouse was meant to do nothing more than tease a man’s cock. Sheer and white, it left nothing to the imagination, her nipples puckering against the thin silk as they had against his fingers.
He’d done some checking on her, and she was indeed Riker’s daughter. What she didn’t know, and he’d been appointed to tell her, was that Riker was dead—ironically, killed by a group of vampires suspected to be Alex’s. He would have gone to see her tomorrow had she not shown up here tonight.
He watched as she smiled at the doorman, hoping like hell she turned on her heels and walked away. Watched as she tossed her dark hair to the side, flirting as she tried to get inside the club. Drago inhaled, his memory filling his senses with the soft rose scent of her hair, an aroma forever engraved in his mind. A scent, he realized he wanted to smell again. Hair he wanted against his cheek, his chest, his fingers.
Women and men lined the exterior of the building, all wanting the same thing she did. Purple Magic had a reputation for fantasy and pleasure reserved for only a few. People wanted what they couldn’t have. Entrance came only with a referral, something that should have deterred Jolene, but it didn’t. Drago ground his teeth as he watched her disappear inside the club and reappear on a different camera.
He moved forward, stepping close to Skyler and pushing a button to talk to the doorman. “Who gave you authority to let that woman in?”
The six-foot-six doorman eyed the camera. “Alex.”
“Something tells me Alex is going to be in a good mood later tonight,” Skyler commented.
Drago let go of the intercom button. “She’s mine,” he said, and didn’t give the man a chance to respond.
He could feel Skyler’s surprise. Drago had never claimed anyone as his own. As one of Alex’s inner circle, and his right-hand man, he could claim whomever he wished. Alex wouldn’t deny him. Not a woman. Not even if Alex knew she was Riker’s daughter. Riker might not be alive to protect Jolene, but Drago was, and he’d damn sure do it for his dead brother in arms. Alex would not touch Jolene. Not tonight and not ever.
But if he didn’t get to Jolene and fast, to state his claim openly, it would be too late. Jolene had the power to protect herself from one vampire’s mind meld, but not several at once. If anyone was taking Jolene tonight, it was him.
He sped down the winding stairs to the bottom floor of the club and found his way to the entrance room. The place everyone started their night. It was here that they mingled and played, deciding which flavor or delight would be theirs for the night. Every sin of the skin could be found inside Purple Magic. Every form of lust and desire satisfied. But only the very best, the most daring, made it to the level of ultimate satisfaction. To the Purple Room. To a place they thought held passion and play. In truth, it held destruction. It was a place you never returned from. It was there that Alex claimed those who would be seduced and turned into his personal slaves.
He found Jolene standing near the doorway, looking both sexy and innocent. And lost. So very lost. She didn’t belong here. Yet her body, ripe with curves, begged for the attention she would surely find here. Her eyes were locked on a threesome, two women and a man, naked and entwined. While she stared at them, seemingly mesmerized, two female vampires from Alex’s harem approached with a mission. Women who had once been pure humans, now they were something else, something not quite human, lost in their servitude to Alex. Lost in their mission to convert others into what they had become.
The two female servants settled on either side of Jolene, pressing their bare skin against her. Drago sensed her discomfort even before she stiffened beneath their touch. The woman on the right, a redhead, had large, full bare breasts, one of which pressed against Jolene’s arm. She reached out and lightly stroked Jolene’s nipple, plucking at it through the sheer silk. The other caressed Jolene’s shoulder, then her hair. Petting her like one would an animal, which is how Alex viewed his servants.
Drago could feel Jolene’s des
ire to push them away. He couldn’t close the distance between them fast enough. One second. Two. It felt like forever before he was there, standing in front of her.
For an instant, their eyes locked and he saw her register both shock and relief. Though he knew deep down she didn’t trust him, she felt safer with him than alone.
“She’s mine,” he told the two servants, his gaze moving from one to the other, making his intent clear. He was claiming Jolene.
“What?” said the servant he knew as Catherine. “Yours? You’ve never shown interest in the . . . guests.”
