I couldn’t feel the glamour, of course, but I wanted to swoon anyway. His body moved against my back as he breathed, swift and short, but he didn’t seem concerned with rapture. His reflected golden gaze bored into mine, unrelenting. “Look,” he insisted, harsh. “Can’t you see what he’s done to you? Can’t you feel it?”

  I blinked, straightening my nodding head, trying to filter my glaring vision. My reflection goggled back at me, dumb. I twisted my neck, aching. My shoulder stung. I rubbed it, wincing, and my hand came away wet and warm.

  I looked down. At fingers smeared with sticky blood.

  Horror crushed my heart with an icy fist. Wildly I stared up at the mirror, my pulse galloping. Scarlet streamed over my shoulder, pooling in the hollow above my collarbone, dripping, staining my dress. A bruise already blackened on the soft flesh between my neck and shoulder, a ragged red gash freshly torn open by rapacious fangs. Blood welled in the holes, dripping, fragments of scab already crusty.

  When the fuck did he do that? I remembered my fit of dizziness by the bar, that few seconds I’d blacked out.

  I wanted to scream, but no sound could escape from my parched throat. My body shook, helpless, my stomach shriveling. Dante had lied to me. I’d been an idiot to believe him for an instant, to imagine for a moment that a man who had everything could be the slightest bit interested in me. And Rajah . . . I didn’t want to think about the things I’d said to Rajah. God, what a fuckup.

  Rajah gripped me tightly, his warmth enfolding me. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. Did you swallow any?”

  I shook my head, my mouth dry with terror.

  “Did you swallow any?” Rajah repeated, shaking me lightly to get my attention, his hands tense and hot.

  “I don’t know!” I forced out at last. “Maybe. I don’t remember.” But memories squirmed to the surface like worms, of Dante’s body on mine, pushing inside me, his hot coppery warmth tingling in my mouth, down my throat. He’d fed me. Mesmerized me with his blood. Licked my clit, made me like it. Fucked me. Probably came inside me, and I didn’t know anything about it. And all the time I’d believed he wanted more than that.

  God, I’m so dumb.

  Blood rushed to my face, burning. Claws of nausea slashed into my guts, and my stomach heaved. I scrambled for the toilet, hanging my head over the bowl, and stinking scarlet bile erupted onto the porcelain, scorching my throat. Pain punched into my abdomen, my body spasming over and over until nothing remained.

  I dragged back damp wisps of hair, my eyes streaming. Dark vampire blood steamed in the bowl, thick and clotted. Disgusting. I wiped my mouth, blood smearing on the back of my shaking hand.

  The rush of water made me turn. Rajah flipped the tap off and handed me a glass of water, wordless, his eyes dark and inscrutable.

  I took it, my gaze slipping away. Embarrassment crawled on my skin. He must think me so gullible. I swilled cool water in my mouth and spat into the spotless porcelain sink. Twists of bloody phlegm swirled down the plughole. I shuddered, and washed my mouth out again and again until my spit ran clear and the foul taste was gone, but it still didn’t feel clean.

  I touched my aching shoulder gingerly, trying not to flex it and reopen the wound. My own blood stained my skin, crusting darkly on the red satin, streaked with viscous vampire spit. My fingers shook, desperate. I wanted it gone. I fumbled for paper towels, frantic, smearing my skin as I tried to wipe the mess away.

  Rajah’s hot hand gripped mine as he reached from behind to steady me, his body warm and firm against my back. “Careful. Let me.”

  Unwilling, I relented. He pried the bloody paper from my fingers and got some more, wetting it under the hot tap and pressing it gently to my fouled skin. His fingers were delicate, tender, soothing, the hot tissue fresh and cleansing. I closed my eyes, relaxing, letting him take care of me. He brushed a stray curl away from my neck, sliding the wet paper over me, dabbing gently. Warm tingles spread across my back, climbing my neck, and I shivered, letting my head fall to the side so he could touch me.

  I could feel him breathing, tense against my back, and I realized his rapture probably wasn’t helping the situation. I opened my eyes. “You don’t have to—”

  “What if I want to?” He tossed the mess in the bin and soaked a fresh lump of towel, moving down over my collarbone where sticky clots still formed. Hot drips glided down to my breast, soaking into the soft low neckline of my dress. I imagined his fingertips following, sliding the fabric aside, tracing the shape of my breast, teasing my nipple to hardness. I didn’t want him to stop. His gentleness unnerved me, made me yearn for more.

