"Good,” the man said, and continued weaving his way through the crowd.
I followed his shoes with Nathanial at my side.
"Who are they?” I whispered, as we eased around the people surrounding the bar.
"Anaya, and her companion, Clive."
Clive the vampire? Well, why not?
The bar area was packed, and at times we had to shoulder our way through the crowd. The cacophony of heartbeats around me pounded in my ears louder than the music blaring over the speakers. Every time someone brushed by, their warmth seeped over my skin and my body cried out with desires I didn't want to explore. I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep from accidentally grabbing someone.
It only took a couple of minutes to navigate around the large bar, but it felt like a lifetime. Between the bar and the area with couches was a small hallway with a sign reading Restrooms above it. We followed it to an Employees Only door. As soon as the door separated us from the masses of humanity, my hunger stopped fighting me. I let out the air I'd been holding. Now maybe I could think again.
We turned down two more halls then stopped in front of another bouncer. A bouncer inside the club? He glanced over Nathanial and me before opening the door and stepping aside.
Large, flat-paneled television screens covered the wall opposite the door. The area between was decorated rather haphazardly with couches and piles of pillows scattered at apparent random. Dozens of people sprawled about, more than could possibly work at the club. This must be the VIP room.
The speakers moaned, and my gaze flicked to the images on the screens. What were they...? Oh. On the screen, the actress moaned again as her co-star's mouth dipped lower on her exposed body. I dropped my gaze. Only then did I notice the uncomfortably intimate positions of the people in the room—and the lack of clothing. Couples were locked together on couches, and whole groups intertwined amid mounds of pillows. Heat crawled to my cheeks.
Our guides stopped to survey the room, smiling. My face burned hotter. Why had they brought us here? I tried to look away, but everywhere my eyes landed people touched and panted over each other. My gaze passed over one couple as the woman pulled back her head, and I caught a glimpse of fangs before she buried them in her lover's neck. He moaned, giving one last thrust of his hips before collapsing on top of her. Revulsion surged through me as my fangs slid out of their own accord.
I concentrated on my shoes. “Please, please, let's get out of here."
Was this what the other vampires were like? No wonder Nathanial had become a hermit.
"I think you are supposed to be taking us somewhere,” Nathanial said to our hosts.
Anaya and Clive frowned at us like they'd forgotten we were there, but, thank the moon, they led us through and out of the room. The next corridor was small and empty, with only enough room for yet another door to swing open. Clive punched in a code, then pressed his thumb against a panel beside the door. A small, green light flashed, and a series of clicks sounded as the door unlocked. Okay, obviously a restricted area. Good. Hopefully we were finally getting somewhere, and not just to another sex room. The passage revealed a large, descending staircase. Anaya strolled down it as the man held the door.
The stairs were wooden, but as I descended I could feel a slight give at the edge of half the steps. It felt like the original staircase was cut from uneven stone and the wood had been added atop it later to fix the problem. The effect was precarious, as if any moment the wooden panels would tilt and dump me down the rest of the stairs. I was happy to reach the room below and happier still to find everyone fully dressed.
Two large couches took up most of the space in the small room. Fabric draped the walls, creating the effect of a room closed off with curtains. Five people milled around. Vampires? Probably, but I wasn't sure. All shifters carried some of their animal characteristic with them, usually in hair or eye coloring, but the vampires looked indistinguishable from the human race. Well, not completely indistinguishable, I thought, remembering how my skin was now poreless. Of course, since I wasn't hypersensitive right now, I'd have to be way too close to see a detail like that.
"Stay here.” Anaya commanded. She pulled aside some of the fabric and disappeared through a door with Clive.
I stared at the other people in the room. My hunger remained quiet and docile. My instincts weren't identifying anyone as food—a strong indication that everyone present could sprout fangs. To be sure, I leaned closer to Nathanial and asked.
"Yes.” Nathanial's voice held an undercurrent of tension. “And don't bother whispering. They can hear you."
I glanced up and flinched. They were staring at me. All five of them. I felt like the newest exhibit at a zoo—one everyone was interested in but weren't convinced actually appealed to them.
I shuffled from foot to foot. An awkward heartbeat passed. Two. Three. A woman stepped forward and smiled.
"Nerve-racking being the youngest, isn't it?” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “I'm Samantha. Don't mind everyone. We don't see many new faces down here."
