Adrien waved a hand in their direction. “Get rid of them.”
Rumy’s security uttered several approving grunts, grabbed up the fanatics, and vanished with them through the walls.
“Good riddance.” Rumy clapped his hand and took a deep breath. “Ah, that’s much better. The air smells fresher now, cleaner somehow.”
She met Rumy’s gaze. “So, do you know anyone here who might know where we should look for the weapon? As you can see, we’ve got a shitfest going on.”
At that Rumy grinned, the tips of his fangs sliding over his lower lip. “I like you.” To Adrien, “She’s a keeper.” Back to Lily. “Since I’ve basically told you all I know, which is why I sent you to that prick Hardesty, your best bet would be to ask Eve. She knows even more than I do about the underworld. If anyone has information that I don’t, Eve will.”
“So where do we find her? Is she working tonight?”
“She’s here every night.” Rumy slid off the desk, which he then rounded to flip open a laptop. He started tapping keys. “She’ll probably be in her theater right now, but I’ll check for you.” He continued tapping the keys and after a moment a strange, rhythmic slapping sound ricocheted through the room.
“Nice. She’s flog-fucking one of her subs, big motherfucker, too. Listen to the rhythm. She knows how to use a flogger like no other dom I know.”
Lily felt the air in the room change.
She glanced around. All the men had become fixated on the sound and the deep moans that accompanied the slaps. There was something else, something in the background, soft and low. Not music exactly, but close.
To her surprise, she turned her ear toward the screen and with a power that only made sense because of the shared blood-chain, she stretched her hearing.
The background sound proved to be a woman chanting softly, but the words seemed to be in a different language.
“What is she saying?”
All the men glanced at her, predatory shifts of attention, and she suddenly became acutely aware how short her skirt was, how much leg she revealed, and the exact height of her boot-heels.
Yep, sex charged the air, a blatant raw sensation that plucked at her body in several places at once.
Adrien drew close, turning to face her and standing slightly in front of her, to shield her from the other men. “Eve is a dom and she’s reciting Ancestral chants that affect a male vampire’s desire.”
“We need to talk to her now.”
He searched her eyes carefully. “I don’t know you very well, Lily, but Eve’s theater can be hard to take if you aren’t prepared.”
“I don’t care about that,” Lily said. “It can’t possibly be worse than anything else we’ve been through so far.”
“You’ve got a point.” He turned back to Rumy. “Is she still using The Ruby Cave?”
At that Rumy smiled, a crooked tilt to his scarred-up lips that looked lascivious and cute at the same time. “Yep.”
Adrien thanked him for his help.
Rumy called out, “I’ll keep my ear to the ground. If I hear anything you need to know, I’ll give you a holler.”
Adrien nodded, turning back when he reached the doorway. “You’ve been a good friend to me.”
“You’re all right, Adrien. You’re always welcome here, you and your brothers.”
He thanked him again, then took Lily by the hand.
Once in the cool hallway, she asked, “What did they do to those men?”
“I won’t pull any punches here, Lily. They killed them.”
“No prison time?”
“That’s part of the problem. We don’t have dedicated prisons and no real justice system.”
“What about that cavern where you were held?”
Adrien snorted. “That’s not a prison, just one of several locations Daniel uses to inflict pain, or couldn’t you tell?”
“How would I even know what’s true or not true about your world?”
“Another good point.”
He led her back the way they’d come, crossing to the other branch of the tunnel, which led deeper into the Como system.
The tunnel widened and intersected with a broad avenue-like hallway, richly appointed with crystals in patterns over the walls and an opalescent gleam to the floor.
A number of sounds assaulted her at once. First was a low level of music that had a strong bass beat, very rhythmic, like Eve’s floggers, very sexual. She had to keep reminding herself that this was essentially a sex club.
Adrien led her down the broad hall, which opened up into a massive cavern, definitely the biggest one she’d seen so far.
Much to Lily’s surprise the music was live, performed by a band of musicians composed of beautiful men in elegant leather outfits, studded, exposing muscular arms and chests.
She watched them for a moment, and noticed that the audience listened while seated at small intimate tables, candlelight casting a soft glow throughout the space.
She opened her mind to his. Everything is so tasteful. I thought—But she broke off the rest of it. Maybe he was getting tired of all the slurs she cast on his kind.
Adrien smiled, however, something he didn’t do much, as he glanced down at her. You thought it would be one big orgy? He still had hold of her hand.
She couldn’t help but chuckle. Yes, that’s exactly what I thought. I mean, the flogger—
Rumy has dozens of specialists. He runs a tight ship, everything by appointment, each theater with doors that close. His hand was on her waist and she felt the sudden tension in him as he guided her to yet another hall. “This staircase takes us to a new level of the cavern system.” She descended what proved to be about a hundred steps that circled down and down.
Once the music grew faint, he said quietly, “The club extends several miles deep into the surrounding hills. Many of the workers have homes here, including Eve. Rumy has numerous guest suites and even has a villa somewhere deep in the earth and hidden. I’ve never even been there. Again, everything is very private. I’m going to use altered flight to get us to The Ruby Cave where Eve presents her Dominance Theater. Just wanted you to be prepared.”