  He dabbed at the dress’s stained edge, hesitant, his fingers brushing the top of my breast. “I can’t get this off.”

  “It’s okay.” His touch flooded tingling sensation into my guts. My nipple strained against the wet satin, and I struggled to keep my breath slow and regular. Had he noticed? He must have noticed.

  I felt him swallow, and slowly his fingertip slipped down over my breast, tracing a deliberate circle around my tight peak. I shivered, my lips parting. His thumb joined in, and he pinched my nipple, delicate, pleasure shooting deep inside me.

  I closed my eyes. “Rajah . . .”

  “Mmm?” He bent his lips to my neck, his tongue flicking out to pleasure me with a long slow lick toward my ear, his thumb and finger making delicious wickedness at my breast, rolling and tugging until my nipples swelled, tight like pebbles, yearning for his palms, his mouth, his teeth.

  His cock pressed into the curve of my back, long and hard, and I trembled, the air pregnant with his energy like an imminent storm. He was right. I didn’t want to be with anyone else. Not Dante, not Luna, not anyone but my beautiful Rajah, who cared who hurt me and how. I didn’t mind if his arousal was just rapture this time. For once, I’d take what I wanted.

  “Kiss me,” I whispered, turning my head toward him.

  He dragged his lips over my throat and my chin, sinking hot trails of desire into my skin. I caught his mouth with mine, and his tongue delved into me, tracing my teeth, seeking my own tongue and stroking it until I moaned. His energy mingled with mine, pure and arousing. He cupped my breast, palming the nipple through wet satin, the friction delicious. I leaned back into him, finding a place for his cock in the hollow of my bottom, sliding him against me. My sex swelled and moistened in sympathy, hurting. I wanted his length driving into me, pressing against my limit, stretching me until I was full of him.

  He pulled me back onto him, strong fingers gripping my hip, his mouth sliding reluctantly from mine. His voice husked, hot on my cheek and thick with need, his touch still alive on my swelling breast. “This is impossible.”

  I leaned my head back on his shoulder, burying my nose in his dark fragrant hair, my body aflame in his arms. I wanted to trail kisses over his throat, down his chest, bite his smooth brown nipples. How was I supposed to keep him at a distance? He was too alluring, too wonderful. “I know. What are we going to do?”

  “Well, there’s this.” He teased his fingers under the satin, tugging my bare aching nipple. I gasped from pure sensation, my teeth grazing his throat. He crept his other hand beneath my skirt, feathering a shiver up the hot inside of my thigh. “And this.”

  I willed his touch upward, shifting my stance to let him in. “I meant about . . . Oh, god.” He’d slipped his fingertips inside my underwear, finding hot wetness. A bolt of fierce need shot up into me, my clit swelling for him. He teased my entrance, sliding over me lightly, maddening, and I thought I’d explode with boiling desire, heat pouring off me in waves. His fingernail brushed my sensitive clit, and I whimpered, nerves afire all over my body. I reached up to crush his hair, gripping it tightly, pulling his lips back onto my neck. This was worse than rapture. This was heaven.

  “Do it.” The words burst from my lips, strained with lust. I was begging before he’d even undressed me, and I didn’t care. “Please, just do it.”

  He slipped a long, smooth finger inside, all the way in. I groaned in pure delight, my flesh quivering and clenching. He buried his face in my neck, his mouth gentle but ravenous, and crept his other hand down to massage me, two clever fingers sliding around my clit, rubbing while he pushed inside me. Tension gripped me, pleasure building rapidly. But fear tinged my sensation with hot edginess. I was too raw, Rajah too overwhelming. “No,” I panted, “it’s too much. Stop.”

  “Must I?” His breath burned my skin, heavy. “I want to feel you come.”

  “I can’t. There’s still Luna . . . no. Stop it.” I grabbed his wrists and dragged him from me, my flesh whimpering in protest. I’d need all the energy I could muster to seduce Luna. I couldn’t afford to waste it now, no matter how much I wanted to.

  Yeah, okay. I hadn’t made him stop because he frightened me, or anything. Not because when he touched me I forgot who I was. Not because he made me feel like a woman instead of a machine and I didn’t know what to do.

  He leaned his damp forehead on my shoulder, closing his arms around me, and gave a deep shuddering sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean . . . Oh, Jade. What are we going to do about Luna?”

