Chapter 18
In my time spent with the Becketts I’d been in many a vampire club, but I hadn’t been able to venture to many American ones, or really any that weren’t owned by the Becketts. Mostly because my blood curse had kept me leashed to Thatcher whenever his father wasn’t around. And also because the impervious Beckett vampire royalty could have never been seen in a club that wasn’t owned by their family.
Although I’d been grateful Franny had found me a way out of the shitshow I’d been part of, I had been sad to escape one prison to essentially be tied to the island without a regular escape. Vastly different circumstances, I knew that much, but it still had the same effect.
The only part that had given me solace and allowed me to stay in Haven Pass for as long as I had without going completely insane or struggling with resentment the entire time was that I believed in the ó Cuinn mission. I wanted to be part of offering sanctuary to folks. I also wanted to have my own sanctuary from the negativity I’d experienced in my life until that point.
So when there had been an opportunity to leave the island while helping an innocent and simply experiencing something outside of the realm of my comfort, I’d jumped at the chance. I had no idea who this wolf pup was that Anya knew, I hadn’t even known I’d be reunited with Franny and the girls when I left the island.
I had only known I’d experience the world outside of the control of the Beckett family.
Or not all of the Beckett family, anyway.
Arch was here, but as I discovered more each day, he was less of a Beckett than I initially realized. I ignored the guilt that crawled up my throat at how I treated him when we first met and instead focused on the present.
“We should be on the list.” I put an authoritative note in my tone that came naturally to the human-looking female that stood at the hostess’s high top at the entrance to the Queen City Clubhouse. She was pretty and taller than most females since she reached my own eye level. I’d glamoured my snakes since we were in public, but I didn’t sense a glamour on her. Either she was really human or human-passing enough to work in the customer-facing portion of the club that might encounter someone venturing into the wrong place.
“Name?” she asked.
I didn’t miss how her eyes lingered on the males on either side of me, both wearing pup masks to avoid anyone recognizing them. Her eyes stared a little too long at Arch’s nipple piercings beneath the mesh he wore for my liking, and I was mortified at the involuntary growl I let out. I snapped my fingers that were freshly painted a shade called New Moon pitch black. She snapped her gaze back to me and had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed at her blatant ogling.
“Name is under Smythe.” I drew my own gaze up and down her body and turned the domme side of me on that would have to be on display tonight in a major way. She skimmed through the tablet and nodded when she found the name Franny had given us before we left.
“Looks like you are booked in our VIP lounge. If you will enter and follow the hostess assigned to you for the evening, she’ll take great care of you all.”
She nodded and avoided eye contact before ushering us in. The big brute of a bouncer, someone who was definitely glamoured by the looks of it, rolled his eyes and opened the door for us to enter. The lighting was dim, and the hallway walls we ventured through were painted black and didn’t stand out against the black carpet. This had been pretty standard in most clubs I’d been in, but it was still sad to not see any new innovations.
“Venom already has more character than this,” Arch muttered for only Rory and me to hear.
“Aye,” Rory agreed. “I haven’t been in many clubs, but it already feels more ominous than sexy.”
I smiled at their clear attempts to hype up my club, and I cleared my throat before I let out how much their comments meant to me.
“Hello there. Smythe party?” a velvety smooth voice called from where the hallway opened up into what looked like a large lobby space. The color was still overwhelmingly dark, and it made the whole vibe hard to appreciate because of the lack of light.
“That’s us, beautiful,” I purred back to her. Our hostess was the definition of beauty and exactly the kind of female I preferred to share time with when afforded the opportunity, which had been as often as Thatcher allowed. She was all subtle curves encased in fishnets and leather. I’d always considered myself bisexual, even before I was dropped at the Beckett Castle like a sack of shit. I knew since I discovered what admiring someone’s body felt like that I appreciated the hard angles I found on my male friends just as much as I loved the soft curves in my female ones.
“Excellent,” she purred, allowing her gaze to travel down my own body still hidden in the trench coat. “Follow me, please.” The creature before me knew how beautiful she was, and confidence like how she carried herself couldn’t be faked. She was shorter than I was, but only by a few inches. She wore a skirt that was high enough to see the underside of her ass cheeks as she walked away from us. The pale shade of her skin told me she was most likely a vampire, but judging by how she carried herself, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were at least part succubae.
“Fucking shite, mate.” I slapped Rory upside the head.
“You can look, my pets, but do not touch or comment. Keep your mouth closed or I will find something to occupy it before we even get to our performance.”
“Yes, mistress,” Arch and Rory echoed in perfect unison, just as they practiced back at the house before we left.
“They’re so well behaved, aren’t they?” the delicious female ahead of me commented, giving me a sly wink before stepping through a large oak door that led into an even bigger open room. There were already several groups cloistered among the smaller tables that faced a stage in the middle of the room.
“When they want to be,” I said. Shania led us to our seats, and we found three drinks already waiting for us. We wouldn’t be drinking them for obvious reasons, but the consideration was nice. I wondered if I could make that into something we do at Venom but where the guests could have more control over it so they weren’t suspicious of any beverages they didn’t get to see poured.
“The first act will be up soon. I looked at the lineup, and it looks like you’ll be closing the set out for us tonight.”
At least that was going according to plan.
“Perfect,” I said, slipping a hundred-dollar bill out of my clutch purse and offering it to Shania before telling her to keep up the great service and bring us a round of bottled waters for the table. She nodded before taking the money and pushing it between her cleavage.
“I don’t think my dick has been this hard since—” I slapped Rory upside the head again.
“At least wait until I have my crop out so I can slap you properly for disobeying, pup,” I scolded him. I wasn’t sure if he was playing the brat intentionally or if he genuinely was flabbergasted by where we were.
“How can we serve you while we wait our turn, mistress?” I turned to see Arch looking at me through the eyes of his mask. Once I turned in his direction, he slowly shook his leather vest off so he was sitting with his shirt off entirely, his nipples hard and pierced on display for the entire room.
“Yes, please tell us how we can serve.” Rory added. I turned back to see his own vest off as well.
I had two mouth-watering shirtless males at my disposal, asking how they could serve me.
My smile was genuine as I stood to unbutton my own coat.