The Dark Prince (The Dark Light Series)

  I gently maneuver his still stiffened manhood into his pants with the very tips of my fingers, making it painfully clear that playtime is over. Carefully tucking in his shirt and refastening his pants, I flash him a naughty smile, catching a wicked look of his own.

  “Oh little girl, you’re going to regret that,” Dorian mutters, pulling into the crowded parking lot.

  I finish applying my shimmery nude lipgloss before smacking my pouty lips together and gazing back at him. “Bring it on.”

  Aria is a multi-level warehouse turned nightclub boasting raucous fun for the young and beautiful of all walks of life. It’s not as posh and upscale as Shade, Dorian’s restaurant and lounge in Breckenridge, but with its white couches, polished stainless steel tables, and pastel colored strobe lights, it definitely gives off a euphoric, almost angelic vibe. The DJ in the main room is spinning all the latest dance hits and the dance floor is already packed with girls showing too much skin in too high heels. Carlos has reserved a VIP section with a large white sectional and a long table packed with spirits, gifts and even a cake.

  We approach the party hand in hand, a first for me in such a public place, and receive a barrage of surprised looks and smiles. How could people not react? Dorian looks even more drop dead sexy tonight, and knowing what has just transpired in the car ride just minutes before makes him that much more irresistible.

  “Gabs! You guys came!” Carlos beams. He is in full diva mode with fire engine red tight leather pants, a matching leather vest adorned with small silver spikes, and heeled black boots. Even his red faux hawk seems to sparkle, going perfectly with the glittery black and silver makeup covering his eyelids. Carlos looks like some type of rock star superhero, and he is stunning.

  “Of course! Happy birthday, Carlos!” I say giving him a hug and handing him a gift bag. It’s a gold bottle of champagne that I’m sure rivals my monthly salary- courtesy of Dorian, of course- and a gift certificate to Cashmere. Though it’s a women’s clothing store, Carlos could and would work those threads better than most women.

  “You are one lucky bitch!” Carlos whispers in my ear as we embrace. I laugh nervously as I look over his shoulder at Dorian who rolls his eyes playfully. Of course he heard; he hears everything.

  We settle in with glasses of champagne, greeting our friends and mingling with party guests. Morgan looks ravishing in a metallic champagne colored halter dress, showing off her fabulous cleavage and long, gorgeous legs. She and Miguel are dancing intimately when she spots me and strolls over.

  “What took you guys so long?” she shouts over the thumping bass-lines.

  “Ugh, traffic totally blew,” I say with a smile. I look over at Dorian and give him a wink. Let him hear that!

  Everyone is having a great time drinking and dancing, even Aurora, who is oddly pleasant and not as annoyingly shrill. When Carlos and Jackson- who is rockin’ the hell out of a tight tank and even tighter pants- pull all the girls on the dance floor for Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” we all giggle and dance like best friends. The combination of champagne, positive vibes, and having Dorian gazing at me in admiration has got me on cloud 9. And for a moment, I pretend that we’re just two normal people hanging out with friends and having fun. The thought brings an involuntary smile to my face. This is how life should be. I strut back over to him, eager to be back in his arms.

  “Hmmm, this is fitting,” Dorian murmurs, handing me a fresh glass of champagne just as Rihanna’s “S&M” comes on, spinning a salacious tale of bad girls who like it rough.

  “How so?” I ask, downing half my drink.

  Dorian places his hand on the small of my back, letting his fingers slide up to meet my bare skin. I instantly feel the titillating tingles accompanied by his touch coursing through my body. “Because you like it. You like pain with your pleasure.”

  He’s right, but I still play coy, hoping to prolong our little game. “And how would you know that?”

  Answering my question, Dorian lets his hand travel farther north to the nape of my neck, right above the beginning of my healing tattoo. With a sudden jerk, he knots his hand in my hair, brusquely pulling me towards him so his mouth is on mine. I gasp in shock and at the sharp pain ripping through my scalp, giving his forceful tongue the leeway it needs to command my mouth. To an outsider, it looks like we are just two lovers sharing a tender kiss. However, the tight grip Dorian has on my hair, causing my head to snap back violently, actually hurts, feeling like tiny daggers attacking my strained hair follicles. His other hand flies up to my exposed throat, cradling it tightly. He gives it a firm squeeze, and I moan into his mouth.