  I wriggled away, his closeness too much to bear. “I don’t know. I’ve tried rapture and he just shrugs it off.”

  He eyed me darkly. “That’s not what I mean.”

  I swallowed, the mirrored wall cold against my shoulder. Luna was one thing we couldn’t share. But I didn’t want us to fight, not now. “Well . . . he’s no good to either of us still alive, is he?”

  A tiny smile turned Rajah’s lips. “Fair enough. First trap our soul?”

  “And bicker about it later?”

  “I’m game if you are.”

  “Okay.”

  “What did you have in mind?” He licked his shining fingers delicately, and I blushed when I remembered they were still wet from being inside me.

  “I’ve got this.” I fumbled in my bag for the fairy’s sparkling drug. “Confidence. He’s not afraid of me. We can use that.”

  “It might take both of us to break his defenses. I don’t see him letting us get him alone.”

  “Both of us? Not a chance.” I thought hard, trying to ignore the ache still burning deep inside me, and an idea glimmered. “But he doesn’t have to see both of us, does he?”

  Rajah grinned slowly, a hint of centuries-old malice lighting his eyes. “I like the way you think.”

  My mind raced. “Give him the drug. Make him think I want him. Get him alone . . .” Fear pricked my skin with icy needles. I never wanted to be alone with Luna again. The way he’d scattered my rapture into thin air scared me. I’d never realized I relied so much on my glamour for self-confidence. Was this how I’d felt as a mortal? Defenseless, weak, helpless? I bit my lip. Damn it.

  “Only you won’t be alone. I won’t let him hurt you, Jade.”

  I closed my eyes briefly, shuddering, letting my head fall back against the cool mirror. “I can’t. He’s too powerful. He’ll know—”

  “No, he won’t. You’re good. One weak moment is all it takes and he’s ours.” Rajah gripped my hand, sliding his damp fingers between mine. “Then one orgasm, he’s dead, it’s over. Improvise. You’ll be fine. I’ll talk you through it.”

  “How? If you make a sound, he’ll know you’re there.”

  Trust me.

  His voice resonated in my head, caressing me like a warm feather. His lips hadn’t moved. I stared. “How did you—?”

  He smiled, cheeky. It’s magic. How else? Another of the few things he couldn’t steal from me. He brushed my cheek with his knuckles, tender. “You ready?”

  My sex was still slick from his caress, and I considered going to the toilet to clean up. But I might need that wetness later, to convince Luna my skin wasn’t creeping at the thought of him touching me. I tugged my damp underwear off over my heels and tossed it in the bin, and heaved in a breath. “Okay . . . oh. Wait a second.”

  I popped the cork on the vial and leaned over to wipe my finger in the stained toilet bowl, wrinkling my nose at the metallic, acid stink. A drop of Dante’s blood quivered on my nail, still warm. I tapped my finger on the rim of the glass, and a single scarlet drop plinked in, dissolving in golden sparkles. I jammed the cork back in tight, pressed the flush button and wiped my stained finger on a paper towel as water gushed into the bowl, frothing away the stink. “A little persuasion. Just in case.”

  Rajah watched me, grinning. “You have a real talent for this, you know.”

  I grinned back in spite of myself. “Don’t be too happy about it. It’s my bottle his soul’s going in.”

  His smile twisted. “We’ll see.” He blinked out like a popping lightbulb, his reflections vanishing. Can you still hear me?

  “Sure.” His disembodied voice unnerved me, but knowing he’d be there kept me warm inside. I slipped the blood-tainted vial back in my purse, straightened my shoulders, and walked out of the bathroom.

  My heart leapt, blood throbbing hot in my veins.

  15

  Dante smiled at me, leaning against the mirrored wall with his arms folded, his reflection copied in infinite corridors on either side.

  I swallowed, flushing, wondering how much he’d heard. “Shit. You scared me.”

  “I worried about you. Taking so long and all.” He straightened and reached for me, his hand warm and gentle but somehow unyielding in the bend of my arm. His blue eyes glowed bright and intense, dizzying.

  I wanted to look away, to break his stare, but my gaze slid inexorably back to his. My wits thrashed, sluggish. Bastard. How had I not noticed this before?

  “You look tired, sweetheart. Can I get you a drink?” His soft whisper shot straight to my skin, cold shivers rippling. My thrall bangles buzzed, distant but definite, my wrists itching.

