Chapter Nine
Soph tipped her head back, the tequila burning down her throat in the most delightful way as the music thumped so loudly she could feel it in her soul. Beside her, Luie laughed.
“Another round!” Stefan shouted to the bartender, holding up four fingers. The bartender flipped his tequila bottle across the back of his hand and poured four more shots.
“What are we drinking to this time?” Luie shouted. Soph grinned at her cousin. Luie hardly ever went out, and she was so drunk.
“To Soph!” Marco said, raising his shot glass. “For designing the best new nightclub brands, for making Head of Design, and for finally finding a coven!”
“To Soph!” Sefan and Luie echoed. The four of them downed their shots.
For the first time in her life, things were going Soph’s way. She loved her new job so much that she was hardly late for work anymore. Bradley sung praises for her designs to anyone who would listen. The first of which - Sincere - was opening across town that night.
She’d made an effort with her new coven too, finding time to meet with Sierra, whom she spent more time lamenting over their shared pain of being modern women who climbed corporate ladders and refused children than they did discussing magic.
The only thing she still hadn’t fully committed to was Marco. He was lovely, of course, and he was Nona-approved, but old fears held her back.
“Founders!” Luie cried, twirling in a stumbling circle. “I’m so fucking drunk!”
“You should be!” Soph told her. “It’s your birthday!”
“Come dance with me, Babe!” Stefan said and whirled his fiance towards the dance floor.
Soph leaned on the bar beside Marco and watched as her cousin and Stefan were swallowed by the surging bodies on the dance floor.
“Thanks for inviting me,” Marco told her, leaning close so she could hear him. His breath tickled her ear. “It’s been years since I’ve been out clubbing.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t say the same.” Soph touched his arm and smiled. “I’m out most weekends. It’s my favourite thing to do.”
“Ah, a Wickham girl’s mentality never dies,” he teased. “I prefer a nice pub with a band, though. Shall we have dinner again? Maybe next week?”
“I’m free on Friday.” She slid her hand up his arm, following the contours of his biceps with her fingers.
“Great,” he smiled, hazel eyes tracking her fingers as they rose to his shoulder. “I’ll make a reservation.” His head tilted towards her and Soph’s breath hitched, preparing for the kiss. Then Stefan and Luie reappeared.
“We’re calling it a night,” Stefan said with a grin, his arm around Luie’s waist as he helped her stay upright. “This girl is fucked, so I’m going to get her home.”
Marco and Soph glanced at each other. “I’m ready to call it a night too,” Marco said. Soph nodded, a little disappointed that she’d been cheated of her drunken kiss, and followed him as he led the way from the club.
The air outside Envy was crisp enough to bite, and Soph’s hearing was oddly muted after the relentless beat inside the club.
“Will you catch a taxi with us, Marco?” Stefan asked. Marco looked at Soph once more. She waved dismissively.
“You go with them. I’m catching a taxi in the opposite direction.”
“I love you, Soph!” Luie cried.
“If you’re sure,” he said. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye as he followed Stefan and Luie down the taxi rank. Soph watched them go, waving as their taxi drove past. Then she crossed her arms over her body to ward off the cool night air and waited for the next cab to arrive.
“What’s a pretty little witchling like you doing out here alone?”
Stomach fluttering, Soph turned and found Eli behind her, hands in his pockets, watching her with a smirk.
“Eli,” she couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. “What are you doing here?”
He pointed towards Envy. “My club,” he reminded her. She laughed and shook her head.
“Of course. Sorry.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Why are you here alone?” He glided closer, dark gaze flicking over her face as her heart ricocheted off her ribcage.
“Waiting for a taxi,” she told him, glancing back towards the street to check if one was approaching. “My cousin got far too drunk, so she had to be escorted out.”
Eli looked at his watch. “It’s not even midnight. Are you going home?”
“What else are you proposing?”
“Sincere is opening up across town.” He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Why don’t you come with me?”
She snorted. “That place will be buzzing with celebrities. I wouldn’t even get within ten feet of the door.”