  “Careful, little girl. Your Dark is showing,” he murmurs against my lips. Then he bites my bottom one hard enough to deliver a sting before letting me go.

  I’m panting, my chest heaving as if I’ve just danced through ten songs straight. My sex throbs with a vengeance, infuriated with the constant tease of release. I’m burning hot for Dorian, and his little stunt has just upped the ante.

  Just as I’m beginning to collect my bearings and settle into normalcy, Xavier comes over with a tray of tequila shots for everyone. After all are distributed to the crowd of party guests, we toast to Carlos’s birthday, singing the Happy Birthday song loud and obnoxiously. He beams brightly, his brown eyes twinkling with unshed tears. It warms my heart that we were here to commemorate this day with him. I look over at Dorian, a mixture of curiosity and nostalgia playing on his features. Maybe birthday celebrations are something the Dark don’t engage in. Or maybe he is missing the friendships that he once had and lost. I put his hand in mine and give it a squeeze. If it’s up to me, there will be many more celebrations like this together.

  We’re chatting it up with Carmen when Morgan pulls me away to meet some of her friends and fellow stylists from Luxe. I look over at Dorian, standing yards away, his bright blue eyes locked on mine. I vaguely hear Morgan making the introductions, unable to tear my eyes from his. I’m completely mesmerized, damn near hypnotized by his gaze as if I’ve never seen anything like them before. It feels like lava is running through my veins, warmth radiating all through my body. The heat begins to travel through my breasts, stinging each nipple. Then it’s in my belly, slithering further south combining with my slippery wetness. The sensation is so agonizingly good; I can feel it pushing me closer and closer to the edge of my downfall. Then Dorian’s delicious lips part a fraction, forming a small ‘O’ as if he is blowing out a candle, and it happens.

  I come. Hard.

  Right there in the middle of Morgan and three other people whose names I could not remember if you paid me, I climax, unable to contain the tragic cry of defeat and attracting a number of questioning stares.

  “Excuse me, something is caught in my throat,” I cough, trying to mask my guffaw. I grab Morgan’s glass of champagne and down its contents in record time, excusing myself to the ladies room. I swear I hear Dorian’s baritone voice laughing behind me.

  When I emerge from the bathroom stall, I nearly run right smack into Aurora draped in skintight gold sequins. She stares at me intently, almost fascinated with our near collision. The bathroom is empty apart from the two of us, and I instantly know something isn’t right.

  “Hey Aurora, everything ok?”

  “Everything is fine, Gabriella,” she purrs in her sweet soprano. “Having a good time?”

  “Yeah, I am. How about you?” I maneuver around her stock still body and head for the sink, keeping my eyes fixed on her through the mirror. Awkward.

  Finally Aurora saunters over next to me, so close that our arms are almost touching. I can feel the static between us, sending tiny bolts of electricity up and down my extremities. She tears her brazen, blue eyes from my reflection in the mirror and turns towards me.

  “He’s happy with you. I’ve never seen him like this. He really does love you.”

  Of course. This is about Dorian. “I love him too, Aurora,” I say tentatively. Where is this going?

  “An
d Jared? Do you love him?” her expression is completely unreadable. I can’t decipher if she’s being aggressive or simply curious.

  I flash her a nervous smile. Not because I’m afraid of her, but because I’m afraid of what I may do to her if she steps out of line. “I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Jared. He and I have been friends for a long time.”

  Aurora nods her head slowly. “He loves you. I can see it. I didn’t quite understand it before but…,” she trails off, lost in her own thoughts. “Have you ever thought of how it would be to have both of them? At once? Pleasing you simultaneously? I know I have.”

  The fuck? Where the hell did that come from? And why am I just standing here, my eyes wide with shock, unable to verbalize my disgust?

  Aurora bites her pouty pink bottom lip seductively, her eyes sweeping the length of my body. I suddenly feel as if I am butt naked in the middle of rush hour traffic.

  “You know, Jared is a very good lover. Very generous and attentive. Very… big. ” A wicked grin spreads across her face and her ice blue eyes meet mine. “And Dorian...oh my. He’s still the best I’ve ever had. He’s so…intense. Domineering. Just all-consuming. Don’t you agree?”

