Chapter 3
Two years later….
The heavy, rhythmic beat thumped from the speakers above and flowed over the packed floor.
Gleaming bodies twisted and churned under the flashing overhead lights, lost to the music and the press of flesh against flesh.
The scent of perfume, cologne, and sweat turned my stomach as I lifted my hands, scooping the long strands of hair off my damp neck.
Tonight I was a wild redhead with bright, red lips.
Last night I’d been a raven-haired seductress with smokey eyes.
The past weekend I was a na?ve blonde in pigtails with flushed, peachy cheeks.
Each time I was someone different, but I was always the perfect victim, and every night ended the same.
I swayed my hips to the beat, to the hard, warm body behind me as I scanned the dance floor, searching.
Hands moved over the silvery sequins of my dress, slipping over my stomach. He hauled me against him, pressing his front to my back.
He was really into this.
A lot.
Those questing hands dragged down my hips, inching closer to my outer thighs. Letting go of the hair, I caught his wrists and tossed a reckless grin over my shoulder. “Behave.”
The nameless man gave me a toothy smile.
He was cute, definitely younger than me by a good decade and some change.
Probably in college at Loyola or Tulane, which meant two things.
He’d choke if he knew I was pushing thirty-one and this was the last place he should be.
A tiny part of me wanted to warn him, to tell him to find his fun and pleasure anyplace but the club Flux.
But I wasn’t here for him.
Holding onto his wrists, I let my head fall back against his chest as my gaze flickered over the dance floor and the horseshoe-shaped bar at the front. I couldn’t see into the shadowy alcoves surrounding the floor or upstairs, on the second floor VIP area.
That’s where I needed to be, because I knew he was up there.
A squat, broad man blocked the staircase. Behind him was a red rope. Entry to the second floor was by invite only, and those up there didn’t come down here. They sent scouts instead, scouts that were trained to find a certain type of human.
And I was the living embodiment of that type and tonight was the night.
“Hey,” the man said into my ear.
I kept searching. “Yeah?”
“What’s your name? I’m Dale.” He tried to move his hands again, but I kept them on my hips.
“Sally,” I lied as a tall, slender woman at the bar pushed away and turned to the dance floor, a vibrant, too-bright purple drink in her hand. Nightshade. She lifted the drink to her lips as she stared out over the floor.
I’d found who I was searching for, and I saw her for what she really looked like.
“You wanna get out of here, Sally?” Dale asked, his lips brushing the side of my neck. “I know a place we can go to.”
“No, thank you.” Letting go of his wrists, I pulled away from the man, walking off and slipping between the bodies before his shocked expletive could get under my skin.
Keeping an eye on the scout, I eased around a couple who were practically mating right there on the floor. I couldn’t tell where one of them ended and the other began.
Goodness.
I passed a high, round top table, plucked up the forgotten, half empty pink drink, and made a beeline for the bar.
As soon as I stepped out of the cluster of bodies, I slowed my step and fixed a lax smile on my face as I neared the female.
She wasn’t focused on me, instead eyeing two young college girls who were dancing and laughing, obviously buzzing. She started toward them.
Letting the borrowed glass dangle from my fingers, I tripped, bumping my shoulder against the female.
She turned to me in a slow, calculated snake-like movement.
Her lips peeled back in a sneer as she lowered her glass of nightshade.
To everyone else in this club, her smile appeared normal.
To me? I saw the two wickedly sharp incisors on each side of her mouth.
Not fangs. Just sharp as an obsidian blade teeth that could tear through flesh.
“I’m so sorry.” I teetered on my high heels as I spoke over the music, placing my free hand on her arm. “Someone bumped me. Ugh. People are so rude.”
She lifted a single dark eyebrow.
“What in the world are you drinking? It looks sooo amazing.”
The female cocked her head to the side as her pale blue eyes drifted over every inch of my body, from the thick red hair and bright lips to the plunging neckline of my strappy silvery dress that showed off more than it hid.
She must’ve approved of what she saw, because a tight-lipped smile replaced her sneer.
“This drink is a little too hard for you.”
“Oh?” I bit down on my lower lip. “I like… hard drinks, though.”
“Do you?” When I nodded, the female stepped closer. She was my height, so her gaze lined up with mine. “How hard do you like it?”