“For what? Your new version of altered flight or Eve’s act?”
He laughed. “Both.”
A moment later the flight began.
Lily had expected to arrive in a room with a red theme, since Adrien had called it The Ruby Cave. But she hadn’t expected the entire theater, except for a black onyx ceiling, to be a rich scarlet. Although ruby was the right word, as though the walls had been covered in the precious gem.
What’s this made of? she asked, mind to mind, her gaze fixed to the glittering walls.
But nothing returned to her.
Adrien’s lack of response sharpened her attention. Pivoting toward him, she saw that he stared hard at the scene on the stage below, of a tall woman, her blond hair in a long ponytail that hung past her buttocks, slowly rubbing with one hand the thighs and backside of a large, powerful, and very naked man chained facedown on a table.
The theater was unusual in its layout. Those nearest the stage sat in a small cluster, but almost everyone else stood in loose pairs and groups throughout the angled room.
Lily felt her cheeks heat up. The air here, as in the office earlier, was charged with sex. The man’s face was turned toward the audience. His eyes were closed, his face squeezed up as though he was in pain. But she knew it was much more than that.
The soft chanting once more filled the air as Eve lifted her flogger and once more began a rhythmic beating of the man’s back, thighs, and ass. She kept up her indistinguishable, singsong words.
Lily thought the woman’s voice mesmerizing.
The next moment, however, Adrien tugged on her hand and pulled her out of the room the way they’d come.
The hall was cool, and for that she was grateful. She took a deep breath and was about to express her gratitude that Adrien had brought her back out here when she realized something wa
s wrong. He was turned away from her, one hand on the smooth wall of more polished granite, this time in flecks of brown and black, the candle sconces in bronze.
Her chain vibrated strongly once more and she opened to Adrien, to what he was feeling and experiencing.
What returned to her was a level of arousal that astonished her.
He was close. That was why he leaned against the wall, his forehead pressed to his wrist.
Bondage? Chains? Flogging?
And yet what flew through her mind was a fantasy of seeing him chained up like that, held immobile and worked over. She touched the chains on her neck. Was this his fantasy or hers?
Her breathing hitched as she felt the depth of his need. Maybe she didn’t understand why Eve’s theater had affected him like this, taking him to the edge so fast, but the scent he exuded, so masculine and full of erotic herbs, had given her a new idea.
“Adrien,” she said softly. She laid a hand on his back and he arched at her touch then groaned. “Take me. Now.”
* * *
Adrien felt Lily’s hand like a hot coal against his back. He hadn’t expected to become aroused like this. He didn’t even understand what had triggered the intensity of sensation this time. He’d seen dominance shows before, but not with Lily so close, not with the chains vibrating against his neck and chest, not with his increased power.
Within seconds he’d become fully aroused, and though he tried to calm himself down, he couldn’t.
Of course he was in a near-constant state of arousal around Lily as it was, but her clubbing clothes didn’t help. How many times had his gaze taken in her naked back, half hidden by the waterfall of her exquisite hair. He’d wanted his lips on her back and lower, over her ass, then lower still, parting her legs from behind, God help him.
Now she was offering herself, and he didn’t deserve her right now. Shame ripped through him at the source of his desire—that he wanted Lily binding him and taking him, maybe even hurting him like he’d been hurt repeatedly throughout his life.
Her hand floated up and down his back and her scent thickened through the air. He could sense her desire as well and smell it, so he knew he wasn’t alone in his need.
I’d like to have you chained on that table.
Oh, God, had she really just pressed those erotic words into his mind? Lily, this isn’t right.
Fuck what’s right, came straight back at him. I need you. And I don’t care the why of it. Adrien, fuck me now. I’m aching for you and I’m all yours.
He turned into her and dragged her roughly into his arms, slanting a kiss over her lips.
Can we do this here? In the hallway?
Holy fuck, even her voice in his head did something to him. The vibration of the chain seemed to enhance his ability to feel what she felt. He could tell that her need had sharpened to match his.
What had she asked him? Could they do this here?
Rumy had several rules about the where of an encounter. Hallways were forbidden, but Adrien knew his way around this labyrinth of a club. The cavern had three significant layers, miles of tunnels, and at least a dozen secret niches, all of which he’d used at one time or another.
I have to fly you to a private place. You sure you want to do this?
God, yes.
She panted against him as he set them in motion. Though he wanted to kiss her while he flew, the new level of his power demanded that he be careful right now.
He only overshot the location once, but he finally made it, landing on the last scrap of tile laid out at the end point of the system. He took a quick glance around. The space was as he remembered: a crevice in the mountain, still undeveloped and very private.
The problem with caves, though, was how well noise traveled. “No sounds,” he said.
Got it. Just do me, Adrien. Oh, my God, your need is flowing over me in waves. It must be the chains but it feels so damn good.
Your scent. You don’t know what you smell like to me, all female and ready. I could come just breathing along your neck.