Eli sighed, and Soph laughed again. “Right,” she said before he could remind her. “Your club.”
“Exactly. Come with me?”
He’d moved close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body and see the neon city lights reflecting in his grey eyes. The cold Eli was gone. Even the charming one who had given her a lift to work one morning seemed absent. Instead this Eli, as his eyes swept over her lips, seemed ravenous.
For her.
Heartbeat pounding in her ears, Soph looked at the taxi that had just pulled up beside her. The driver watched her expectantly. Could she go with Eli? It was still early in the night. And she wanted to see how her design looked all lit up in real life. “Fine,” she said finally. “Fine, I’ll come.”
He smiled, showing white teeth. “Good.”
He gestured that she should walk with him up the street. She waved apologetically to the taxi driver and followed.
“Why are you here when your club is opening on the other side of town?” She asked as they reached his car. He unlocked it and opened the door for her.
“I like to go through all my clubs on a Saturday night.” He got in the driver’s seat and turned on the ignition. Before Soph had time to react, he whipped the car out in a U-turn and roared up the street.
“Fuck!” She gasped, gripping her seat. “Can’t you just drive like a sane person?”
“I enjoy going fast.” He smiled and put his foot down. Soph grit her teeth and thanked the Founders she was drunk. If they crashed, hopefully it wouldn’t hurt as much as last time.
In no time at all, they pulled up in front of Sincere. Spotlights cut through the night sky and Soph could hear the club music from the car. The line of people waiting to get in snaked down the street and out of sight around the block. At the front of the line, she could see reporters and photographers waiting to snag anyone of importance going to the opening. She looked up at the sign that hung over the entrance. Her sign. She allowed herself a moment of pride.
“You deserve to be here,” Eli told her. “Your branding is exceptional.”
She glanced across the car to find him watching her. “How did you know it was mine?”
“You think I wouldn’t ask around to find out?”
She met his eye and shook her head. “We have serious stalker tendencies, you and I.”
“Harmless when reciprocated, I say.” he winked at her and got out of the car. For a moment the sounds outside were amplified, then his door closed and Soph had a blessedly quiet moment to herself. The paparazzi spotted Eli and surged towards him, held back from crushing him by the bouncers who got there first. She suffered a moment of apprehension as Eli walked around the car to her door. She was about to get out of Eli Damiani’s car. In front of a pack of paparazzi.
Fuck.
Then her door was open, and she had no more chances to flee. Taking the hand Eli offered her, she allowed him to pull her from the bucket seat and tuck her protectively against his side as the reporters swarmed them.
His body was warm and his fingers tightened at her waist as he guided her towards the entrance.
“Eli, Eli! Who’s your girl?”
“Is it serious, Eli? Are you two a thing?”
Eli ignored them all, tipping his head towards her. “Just smile,” his murmur sent a shiver down her spine, “you look gorgeous.”
His words, coupled with the shots she’d downed earlier, were enough to bolster her. She smiled for the cameras, pausing when Eli did in front of the sponsor’s wall at the door to have an official photo taken. In the line nearby, Soph could see a few recognisable faces; TV and soap stars, social media influencers. And she was cutting the line to get into Sincere before them. It was so fucking surreal.
Inside the club, the chaos of the street was replaced with the steady thump of music. Laser lights rippled across them and dancers hung from swings in oversized birdcages above, elongated, sinuous bodies clad in metallic costumes. And everywhere she saw her work; splashed across the wall behind the DJ, printed on the glasses that people held. Even on the skimpy bras of the waitresses.
“Stay close tonight,” Eli told her, arm tightening on her waist in a way that made her pant. The voice that warned her how dangerous he could be was barely a whisper in the back of her head. “There’s other vampires here and they’ll think it great fun to steal you away from me.”
“Other vampires?” She searched the faces nearby, though she knew they would be indistinguishable from the humans in the room. “How will I know who they are?”
“How about,” he suggested, lips brushing the hair by her ear as his hand on her back slid dangerously low, “if we meet any, I’ll squeeze your ass to let you know.”