“Very hard,” I repeated, forcing myself to hold her gaze as I giggled.
She tilted her head slightly. “I might have something better for you. You here alone?”
“My friends already left. I was getting ready to go, but… I think I have another good hour or so left in me.”
“Perfect.” The moment her black pupils constricted was brief and not noticeable to anyone who didn’t know better, but I did.
I knew what she was doing, entrancing me.
I forced my muscles to loosen, for the eager smile that said I was down for anything to slip off my face.
I stood before the female, silent… and waiting as she leaned in, brushing her lips against mine as she whispered, “Come with me.”
She plucked the borrowed drink out of my hand and placed it on the bar beside us, then she took my hand in her cool grasp. Her pace was fast and steps long as she led me around the bar to the staircase.
Jackpot.
The man standing at the foot of the stairs stepped aside, and one glance at his vacant expression told me he was a human that had been fed on until he was completely under the fae’s control. And just as dangerous and unpredictable as the fae themselves.
She led me up the wide spiral staircase, her grip tight as she all but dragged me along, turning right at the top to a dimly lit balcony.
Downing half of the nightshade, a drink toxic to humans but more like tequila to the fae, she led me to a set of occupied couches and chair.
I registered several fae, all with a tranced human by their side or in their laps.
It was likely none of these humans were going to make it out of this club alive tonight.
“Look what I found, Tobias.” The female pulled me forward with a strength that didn’t match her willowy frame, and I let myself be shoved, even allowed myself to stumble. The fae caught my arm, stopping me from toppling flat on my face.
My gaze darted around, and then I saw him.
He was sitting on a small, black couch, his arms and legs spread in an arrogant sprawl.
I saw the human facade just for a brief second.
Pale skin gave way to a silvery tone. Hair and features remained the same.
Blond and handsome, he looked like a frat boy with silver skin and pointed ears. He was definitely one of them.
And now I had a name to match a face I’d never forget.
Tobias.
A rush of anticipation shot through my veins, spreading goosebumps all over my skin. It was him. There’d been five of them total and he was one of the three that remained.
“You always treat me well, Alyssa,” he said, his pale blue gaze crawling over my length. “You know how I have a soft spot for redheads.”
“A soft spot.” The female fae called Alyssa let go of my arm. “More like a hard-on.”
Oh dear.
I kept my face impressively blank as Tobias jerked his chin.
Oscar worthy, really. Another fae came forward, out of the shadows.
He was a tall one and it took everything in me not to flinch as he put his hands on me, skimming them down my front and back, checking for weapons.
The fae had gotten smarter in the last two years.
So had we.
The fae’s hands moved up my legs meticulously and then my hips. His fingers glanced over the wide cuffs at my wrists. “She’s clear.”
“Good.” Tobias leaned forward. “Come here, Red.”
I forced my steps to be slow and uneven, and when he lifted his hand to me, I placed mine in his even though it utterly sickened me.
Tobias didn’t pull me into his lap like I expected. Instead, he rose from the couch. “What time will Aric be here?”
Aric? That name wasn’t familiar to me; then again, it wasn’t like I hung out with these murderous, psychotic Winter fae.
“You have an hour, tops.” Alyssa tossed herself onto the couch. “Make good use of it.”
“You bet.” He circled his arm around my waist, drawing me to his front. He smelled good. Like winter mint. But they all smelled good. They all looked good, too. And this fae was obviously in the mood for more than just feeding, which was what I was betting on. “You want seconds?”
“Sure,” the female fae purred. “If there’s anything left.”
Tobias lifted me up without warning, tossing me over his shoulder like a damn Neanderthal claiming his prize.
To go limp scratched at my skin as he stalked across the short distance.
A door opened and then we were inside a room that I imagined a lot of very bad things happened in.
He kicked the door shut behind us and I heard the lock turn without him touching it.
His hand curved over my ass as he lowered me onto the floor. Strands of red hair had fallen in front of my face, and I stood there as he brushed them back behind my ears. “Do you know why I like redheads? No. Of course you don’t.”
I blinked slowly, taking in the room as he let go. There was a chair. A bed that looked… well used. My stomach churned with nausea. But he didn’t go to the bed; he went to the throne-like chair with crushed velvet cushions. He sat and stared up at me.