His head popped up and his eyes widened as he stared. He was pretty sure that his heart stopped beating at some point.
“Well?” she asked, holding out her arms.
He couldn’t form words. Hell, he couldn’t even form a coherent thought. All he could do was stare, mouth open, and try to remember how to breathe.
Her eyebrows raised.
He shook his head and smiled, fumbling over his words. “Great…you’re great…I mean you…” He finally stopped and collected himself. “You look great,” he finally managed to get out.
That was an understatement. The way the clothes hugged her perfect body, her auburn hair cascading over her shoulders and framing her face, it was too much. She looked absolutely amazing. His mouth was suddenly dry.
Rayne crinkled her nose and descended the last few steps. “That bad, huh?”
Camden shook his head. “No! Not bad at all.” He pressed his lips into a thin line and removed his jacket. “Here, put this on.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “You don’t like it.”
He laughed and helped her put it on. “Oh, quite the opposite.”
Rayne slipped her arm into the sleeve and turned to look at him. “Then what is it?”
He opened the front door for her step out and followed. “I’m just wondering how I’m going to keep everyone else off of you,” he whispered in her ear as he stepped around her and led the way to his Challenger, which was parked in the driveway.
She blushed. She could feel the pink tinge her cheeks, and she tried to hide her face from him as she climbed through the door he held open. For two people who both thought they were a bad idea together, they were flirting a lot.
This is so confusing.
Camden climbed into the driver’s seat, started the car, and pulled out of the driveway. The first few minutes were spent in silence as neither of them knew what to say to stop the awkwardness.
“So, what’s the plan?” Rayne finally asked. She continuously had to remind herself to squeeze her thighs together to keep the incredibly short skirt from revealing too much.
Camden shrugged. “There really isn’t one. We’re just going to take a look.”
She nodded.
“But whatever happens,” he said, cutting a sideways glance at her, “stay beside me.”
“Ok,” she said quietly. That was the whole reason she was going, so he could keep an eye on her and protect her. What else would she do?
The awkward silence between them returned, and Rayne found herself shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Sexy or not, the clothes were definitely not worth the hot, clingy feeling.
She tried to keep her mind off the clothing and the vampire sitting in the seat next to her. Watching the scenery fly by, just barely visible in the darkness, was helping, but didn’t completely do the job.
The twenty-five minute ride into the heart of Alexandria seemed as though it took forever. Finally, they pulled into the parking lot of a large brick building that looked as though it was in need of a good remodeling. There was a single neon sign swinging in the gentle breeze above a heavy metal door
:
“Madam Laurie’s.”
Camden unbuckled his seat belt and turned to look at her. “You ready?”
She sighed and nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”
He smiled. “Are you nervous?”
An awkward laugh escaped her mouth. “Me, nervous? I mean, we’re just going into a bar where vampires come to feed, right? Why would I ever be nervous?” Sarcasm dripped from the words as she spoke them.
Camden rolled his eyes and left the driver’s seat of the car. He came around to her side and opened the door for her. “Just remember to stay by me,” he said quietly as she stood and anxiously pulled on her clothing.
She nodded. “Trust me. That is not going to be a problem.”
He grabbed her hand and led her toward the door. She liked the way her hand felt in his, the tingling sensation traveling all the way up her arm. She could feel the familiar blush creep to her cheeks.
They made it to the entrance, and Rayne found herself holding her breath as he easily swung the large door open and the sound of music bombarded her senses. The inside was not what she had expected. It was rather bright and loud, not the dark, dungeon-like atmosphere that she’d imagined. People were milling about everywhere, and a few she could tell were vampires by the white fangs peeking out at the corners of their mouths. Others were not so obvious.
The dance floor was straight ahead, with multicolored lights moving this way and that. Just on the other side of that was an area of metal tables and chairs, nearly all of them occupied. On the far side of the room was a long bar, extending across the entire the back wall.
