“Of course I killed them. There’s no way I was letting those nasty bloodsuckers run around my town.”
“How many did you send back to Hell?” asked Gene.
“A half dozen.”
Gene looked thoughtful. “That many working together? How unusual.”
“Funny, but I don’t think that’s as interesting as the fact I found a Nephilim.” Simon didn’t want to talk about the foul ones even as he struggled to understand his attraction to the hybrid female who by birth, happened to be half vamp.
“You always did have a knack for sniffing out treasures.”
Simon glared at his friend. “She is not an object.”
Gene raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Sorry. No, she’s not an object, but you can’t deny her value, or the beings who will want her, either dead or alive.”
Simon growled when Gene brought up the all too real danger to Beth. For a moment, his iron control wavered. Frost formed on the edges of the furniture around him and crystallized on the concrete walls.
“Calm your beast down,” Gene said, not at all alarmed by Simon’s uncharacteristic show of power. “She’s not in imminent danger, yet. But you and I both know that it’s only a matter of time before others, like the vamps, come after her.”
“Then we shall protect her,” he stated flatly, including his friend without request. For the last several hundred years, they’d done most things together: battling the same foes, sharing homes, tag teaming the ladies. The only thing they hadn’t done was each other-there were some lines he wouldn’t cross, and thankfully Gene felt the same way.
Despite their long time together, never before had they both experienced an instant interest in the same woman-make that possessive interest. Simon knew for a fact that Gene didn’t show his bottle to casual lovers. The fact he’d taken Beth into it, and promised she’d come back, said a lot. As for himself, he couldn’t deny his insane attraction to Beth-and the overwhelming need to be with her and protect her.
Gene chuckled, snapping Simon’s attention back to him. Simon frowned, not understanding Gene’s sudden mirth. “What’s so funny?”
“Well, it just occurred to me that if we’re going to keep an eye on Beth, then we’re going to have to spend some time at her work. What a hardship, staring at naked ladies shaking their
“I guess it could be worse,” Simon admitted grudgingly. “Now, if you’re done screwing around, I want you to scout around unobtrusively for information on her. Something doesn’t quite add up.”
“Yes, the term babe in the woods and innocent do come to mind. I’ll see what I can discover without tipping our hand. And just so you know, before I returned, I laid a protective web over her building to let us know if anything untoward occurs.”
Simon grunted in acknowledgement. Gene popped out to do his thing, and Simon pulled out his laptop to do a search of his own.
He scoured databases both human and not, searching for anything that stood out. Other than an increase in vamp sightings and kills starting a few years back, nothing untoward came up.
After a few hours of fruitless search, he gave up. He needed more info, and for that, he’d need to spend more time with Beth.
Chapter Four
I sensed them the moment they walked in, which kind of distracted me as I was hanging upside down on a pole at the time. I managed to make my unintentional slide down look like part of my routine; however, in my new position, I couldn’t see Gene or Simon, even though my hormones were jumping up and down screaming “They’re here!” I unwrapped my legs from the pole and rolled to lie on my stomach on the stage. I pushed up with my arms in a hands and knees position. I crawled slowly, and flicked my head up and down to make my hair arc and flutter in silky strands around my face-I called this my lioness move, guaranteed to make men purr. My doggie position-also a bedroom favorite-allowed me to scan the crowd and I thanked my enhanced eyesight that allowed me to see past the glare of the lights that spotlighted me on stage.
I found the guys sitting at the bar and Simon inclined his head in my direction as our gazes touched. Gene just tossed me a wide grin along with a thumbs up gesture. I couldn’t help the flush of heat-a molten wet desire-from flooding my senses.
I dry humped the stage in time to the music, my hips rotating sensually in rhythm with my building delight over seeing my new friends again. My excitement radiated outwards, a cloud of invisible pheromones that touched the patrons of the club, erotically so. Catcalls and bills rained over and around me. I didn’t bother picking them up. Bruno had an employee to take care of the tips we got for our performances so that his dancers didn’t have to scramble all over the stage like crazed magpies. With one last flick of my hair, I rolled to my feet and with an exaggerated wiggle, walked off the stage.
I exited through the rear curtain and made my way to the dressing room where I shrugged a see-through, lace babydoll over my skimpy bikini-think teensy tiny triangles held on by string. I ran a brush through my snarled locks, cursing when the bristles caught.
I forced myself to slow down and breathe deep. My impatience stemmed from my eagerness to see and talk to Simon and Gene again. I wondered what brought them by-and then chided myself for my coyness. I knew why they were here. To see me.
Confidence restored, I finished brushing my hair and freshened my makeup. I killed fifteen minutes before I finally exited into the club-a girl should never appear too eager. My iron will kept me from skipping over to them like an eager puppy with her tongue lolling-but my anticipation was still apparent in the damp crotch of my panties.
Refusing to give in to my hormones-even as anticipation increased my level of horniness-I worked the room, speaking to my regular admirers and accepting with smiles their bills stuffed into my bra. I rewarded them with light touches across their cheeks or hands that fed me their desire while making their eyes glaze over in pleasure.
Thus, did I slowly make my way to the bar where, with a nonchalance I didn’t feel, I greeted the guys with a simple “Hi.”
Simon chuckled, his low rumble vibrating through me with more effect than the bass of the music blasting. “Nice show.”
Gene, the irreverent one, grinned at me devilishly. “I think I’ve found my new hang out spot. And, might I say, I look forward to receiving a private performance.”
Simon elbowed Gene, who grunted, but continued to smile with twinkling eyes.
Odd, with any other man, I would have probably become offended. Gene was so brazen and cocky, but I liked it, just like I enjoyed Simon’s more subtle admiration. The reason, I realized, was simple. I was the one causing the reaction, not my abnormal side, and under their obvious admiration, I bloomed. And grew even hornier.
“What brings you guys slumming?” I asked, sitting on a stool between them the short skirt of my lace cover-up stopping just short of my crotch.
“Just out for a drink,” said Gene.
“We wanted to see you,” said Simon with an honesty that shocked and pleased me.
“I’m glad you came,” I said. In truth, I hadn’t stopped thinking of them, and I’d fought the urge to call them all day.
“When are you finished?” Simon asked. “Can we take you to dinner?”
“Ah yes, dinner. We’re so very
Once again Simon glared at his friend and I grabbed his closed fist between my two hands-the man was freaking huge! “It’s okay, Simon. Given my profession, I get the innuendos a lot. I’ve also discovered the ones with
