We navigate the backroom effortlessly, not even breaking away from the kiss to slip past the curtain and into the hallway bathed in red light. I pull back, turning to face the crowd of writhing bodies as we pick our way through. Zeke’s pressed against my back, lips on my neck and hands on my hips to hold me against his hard length. I let my head lob back, falling on his shoulder as he sucks rather forcefully on my pulse point. It’s intoxicating, when he allows himself to touch me so freely. And I find myself desperate to find a room for us to occupy so we can take this further.
On any other day, I’d be more than happy to take him right here in the hall for anyone to see. But I know I have a lot to make up for after this morning. I want him alone, without an audience, because I plan to submit myself completely to him. And I don’t want onlookers when I issue my apology.
I pull my head back up, prying my eyes open to see which of the red rooms are currently available for our taking. My eyes drift over the dark, crimson space, over tangled bodies moving in rhythm to the thrumming music pouring in from the bar beyond. It’s crowded tonight, as to be expected. And faces blend together into meaningless blursas Zeke’s hands explore more of my body, reaching around and caressing the now rather apparent bulge in the front of my jeans.
My breath hitches as my eyes catch on one familiar face in the crowd. Then two. Then three. Evangeline’s eyes find mine in the packed hall and we're enveloped in one another’s existence for the briefest of moments. It’s like heaven, if such a place exists. The world around me melts away and even Zeke’s touches disappear to a distant hum as everything is drowned out by the feel of her honeyed eyes on mine.
But too much too soon, Aamon and Quinn are pulling her into a room and shutting me out, cutting us off. I let loose a breath, stumbling backwards into Zeke, who’s stopped touching me altogether.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he snarls into my ear. And I expect him to bite down on my neck, to slap my ass. Some sort of reprimand for my distraction to get us back on track. But as I turn to look at him, he’s nothing more than hardened disdain. His arms are folded over his chest, jaw tighter than ever before. There’s rage in his eyes, a kind I know I won’t be able to nullify tonight.
“Ezekiel.” I start forward, reaching out a hand to reassure him that I want this. Wanthim. But even as I do so, even as he retreats a step to keep out of reach, my mind can only focus on what they're doing to Evangeline behind that door. And how badly I want to be part of it.
“You’ve made your choice, Sterling. It’s clear your mouth and your heart are in two different places. And I won’t be the one to hold you back.” Zeke nods towards the closed door, a silent command for me to go.
“Why must it be a choice, Zeke?” I hate how desperate my voice sounds, how weak and pathetic I am as I beg for him to give me what I want.
He shakes his head slowly. “I want nothing to do with your High Quarter whore. And I’ve said my piece about why you should keep your distance. But you refuse to listen. So if she is what you want, I won’t stand in the way. But I won’t join you, either.”
“Ezekiel,” I whisper. But he’s backing away now, reaching out behind him to lift the curtain and disappear towards the exit.
“Go.” And I know it’s not a request. He’s ordering me to go after her, to indulge with them tonight, instead of him. Not as a gift, but as a punishment for hurting him. And my heart breaks into a million pieces as I see the pain of rejection in his icy blue eyes. He must notice that I see it, because he slips his veil back in place from where it’s still perched atop his hair.
I shake my head. “No, Zeke. Please. Stay with me. You and me, tonight. No one else. Please.”
I let a fraction of my power slip through the air, surrounding him. So that I’m not just in front of him, but everywhere around him all at once. His grip on the curtain tightens andfor a moment I fear he’s going to rip the whole thing down, that rage within him bubbling so close to the surface.
“Stop.” One word, one command. And it’s all it takes to put me in my place. My power snaps back, my shoulders slumping forward as tears threaten to spill past my lashes. “Go be with your whore, Sterling. I am no longer an option for you tonight.” He takes another step backwards, disappearing deeper into the shadows. “And when this inevitably blows up in your face, I will be there to pick up the pieces. Because that’s what I do. But I will not for a moment pretend to be interested in her. Nor will I be the dick you fuck while you picture her face to make yourself come.”
