Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
In the two weeks since I’d eaten Gideon Cain in full view of the world’s press, the SOS Hotel had been at full occupancy. It turned out live villain-eating made for great publicity.
Zee’s performances filled the hotel bar every night, keeping the drinks flowing and Tom Collins as happy as Tom Collins could ever be—i.e., not very. The gremlins had been hard at work, under Little Jimmy’s strict management, making sure the hotel’s moving parts were well oiled so nobody accidentally died in an elevator malfunction. And Victor was in furniture-making heaven, renovating two additional rooms and the attic so we could maximize occupancy and profits. Madame Matase kept the front desk and bookings operating smoothly, and Chef étrange kept the mac and cheese flowing.
As for me? I oversaw it all. Putting out fires—some real—and making sure the hotel ran as smoothly as possible.
Somehow, it all came together, and the SOS Hotel thrived.
On nights like tonight—with the bar bustling, the foyer abuzz, and the guests happy—I toured the building, checking in on Zee who was belting out a hit and giving a fabulous performance as usual, before moving on to find Victor upstairs in one of the quieter corners of the hotel.
The door to his latest room renovation hung ajar. Easing it open, I spied him standing with his back to me by the window, lit by moonlight and surrounded by pieces of flat-pack furniture. He’d bundled his hair into a messy man bun, in contrast with the business suit and dark-purple, almost black shirt. Only Victor would wear a suit while assembling furniture.
Folding my arms, I leaned against the doorframe and admired the view. The way his shirt cinched around his narrow waist, and how those straight-legged pants made all his edges sharp? The man was designed to ensnare his victims. It had to be some kind of miracle I got to wake up between him and Zee every morning. I was still waiting for this dream to end.
“Adam,” he said, without looking. That voice... my name on his lips? It melted me into a puddle every time.
“Hey.” I crossed the room and folded my arms around his waist, then stood on my toes to peer over his shoulder at the highly organized display of bits and pieces that would eventually make the world’s most sturdy dresser. “You should take a break and come down to the bar. Zee is getting his ‘Lady Marmalade’ on.”
Victor purred low in his throat—a sound I’d learned was a good one—and twisting in my arms, he scooped me up around the waist so fast my insides dropped. At my sharp gasp, he buried his face in my neck, breathing me in, and my heart skipped, tripping over a rush of adrenalin.
“Is he wearing stockings?” Victor growled.
“And knee-high boots.”
Victor rarely told Zee how much those outrageous outfits rewired his typically calm and collected thoughts, turning them savage with lust. Probably because it was obvious when they were together that Victor couldn’t take his eyes off Zee, especially during Zee’s performances.
Hashtag Reyzee had gone viral since the rumors about them had been proven true. Nobody cared much for my part in the threesome, though, which was fine by me. I already had enough of a spotlight on me for being the last dragon.
Victor’s firm hands lowered me back to my toes, but instead of letting me go, he swooped in for a kiss. Helpless to resist, I flung my arms around his neck and kissed him back, throwing enough strength into it to make him stagger. I could do that now—be free with who and what I was, without fear.
He growled into my mouth and nipped at my bottom lip, making it spring back with a pop.
I laughed and bumped my forehead to his, watching his silvery eyes attempt to hypnotize me. “Hm, furniture makes you hungry?”
“No, but you do.”
I wanted nothing more than to climb him like a pole right here and now, and the only way to improve on that idea would be for Zee to join us. “I’m on shift,” I rasped.
“Then I shall leave you ravenous for later.” His hot mouth scorched a path down my jaw and teased my neck, fangs scraping, igniting a thousand tiny fireworks in my veins. I turned my head away, inviting him to sink those fangs in deep.
Mercy, yes.
Hooking a leg around the back of his, I ground against his hip, needing the delicious friction.
“Adam, tease me at your peril.” His warm hand encircled my neck, his thumb tilted my chin up, and I was caught, pinned in his embrace, absolutely at his mercy.
