The Better to Eat You With: The Red Journals (28 page)

Vince released me, one hand on his own hip, the other
rubbing his eyes, like I was causing a head ache or something. “Yes, Red.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t pick January, since that’s
the Wolf Moon.”

He dropped his hand with a sigh and chose to ignore
me. “You’ll meet the council, as they’ve already made known their interest in
you.”

My turn to heave a sigh. “They know about me already?”
I asked.

Vince nodded.

I winced. “Jeepers…definitely haven’t got any
anonymity now.”

“Losing it was inevitable.”

“Says you.”

“Says commonsense.”

I gaped. “How do you know what that is?”

He snorted. “Des.”

I squinted at him. “You lie.”

He smirked. “You’ll also need to get inked.”

I blinked up at him.

“As in, tattooed, darlin’.”

My mouth dropped open, and he grinned.

“It’s part of the initiation ceremony.”

“Is that entirely necessary?” Tattooing for an
Immortal was
never
fun, I’d heard.

“Oh yes.” He slid his hand up to my hair and fisted my
braid on the crown of my head, tilting my head back to meet his icy gaze.
“Welcome to the family, Red.” He pressed my body flush to his. “Try not to kill
any of my Lieutenants.”

He was asking a bit much, wasn’t he?

I stared up at him. At the harsh, undeniably masculine
lines of his face. He was fierce, powerful and…oddly composed for a Were. Most
werewolves tended to be ruled by their inner beast. Many a claw-slice has been
received from those unreasonable creatures who couldn’t see sense, their
tempers flaring before their brain could engage. Weres were inherently feral. Vince…wasn’t.
If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought him mortal. But his musky scent mixed
with that enticing sea salt and sunshine aroma was enough to get my nose
twitching on the hell-no’s.

Among other things.

“Why?” I asked suddenly, before I even realized I
wondered.

“Because I’m rather fond of them.”

I smacked his chest.

Vince’s head tilted in that habitually wolfish way of
his, and eyed me back for a moment. He knew what I was really asking. “Because
cold-blooded killers don’t go into shock at the sight of a tortured body.”

The blood drained from my face, ran cold in my veins. I
swallowed, opened my mouth to speak. Nothing came out. Such an obvious show of
weakness, and this Alpha had noticed, bore witness. The shame of such a thing
struck me like a blow to the gut, leaving me winded. A warm hand cupped my
cheek, my eyes locked with icy blue again, the outer edges of my vision tinted
gold.

“I am a killer though, Vince.” It surprised me that,
despite the softness of my voice, it came out stubborn and not tremulous. “It’s
part of the whole bounty-hunter gig.”

He rolled his eyes, his hand shifting from my cheek to
the nape of my neck. “I know that, but there’s a difference between ruthless
and psychotic, darlin’.”

“A very fine line.”

“Some would think so.”

“But you’d know if I was on the down-slope?”

“I’d know.”

“How?”

“Well,” he all but purred, leaning in close, “you
wouldn’t smell like orange chocolate, for one.”

I tried to scowl at him, even as my body shivered at
the intensity in his eyes and the suggestion in his voice. It all said he
wanted to gobble me up and I’d be egging him on while he did.

I’m starting to think that smelling edible is
so-o-o not in my favor.

I jerked when a knock came from the door, and the
handle jiggled. A disgruntled sigh sounded from the other side, and a sour
sounding Des mumbled, “Time to go, V.”

My lips twitched.

“So put the hybrid down.”

My brows shot up in surprise.

“She didn’t call me wolf-killer!” I whispered,
grinning and practically bouncing on the spot, my excitement over being rid of
the awful nickname ridiculously overwhelming.

Vince grinned and called out, “Be right out.”

“You almost sounded sincere.” I smirked.

“I
was
telling the truth.”

“Yes, but are you
now
?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“You think too much.”

“And you don’t think enough.”

I frowned. “I don’t think that’s entirely accurate.”

“Please,” he snorted. “You have the attention span of
a gnat.”

“If I do, how come we’re still talking?”

He grinned wickedly again, “Because I’m also as
captivating as you think I am.”

Arrogant dog.
“’Captivating’ is generally used
to describe women.”

“Fascinating, then.”

