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The literal kind.
As it was, the lights were dimmed, and most of the room was lit by candles. Couples were draped across each other, many of them touching each other in a way that was borderline inappropriate for a public space, while others kissed in a slow, passionate manner that suggested a total disregard for their surroundings.
Since the space was open concept, it was easy to spot Cain right away. He was seated on a large black leather couch along the back wall. His lady love, Delphine, rested against his side, her fingers grasping his thigh. She spotted me before he did.
I’d known Delphine when she was still legally called David, a name she didn’t so much hide from now, more like she dismissed it as a forgotten acquaintance. And in all honesty, that’s what David had been to her. An uncomfortable roommate she’d had to live with until she’d been able to blossom into who she really was.
Now, two years since her transition, she was Delphine, and David was gone, it was as simple as that.
To me she’d always been Delphine because I couldn’t imagine her as anything other than the striking, intoxicating, wonderful woman she was. Del had introduced me to Cain and shown me where the real voodoo shops in town were.
She squeezed Cain’s leg and got to her feet with the liquid grace of a predatory animal. In her heels she towered over Wilder and me, almost six-six. Stooping elegantly, she kissed both my cheeks, then did the same to Wilder without the slightest introduction. When she stepped back, he wore a naked, awestruck expression on his face for a moment before he realized he was gawking at her.
I couldn’t blame him. If I had to put a photo in the dictionary next to Amazon, I’d have submitted Delphine as the perfect candidate. She was lean and muscular, like a swimmer, her dark hair a furious cloud of curls around her head that rivaled Diana Ross’s in her prime. Her dark, flawless skin made her teeth look so white they were practically jewels in her mouth.
I was helpless in her orbit, caught up like a lowly comet on a direct path into the sun. That was the awesome power Delphine had on those around her. And that magic was all her, nothing supernatural about her except how much everyone loved her after just one meeting.
“Eugenia McQueen, as I live and breathe.”
She was also one of the only people in my life I let call me by my full name. Coming from her, Eugenia sounded like a compliment not a tease.
“Del, it’s really not fair, you coming here looking this good. The other girls don’t stand a chance.”
She winked at me and slipped Wilder a cheeky smirk. “I don’t want the other girls to stand a chance. Now, who’s this thick slice of handsome you’ve brought me?”
Wilder flushed but couldn’t hide his smile. I knew what he was feeling. Between the siren song and the attention of a beautiful woman, his ego was roughly the size of Antarctica right now. He’d come down as soon as we left, but I’d let him enjoy himself for a few minutes. At least he wasn’t brooding and thinking about Hank. Maybe his happiness was artificial, but there was rarely any other kind to be found in a bar.
“This is my friend, Wilder Shaw. We’re here to speak with Cain, if he’s amenable.” Demanding an audience wouldn’t get us anywhere, and trying to bend Delphine’s will by telling her how important the mission at hand was wouldn’t help either. She was used to dozens of needy bastards like us coming in every day to beg for Cain’s time. No one got close unless Delphine gave the go-ahead, and just because she liked me didn’t mean anything was guaranteed. Del liked a lot of people, but she wasn’t about to do favors for all of them.
“You in a spot of trouble, baby girl? You don’t come to see him all that often.”
I wondered what kind of desperation would make someone come to Cain more than I had. I’d only asked for his help twice, and it felt like two times too many. Even after paying his price I still considered myself permanently in his pocket.
“Someone tried to kill me earlier today.” Might as well lead with the truth, right? I tried to make it seem like no big deal, but the way her brows lifted suggested she understood the urgency.
“Was it those Church of Morning pricks?” she snarled, her voice raw with unmasked hatred. I’d never heard Delphine sound so enraged about anything in our entire acquaintance, including some of the disgusting, pigheaded bigots I’d witnessed her deal with while we’d been on campus together. “It was, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Those fuckers.” She turned on her heel and prowled back to Cain, and since she hadn’t told us to leave, I took this as invitation to follow.
Cain was a big guy. With his shock of bright white hair and his football-player physique, he reminded me of what I imagined Cable from the X-Men would look like in real life. A huge, imposing wall of muscle. He rose to greet us as we approached, kissing my cheeks as Delphine had, but only offering Wilder a firm handshake.
“Welcome back, Miss McQueen. It’s been a long while since you graced us with your presence. We were starting to worry you didn’t like us anymore.”
“Don’t be silly, Beau. You know how life gets.”
He forced a smile, though I could tell he wasn’t altogether pleased with my response.
“Bebe,” Del said, leaning close to Cain’s ear. “Those hateful church bastards are stirring up trouble for our little wolf cub.”
Del spoke about me in a motherly way, in spite of the fact she was only two years older than me. Didn’t matter to her, she took it upon herself to mother everyone around her.
“Church of Morning?” Cain asked me.
“The one and thankfully only.”
“What kind of nonsense are they bringing your way, lovely?” Cain said, indicating Wilder and I should take the nearby seats facing him.