  Don’t, Jade. Remember. Rajah’s voice slid into my head, gentle but insistent, the smell of his skin still warm in my nostrils.

  “No.” My lips slurred, and I had to force the words out. “No thanks.”

  Dante’s fingers slid delicately over the twin scarlet dents in my shoulder where Rajah had cleaned up the mess, and he slipped his fingertip into his mouth, tasting. “My, my. Defiance. It doesn’t taste good. Someone whispering poison in your ear, my sweet? Maybe you need another taste of my antidote.”

  Darkness smeared the air, crashing Dante back against the mirror. Rajah materialized, his fingers squeezing Dante’s throat, muscles rippling and male bodies crushing together as Rajah forced him against the glass. “Take your filthy fingers off her.”

  Dante hissed, pink spit flecking, and broke free, his movement a blur. Effortlessly he threw Rajah against the opposite mirror, glass creaking under the impact. He bared shining wet fangs an inch from Rajah’s face. “Careful where you piss, puppy dog. It might get you into a fight.”

  “Go on, then.” Rajah gritted his teeth but didn’t back down, challenge ripe in his flashing eyes. “Do it, in front of everyone. I’ll die in a noisy mess they can’t possibly miss. You really want that?”

  Mad relish swirled in Dante’s ultra-blue gaze. “You’d better be sure I give a shit.”

  Apprehension wrenched my long-suffering guts once more, and I forced a laugh. “Steady on the hormones, guys. Not in front of a lady, huh?”

  Rajah stared Dante down, raising a defiant eyebrow, sweat trickling down his perfect temple.

  Dante shoved him aside, swallowing a snarl in an effort to keep his dignity. “I’ll not make demands on you, Jade. Do what you like. I only ever asked you for trust.” He turned his deep blue eyes on me, hurt and distant. “Only I care for you. Only I understand you. Come back to me when you’ve realized that.” And he was gone, air rushing in to fill the sudden space.

  I let out a pent-up breath, blinking to empty my mind of those horrid, hypnotic eyes. My thrall bangles yipped and stung, angry like insects. I ignored them. I was well rid of him. I’d just have to find some other way to satisfy Kane’s demand. The scarlet stink of that fairy’s spew drifted once again in my nostrils, and I suspected I knew the answer to some of Kane’s questions already. Dante was poisoning the fae with his own blood. But I still didn’t know why.

  Rajah cracked his neck, rubbing scarlet scratches on his throat, and sighed. “Yeah, so I handled that well.” He scraped a tense hand through his hair, fury still tightening his muscles, and gave me a lopsided smile. “Sorry. Couldn’t help it.”

  His bashful gallantry shone on my heart like sunshine, and I wanted to kiss him. “It’s a wonder you’ve lived this long, Rajahni Seth. Leaping to girls’ defense like that.”

  “Not girls. Just you.” He winked, and disappeared. Don’t worry. If Luna tries anything, I’ll stay invisible while I throttle him.

  I straightened my purse on my shoulder, scaly dread coiling in my bowels. “You’d better be kidding.”

  His invisible lips brushed mine, burning, and his tongue flicked my teeth, the unexpected sensation shocking through my core. We’re in this together. I’ll help you when I can.

  I nodded, anxiety still raw on my skin like a rash, and stepped from the corridor, trying to look like my legs weren’t shaking. I could trust him, right? He’d never fool Luna on his own. So he’d keep his word, and help me. Wouldn’t he?

  The glittering party still mingled and laughed, the bar still festooned with drunken fae and improbably perfect mortals. At my end a muscled football player I recognized chatted up a golden-skinned fae girl, trying to ease his hand down the front of her dress while she giggled and snorted a line of sparkling blue dust off the glass bar, spiky green hair flopping. On a pile of white cushions an identical pair of sly blond fae boys shared a sleepy-eyed vampire girl, thin silvery limbs entwined, their tongues flicking together as they kissed her, her long black hair fluttering on the pale carpet.

  I walked up to the bar and asked for cognac and absinthe on ice, two of. I glanced around while the girl mixed my drinks. I couldn’t see Dante, and I hoped he’d left without me. But there stood Luna at the massive window, golden hair flowing over his silk-clad shoulder in a haze of mauve aura. Talking into his phone. On his own. Perfect.

 

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