Chapter 18 Dex
DEX
Dex danced with Onyx and Nico until his feet hurt. Harper and Ash seemed to have disappeared, and Ollie had taken Dante home.
“Want to check out upstairs?” Onyx shouted.
Dex nodded and followed him and Nico through the writhing bodies. He should break away to give Luc a better opportunity to come for him.
People made out in the stairwell, and Dex’s gaze lingered on the dark corners, searching for a looming figure with glowing eyes.
The dancefloor on the second level was sweltering and not as crowded as below. The air hung thick with the scent of musk and alcohol. Suddenly, the fresh scent of a campfire on a cold night filled Dex’s nose. He breathed deep, and it intensified.
“I see you.” Luc’s voice rumbled in Dex’s ear.
Even though no one would be there, he turned. The nearest people danced a few paces away. Dex swung his arm through the empty space and came across nothing.
It was time to get this hunt going for real.
“I’m going to the bathroom and then I’m heading out,” Dex said to Onyx and Nico.
Onyx lit up like a Christmas tree. “Have fun, and call if you need us.”
“Anytime,” Nico added, like Dex was his kid and not some guy he hardly knew.
Dex was glad the dark lighting hid his blush. “I appreciate it.”
“Okay, we’ll leave you alone.” Onyx grinned.
Dex hurried away before Onyx said anything else.
Why was the demon so happy that Luc was hunting him through a club? It was as if Onyx wanted Dex and Luc to get together.
Dex shoved the thought away as forcefully as he could and pushed through a door to the restrooms, finding the dimly lit hall deserted. The door clicked shut behind him, muffling the music, and Dex’s ears rang.
Two steps down the hall, the single overhead light flickered. Dex paused, then kept going. There seemed to be a bunch of private restrooms all along the hall rather than one shared room. He tried the first toilet door, but it was locked.
The light flickered again.
At the second door, deep grunts and the slap of skin on skin met Dex’s ears. He hurried to the next one. The light flickered and went out, leaving him in complete darkness.
He froze.
The sounds of sex intensified. Moans and whimpers filled the hall around him as if someone was getting fucked right beside him.
Something scraped along the floor, harsh and grating.
Dex sucked in a breath. No one was in here with him, and none of the doors had opened. What was that?
There was another scrape, then a thud, and heavy breathing.
“Fuck me harder,” a deep voice moaned.
Dex reached out, completely blind in the dark. He patted a hand along the wall, searching for the next toilet door, found it, and pulled the handle.
It was locked.
Screw it. This had been an excuse to wander away. He didn’t actually need the restroom. Dex turned back the way he’d come.
How had no one else entered the hallway? Surely not everyone behind a locked door was fucking. And no one else had come in from outside to wait.
The light flickered, and Dex stopped in his tracks. The bulb flared to life, revealing Luc standing beneath, his wings spread, filling the narrow space. His eyes glowed. The light went out, and his red irises disappeared along with everything else.
Dex’s panting breaths were harsh to his own ears. What should he do?
The moans of the people having sex swelled louder than ever. Dex was caught. Would Luc press him against the wall and fuck him? Feed on him?
Dex stumbled back. Luc blocked the way out, but the urge to run was more insistent than his aching cock. He couldn’t give in this easily. He took another step backward.
Dex’s back collided with something firm. He yelped, spinning around, but he couldn’t see. A hand wrapped around his throat, and Dex screamed.
A low laugh filled the pitch black room, the sounds of sex taking on a savage edge. Dex twisted his body, hitting the hard chest in front of him, spurred on by the firm grip on his neck. He struggled, his breaths ragged, and managed to pull free, taking a staggering step back.
Luc’s growl scraped along Dex’s clammy skin. “It’s time to run.”
Dex tore down the hallway, hoping like hell he was headed toward the exit. He slammed into a wall and stumbled back. Loud footsteps echoed. Dex couldn’t hear the music from the club. Even the moans had stopped. For a second, he wasn’t sure where he was.
What if magic had trapped him or transported him somewhere?
He lunged for the wall, feeling along until he came to a door.
It didn’t budge. Dex whimpered, and a chilling laugh washed over him.
With all his strength, he pulled on the door.
It burst open, and Dex fell forward, the flashing lights of the dancefloor blindingly bright as the music drowned out all other sound.
Recovering his footing, Dex ran. He shouldered someone out of the way, but the guy didn’t seem to notice.
