Chapter 2
Dante
“DOLLFACE,” brADLEY PURRED TO SERENITY. He flopped back down in his chair and dragged another seat to his side before gesturing for her to take it.
Ha! The bastard didn’t even place her in his lap like he’d done with Cassidy.
“Sup, Serenity,” the blond guy greeted her.
Serenity offered everyone a tentative smile. “Hello.”
Fuck. Even her voice was perfect. Soft and sweet, the perfect tone to turn hoarse after screaming from endless hours of pleasure.
Cassidy had moved to the chair beside the other girl—Courtney—so that she was now adjacent to Bradley and Serenity.
She rested her chin on her fist and sipped on her drink, watching Serenity over the rim of her glass.
The rest of the people at the table at least pretended to smile and greet the newcomer.
To Serenity, everyone’s smiles probably seemed like a genuine welcome.
In reality, they were the grins that came before the traitor stabbed you in the back.
I knew that look all too well—smiles made of lies and poison.
As I watched the pretty girl lean into Bradley’s side while he whispered to her, I wanted to scream that she was being deceived.
Instead of doing that, I continued to nurse my drink and watch. Human affairs were none of my business, even if this one was going to be mine before the night was done.
“Cute bow, Serenity,” Cassidy said with a flip of her dark hair over her shoulder.
Courtney nearly choked on her drink as she hid her laugh. The guy beside her held her up in her chair and patted her back.
The soft smile Serenity had been sharing with her boyfriend disappeared as she met Cassidy’s gaze. She reached back, almost unintentionally, to touch the black bow securing some of her silver curls. “Thank you.”
Cassidy’s lips stretched into a grin that couldn’t hide the venom lurking behind it. “Yeah. My six year old niece has one just like it.”
The guys turned away and coughed to hide their amusement while the drunk Courtney chick finally fell off her chair in a fit of giggles. Serenity stared at Cassidy, her face pale and eyes blank. Bradley’s gaze bounced between the two girls, and the fucker eventually placed a hand on Serenity’s arm.
“She’s just playing, Dollface. Here.” He slipped some money into her hand and nodded at the bar. “Go get a drink. Loosen up. You’re always too damn sensitive.”
I perked up as the human girl slowly stood. My own chest swelled with a buzz of excitement. She was finally leaving the group of hyenas disguised as friends. While she was momentarily safe from their claws, she was about to walk right into the jaws of an even more dangerous predator—me.
The short girl tried sliding into an available space at the bar, but people crowded it, making no room for her to squeeze in.
That was great for me. My eyes tracked her as she circled to my side of the bar, and I barely managed to fight my grin as she drew close enough for her light perfume to hit my nose.
Standing up from my stool, I pushed it in and stood sideways. I leaned on my elbow to create a space right in front of me. “You trying to get in to order?”
Her gray eyes locked on mine, and when she grinned, my knees damn near gave out. Goddamn, she was gorgeous.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the spot I’d made with an averted gaze. She tucked that starlight for hair behind her ear, which made her arm graze my torso. Her head tilted back to look at me. “It’s so crowd—”
She gasped, and her eyes doubled in size as she stared up at me. Her mouth fell open, and a pretty pink color rose onto her cheeks and ears.
Smirking, I pointed at her gaping mouth. “Is that an invitation? Because, if so, I’ll happily accept.”
Her full lips snapped shut. She licked them, and my dick twitched in my jeans. I couldn’t wait to feel those lips and that tongue along my cock.
Because I would.
This star and her prick of a boyfriend just didn’t know it, yet.
“You—You’re Dante Braxton from Sinners Do It Better.”
I raised a brow and rested on my forearm so that I was closer to her. “You’re a fan?”
She nodded hard, a grin lighting up her face once more. “Yes! I’m a huge Sinner!”
“It’s great to meet you, then. Though, I have to say, you have a rather unfair advantage here. You know me, but I don’t know your name.”
Lies, but she didn’t need to know I’d overheard her asshole partner.
She twirled the ends of some hair around her finger while the pink on her cheeks and ears grew brighter. “My name’s Serenity. Serenity Dixon.”
I leaned in closer in the already tight space and traced my gaze along her curvy, luscious form. “Serenity,” I purred, dropping my voice. “Pretty.”
Her breath hitched, and her gray eyes went hazy with heat. Her eyes landed on my lips, and I nearly laughed to myself. Making her mine was going to be easier than I thought.
Straightening, I waved my hand at the bar. “Well, Serenity. As thanks for supporting me and my band, let me buy your drink.”
“Really? That’s so kind. You don’t have to, though. My boyfriend gave me some money.”
It took every bit of willpower I had to keep from outwardly rolling my eyes. Learning that she had a boyfriend may’ve deterred others, but I didn’t give a fuck after what I’d seen tonight.
“Tell him to keep it for next time,” I replied. “It’s really no trouble. Order whatever you want.”
Her eyes shimmered like a twinkling star in the night sky, and she nodded softly. “Okay. Thank you!”
She stepped all the way up to the bar. Because of the crowd, her back pressed slightly against my front, and that little bit of contact had electric sparks zipping through my veins and settling in my rigid cock.
I nearly groaned as I readjusted my stance behind her so that she couldn’t feel my hard dick pressing into her.
“May I have a mai tai, please?” she requested.
I leaned forward and told the bartender, “Put it on my tab.”