  What the… Did she just say what I think she said?

  “What are you getting at Aurora?” I say, finally finding my voice, though it’s shaky and weak.

  She moves in close enough to bathe me with her sweet, cool breath. Close enough that I smell the scent of her perfume mixed with the tang of alcohol. And something else…Pure sex and sin.

  “We should all get together, the four of us. Jared and Dorian, pleasuring you simultaneously- could you imagine? Both of them devouring you at once? We could…share.” She skims her tongue across her top teeth suggestively. “I know I wouldn’t mind having a little fun. Like I said, I’m not shy.”

  Aurora lifts her perfectly petite manicured hand and lightly strokes the top of my cleavage with her fingertips. I am mortified, not only at her action but because shamefully, her soft touch is...enticing. Arousing, even. Shit.

  I finally take a step backward, confused and ashamed at my body’s betrayal. “Aurora, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I stammer. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I not knocking her on her ass?

  Aurora shrugs nonchalantly. “Suit yourself.” She takes a step toward me, closing the small distance between us and leans in. Her lips brush my earlobe, igniting a sizzle in my veins. “Just remember, only a girl knows what a girl wants,” she whispers, sending an icy shiver down my spine.

  Before another lust-laced word is spoken, a group of intoxicated young women burst into the bathroom, cackling and singing, causing me to take a reflexive step backwards. I fade into the commotion until I have escaped the women’s restroom, finding Dorian leaning against the wall a few feet away.

  “Are you okay?” he asks gauging the flustered look on my face. “I saw Aurora follow you in.”

  “I will be. Aurora…what the hell? I think she just propositioned us for a foursome with her and Jared. She even made a pass at me! It was…weird.” I shake my head as to dispel the heated encounter and try to ignore my own wayward hormones.

  Dorian chuckles a bit then shakes his head solemnly. “She’s affected.”

  “Affected? What the hell does that mean?”

  Dorian strokes my cheek with the back of his hand. “My love, I’m not the only one who finds you irresistible. Especially the closer you are to ascension. With Aurora being an Órexis, she can manipulate your desires. Confuse you.”

  You can say that again.

  “So what? Should I expect her to keep trying to get me in bed?” And will I be able to resist?

  Dorian shakes his head. “No. She just needs to replenish. She’s about to get what she needs.” He nods his head towards the women’s restroom, where Aurora still has not emerged even with the intrusion of rowdy girls.

  Horror washes over my face and I take in a sharp breath. “Dorian! She’s not going to kill them, is she?”

  Again, Dorian chuckles and shakes his head. He pulls me to him by my hips, wrapping his arms around my waist. “No, she won’t. But those girls are about to get very bi-curious.”

  Sheesh. Talk about sex-crazed. Not to mention Aurora’s description of Jared’s generous sexual abilities. How the hell do I wipe that from memory? And do I even want to?

  Ugh, FML.

  Dorian places a gentle kiss on my forehead, causing me to abandon my worried expression. “So what do you want to do? Do you just want to leave?”

  “No,” I answer thoughtfully. “Right now, I need a strong drink. Then I want you to take me on that dance floor and make me remember just how straight I am.”

  We bound to the bar, where Dorian orders two glasses of the best overpriced scotch they have. I sip the poison slowly, letting its warmth slide down my throat and spread to my hips, my thighs, my moist apex...

  Holy shit, chill out, Gabs. Overly sexual is just not my thing. Or is it?

  Right on cue, “Moves Like Jagger” resonates from the speakers, causing a stampede to the dance floor. I set my glass down and grab Dorian’s hand.

  “Phase 2, let’s dance,” I say as he looks at me quizzically.

  “I don’t dance,” Dorian replies yet lets me pull him anyway.

  “Is that right? Because I clearly remember someone once telling me that if you can fuck, you can dance. And you can fuck, right?” I smile, reminding him of the very words he spoke to me when he wanted me to strip for him. And anyone that can move like him in the bedroom can definitely dance.

  Dorian rolls his eyes and smirks naughtily, giving me all the answer I need. I lead him to the dance floor where his graceful, fluid dance moves draw quite a crowd along with more than a few admirers, men and women alike. With liquid courage coursing through my veins, I hold my own, grinding against him seductively and rolling my hips to the beat.

