We danced to two songs, then I excused myself to the ladies’ room. After I came out, I took the other set of stairs to the mezzanine. I didn’t want him to monopolize my evening, and he was giving signals that his intention was to do exactly that. To my relief, Kirsten was sitting alone.
“Not your cup of tea?” she asked as I sat down, drained my glass, and held up my hand for our waitress.
“He’s nice enough, but he didn’t ask for my phone number, and I’m not going home with a stranger after a couple of drinks. One of us has to have some standards.”
She stuck her tongue out at me and circled her finger in the air when the waitress approached our table, signaling for another round.
“That’s why you should branch out a little,” Kirsten said. “You can’t catch anything from a non-human. A non-lethal non-human, of course.”
“For some reason, brownies just aren’t my thing.”
She laughed. Brownies were cute but only as tall as my knees, and I doubted they considered humans attractive.
Shortly after the waitress brought our drinks, a devil asked me to dance, and I said yes. The top of his head only reached my chin, but he was built like a workout warrior, and he danced like a professional. Lots of fun and great exercise keeping up with him. He escorted me back to my seat and then took Kirsten out for a spin.
While I was watching them, a demon slipped into Kirsten’s chair, taking me by surprise. His tailor obviously catered to the upper class. He wasn’t wearing a jacket. Creased black slacks hugged his butt and legs, and a wide-collared black shirt opened to reveal his muscled chest. His skin was red, his horns were black, and his eyes were yellow with cat-slit pupils. He was well over seven feet tall, and massively built. I pegged him as a major demon, probably a fire demon, but I didn’t feel any excess heat radiating from him.
“I’ve been watching you,” he said, “and would like to get to know you better.”
“I normally don’t date demons.” Polite, but firm. Even if I had been carrying my Raider, pissing off a major demon was an exercise in poor judgement.
“You have an unusual ability to express your emotions.”
“Oh? I wasn’t aware of that.”
“Yes.” He licked his lips. “You would be a very delicious companion.”
He was making me increasingly uncomfortable. “I have a standard policy against being dinner.”
He chuckled. “Oh, I’m not interested in anything so crude.” He sent a burst of lust energy that enveloped me and settled between my legs, heating me up in a way his presence hadn’t. He inhaled deeply, and said, “Yes, we could make each other very happy.” He sent another burst of magik, this time flavored with joy, exhilaration and well-being that filled my chest and brought a smile to my face. “And in addition to the intangible benefits, I would reward you very well.”
I managed to maintain enough control to ask, “Why am I so special? There are lots of other women here.”
He breathed in deeply through his nose. “The Fae experience emotions far more deeply than humans. But they have such strong and unfortunate prejudices. Half-breeds tend to be more liberally-minded.”
I glanced over at the table with the elf and the lilith.
“Yes, he is a half-breed,” the demon said, “and only playing with her. I would be surprised if he took her home, but they get what they need from each other. It’s a symbiotic relationship that fulfills each of their needs for an evening.”
My mother’s father was an elf, but my elven heritage was far enough in the past that most people weren’t aware of it. A slight cast to my features and my height were the only hints that my maternal grandfather wasn’t human. Even if my hair didn’t cover my ears, they weren’t pointed, just a little large.
“I’m not a half-breed,” I said. “I don’t even look elven.”
He inhaled deeply again, and I realized he was smelling me. “Not close enough for the elves to acknowledge you, perhaps, but I can smell your blood and the pheromones you’re releasing. I can also sense your reaction to me. Think about it.” He pushed a business card across the table and stood up.
“I’m proposing a mutually pleasurable relationship. An occasional interaction, and you won’t be harmed in any way.” He hit me with another burst of mixed lust and joy, and inhaled again. “You can’t deny the pleasure you feel, and I have enjoyed our short time together as much as you have.” He turned and walked away. When he moved out of the way, I saw Kirsten walking toward us.
“What did he want?” she asked as she sat down.
“What does a demon always want?” I looked down at his card and gasped.
“What is it?” She reached over and snatched the card from my hand, then she gasped when she read it.
I took it back and read it again. I had been a little bit off the mark when I judged him to be a major demon. The name on the card was Ashvial—the demon lord who owned the club. The effects of the magik he had laid on me didn’t dissipate after he left, either. I was horny as hell and incredibly happy about it. What he hadn’t provided me was any kind of satisfaction or relief. Damned demon.
Chapter 14
I woke up thinking about dungeons. The trip to Lucifer’s Lair had me wondering about how Sarah Benning was doing a dominatrix gig without costumes and paraphernalia. I was fairly certain she wasn’t keeping a rack and cat-o-nine-tails in her bedroom at home, although I hadn’t searched the room myself. And she certainly wasn’t hauling BDSM furniture