The bartender nodded and moved to make Serenity her drink. Serenity tried turning, but the tight space had her body lining right up against mine. Even if I hadn’t caught sight of her biting the corner of her lip, her desire tinting the air was enough to tell me that she was into me.
“S-Sorry,” she apologized weakly, trying to wiggle away, but the crowd only made her press in harder.
Grinning, I cocked my head and stared down at her. “I’m not.”
Her lips parted in disbelief, as though she couldn’t believe that I’d enjoy being this close to her. That was a damn shame. It made me wonder what sort of affirmations that “boyfriend” gave her. Judging by his response when she’d first arrived, I’d be willing to bet he didn’t give her many.
The bartender slid her drink in our direction, and I grabbed it before placing my hand on her hip and tipping my head at the side of the room. “Come on. It’s less crowded over there.”
I kept my hand on her, moving it from her waist to the small of her back as I guided us out of the throng of people and to a standing table.
The minute there was space, she stepped away from me like I was an exposed outlet that had just shocked her.
Her face had gone firetruck red, and she couldn’t meet my eyes as she looked back at the crowd we’d emerged from.
“That was crazy,” she noted breathlessly. “Th—Thanks.”
“No problem.” I handed her the drink she’d ordered.
She finally met my eyes again, and a tentative smile tugged at her mouth. “I have to get back to my boyfriend, but … this may be rude. If it is, please ignore me. B-But could I maybe get a photo with you? I seriously can’t believe I’m meeting you.”
“That’s not rude.” I pulled out my phone. “I’d love a photo together.”
Before she could respond, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her into my side. She gasped and barely managed to look at my outstretched phone in time to smile for the photo. When I was done taking the photo, I held the phone out to show her, her soft body still leaning into mine.
“What do you think?”
“Holy shit!” she gushed breathlessly, bouncing slightly on her feet. “I love it!”
Releasing her, I handed her the phone with a new message thread pulled up. “Put your number in, and I’ll text it to you.”
There was no sign of her exuberant smile fading. She nodded hard and held my phone in one hand and her mai tai in the other. As she put her number in, a bull barrelling through the crowd caught my eye over her shoulder.
Bradley stomped this way, his brow furrowed in a deep scowl as he met my gaze. I grinned. This was about to get even more exciting.
“Here you go,” Serenity offered happily as she handed me back my phone.
As I slid it into my pocket, Bradley gripped her shoulder and yanked her around to face him. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Serenity nearly lost her drink from the force of his tug. All of the light that had filled her eyes only a moment ago faded like a star burning away into nothing.
“Bradley,” she gasped. She cleared her throat and looked back at me, gesturing a trembling hand in my direction. “This is Dante. He’s the lead guitarist in my favorite band. You know. Sinners Do It Better? He got my drink, and I asked him for a photo.”
“Sup,” I greeted Bradley with as much feigned nonchalance as I could muster.
Bradley pulled Serenity under his arm and raked his blue eyes over me as though to size me up.
I did the same, and with him so close now, that earlier sense of familiarity came back with a vengeance.
I’d definitely seen him somewhere. He hadn’t been one of my or the other guy’s partners—he wasn’t any of our types. So where—
The memory slammed into me like a truck.
I was thrown back in time to a house party at Harper’s, Perseus’s human obsession.
The ballerina and I had run into each other for a brief moment, and she’d been lugging a lanky red-head behind her in an effort to drive Perseus crazy.
This red-head. From what Perseus told me later on, the guy had no game and was a total piece-of-shit.
Though, I’d seen that for myself tonight.
Unable to contain my malicious glee, I said, “Hey, I remember you.”
Serenity’s eyes widened, and she looked between the two of us, settling her gaze on Bradley. “You’ve met Dante before? Why didn’t you tell me! You know he’s my favorite.”
Bradley paid her no attention. His gaze seared into mine as they narrowed. “I don’t remember meeting you anywhere.”
“Yeah,” I responded cooly, casually scratching the bar piercing in the top of my ear. “We didn’t really meet. You were actually busy with my friend at that house party back in November. Ring a bell?”
“Oh,” Serenity said, looking up at Bradley. “The one you went to with Marcus and John? Damn it! Were all of the Sinners Do It Better guys there? I should’ve gone!”
Serenity might as well have not been there, because Bradley’s focus was locked on me. I saw the second he realized what I was referring to, and his nostrils flared as he grabbed Serenity’s free hand. Without taking his eyes off me, he hissed at her, “We’re leaving.”
“What?” she asked with a frown. “But I just got here. You said—”
He finally looked away from me to snatch her drink from her hand and slam it on the table I stood next to. I didn’t even flinch as the beverage sloshed out, dripping onto my face and shirt.
Bradley stepped into my space and jabbed his finger into my chest as he snarled quietly, “Stay away from my girlfriend.”
He whipped around and yanked Serenity along with him, her questions being silenced under his snapped, “Shut up!”
My face remained blank as I watched the two go, and I couldn’t help but think of all the errors that Bradley had made tonight.
After convincing Serenity that her boyfriend couldn’t do it as well as me, I’d intended on having some steamy fun with her for the night.
One night. That was all I had been interested in.
Until Bradley challenged me.
Stay away from her?
Not only was I not going to stay away now, I was going to steal her right out from under him. I was going to make her mine in every sense of the word and flaunt her around in front of him until he realized what an insignificant prick he really was.
When would humans ever learn?
Never make an enemy out of a demon.