Camden had been right when he said the dress code was a little risqué. Hers was, by far, more conservative than the rest. She suddenly felt out of place with his jacket on, and let go of his hand to shrug it off.
He glanced at her and furrowed his brows in what she could only guess was aggravation. She shrugged, gave him an innocent look, and handed him the coat.
Why was he angry? It wasn’t as if she was doing it to get attention from others. Quite the contrary. She was doing it to blend in a little more.
He led her across the room to the bar, never letting go of her hand. He whispered something to the bartender, received a nod in reply, and turned his attention back to her.
“Are all of these vampires?” she whispered.
He glanced around the room. “Not all, but most.”
She shook her head. “I would have never thought there were so many.”
Camden laughed. “There are far more than this. Vampires are everywhere, on every continent and in every major city you can think of.”
Rayne was in awe. Just a few days ago she’d learned of their existence, and now here she was standing in a room full of them. If someone had told her a week ago that this is where she would be, she would have laughed in his face, called the nearest insane asylum, and had him committed.
This is unbelievable.
Camden kept his head on a swivel, searching faces and watching movement all around them.
Rayne was too busy just taking it all in.
They were soon interrupted by the bartender returning with two glasses in hand. Camden took one for himself, the liquid inside a deep crimson. It would have looked like a red wine if she hadn’t known any better. Unfortunately, she did. He handed the other to her, the one filled with water.
She took a sip and continued to people watch.
If only Layla could see this!
“Camden!” They both heard it and turned in the direction of the end of the bar.
A tall, black-haired woman approached. She was busty up top and her black corset pushed her breasts nearly up to her chin. She flashed a stunning smile as she neared.
Camden rolled his eyes. “Great.”
He hadn’t even gotten a glimpse of Paul or the suspect yet, and he was going to have to deal with Laurie.
“Hi there, stranger,” she said, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He patted her on the back in as friendly a way as he could muster, and quickly pulled away before she was able to press her mouth to his.
Rayne watched in awkward silence, not sure what to do or say. She did know one thing: She didn’t like the way this woman had thrown herself at him.
She turned and locked dark brown eyes with Rayne. Her smile faded and she gave Camden an almost disgusted look. “This one’s with you?” she asked.
Camden nodded. “This is Rayne. Rayne, this is Laurie.”
When Laurie turned back to her, she was able to see that she wasn’t just a woman, she was a vampire as well.
“Laurie as in Madame Laurie?” Rayne asked.
The woman pressed her lips into a thin line. “One and the same,” she said coldly.
Rayne nodded. “It’s very nice to meet you. This is a very nice club you have.”
Laurie gave an evil laugh and leaned in closer to her. “Honey, it’s anything but nice. If you can talk this one into letting you go for a moment, I’ll show you.”
Rayne took a step back. That proposition was not too appealing.
Camden wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against his side. “Don’t even think about it.”
Laurie raised her eyebrows and sauntered off. “Suit yourself.”
Camden watched her retreating figure disappear into the sea of moving bodies.
“What was that all about?” she asked, looking up at him.
He sighed. “Laurie and I had a thing a while back. It didn’t work out, and she hasn’t let it go since.” He looked down at her, his eyes a little more blue than normal. “Hence the reason I don’t come here very often anymore.”
Rayne nodded. She would never admit to him that she was actually a little jealous. It had almost hurt to see the woman and imagine what had transpired between them. If he had someone who looked like that and didn’t keep her, she definitely didn’t have a chance.
“There he is,” he whispered into her ear.
She followed his gaze to the end of the bar and noticed a blonde-haired man sitting in a stool and sipping a drink that matched Camden’s. A few seats down, was another, much smaller blonde man. He sat sipping his drink as well, but his eyes never left the first.
“The big one is Paul,” he said, glancing around the room. “The other is who we are here to watch.”
Rayne nodded. At least their trip here wasn’t a wasted one. They had eyes on him and could get a better idea of his demeanor.
“Come on,” Camden said quietly, and led her down the bar toward the two men.
