Page 13 of Whispers From The Dark

“You weren’t offered a second bite,” Roman Sauveterre growls at the vampire currently licking my neck. She’s new, so I don’t mind as much, but they’re both feeling the effects of the change—making them wildly horny—and it’s exhausting. The house charges more for vampires who are currently Ascending, and it’s worth every penny. I consented to everything going on, but with the literal Prince of Lust living inside me, certainly drunk off all the pheromones, I am not having fun at all. So I pretend. Roman is a born vampire, after all. Strong and influential, he’s a good ally to have.

So good, in fact, that I’ve already tried to renege on my deal with Asmodeus. I hadn’t expected Roman Sauveterre to remember I was saving money to move, and I certainly hadn’t expected him to offer me the rest of what I need in exchange for putting up with a fledgling vampire.

Ten goddamn minutes.

Ten. Motherfucking. Minutes.

If only I’d been patient, I wouldn’t have had to make this fucking deal with a demon, and I wouldn’t have him inside my head at this moment.

“Shame,” Asmodeus’s voice rings out, and I have to focus so my body doesn’t go tense with a baby vampire’s fangs within reach.

“Oh, it’s alright!” I say, distracting myself from the asshole inhabiting my thoughts. “She’s learning⁠—”

“Yes, she is. And an important part of learning is correction,” Roman argues, cutting me off. Pompous dick. He’s holding the new vampire by the back of the neck, and her warm breath caresses my shoulder. Sandwiched between the two of them, I can’t move as her honey-brown eyes dart between mine and the massive man behind me.

“May I, Petra?” he asks, and I nod. He’s teasing her, and I do my best not to roll my eyes. Fuck, I hate new vampires and their makers. Roman bites me—gentle and practiced. I suppose it could be worse. They’re all the same—weird control issues, unfathomable sexual desire, and boundless audacity. Some of them get rough and our bouncers have to get involved. Thankfully, Roman adheres to the rules. It would be a fucking mess if he didn’t. Even if our entire staff went up against him, they’d fail.

It’s a good thing he’s just horny and rich, I suppose.

I tilt my head to the side, giving him room and relaxing as the paralytic sinks in. The new vampire hisses, low and guttural, and she lunges forward despite his grip on her hair. My heart leaps into my chest—I’ve been bitten by a feral new vampire before, and that shit fucking hurts. I had to have Malachi, the vampire bouncer, lick my neck just above my collarbone for the better part of an hour before the wound closed.

By itself, my hand reaches for the baby vamp’s neck with a speed I didn’t know I was capable of. Fucking demon.

“Stop it,” I think. “You’ll get me in trouble.”

“It’s okay. Your turn is next. You’re doing fantastic,” I say to the woman, chipper as can be, as I wrest control of my body and grasp her hand instead. The vampire struggles to shut her mouth, her fangs refusing to retract. Fantastic was an exaggeration, but I’ve dealt with worse. For some reason, I try to whisper in my mind as I speak to Asmodeus.

“We had a deal, demon.”

“If your meat suit is dead, you can’t fulfill your end of it.”

“My meat suit?” I ask, catching myself before I shriek the question aloud.

“You heard me.”

Roman releases me and stands. An errant drop of my blood falls from his mouth onto my shoulder as he moves past. Awkwardly, I move out of his way and perch on the low table holding their drinks. He bends over her, spitting my blood into her mouth, and I swallow my gag. I’m counting down the moments until they’re done with me, hoping he doesn’t ask me to stay while they fuck.

“Is that common?”

“Yeah. About half the time⁠—”

“You were so patient, sweetheart. I didn’t want to make you wait any longer,” Roman says. And as she lifts her hand to touch his face, he dismisses me. Margot, the blonde vampire who specifically requested me, seems thoroughly distracted by my coworker in her lap. Before anyone notices, I slip out of the room.

I’m down the stairs in a moment, speed-walking through the break room where snacks and juice await me. Scouting the hallway and finding my boss, I consider asking Az to use his demon powers to make Dmitri fuck off and stop flirting with Marianna so I can sneak into the bathroom. I don’t exactly have a plan for the body Az left on the dirty tile floor, but I can’t just let someone find him. Thankfully, Marianna goes into the break room, and Dmitri follows after like a lovesick puppy.

Just as my hand hits the doorknob, a shriek from upstairs stops me in my tracks. A moment later, Margot’s shrill voice calls my name, and she shouts something about my blood.

“She’s fucking possessed,” the vampire yells, and my eyes widen.

“Demon blood,” I whisper. “You have got to be fucking kidding.”

Tripping over myself, I stumble into the dark bathroom and slam the door behind me.

6

ASMODEUS

“What. The. Everloving. Fuck?”