Mac stood and shook Saint’s hand, lowering his voice. “The whole point of me disappearing
was to distract them from you and…” He frowned again and looked over Saint’s shoulder.
“…Thomas. I didn’t see you there. Can one of you idiots tell me where Margo is? Ume?
Home right? The answer forming on your lips is ‘safe at home, Mac’.”
Thomas wore an alert expression in his green eyes as he took Mac’s hand in a firm
shake. “They’re safe, Mac Attack. Liam and a few of our scarier friends are getting
them seats as we speak. You, however, are in big, big trouble young man. Running away
is never the answer. Esther is such a wreck she’s taken to chain rattling.”
“I was turning their attention away from you and your women,” Mac growled. “You brought
them? Both of them?”
Thomas shrugged. “They really wanted to hear you sing, dude. They promised us things.”
“Ume promised not to kick my ass,” Saint snorted. “Because she could. I’m thinking
a
kitsune
and a demon against a room filled with vampires and bounty hunters? Bring it on.
We’ll be done in time for dessert.”
Gripping Saint’s arm, Mac snarled, “This isn’t your bloody videogame, friend. And
the others don’t have my sense of humor.”
“Thank Hell for that right?” Saint joked, reaching up to cover Mac’s hand with his—a
gesture that shocked him. “I
am
your friend, you walking Scottish tragedy. This started because you wanted Thomas
and Margo to be happy. You saved me from myself and sent me after Ume. Are we not
allowed to return the favor? You appear to have gotten some of the sticks out of your
ass, which must be a relief, but you still haven’t learned to share the glory.”
Thomas winked at Rose. “Mac’s got a thing about—”
“Heroics?” Rose interrupted wryly. “Saving people? Sacrificing himself? Brooding?”
Saint whistled. “That’s my favorite demon girl. Man, she has so got your number. Fast,
that one. Smart too. She gets that from me.”
“Rose?”
“Yes, Mac?”
“Stop helping them.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s time for us to head
back to the theater and get ready, anyway. Can you take Jolene and Hobie to their
seats? Please? I’ll meet you backstage.”
She pursed her lips as though she desperately wanted to argue, then nodded and walked
away.
When the trio was out of earshot, Thomas chortled. “Mac has a girlfriend.”
Saint smirked. “Mating has neutered the lion, I see. Are we gossiping now? I know
something that’ll make your toes curl.”
“Suck it, Saint.”
“Children, stop fighting,” Mac sighed. “Listen to me very carefully. Saint’s cousin
and I are going to win this competition. After we do I want you to promise me a few
things…as my friends.”
“Anything.”
“Wait, let’s hear what it is first.”
“
First
,” Mac lowered his voice, “know that you cannot help me. This is my choice. What started
out as a minor distraction and irritant has blown up into something that cannot be
ignored and I take full responsibility for it. But I will not be able to countenance
any injury to you or your women. Once we’ve won, take them away from here—Rose and
the two humans as well. Keep them safe at all costs.”
Thomas ran a hand through his dirty blond hair. “This is bullshit, Mac. Trumped-up
bullshit. You didn’t go to the White House and bite the First Lady’s neck on CNN for
Christ’s sake. You agreed to let Gerard frigging Butler play you in a movie.”
Mac crossed his arms. “I never agreed to that.”
“The point,” Saint continued. “Is that you are—and let me see if I can find the kindest
way to phrase this—a big,
dead
, redheaded moron.”
Mac smiled. “I’m glad you chose the kindest way.”
“You’re welcome. Why are you so determined to give up now, after we scared away the
slayer, after all this cloak and dagger you’ve been enjoying for months?” Saint narrowed
his dark eyes, and Mac saw them flash a momentary red. “Rose. Another sacrifice you’re
sure to
not
be thanked for. You’re doing it for Rose.”
“I’m tired,” Mac corrected, hating Saint’s ability to read him as much as the demon
disliked his empathy. “I just want to look my accusers in the eye, have it out and
have it done. However it ends, I’d rather it be on my terms.”
Swearing, Thomas clenched his fists and shifted restlessly on his feet. Mac gripped
his shoulder. “Before you rush to blame yourself, I’d like to thank you, Thomas. I
mean that sincerely. I’ve wanted to kick your ass for a while, but now I can see that
it all came out the way it was meant to. You found Margo, Liam found Julie, Saint
found Ume. None of that would have happened if you hadn’t started the
Shifting Reality
vlog.”