She turned to face him, stopping him in his tracks and meeting that mercury gaze. “Are you coming onto me, Eli?”
He gave her a smile that would have shown fangs if they were on display and he leaned close, his words a hot whisper against her neck. “I very well could be, Soph.”
“Champagne, Mr Damiani?” A waitress offered. Eli winked at Soph as he took two glasses from the tray and handed one to her.
“Time to work the room,” he told her, suddenly all business again. His hand once more found her backside, and they headed deeper into the club.
Eli introduced her to everyone of note; from SinCorp board members and local politicians, to celebrities, socialites and strippers. He knew executives from companies that Soph had only ever dreamed of working at, and he always ensured that they knew exactly who had designed the branding for Sincere.
And not only did he make her the centre of attention of anyone he introduced her to, she had his total focus as well. Throughout it all, he kept her at his side, a hand always on her hips or back, marking her as his. His possession.
That voice of warning in her head had vanished to be replaced with one that could barely string a sentence together as it obsessed over him, urging her to tip her head and claim his lips every time he whispered to her. It begged her to climb into his lap and rip his clothes off.
Every now and then, she was able to pull herself together to greet whoever he was introducing her to.
“Oh,” she clutched his arm, pointing towards a VIP booth. “Is that Chase Rickon?”
Eli followed her gaze to where the movie star sat with half a dozen ladies around him. “Yes, that’s him.”
Soph sighed dreamily. “I loved him in Murder Me.”
“Do you want to meet him?”
“What? No, I -” but it was too late. Eli steered her towards the booth where Chase was sitting. At the very last moment, his hand dropped low, and he squeezed her ass.
Her eyes widened. “Chase a vampire? No way!”
“Chase,” he said to the movie star, smirking at Soph’s shock. Chase looked up, then grinned.
“Eli, bro! How are you, my man? Wicked club, man, absolutely wicked!”
“Thanks for coming, Chase. I hope the girls are keeping you well watered.”
“They are, man. They always do.” Chase looked at Soph then, and his vivid green eyes pierced hers. She felt like both shrinking away and falling into his arms under their scrutiny. “And who is this tasty little morsel?”
Soph’s breath hitched, and she took half a step towards Chase. Eli’s arm around her tightened, holding her firmly in place. “Ease off, Chase. She’s with me tonight.” he said the words easily, but Soph heard the hint of warning in his tone. Chase smiled and held up his hands in surrender. Soph was sure she saw the vividness of the green in his eyes dull a little.
“All in good fun, my man.”
Eli nodded and the two men turned away from each other; Chase back towards his waiting entourage and Eli turning Soph back towards the main bar.
“What was that?” Soph blinked away the strange sensation.
“Chase is a possessive,” Eli smiled grimly. “He just tried to collect you.”
“I actually don’t think I mind,” Soph said and Eli stared at her.
“I think I should take you home,” he muttered eventually. “You’ve had about ten drinks tonight.”
“More like twenty. But yes, take me home.”
They left the club through the back entrance this time, and a valet brought Eli’s car around. He helped her into the passenger seat and while she waited for him to get in the driver’s side; she kicked her heels off.
For once, Eli didn’t take off like a madman. “Put your seatbelt on,” he instructed. She obliged, and he pulled out onto the main road. They drove through the city in relative silence, and Soph watched the lights pass in a blur. She was intensely aware of Eli beside her, his fingers drumming idly on the steering wheel. When they slowed at a set of red lights, she turned to look at him. The red glow of the traffic lights washed over his face.
Vampire.She reminded herself. Does it matter?
It mattered. Because she’d spent all night fantasising about the things this vampire could do between her thighs and the danger he represented was no longer a warning, but a challenge.
“Are we going to fuck tonight?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. His eyes flashed to hers in surprise.
“Is that what you want?”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth as she watched him. His expression gave nothing away. Did he want her? Her heart thudded with anticipation. Could he hear it?
“Yes,” she whispered.
Eli leaned over and cupped one hand behind her neck. His other hand slid over her thigh and under the edge of her dress. Then his lips found hers and he claimed her.