“No, no.” I grinned. “Let’s stick with captivating. Then
I can think of you as my bitch.”

Vince’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t push, darlin’.”

I gave him the innocent look again. “Why, I don’t know
what you mean, Cujo.”

He heaved another sigh, shook his head, and turned for
the door. “Pack your heat, Red. We’re moving out.”

I watched his ass the whole way down the hall.

Ambrose was due to arrive at Emerald City in fifteen
minutes.

Jade was out on the main floor catering to the Vampire’s
entourage.

Lydia, the snake Shifter, was due out on stage in
twenty minutes. Being an exotic creature, and going by Ambrose’s profile of
biting anything unusual and living, we knew he’d make a bee-line for her stage.
The whole idea of it gave me the heebees.

Vince was conferring with his lieutenants and the
security staff for when the ‘event’ happened, making sure everything ran like
clockwork. His clear cut focus on making sure it all went smoothly was
bordering on military, maybe even obsessive compulsive, but I wasn’t going to
argue. There was this weird charge in the air, a shimmer of unease. My gut
instinct was saying that something was going to happen and it wasn’t going to
be good. I think Vince felt the same. The moment he’d stepped into the club,
he’d tensed right up.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that there were
some things you just couldn’t plan for.

Felix was in the room next door, scrutinizing all the
monitors for first glimpse of Ambrose, his coffee and ice aroma steadily
filling the room and providing an unrelenting source of comfort to me.

I didn’t analyze that too closely either.

I was currently perched on the arm of Fletch’s super
computer, watching him enthusiastically try to break the code on Natasha’s
clever USB, my mind contemplating that damn Vampire. My heart still ached from
the things he’d said after I danced, healing from wounds akin to being dragged
across gravel behind a horse cart. And yet, he’d been so careful with me since,
so warm. I thought once I saw regret in his eyes, but I wasn’t sure. All I knew
for sure was that his scent was all around me and his blood tingled in my veins
if I concentrated hard enough.

And that I kind of wanted a hug.

I briefly heard Jade’s voice in the next room with
Felix, and then my Blackberry vibrated in my back pocket. Grinning, I pulled it
out and opened Jade’s message.

Jade: So which one did you dry-hump? The wolf or the
vamp?

Me: The vamp.

I smirked. The reply came a few minutes later, and I
couldn’t suppress the giggle that bubbled out of me when I saw it.

She’d sent me a picture of Felix’s butt as he’d been
leaning over a monitor. The tight black jeans did
not
leave much to the imagination;
especially from the low angle Jade had floated her phone at with her telekinesis.

“You sister is wicked,” I murmured to Fletch.

His mouth quirked. “I can sense her mischief. And her
amusement,” he replied, and glanced at my phone screen. He frowned. “Why did
she send you a picture of the vamp’s ass?”

“Why, indeed?”

I jerked my phone into my lap as Felix appeared at my
side. I scowled up at his enquiring expression even as I flushed. “Ask Jade.”

“Dry-hump!” Jade’s instant reply came from the other
room. Fletch snickered as I dropped my burning face into my hands.

“Nothing but humiliation since I got here,” I mumbled.

Felix laughed and slid his warm hand
into one of mine, though I tried to resist uncovering my face, and he tugged me
off my perch. “Come with me, pet.”

Seeing
the playful sparkle in his eyes made dark by the blue of Fletch’s tech-station,
I allowed him to lead me into the other room, past a sniggering Jade, out into
the corridor, and then down it to another door.

“What are
we doing?” I asked suspiciously as Felix opened the door and tugged me in. Expecting
a supply closet or something equally high school-esque, I was momentarily
surprised to find an office. All stainless steel, modern shapes, bright flashes
of lime green accents and Jade’s white orchid aroma.

Then
Felix was spinning me to face him, pressing me into his solid body from chest
to knee, his scent mixing with mine, producing a perfume that had my senses
zinging around in my nervous system like sparks of lightning. I exhaled a
shuddering breath as I looked up into his face and saw his pupils blown wide. The
bright emerald and lime of his irises ringed in sparkling gold nothing but
faint halos. His breath skated over my cheeks, his lips brushing me, and I
could barely catch my breath when my heart stopped, then pounded.

“Felix?”