I managed a weak smile. The stillness of the room unnerved me. I found a marble in my pocket and rolled it through my finger tips. Samantha paused, obviously waiting for me to add something personal to the conversation, but I didn't trust my voice not to shake.
Thankfully, Nathanial filled the silence. “You look lovely as usual, Samantha.” His hand indicated her blonde hair. “Are you Marilyn tonight?"
"Oh no, I'm the original blond bombshell, the exquisite Ms. Harlow.” She swished her platinum tresses and planted her finger playfully into Nathanial's chest. “I know you dislike pop culture, Hermit, but this is history by now. You really should look it up."
"I apologize,” he said, but all he really sounded was bored.
Samantha ignored him and turned back to me. “Take your coat off, deary. Might as well look comfortable."
As I slid out of my coat, the tension in the room broke, and the other vampires went back to their conversations. I caught several curious glances from the corner of my eye, but at least everyone had stopped staring. Samantha led me to the couch and motioned me to sit beside her. She pulled my hands into hers as soon as I was settled. I fought not to jerk them away. Her smiled looked genuine enough, and I tried to smile a welcome back, but my lips refused to lie. Nathanial leaned passively against the wall. It appeared I was on my own.
"So,” Samantha said after a long moment. “What's your name?"
"Kita.” I didn't volunteer more information.
She waited, her smile dropping a notch. Finally she said, “So, you caught the Hermit? Not a shabby start for a new life.” When I just stared at her, she went on, “I admit, when I first got out on my own I tried to get his attention, but he never noticed me."
I blinked. What the hell was she talking about?
Her smile dropped a bit more. “I mean, he's easy on the eyes, that much is obvious, but beyond that he could have quite a bit of pull in our society if he bothered to play the game. You've chosen your alliance well."
"Nathanial and I aren't ... together,” I said, frowning. “We will be going our separate ways after tonight."
Samantha's smile fell completely as her green eyes flew wide. She dropped my hands, the room deadly silent. “He didn't turn you?"
The other vampires were suddenly in a semicircle around the couch. I hadn't noticed them move. Hadn't heard them.
I climbed to my feet. The air in the room changed, promising the sharp possibility of violence. Samantha stood, watching me cautiously. She didn't seem like much of an ally now.
"You are without a master?” The question came from one of the male vampires.
My attention snapped to him. He looked middle-aged and more dignified than handsome. His eyes slid over the others before settling back on me. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I had the feeling I wouldn't like it. Were we going to fight? His fangs slid out. I dropped to a defensive stance, shifting my weight to my back leg.
That was all the time I had to prepare.
Lightening quick, his hand snapped out, closing around my throat. The speed caught me off guard. He lifted me into the air. My feet thrashed above the ground. I tried to scream, but his grip on my throat strangled the sound.
I angled a kick at his groin, but he caught my foot with his other hand. Any refinement he'd previously possessed was lost from his face as he hoisted me toward his gleaming fangs.
The jerk was going to bite me. What the hell? I ripped at the hand on my throat and wished more than anything for my claws.
A familiar arm slid around my middle from behind. Something snapped three times in quick succession, and the man grasping my throat screamed. He reeled back, letting go of me in the process. Nathanial's arm around my waist kept me from falling. He pulled me in so my back was cradled against his chest. My feet still weren't on the ground.
I chanced a look at Nathanial. His fangs were out, but his face was calm as he regarded the other vampires still in a semi-circle around us, like he silently dared anyone to challenge him. For their part, the vampires shuffled uneasily, their fangs still extended, but no one advanced. It reminded me of animals fighting over a piece of meat. That was an act of dominance I would have understood and expected in Firth, but not here, not from beings I thought so close to human in their behaviors. In Firth I would have backed away. Everyone was bigger and stronger than me, and my choices were to challenge or slink away and hope there would be something left of the meat later. But now, here, I was the ‘meat’ and had no idea what was expected of me. So I waited.
"I turned her. She is mine,” Nathanial hissed. I shivered, and he held me tighter. “Touch her and you deal with me."
One by one the other vampires straightened, their fangs disappearing. They smiled like bloodshed hadn't just barely been avoided. Samantha and another woman sat back on the couch, pictures of refinement once again. The vampire who had accosted me smoothed down his jacket with his left hand. His right arm hung funny, broken in several places. He glowered at me, then jerked aside the curtain and fought to hold it aside one-handed as he opened the door. No one said a thing as he disappeared into the hall beyond.