With one hand supporting her around her waist, he unbuttoned and unzipped his leathers, shoving them down his hips and thighs. She pulled her short skirt up, blessing the polished walls behind her because he needed leverage right now.
He lifted her leg, tucked his hips, and thrust, easily pushing past her thong.
She slung an arm around his neck and held on. She got her mouth close to his ear. “Adrien, fuck me.”
The words, her scent, the feel of her wetness that allowed him to glide as he thrust hard, sent him into a frenzy. Her arm became a vise around his neck. He could feel she was close and when her body jerked and she pressed her open mouth to his cheek, her breath came out in a harsh agonized whisper of “Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.”
As she came, her well was a fist around his cock. An image flashed through his mind, maybe a kind of knowing, he wasn’t sure, but he saw himself chained to a table, her mouth surrounding his cock.
That heady image was all it took. He came hard, seeing himself chained up, thrusting into her mouth—her pussy—her mouth, the future vision and the present sensations trading places at light-speed so that he felt as though he released down her throat while at the same time he spent himself inside her.
He was breathing hard as the last pleasurable pulse jerked through his cock. He felt her gasping for breath as well.
But as he came back to himself, she kissed his cheek then dipped lower to his mouth. That was exquisite, she said within his mind as her tongue circled his lips.
Gratitude flowed through him as he kissed her in return, dipping his tongue inside. Thank you. Lily, you’re one of the most generous women I’ve ever known. You didn’t have to do this, but I’m so glad you did. You have every reason to hate me for what I am. Instead, you’ve offered yourself to me repeatedly.
To his surprise, she chuckled and with her hands encircled the back of his neck, tugging at him playfully. “I could say the same thing to you. I’ve never felt so needy before. I guess it’s the chains.”
“Not just because I’m pretty?” The words sounded stupid to his ears, but he felt such a powerful well of emotion flowing toward her that nothing else would do.
But she smiled and with one hand petted his cheek. “You’re damn gorgeous and you know it. Worse, I like you. I admire you. That goes a long way to making me this willing to give in to all these sensations. But I have to admit, it didn’t help to see that man enjoying what was happening to him.”
His heart skipped a beat. “You weren’t disgusted?” He needed to know the answer.
She searched his eyes and squeezed the back of his neck. “Truth? I thought it was hot as hell because of how he felt. And how you felt watching him. I think that turned me on more than anything.”
He almost felt compelled to tell her of his fantasy of the table and the chains, her mouth and his cock. But something held him back, that sick feeling that the whole thing was wrapped up with the shit of his past.
“And now, my good vampire, I have a little problem. I didn’t think we’d be doing this or I would have come prepared, but you can imagine my present difficulty.” She rolled her hips against his.
He thumbed her cheek and kissed her. He dipped down and tugged at his pants, dragging them up his thighs one-handed as he stayed connected to her. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out several folded tissues. He showed her then reached between them and wiped his cock as he withdrew from her. He then pressed the tissues against her opening. He didn’t remove his hand, though. He pressed now and again and felt the tissues grow damper. He knew the drill, especially since he’d left a lot of himself inside her.
She released a sigh. “Thank you. I just didn’t think. Hey, does your kind use condoms much?”
He smiled and shook his head. “Not much. Disease doesn’t affect us and as Rumy explained, children are rare.”
“Right.”
After a moment, he removed the tissues. “How’s that feel?” br />
“Good.” She adjusted her thong then her skirt.
He then pulled up his pants and slid the used-up tissues into his pocket.
“I’m liking your battle leathers more and more,” she said. “You’re a man who’s ready for anything.”
“Hell, yeah.” But for a moment, he was caught by the light in her eyes, the warmth, the humanness that he’d come to value, her grace, her willingness to take care of him, and that she wasn’t embarrassed by the mess that sex could make.
But then she’d been married and she’d given birth. A woman with children was used to a lot of things.
On impulse, he leaned in and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her fully, willing her to understand that he valued her, all that she was in this moment, all that she’d done for him, the sharing of her body and her blood, the sacrifice of binding herself to him.
She held him tightly in response and he felt her intensity, almost her desperation. “Oh, Adrien,” she whispered against his neck. “What’s happening here, between us?”
“I don’t know.” His heart was swelling with emotions that didn’t make sense, not with a human, not with someone he’d met a little over a day ago.
After a long moment, he drew back. “Eve’s performance is probably over. You ready?”
She nodded. “Yes. Let’s get on with this.”
CHAPTER 11
Eve was a great beauty with large breasts that overflowed a tight black leather bustier. Her height put her at Amazon status. In her stilettos, she had at least two inches on Adrien.
Lily’s gaze ended up at collarbone level, which meant she had a good view of the sweat beaded in the valley of the woman’s cleavage.
She wore leather wrist guards studded with ruby-red crystals, about a dozen silver rings, a barely there thong, and what she could only describe as western leather chaps so that a lot of her inner thigh and outer buttocks showed.
She wiped a hand over her forehead. “Adrien, my love, when are you going to relent and let me put you on my table? I’m very good at this. I can take you to the edge about a dozen times and then let you fly in such a way that you’ll shout for a century.”