  After he wows the crowd, I am swept away by my friends when one of our favorite songs blares from the speakers. Being here with them, remembering simpler times where warding off hangovers rather than evil mystical beings was our biggest worry, pulls at my heartstrings. In this moment, we’re the only ones in the expansive, crowded club, singing our hearts out about youth and recklessness. Because this is what it’s all about- having fun, conquering the night, suffering the next day, and doing it all again.

  We shouldn’t have to grow up. We shouldn’t have to be mature. But that’s our reality; we can’t go back to how things once were. So all we have is tonight. Tonight, we’ll be as ridiculous and juvenile as possible. Tonight, we’ll make bad choices that we may regret tomorrow. Tonight, it’s all about us. Because our nights like this are numbered. My nights are numbered.

  ***

  Large, soft hands caress every inch of my naked body, alternating wet kisses on every erogenous zone. My neck. My shoulders. My nipples. My belly bottom. The back of my knees. The sensitive skin of my inner thighs. One hand grasps the satin sheets while my other reaches out to the source of my pleasure. My fingers weave through silken strands of hair, tugging gently. He brings his head up to mine, a sexy half-smile on his full lips. Dorian. Naked and utterly beautiful.

  “Do I make you feel good, baby?” he murmurs as he nuzzles into my neck, licking and sucking a trail to my earlobe.

  “Mmmm, yes, Dorian,” I coo, letting my eyes close.

  “How good?” His teeth graze my skin, sending prickly heat down to the pit of my belly.

  “So. Good,” I gasp.

  His hands are still all over me- rolling my nipples between those magic fingers, teasing my swollen clit. I pull him down, unable to resist not feeling his lips for a second more. Dorian sucks my tongue into his mouth, nipping and tasting until I feel I could explode from his kiss alone. Another set of hands joins his yet I am too caught up in Dorian’s flavor to even be startled. The hands are large, strong yet soft. They are moving up my thighs, replacing Dorian’s fingers as he moves to cup and fondle my aching
breasts. When he pulls away, our erotic intruder comes into view.

  Jared. Holy shit! Jared!

  He’s all hardened muscle, sun-kissed skin and a smattering of sexy, dark tattoos on his chest and biceps. Shit, he’s gorgeous and my body instantly responds to him. He grins seductively while swirling my sex with long, adept fingers. I look to Dorian, awaiting the onslaught of his wrath yet he gazes back at me with nothing but pure unadulterated desire as he continues to flick and caress. As if it were choreographed, they switch places- Dorian between my legs and Jared at my torso. He licks his lips, taking in the sight of my naked body for the very first time.

  “God, Gabs, I want you so bad,” he rasps. “I’ve wanted you for so long. Too long. Do you want me?”

  Do I? Hell yes!

  I feel Dorian’s wet tongue on my inner thighs, his teeth nibbling the sensitive area. I moan, unable to overanalyze an appropriate response.

  “Yes, Jared,” I breathe, just as Dorian slowly inserts a finger inside me, making it impossible to backpedal.

  Simultaneously, their tongues are inside me- Jared in my mouth and Dorian in my dripping wet heat. My body shudders at the sensation and I moan into Jared’s mouth as his hands find my heavy mounds. I know I won’t be able to hold on. It just feels too good. So. Damn. Good.

  When Jared pulls his mouth away, I see that we are not alone. On the other side of me kneels Aurora, clad in only a pair of lace panties. She smiles at me lustfully, biting her bottom lip. My traitorous breath catches in response. She is absolutely beautiful. Sexy and perfect. I hate that I don’t find her presence revolting. I find her so damn enticing.

  Jared leans over me and pulls Aurora’s mouth to his, causing a slight twinge of jealousy to stiffen my body. Dorian sucks my flesh into his mouth hard, making all bitter thoughts abandon me. As Jared and Aurora continue their lip-lock, they each begin to caress my breasts. The combination of sensation is sheer torture and bliss and I come with a hoarse cry. Dorian laps up my release, refusing to show me any mercy though my flesh is almost achingly sensitive. It’s too much. I don’t know if I can take anymore.