“I would’ve found Ume.” The current of certainty running through Saint’s voice silenced
them all for a moment. Then he winked. “But you’re right. Everyone else would still
be sad, shedding couch potatoes if Thomas hadn’t started the vlog I showed him how
to make. And
Rose
wouldn’t have come to hunt down the bloodsucking criminal to earn her freedom from
her hostile, leather-clad psycho sisters.”
Mac nodded. “I’m glad we understand each other.”
Thomas growled. “I don’t understand.”
“We know,” Mac and Saint spoke in unison, causing more than one head to turn.
“Ready to rock?” Saint smiled and waved his Blackberry at his friends. “The show must
go on…apparently.”
When he got backstage and saw Rose standing off to the side, away from the other competitors,
he shook his head in admiration. She was, without doubt, the sexiest woman he’d ever
seen.
Even if she weren’t wearing every man’s schoolgirl fantasy outfit—her breasts straining
against the white, buttoned-up top and her long legs revealed by that swatch of plaid
fabric—she would still have him on his knees.
Before he could stop himself he was at her side, whirling her around in his arms and
kissing her with all the passion she’d awoken inside him.
Rose didn’t hesitate in her response. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her tongue
tangled with his, fueling his hunger.
Mac lifted his head. “I want you.”
She licked her lower lip. “You can have me, vampire. Anytime. Anywhere.”
“How about now?” He smiled down at her as her eyes flashed. “There must be some corner
where we can…warm up our vocal chords.”
“I know just the place.” Rose took his hand and turned, pulling him behind her as
they wove through the frazzled-looking crowd and headed toward the dressing rooms.
She opened the door to the first empty dressing room and tugged him inside. Mac slammed
the door behind him and spun her around, pressing her against it as he kissed her
again.
“We have time, Mac,” she assured him in between kisses.
“It’s been too long. Hours,” he muttered. “You’ve ruined me, Rose. I can’t wait another
minute.”
“We have enough time,” she soothed him again, breathless. “Take me here. Take whatever
you need.”
“I’ll never get enough.” Mac slid his hand over her thigh-high stockings and under
her short, tempting skirt. “Every time I touch you, I want more. Every time I taste
you—” He shuddered. “Rose, I need to taste you again.”
She tilted her neck with a submissive smile and he realized she thought he meant her
blood. Mac dropped to his knees in front of her, watching her lips part on a gasp
when she realized what he wanted. “Let me.”
She lifted her skirt without a word and Mac buried his face between her legs, inhaling
her scent through the white lace panties. “I’ll never get enough,” he repeated, groaning
against her sex.
He spread her legs with his shoulders and tugged her underwear to one side, revealing
her to his gaze. She was perfect for him. The lips of her sex were pink and full…already
so wet. “I’ll make you sing, demon.”
“Mac.”
He lifted his hands to spread her open for his tongue. “Sing for me, Rose.” He leaned
forward and filled her with his tongue. No gentle teasing strokes. Not flicks or nips.
He had no patience. He had to taste her. To claim her one last time.
She cried out, one hand dropping from her skirt to grip the back of his head, holding
him close. “Yes, Mac. Fuck me like that. Make me come.” She rocked her hips against
his mouth, lifting one leg over his shoulder so he could press deeper. Faster. Taste
more.
God, she was sin and sugar and everything he’d ever wanted. And she loved it. Loved
everything he did to her. He moaned and she tightened her grip in his hair.
“Please, Mac. Oh fuck, don’t stop. Don’t ever stop,” she moaned and he smiled, tasting
the new flood of her arousal on his tongue. She never wanted him to stop.
He loved that about her.
“He has to stop eventually Rose.” The dry female voice made every muscle in his body
tense. “First of all, even a vampire’s tongue would get tired, and secondly? We do
have a show to perform.”
Rose lowered her leg. “Magnolia.”
Mac prepared for an attack, ready to do whatever was necessary to protect Rose. He
stood slowly and turned, dipping his chin in a show of respect. “The leader of The
Devil’s Garden. It is an honor. I intended to seek you out after the show.”
Magnolia looked nothing like Rose. Tall and rail thin with straight blonde hair in
a tight braid and sharp, taut features that made her look hard. Or maybe it was her
eyes. When she laughed, he didn’t see a spark of real humor in them.