Dex tore down the stairs and skidded to a stop. Which way was out? Nothing but a wall of bodies stood before him. He glanced over his shoulder, and there was Luc, at the bottom of the stairs, and for the first time that night, not cast in shadow.
Luc’s red wings filled the stairwell. His horns gleamed in the flashing lights, not a strand of hair out of place, his eyes completely red.
A thick red tail wound over Luc’s hip, his chest bare, dark hair standing out on his pale skin.
He wore a pair of suit pants and nothing else.
Baring his fangs, his growl drowned out the thundering club music.
“Mine. You can’t escape me.”
Dex’s heart skipped. His chest constricted, and he was consumed by the needy desire to belong to Luc forever. To never escape, no matter how hard he tried.
Whirling around, Dex pushed into the dancing crowd. A frantic look over his shoulder revealed Luc had left the stairway.
He was coming for him.
Dex surged forward, trying to shove people out of his way.
Normally, people moved when you jostled by, or at least pushed back, but no one reacted.
It was as if they couldn’t feel Dex touching them.
He pulled a man’s arm, and he didn’t so much as flinch.
The guy beside him looked straight through Dex.
This was more than invisibility.
Dex shoved harder and harder, his muscles tensing as everything from his back to his fingers seized.
It was like he wasn’t really there. Like he didn’t exist. A ghost.
“No,” he muttered, primal panic taking over. Dex shoved a guy with all his strength, and he didn’t budge. “No!”
Luc’s laugh tickled his ears, and Dex let out a helpless sound. Luc had said no one would be able to intervene, but Dex hadn’t known this was possible.
Luc’s control was complete.
Dex scrambled between people, slipping through any gaps he could find, his chest and back sliding along sweaty bodies. Someone elbowed him in the ribs, and he grunted. Ignoring the pain, he forced his way through the next gap.
What if he couldn’t get out?
No. He had to.
“Move!” he shouted in someone’s face.
They didn’t even flinch.
Dex squeezed around the guy and stumbled, falling into yet another oblivious person. This part of the dance floor was even more packed than where he’d come from. He had to get to the edge of the crowd. Go around the room, not through.
As he wedged himself through a gap, all the space between the men dancing around him seemed to close. They pressed tighter together, moving as one.
What?
A wall of bodies formed in front of Dex. There was no way out without ripping the men from each other’s arms or climbing over their heads.
He turned the other way. There! A gap. Dex pushed forward, aiming for a space between two couples, but as he reached it, the gap closed. The four men pressed in, leaving him no way through.
All around, the bodies closed in. The immediate space around Dex opened as the men nearest melded into the perimeter, leaving Dex in an empty circle, people writhing all around him.
Luc was doing this. He was controlling the crowd. A chill trickled down Dex’s spine as he spun in a circle.
There was no way out.
Over the heads of the crowd, Dex caught a glimpse of red wings. His throat ran dry, and his hands trembled.
The wings drew closer.
He backed away as far as he could, hitting the wall of dancing men and getting no reaction. Luc had so much power. He could do anything to Dex.
Dex was realizing how much he’d underestimated the depth of the Devil’s powers. It was terrifying to be this helpless. A thrill like no other, even though, deep down, he was sure Luc wouldn’t take more than what he offered.
It was perfect.
The crowd on the opposite side of the circle parted, and Lucifer stepped into the clearing, his glowing eyes fixed on Dex, his mouth open in a snarl.
Dex’s neck throbbed, his pulse dizzyingly fast.
Luc lunged forward, and the crowd seemed to surge with him, closing in around Dex. Luc’s tail wrapped around Dex’s hips, his arms around Dex’s body. He pushed against Luc’s chest and his skin burned hot beneath his fingers.
“No,” Dex whimpered.
“Yes, you’re mine.” Luc tangled a hand in Dex’s hair and yanked his head back.
Color splashed across Luc’s face as the lights strobed. The red glow of his eyes turned into flame, and he pulled Dex tight against him, his tail constricting. Dex squirmed, his hard cock rubbing tantalizingly against Luc’s thigh.
A moan tore from his parched throat, and his whole body vibrated.
Luc bent to Dex’s neck and ran his fangs along his skin.
“Luc,” Dex whimpered, the sound lost to his own ears.
The Devil pressed his lips to Dex’s cheek. “Remember, you can’t come. Not until I say.”
With lightning speed, Luc’s fangs pierced Dex’s throat.
Dex screamed as pain and pleasure exploded beneath his skin. He clawed at Luc’s chest, pushing him away, bringing him closer, he didn’t know.