“Is that supposed to be a threat?” I squeeze my hand around his dick. I wish he didn’t have these stupid jeans on, even if his ass does look amazing in them.
Grim bites the side of my neck, hard. My head hits the wall behind me with a loud thud as my entire body goes lax. It’s not that I’m worried he’s going to hurt me; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s like he hit the magical, do-whatever-you-likebutton, ‘cause I’m here for it.
Grim releases his teeth from my neck slowly. The burn left behind has my knees feeling a little loose. “Damiana, I will only take you when I know you’re mine. Are you mine?” He stares right into my eyes, the fiery embers tracing through his slate gray eyes, looking like rivers of lava.
I drag my fingers off of his erection. “I’m no one’s pet.” I hear myself saying the words, but it’s not what I’m really thinking. I’m thinking he could have very easily made me his if he hadn’t made it a demand, if he would have just shown me with his body how much he truly wanted me to be his. I push against Grim’s chest, but he doesn’t let up. He’s still holding me against the wall.
I break eye contact. I don’t need him to see how very much I would like to be his, and not just for the fucking. Stupid, lonely heart. It’s going to be the death of me. I peer up at Grim and realize how accurate my thoughts really are.
* * *
Blinkingto the club was anticlimactic, to say the least. I was standing in my kitchen one moment, then pinned between Grim and a nasty bathroom stall the next. There was no woozy feeling or even flashing lights in a tunnel or some shit. The only thing of note was the hard dick nudging my stomach.
I push open the stall door with a sultry smirk on my lips. Good to know I’m still affecting him. A blonde, leaning in close to the mirror to reapply her lipstick, freezes when she catches sight of me—or it could be the Angel of Death who saunters out behind me that has her staring.
I give her finger guns and an over-the-top wink. She blinks several times, her eyes volleying between Grim and me through the mirror.
I leave her to catch her own tongue and push my way out of the VIP bathroom. If it had been the club-level bathroom, we probably wouldn’t have found an empty stall. Calix is leaning against the wall with one foot lifted behind him, so his knee is jutted out, and his arms are crossed over his chest. He’s wearing a scowl that would keep most men from approaching him, but it doesn’t seem to be too much of a deterrent to the ladies, if the small group around him is any indication.
“Where the hell have you guys been?” Calix comes off the wall and stomps over to me as soon as I step out of the bathroom.
“Got held up.” I meet his eyes. I’m definitely not lying. If Grim hadn’t been holding me against that wall, I’m sure I would have fallen a few times. Calix glares over my head at Grim, whom I can feel way too close to my back.
“So, have you seen Gunnar?” I go up on my tippy toes to impede Calix’s line of sight.
Calix studies me before answering, “No, but I’ve been standing here waiting for you guys for,” he makes a big show of looking down at his wristwatch, “twenty minutes.” He sends another glower at Grim.
“Let’s see if we can find thebitches.” I say the word dramatically slow and give Calix a wink, so he knows I’m really talking about the witches. I just don’t want the people around us thinking I’m crazier than I really am.
Calix takes a step closer to me, sandwiching me between himself and Grim. Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he lowers his head and sniffs me. I straighten my back, feeling affronted. Do I stink? I lift my arm in the air and take a whiff of my armpit. I smell like deodorant. I did get a little hot and bothered with Grim, but I don’t stink.
Calix’s eyelids lower slowly, and a grin lifts one side of his lips. My heart starts beating a little faster. He sure doesn’t look like he thinks I stink. I can feel Grim’s heat on my back and Calix’s against my chest. Well, if this isn’t just any girl’s fantasy. My nipples tighten in my bra. Grim didn’t want to give me what I needed, but I bet Calix would be willing. I wonder if Grim would be up for watching. I mean, it’s the least he could do, right? He’s the one that got me all excited and then backed off.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Gunnar shouts. I can feel his heavy footfalls as he nears us.
“Uh-oh, Kitten caught us,” I mock whisper. A new idea begins to form in my mind, and this one has some merit. All three of them—hell, I don’t even need any of them to touch me. If they all just stood around and watched me get myself off, that might be fun, too.
“Whatever you’re thinking, knock it off,” Gunnar snarls.
“Make me.” I meet his gaze and say the words slowly.
Gunnar’s face scrunches up and he drags in a deep inhale, his body expanding along with it. If he thinks this hulking out thing is scary, he better go peddle his wares elsewhere. I think it’s kinda hot.
“You know I like the beast look, right? It really works for you.” I step out from between Grim and Calix, not because Gunnar told me to, but because I am ready. I’m starting to realize that these boys are nothing but teases. Two, or rather four, can play at that game.
“I’m going hunting,” I announce, and slip right past Gunnar while he’s busy staring down Grim and Calix.
Chapter 17
Iquickly lose myself in the crowd. I know I don’t have a lot of time before one—or all three—comes to find me. I said I was going hunting, but I didn’t mention what I was hunting. My intentionwasto find a suitable man or woman to show those guys I can scratch an itch anytime, but now that I’m away from them, I have no desire to look for another warm body. Stupid, stupid head: it seems as if it’s decided I need one of them to satiate me.
I scan the crowd in the VIP lounge, looking for that icky feeling I got from the witch, but I just sense the run of the mill sins that always plague this place. I don’t even have the desire to feed.
A flash of light catches my eye, and I see the door to the lounge open. Vanessa is leading a small group of people into the section. As soon as I spot them, I feel the stench of their magic.
A foul taste fills my mouth, but I work hard to keep my expression unbothered as I make my way over to the bar. I recognize the man holding the door so the group can enter. He was the guy who interrupted Gunnar and me in his office a few nights ago. He steps into the lounge as the last of the group comes through the door.
The space was packed before, but now it feels beyond overcrowded. Two men make their way over to a large conversation area with a couple of couches and chairs. One leans into the partiers already seated there and speaks. When the man leans back, the people look around, seeming a little bewildered, but they all start to rise and abandon their seats.