“I think
there’s something we need to do,” Felix said, being annoyingly vague. Not
helped by his unrelenting ability to frazzle my brainwaves when we got that
close.

I hope
he sniffs me.
Down girl.

“Oh?” I
replied inanely, unable to take my eyes off his, not when his sudden excitement
was perfuming the air around me, making my heart pound as my nostrils flared.
Jeepers…I
can practically taste him.

“Oh, aye,
pet.” His voice dropped to a deep, husky burr, making his east-London accent
roll over me like the wicked caress it was intended to be.

 I
shivered against him, sliding my hands up his arms to his nape while his burned
through the clothes on my back. I curled my fingers into his hair, reveling in
the sizzle in my blood that felt better than anything had in years. Decades. Where
before even flirting felt like a betrayal to my first love, everything with
Felix felt…right. Like this was what I’d been waiting for, saving myself for. The
person I am right now, with the right male, felt right.

“Then what
the bloody hell are you waiting for?” I demanded in a breathless whisper, and
the gold in his eyes flashed with amusement before his lips claimed mine.

And,
jeepers
,
did he claim! Right down to my Immortal bounty hunter toes!

He
swooped in and took what he wanted, his lips soft yet firm on mine, demanding
and controlling—just like the Vampire himself. He cupped the back of my head,
tilted me just the way he wanted, and then slipped his tongue into my mouth.

My eyes
flew wide at the taste of him. Coffee. Anise. Ice.

It
blasted through me, lightning in my bloodstream, coursing through me like a
bolt of electricity and making every nerve-ending hum with elation.

My lashes
fluttered closed, and I gave myself over to Felix’s lips, his tongue, and the
feel of his fangs scraping against mine. The warm press of his hands at my back,
his body at my front, and the cool, crisp feel of his hair in my hands. I
pushed up on the tips of my toes to press myself closer, wanting to drown in
his flavor, sucking in the scent of him, swallowing the taste, wanting to always
not
know the zesty essence of this Vampire.

I sighed against his mouth and felt him smile against
mine. His arms slid more firmly around me and held me tight as his lips brushed
mine again in a taunting caress.

“How was that?” he murmured softly, and my eyes peeked
open, my mind whirling until my head flopped back, the only thing keeping me
standing was him.

“So worth the wait,” I whispered, then licked my lips
to savor him.

His golden green gaze dropped to my mouth, and I
flinched at the sharp nip he gave my lower lip. “I don’t like to share, Red,”
He said, and I slowly brought my head forward to look at him.

“What are you saying?” I asked him slowly, enunciating
each word.

“If you want to keep getting kisses from me,” Felix
purred, his head dipping to tease along the line of my jaw, with the promise of
more, “Then you can’t get any more from Vince.”

I scowled, indignation and irritation flaring up to do
battle inside me. “He kissed me.”

“Like I just kissed you.”

“I kissed you back.”

“You kissed him back too.”

“I won’t next time.”

His grip on me tightened as he growled into my throat.
“Is there going to be a next time?”

I grinned as I went back up on my tiptoes, tugging him
upright by his hair. “Not if I can help it.” I nibbled the enticing corner of
his mouth, flicked my tongue out at the flash of a dimple when he smiled.
Jeepers,
he tastes good.

“So, no kissing the Alpha?” He pressed.

I pulled back to look at him. “Not a chance, mate.”
Unable to resist, I leaned up and sucked his lower lip, my tongue coated in
coffee, anise and ice as fast as that. I practically moaned. “I much prefer
your flavor.”

Give up the wolf’s kisses for the Vampire’s? Shouldn’t
be hard. Much. Shuddup.

Felix was just about to give me another thorough
kissing when a knock sounded at the door, and Jade’s voice drifted through,
“He’s here.”

We both froze, all thoughts of kissing, promises, and
need falling flat. Thoughts of Ambrose and everything he’d done in the short
time I’d been on the hunt were like a bucket of cold water over my head. Felix
and I simultaneously stepped away from each other, pulling our game faces on
and internally prepping for business.

Felix grinned over at me, dimples flashing as he held
out his hand. “
Ready to play,
Wendy?”

As I
always seemed to be doing lately, I slid my hand into his without hesitation.
“Game on, Alistair.”