He sat her in a stool midway between the two, and turned her back to the bar so he could stand between her legs.
Rayne’s eyes widened as he leaned closer, his cocky smirk in place. “Just go with it,” he whispered, and snaked his arm around her waist to pull her flush against him. He let his nose trail along her jawline, his breath sending shivers down her spine as it hit her ear.
He knew that this was a bad idea. Whatever this led to, it was a bad idea. Nothing good could come from it. Then again, he didn’t care. Rayne looked so incredibly sexy that his already unimaginable lust towards her was magnified exponentially. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her if he tried.
And he wasn’t trying very hard.
Her own breath hitched in her throat and her heart felt as though it might rupture. She was afraid to move, to blink, to think of anything other than how close he was and how good it felt.
Swallowing past the massive lump in her throat, she turned her face toward his cheek. “I think you’re using me as a diversion just for the fun of it,” she said breathily.
“And if I am?” he asked.
She couldn’t see his mouth, but she could hear the smile in his voice. Shaking her head, she couldn’t fight her own smile that pulled at the corners of hers.
“Then you’re playing dirty,” she said breathily.
He pulled away slightly to look into her bright green eyes. They darted toward the target of interest then back to her.
Rayne wanted to glance in his direction as well, but she found herself too wrapped up in Camden’s proximity to really care.
What am I doing? This isn’t part of the plan.
However, in that moment, she didn’t really seem to care. It felt so right. Every word of wisdom she had given herself during her pep talk earlier went out the window. She comforted herself by remembering that everything happens for a reason, and she was where she was meant to be.
Yes. That’s it. No sense in fighting the inevitable.
Mumbling from the end of the bar froze them both. Neither wanted to look in that direction for fear of being suspected of anything. They listened closely, both straining their ears to hear any of the conversation.
It was easy to tell that the voice was a woman’s, but neither of them could get a look.
Suddenly, Rayne turned her chair so that her back was to them, pulling Camden so that he stayed pressed against her front, but was now facing the new vampire and his female companion. She bit her lower lip out of nervousness and brought a hand up to caress his jaw gently. The stubble of his five-o’clock shadow tickled her palm as she steered his face toward hers.
If she was going to go against every piece of common sense she possessed, she might as well enjoy it. She gave him a mischievous smirk and pulled him closer, suddenly feeling a little more playful than before. “Just go with it,” she whispered, just before their lips touched.
She turned her head slightly to the side so that Camden could look over her shoulder.
His eyes darted to the slender frame of the woman and it was obvious that she was a vampire as well. Her long brown hair nearly reached her waist as she leaned in to whisper something in the other’s ear. He was sure that he distinctly heard the word “Christophe,” but the rest was undecipherable.
Christophe? Was that his name? Was that the name of the one they took orders from?
His thoughts were cut short when he felt Rayne’s tongue gliding along his lower lip. He smiled against her and opened to allow her entrance. Her tongue darted inside his mouth, tangling with his own as his arm tightened around her waist.
He pulled away and smiled down at her blushing cheeks. “Who’s playing dirty now?” he asked.
She smirked. “Hate the game, not the player,” she whispered back.
He laughed and leaned in for another heated kiss. Her arm snaked around his neck and she nipped playfully at his lip. “This is just payback,” she mumbled against him.
“Lesson learned,” he replied.
When he glanced back to the two at the end of the bar, “Christophe,” as he was going to call him, was alone again, and his eyes stared a hole into Paul. Who was he? What did he have against Paul? What did he know and how? His mind rambled through the questions.
Rayne looked over Camden’s shoulder at the one he’d pointed out as Paul. He sat in his same spot, still sipping his drink. He didn’t look in her direction, but his head was down and a smile was plastered on his face. She was sure she’d even noticed him laughing.
Without warning, Camden broke the kiss and looked down at her. “He’s gone. Looks like he left out the back.”
She nodded and tried to slow her breathing and her racing heart. She needed a moment to gather herself. “I need the restroom,” she said quietly.