“Did you hear that, girls? He was going to
seek me out
. Very gentlemanly of you, bloodsucker. Mama taught you manners.” She nodded, looking
him up and down. “That’s good. Ours taught us something too, didn’t she, Rose? She
taught us how to fuck a man into submission. How to survive in this male-dominated
society with nothing but our wits and tits.”
She smacked a riding crop against her thigh, drawing Mac’s attention to her prop.
He supposed she might intimidate younger vampires—dressed in the obligatory skin-tight
little black dress and sky-high stilettos, she projected a menacing air. But he was
more interested in something she’d said. “Girls. Are the others here too?”
Magnolia glared around him at Rose. “Of course they are.
I
tell my sisters everything. When I found out our misfit toy here was performing for
an audience, I knew we all had to be here to encourage her. What kind of sisters would
we be if we didn’t support her new career?”
The woman stuck out her scarlet painted lower lip in a parody of a pout. “This
was
your new plan right, Rose? Collect Scotty McHotpants for us and begin your new life
as a Vegas showgirl? You wouldn’t be the first demon who betrayed her family to be
a star.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Magnolia.” Rose’s tone was short, but surprisingly
sedate in Mac’s opinion. Almost too careful. “And you don’t know me at all. You never
did.”
Mac reached behind his back to touch her, wishing he could comfort her. “There is
no need to quarrel with your sister, Magnolia. She found me and I’ve chosen to allow
you to take me in as soon as we’re off stage. You can watch us the entire time…”
He heard feminine laughter coming from behind a row of costumes and he couldn’t deny
the feeling of dread it inspired. Five demons who had never failed to collect a bounty.
The darker tales he’d heard about them were unpleasant, to say the least.
Magnolia clapped with mock excitement. “Can we, Daddy? Can we watch?” She rolled her
eyes and then smiled ominously. “I have a better idea. We’re going to do more than
watch, sweetie. We’re going to participate. And then we’re taking you,
and
your kitty and our turncoat cousin in for good measure. The three of you started
this, you may as well end it together too. If that doesn’t earn us a bonus, I don’t
know what will.”
“No.”
Magnolia froze. “No? Did he just say
no
to me?”
Mac wouldn’t play her game. “I believe you heard me, demon. You don’t touch them,
or there is no deal. No deal with the vampire, and you don’t get your payday.”
“Ivy?”
“Yes, Magnolia?” an obedient voice floated over the clothes rack.
“He’s negotiating. Show him why this isn’t a negotiation. Knock him out.”
“Yes, Magnolia.”
Rose called his name but her voice sounded far away. Mac was falling. The room was
spinning. The world was going black.
He’d wanted to kiss her goodbye. Now he wouldn’t get the chance.
Rose should have seen this coming. Should have convinced him to run—used her genetic
wiles to get him to agree. But no, she’d impulsively wanted an adventure in Las Vegas.
She wanted to sing with him and watch him play hero to two sweet humans. She’d wanted
him all to herself.
She had been a fool.
“Daisy, don’t let her do this,” she pleaded softly. “All these people...”
Her sister looked up at her through bright blue curls with sad eyes. “You should have
called her, Rose. There’s no reasoning with her now, you know that. We have to let
her have her way and then it will be over.”
Magnolia had to have her way. How many times had she heard that through the years?
Her mother had started it, a demon too busy to bother with the brood of children her
demonic needs had produced. Magnolia was the oldest, so she was in charge of them
all.
The only problem was, her oldest sister was the battiest of the bunch. Mean as a snake,
vindictive and unhinged, she could ensnare a man with a skill that was astounding,
but what she did to him when she caught him had never sat well with anyone but Ivy—the
other crazy one with, unfortunately, the strongest power of them all.
And now Magnolia had Mac. Onstage. Chained up and wearing nothing but a sheet around
his waist as the audience murmured in horror.
Magnolia bowed and waved at the crowd. “Don’t bother clapping or trying to stand up
ladies and gentlemen—my sisters have guaranteed we have a captive audience for this
part of the competition. Human and otherwise.” She snickered. “Get it? I suppose you
do. Luckily stand-up comedy is not why we’re here. This is a piece of art I like to
call The Duet. Rose? Daisy bring out our little Rose.”