She meant humans. Drago had managed to convince Alex he preferred only vampires. Catherine had always been one of his first choices when it came to appeasing his sexual hunger. With long blonde hair and voluptuous breasts, she sported a willingness to do anything and everything many times over. But now, with Jolene beside her, Catherine did nothing for Drago. Jolene had a quality that touched him well beyond the sensual. It made him protective and, yes, possessive.
Drago reached forward and gently grasped Jolene’s wrist, pulling her tight against his body. His palm slid down her waist and across her ass, molding her against him. She settled her hands on his chest, and their eyes locked. He gave her a warning look, telling her without words to do as he bade her. For a moment she remained stiff, and then slowly, she melted.
Cupping her backside, Drago fit her hips against his raging hard-on. The scent of her, of roses, all womanly and sweet, invaded his senses. He laced his fingers through soft, silky hair and angled her mouth to his. With nothing for motivation but pure lust, he claimed her lips, sliding his tongue past her teeth and tasting her, long and deep.
When he raised his head, he found jealousy in Catherine’s dark eyes. “Alex wants this one,” she said. “You can’t have her.”
Drago narrowed his gaze on Catherine and then smiled. “We’ll see about that. Let’s go visit Alex.”
Catherine stared at him and then made a frustrated sound before starting to walk away, clearly expecting him to follow. The other woman laughed and fell into step with Catherine.
Drago pressed his mouth close to Jolene’s ear. “You’re a fool for coming here. Do everything I say without question.”
He leaned back to look into her face to ensure she understood.
“And if I don’t?” she whispered, but there was no defiance in her voice. She was scared. He saw it in her eyes.
“Then you won’t survive the night.” His harsh whisper declared the hard reality of her situation. He didn’t wait for her response. He grabbed her hand and started walking.
Jolene was his, if only for this night.
His lust would be her salvation.
Four
Alex’s private room was like a vault, well guarded on the outside and packed with luxuries on the inside. Double oak doors opened to allow entry with discreet, well-armed guards on either side. Both guards reported to Drago and he knew them well. Knew their complete and total loyalty to Alex. Of course, they saw Drago as sharing their philosophies and beliefs—that he, too, believed they had a right to claim human women as their own. A philosophy he planned to ram down their throats in the not-so-distant future.
Both guards gave Drago a respectful nod. He returned their gesture, grinding his teeth together as he thought of the charade he played, detesting it more with each passing day. Beneath well-tailored suit jackets, each of the men wore a shoulder holster, a Colt semiautomatic tucked inside. Only one of several weapons they carried in preparation for human intruders. Vampires were another story. Bullets only slowed them down, but not for long.
Just as sunlight had no effect on vampires, killing them wasn’t as mythology told, either. Despite decades of the two races living together, most humans still believed as much. Sure, a stake in the heart would hurt, but it wouldn’t bring death. No. To kill a vampire, its heart had to be shredded to bits. That or the vampire had to be decapitated. Both methods were nasty tasks few humans had the stomach for.
Thus, the reason why Alex feared nothing from humans.
Though Alex had well-trained guards on staff, none of them were a match for Drago or any of his brothers in combat. Drago tracked the two female servants as they entered Alex’s chambers. Catherine, who was actually half vampire, held her head high, defiance crackling in the air around her. He chose her to sate his desires because unlike the human servants, she operated of her own free will, her morals ranking at about the same low level as Alex’s. And right now, she was putting her nasty side to work, clearly on a mission. The mission of a jealous female who wanted revenge. A complication he didn’t need right now.
With Jolene tucked beneath his arm, pulled tight against his side, Drago felt the rise of protectiveness. Of all the innocents he’d encountered, none had made him feel this way. He knew war, and this battle with Alex was that and more. There had to be casualties. The human women in the clubs, farmed for slavery, were sacrifices that he hoped he could recover later. The last step toward taking down Alex was getting inside his slavery camps. Drago knew where two of the camps were but he needed the third before they moved forward for the take down. Though he had allowed humans to be taken to those slave camps, vowing to save them later, he wouldn’t sacrifice Jolene that way. She wasn’t going to one of those camps. He told himself it was because she was Riker’s daughter, but deep down he knew it was far more personal.
