the darkness, and I felt the angel mark flare on my forehead again. Jeezus, he must have a
“We’re interior decorators, looking for a few good contacts, and we were told this was the place to come.” Remy’s voice slid through the darkness.
“Sure you are, Remy,” he said, his voice marginally closer than before. I heard the sound of a long pull on the cigarette and boots thumping on the floor as he walked. “Who’s your friend?”
“Her name is Jackie.”
“She doesn’t have a tongue in her mouth?” The man’s voice sounded amused. “That must be how she’s managed to stay friends with you for so long.”
I snorted. He seemed to know Remy and her bossy tendencies pretty well. Remy squeezed my hand again, and I remained quiet.
“I see,” the man said, his voice thoughtful. “And the fact that she smells like one of your kind should be a hint as well. Should I tell Nitocris you’re here, I wonder?”
“Zane,” Remy said, her voice taking on a pleading edge. “If you tell her I’m here, she’ll make both of our lives a living hell.”
Whoa. I didn’t know which was scarier-that Remy was afraid of this Nitocris person, or that she was reduced to pleading with this guy. I shivered in my platform heels and wondered if I was up to this.
My ears detected the sound of Zane taking another drag from the cigarette. “So what do you give me if I decide
“What do you want?” Remy’s voice was resigned.
“It’s not you, my dear. A trip on the town bicycle isn’t nearly as fun when everyone’s already run it roughshod.”
I heard Remy’s swift intake of breath and her hand clenched mine painfully. “You’re such an asshole.”
“Of course I am. Comes with the territory.” The end of the cigarette brightened for a moment and swung toward me. “Your little friend here, though … what’s her name? Colette?”
“Jackie,” Remy reminded him, her voice grating as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.
“She’s got quite the figure. Nice red hair, too.”
I thought that was a pretty neat trick, seeing as it was pitch-black in the room. Something told me that this guy was dangerous. It practically seeped into the air around us.
The cigarette flickered into darkness. “Well, Remy, since your being here makes me rather curious, I don’t think I’ll say anything to the others. I do, of course, have to give you the standard pat-down to make sure you’re not coming in to cause trouble. No crucifixes, holy water, things like that.”
“Of course.” Remy’s voice returned to a more neutral tone, and my heart stopped hammering in my throat. “I’ll owe you one for this, Zane.”
“I know you will.” He sounded amused by her promise. “Now, if both of you would be so kind as to put your hands into the air?”
I obediently raised my arms in the darkness, feeling somewhat silly. “Is this really necessary?”
Two warm hands were suddenly resting on my breasts, kneading them. “Ah. She speaks.” A quick brush of the fingertips across my hardening nipples, and I felt the kiss flare on my forehead as sensation rushed over my body in response. The stranger chuckled near my ear. His thumbs flicked over my breasts again, deliberately. “Nice rack.”
The kiss flared, saving me from jumping the asshole’s bones, and I slapped his hands away. “Forget it. I’m done here. Screw you, buddy.”
“Jackie,” Remy’s voice warned me from a few steps away. “Don’t mess this up.”
“Do you know where this fucktard has his hands?” I felt them reach for my behind and sidestepped to the left. “I agreed to come here. I didn’t agree to be grabbed like some two-bit hooker.”
“That’s right. You girls are so much classier than that, aren’t you?” Zane’s smooth voice rolled across the room again, and I felt his hands encircle my waist.
I could hear Remy sigh. “Don’t be such a prick, Zane. You’ve got us in a bind, and she’s new, all right? Cut her some slack.”
His hands stiffened on my waist and then pulled away. “New?” There was a pause, then a chuckle. “Interesting. Not the place I’d think you’d bring a baby Suck to, but then again, I’m not you.”
“No, you’re not.” Remy’s voice sounded strained. “So can we go in or not?”
“Depends. Who’s her daddy?”
“I beg your pardon,” I said, outraged.
“He means your master, Jackie. He’s just being a jerk-”
“Oh. I don’t know who-”
“And you don’t have to tell him anything,” Remy warned, cutting me off before I had a chance to spill everything. “Got it? You’re not obligated to tell him squat, and Zane knows it’s impolite to ask. He’s trying to slip one past you because you’re new.”
Oh. Whoops. “Gotcha.”
I felt Zane’s breath against my ear as he chuckled. “That new, eh? Your secret is safe with me, Princess.”
I shoved him away again, thankful that the kiss was on my forehead. It burned into my flesh, reminding me of the uncomfortable situation we were in. “You’re a real prick. Can we go in or not?”
The door behind us swung open, casting light inside and letting me see Zane’s face for the first time.
Dark, dangerous eyes glinted at me. Slashes of black eyebrow arched in my direction, curving upward in amusement. There was a shadow of stubble across his strong, crisp jaw, and it accentuated the most perfect, most sardonic mouth I’d ever seen. His hair was short, just brushing his ears, and cut in a fashion that I’d come to associate with Ivy League lawyers if not for the floppy lock that hung over his forehead, making him look as if he’d just rolled out of bed. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. Perhaps it was the familiarity that comes with being breathtakingly gorgeous, with a face that every sane woman would want on the pillow next to hers.
His eyes swung up and down over my figure, assessing me, and came to rest on my face. “I do hope we’ll be seeing each other again, Colette.” He held the door open and gestured for me to walk through.
“It’s Jackie,” I reminded him, brushing past and noticing he was dressed entirely in black leather with lots of buckles and straps. Sure, it was a cliche, but it worked for him. He looked like a dark, scary cousin of James Dean.
I was fascinated despite myself.
He just gave me another lopsided smile. Remy gave me a shove in the back, hurrying me through the door and away from Zane.
As I stepped into the “vampires only” part of Midnight, I noticed three things. One, that it was decidedly less crowded than upstairs, and two, that you could barely hear the music. And three, it was filled entirely with men.
All of which, I was pretty sure, were of the fanged persuasion.
The bar itself was more ordinary than the one upstairs. Polished wood, clean bar stools-the place looked like a snappier version of Cheers. It was downright weird, given the fact that the occupants were rather intimidating. To a one, they were pale-skinned, on the intimidating side, and completely riveted by the two of us.
The heat of a hundred pairs of eyes on me was an uncomfortable feeling, and I shoved Remy ahead of me. “You go first.”
She rolled her eyes at my sudden cowardice. “Don’t be such a chicken. Nobody knows who you are here, got that?”
“But that Zane guy-”
Remy shook her head and leaned close to me. For a moment I thought she was going to plant one on me again. I moved back instinctively. “No, silly.” She gestured for me to lean in, and I did so. “They won’t figure out that you’re a succubus unless you offer it up. Zane’s an exception to the rule-he was the second to fall, and so he’s