Flicking up my red hood, I move out of Fletch’s
control room and out onto the main floor of the club. The electro-beat of the
music was a deep throb rumbling through the crowd and into my body, making my adrenaline
begin to rush, my blood sing, and my heart race. The stimuli was intoxicating,
and the urge to run, to chase, to take down my prey began to sizzle deep inside
me, down in my gut, soul-deep, and almost too good to resist. I inhaled
sharply, taking in the flavors on the wind, tasting the heady aroma that the
fire of life, alcohol and music could generate.

I wanted to play.

The crowd seemed to move in slow motion as my senses
heightened, clarified, and took in everything. The music had a violin
under-tone, peaking with the bass in my ears and making me want to mingle
through the crowd and dance, rub up against, touch and be touched. The humans
called to me, their blood, their sweat, their excitement, fuelling the rush of
the hunt, calling to the wolf in me. Making me touch-hungry, blood-thirsty…

But the wolf resisted, searching for her pack.

Jade was moving around the floor, talking with
clients, as expected with the owner.

Felix was slumped at the bar, apparently nursing his
drink, but when his eyes met mine, they were clear and provocative.

Vince sat alongside a stage, opposite the Vampire,
having a five dollar bill removed from his mouth by the breasts of a dancer. He
grinned teasingly, then glanced over and winked at me.

Des and Mark were in a back, in a booth, and the
she-man actually looked feminine. She was pawing all over Mark while he
drunkenly called for a lap dance. But as I passed, they both met my gaze, and
the sharp focus of predators on the prowl was evident in their intelligent
gazes.

In the middle of it all, Lydia was dancing right at
the tip of the main stage. Her shimmering snake-skin spine rippled in the disco
lights. Surrounded by nearly a dozen Vampires in suits with little com units in
their ears, plumes of cigar smoke rising from his private booth, was Ambrose.

As I got closer, approaching from behind the booth,
the scent of the cigar was spicy rich and smoky, blended with the now familiar
and revolting scent of pine needles and snow. It was the ultimate in decadent flavors,
and it coated my tongue like a silk blanket as I exhaled and looked up at the
mountain of a male that was one of his security guards. He stared back at me,
his hazel eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring.

Trying to figure out what I am?
I grinned.
Me
too.

“Hi,” I said with a bright smile.

“Hello,” he replied in a deep, flat tone, reminding me
of the bass beat of the music playing. He tilted his head in curiosity,
frowning. “Is there something you wanted?”

“Yes,” I replied, nearly bouncing. “I’m here to arrest
your boss.”

The guard stiffened. Then all the others did. The club
seemed to go motionless for an instant, freezing for a split-second in time as
what I said registered with every one of Ambrose’s men. Then the mountain
moved.

But I was faster.

His fist moved like a swinging demolition ball, slow,
unceasing, and unstoppable. So I didn’t try to stop it. I just twisted sideways
until his arm skimmed my torso, then rammed the heel of my hand up into his
nose. He jerked back in a spray of blood before bringing his arm up to swing,
allowing me to duck under it as one of his companions lunged. Using the first
guard’s arm for balance, I gripped his wrist and rammed my booted foot into the
chest of the second guard, mid-charge. He flew backwards, landing with a raspy
wheeze, the cracking sound of his concaved breastbone reverberating up my leg.

Suddenly, I was spinning. My back slammed against a
solid chest and a thick arm was wrapped around my throat.

“Bad move.” The voice was deep, monotone, and his
fetid breath was laced with fresh blood. The Vampire I’d punted in the nose had
me around the throat.

Shit, he’s got good recovery time.
I kicked,
squirmed, yanked and gasped for air, watching through rapidly darkening vision
as Felix and the Wolves joined in the fray with the other Vampire guards.

Felix moved like smoke. Smooth, dark, uncontained. Vince
was sleek in his moves, fast despite his size, and downright vicious. Des was
cunning. Mark was grinning.

As my vision flickered in and out of consciousness, I
was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. My flop to the ground was hardly
elegant as I gasped like a fish washed ashore and coughed up a lung. I was vaguely
aware of the mountainous guard beside me, blood covering his face as he
sprawled at my feet, and I glanced up to see Felix grinning at me.