Holding her close, he could feel the tension in her body. She might have come here willing to do whatever was necessary, but saying and doing were different things. She was ready to bolt at any moment; he could sense it. But it was too late for that now. Once she’d walked inside the club, once she’d entered Purple Magic, she’d set herself up to face Alex.
He reached for her mind, attempting to communicate with her, attempting to get her to drop her shields and let him talk to her. When she didn’t immediately budge, Drago knew he could push past her guard, but didn’t dare. It would take concentration he needed to extend other places. Especially considering they’d now entered Alex’s private chambers, the guards shutting the doors behind them, the sound of heavy locks bolting them shut sounding in the air.
Directly in front of them, a pair of black velvet couches framed the doorway. Alex sat in the center of one of them, a naked woman straddled him, her breasts in his hands. He suckled her nipples and she moaned. Catherine and the other female moved to stand behind the couch, each silently waiting until Alex acknowledged their presence. Even in her pursuit of vengeance, Catherine knew to keep silent until spoken to. Alex liked control. Complete, utter control.
In the corners of the massive room were black satin drapes, each covering what Alex called “pleasure zones.” It’s where he tested his pupils for the different rooms they might enter; each woman had to satisfy his desires in order to graduate to the next level of the process, the ultimate reward being to achieve “Purple Magic.” Once she was there, the pupil thought she’d find some hidden reward. What she found was herself shipped off to one of the slave camps. By that time, Alex had mixed their blood with his enough times to own their minds. The process wouldn’t convert a human into a vampire, but it damn sure promoted servitude.
The woman straddling Alex cried out as he pinched both nipples at once. A soft gasp escaped Jolene’s lips and she tried to move away from Drago. He tightened his grip on her, and fixed her with a warning look. She wasn’t deterred, tugging at his hold on her hand, her struggle beginning to become a scene. He’d hoped she would simply play the role of willing submissive who wanted her friend back.
Since that wasn’t the case, Drago had no option but to act, to treat Jolene as a captive. Alex knew she was Carrie’s friend. The chance that the bartender had told Alex she’d seen him was even a possibility. He’d simply let her resistance become a show. To keep her alive, he would have to be her captor, determined to make her submissive.
If he didn’t get her under his thumb, Alex would.
Drago yanked Jolene hard against his
body. “Be still,” he ordered in a low voice, his mouth close to hers. “Believe me. It’s for your own good.”
Alex shoved the woman from his lap, his attention now on Drago and Jolene. “Ah, yes. The lovely Jolene.” He ran a hand over his short, well-groomed hair. “I knew she’d come for Carrie.” His gaze stroked her skimpy attire. “And I knew she’d come ready to please.”
“I just want Carrie back,” Jolene whispered, and then to her credit, she took a direct approach that hinted she might submit rather than fight the physical play that had already been set in motion. “What do I have to do to make that happen?”
Alex’s lips thinned slightly and then turned up at the corners, amusement in his eyes as he addressed Jolene. “If you prove you’re worthy of Carrie, you will see her again. Your friend has worked hard to get where she is now. You will have to do the same.”
Dressed in a shirt of the finest silk, a suit tailored to fit to perfection, Alex looked like the head of a major corporation, a man who belonged in a boardroom. His nails were manicured. His face, sleek and well shaven. His image was a facade, an image designed to lure human women into his web of desire.
“I want to see her,” Jolene said, in a low, terse voice. “Show me Carrie and I will do whatever is required of me to take her home.”
“She is safe and well sated,” he assured her, his tone dry. “Just as you can be.” His gaze slid to Drago. “She’s special, this one. A Slayer’s daughter.”
“Riker’s daughter,” Drago replied, and quickly began the important task of staking his claim. With a rough tug, he flattened Jolene’s soft curves against his hard muscle. “As in the Slayer who turned me in to the council. The man owes me.” Alex would expect Drago to seek revenge, so he let the impact of his words hang in the air before adding, “I want her.”
Drago wasted no time showing how serious he was about his claim on Jolene. His hand slid upward, along her waist, until he cupped her breast, her nipple tightening against his palm.
Purple Magic Page 3