“You know when you say things like that it just makes me want to tease you more.”
He wet his lips with the tip of his tongue, making them shine like his eyes in the dark. “Later then, and I will not be gentle.” Easing off, he backed up and stroked his ravenous gaze over me.
I fought a broad, satisfied grin. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“I should be finished making this dresser in an hour. Perhaps we might go dancing?”
A glance out the window revealed a man standing across the street, peering right up at me. If he had any kind of night vision, he’d probably seen me and Victor getting personal, but if he was going to stare into windows, what did he expect?
“Adam?”
Victor’s voice faded behind a sudden flicker of recognition.
“Hm?” I grasped the sill and peered through the dusty glass. Torn, dark-blue jeans and a faded, loose-fitting T-shirt. Brown hair. Kinda ... average looking. He could be nobody, but a shiver tracked through me. I knew him, but I didn’t remember him. It sounded crazy. I’d never seen him before, yet inside some part of me recognized some part of him.
As though we were . . . connected.
Oh dear.
Shoving away from the window, I dashed across the room, skipping over pieces of furniture.
“Adam?”
“Nothing. It’s fine. Everything is fine.” The words fell out in a rush. “I’ll uh ... see you later!” I called back, already out the door and hoping Victor wouldn’t follow.
Everything was fine.
It was probably nothing... but I needed to see that man up close, right now.
The elevator would be too slow. I shoved open the stairwell door and hurried down the stairs, cut though the foyer, ignoring Madame Matase calling my name, and burst outside onto the front deck. A few startled guests looked up from the porch seats.
I scanned the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. He wasn’t there. Up and down the street... nothing, only a few cars cruising away. But it was late, and apart from the hotel’s bustle, the evening was quiet. I jogged down the front steps, still well within the hotel’s overextended wards, and crossed to the opposite sidewalk.
In the spot where I’d seen the man, there was nothing to indicate anyone had been there, of course. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting. A neon sign? Breadcrumbs to follow?
Maybe the man really had been a nobody, just like I’d thought. Was my mind playing tricks?
Turning, I looked back at the hotel. All its wonky old windows blazed. Chatter from inside filtered out onto the ocean-scented breeze. Everything appeared as it should, and everyone was perfectly safe.
The garden to the left of the hotel was dark, though, because we hadn’t installed proper outside lighting yet. Zee had trailed a few fairy lights through the brush to light the path, but that was all.
“Just a quick look,” I told myself.
After crossing the street again, I creaked open the old gate and entered the garden.
We’d tried to clear it, but as fast as we did, the weeds and brush grew back even thicker than before, as though the yard didn’t want to be maintained. Jimmy was supposed to get the gremlins onto it, but since much of the grass still came up to my thighs, it looked like he hadn’t yet.
I found the fairy-light path and headed deeper into the garden.
Overgrown bushes muffled the sounds of the hotel, and just a few stars twinkled above. Reaching the end of the path brought me to a rotten picnic bench.
There was nothing here.
Relief surged, and I puffed a sigh.
That man had probably just been passing by and seen Victor’s and my show, so he’d stopped to gawk like anyone probably would. If they hadn’t known who we were, it might even have looked as though a vampire had been about to devour their victim.
That was all.
Nothing to worry about.
A little laugh slipped free. Jumping at shadows... that was me. It would take some time to relax into this new, happy life.
But I had a hotel to run, and everything was going to be just fine.
Turning on my heel brought me face to face with the brown-haired, blue-eyed man. A savage scar ran vertically down his right cheek, from the corner of his mouth to just below his eye. He blinked slowly, like a cat blinks slowly, but that didn’t mean he was content. Dragons blinked slowly before they were about to devour their prey.
The corner of his lips curved upward in a smirk.
I did know him. I thought I’d killed him.
Clearly, I’d been wrong.
“Syros,” I whispered.
“Hello, brother,” he said.