And before I can argue back, before I can tell him how wrong he is, that it’s not either-or for me—it’s both—he’s dropping the curtain and disappearing into the night.
“Fuck.” I run my hands through my hair, spinning to face the hall. No one’s eyes glance our way, no bodies pause their nefarious activities to watch my world crumble apart. I am utterly alone, even in this hall full of people. I don’t know what to do without Zeke. I don’t know who I am without him by my side.
My eyes land on the door Evangeline disappeared behind and the sight of it settles my spinning world slightly.Go, he said. Like I could do anything but. My stomach twists with guilt as I’m pulled between the two people that mean the most to me. One, the steady hand of my past, my safety net, my everything. The other, the promise of my future,of who and what I could be, if given the chance. A provider in my own right.
And as much as my body is pushing me to chase after Zeke, to throw myself at his feet and grovel for his forgiveness, I know he’s right. I need to go. I need to figure out what this thing with Evangeline is. I need to be there for her after all she’s been through. Even if it kills me to walk away from Ezekiel, from my love.
I take a deep breath, rolling my shoulders and pushing myself deeper into the hallway. I wade through the sweaty bodies entangled in one another, their lust so heavy in the air that it’s suffocating. Their desire and power meld together and push me further, spurring me onward towards the door. To find my girl. And with every step I’m leaving behind that weaker male that I was, the one that can’t seem to figure his shit out, the one that needs Zeke to lean on.
I know what I want now, know who I am. And my entire future, my reason for existing, is behind that door. I’ve claimed her before, but it’s time for me to do sofully.I take another deep breath, puffing out my chest and raising my hand to knock on the carefully engraved door, but before I can, it swings open of its own accord.
I clear my throat, stepping into the darkened room.
“Nice of you to finally join us, Sterling,” Aamon’s voice lilts from somewhere within the room. It takes my eyes a moment to focus in the dark, but when they do, I can see Aamon is perched upon an ornate throne. Quinn is standingnot far off, at the foot of a four-poster bed situated smack dab in the middle of the space, holding something between his hands. And Evangeline . . .
My heart drops into my stomach. My dick instantly hardens against my jeans, and my mouth goes dry as I take in the sight of her. She’s folded in half atop the bed, rope cutting into her ivory skin, pulling her arms up behind her back. Forcing her into a bowing position before Aamon. And she’s completely naked, save for those fucking fishnets hugging her ass and thighs.
Aamon barely gave me time to slide off Sterling’s bike before wrapping his arms around me and pulling away. I can feel the intent of reassurance oozing off him, even behind the mask. But even with his support, the nerves have sat with me all night long.
Even when Aamon led me into the bar, even when Quinn handed me a steady supply of drinks, alcohol and blood alike. And even when Aamon and Quinn dragged me into the throngs of bodies and danced with me song after song, taking turns exploring the planes of my body with their hands and tongues, and hips.
“Are you ready for your Esbat gift, Angel?” Quinn’s voice is loud in my ear over the heavy beat of the music wrapping around us. I pull back just enough to look into his eyes. Both males unveiled upon entering the bar, as per Bloodlust’stradition, which means I currently have a full view of those intense eyes shining like sapphires under the neon signage of the bar.
“My what?” I panic slightly. A few hours ago, I didn’t even know what Esbat was, let alone that gifts are customary. Guilt pings in my chest for not being able to reciprocate, but Quinn’s lips are already twisting up into an insidious smirk.
Aamon leans in behind me, fingers digging into my hips as he pulls me against him. “A visit to the red rooms, Evangeline. We thought it was high time for you to earn your stripes.” Aamon’s voice is full of gravel, a hint of laughter hanging on his last words.“Besides, you aren’t a true vampire till you’ve been in the red rooms.”
I swallow hard, eyes darting over to the back door of the bar I know leads to the glowing red hallway and its rooms beyond. Quinn takes my hand gingerly, bringing my palm to his mouth and planting a soft kiss against the skin there. He continues up my arm until he's made his way to my collarbone, my neck, my ear. “It’s all for you, Evangeline. Whatever you want tonight, we're yours to control. To use. Your Esbat gift, should you choose to indulge.”
