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“Get in here, Az,” Bash laughed. “Feel the peace, love, and happiness Mr. Hippie Hair.” He grabbed the back of Azazel’s neck as he guided him into the hug, laughing his ass off.
Azazel joined our hug with one hand, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw him grab a clean plate from the island. He brought it down on Bash’s ass and howled with laughter as he broke the hug and danced away. “Feel that… Ibashedyour butt…”
Bash chased him around the island, then out of the kitchen trying to keep up with Azazel. I got off lucky. That whole fuck-up could have imploded our group. I slapped Desmond on the back and went upstairs to get dressed. Before we met up with Judas tonight, I had some errands to run.
Chapter 10
Desmond briefed us before we left to visit The Costa Coven’s crown jewel: Fortuna’s Garden Luxury Casino & Resort. The coven had different factions in cities and suburbs throughout the west coast, most of them located in California, Washington, Nevada, and Arizona. Judas Costa and his leadership team split their time between Vegas and Los Angeles. He suggested we meet him in one of his nightclubs, so we dressed to impress. I wore a Tom Ford charcoal gray suit with a pale powder blue dress shirt, no tie, and black wingtip shoes. Ares opened a few of my top buttons so I’d have a more relaxed look. I usually wore a tie and dressed to the nines in NYC, and it felt strange to relax.
I had spent the entirety of last night making more love notes for Diana to find around the house. They were all quotes from books she’d read. Before we left the NY house, I peeped through her Kindle. I was excited for her to find them at random times, because she would know I was thinking of her. She may not have mentioned the first note, but I knew she’d seen it. She wouldn’t have stared at me the way she did without feeling the sincerity behind my borrowed words.
Diana walked down the stairs to meet us in the foyer, and my jaw almost broke from how hard it hit the floor. Ares had taken her and Charlie shopping earlier in the day and bought her a skin-tight velvet dress with thin straps and a plunging neckline that went down to her sternum. The dress only came to mid-thigh and hugged her curves. Close woven fishnet stockings and black stilettos accentuated her long legs, giving her an hourglass figure that would have made Marilyn Monroe jealous. I had said some fucked up shit about Diana in the past, but the truth was that I loved her body. Curves were my weakness with women. I had no clue how her boobs were being supported in the dress, but they looked incredibly boisterous and precariously tucked into the fabric. I was actually surprised Ares didn’t argue with her on wearing it with how territorial he could be. The whole look was topped with a gold rope necklace that matched the dead finger ring he gave her.
“Princess, you look stunning,” I said, trying and failing not to stare at her cleavage. “You’re a vision in blood red.”
“Hmmm, too bad I can’t stun you speechless,” she quipped. “There’s always next time, though.”
She breezed past me without giving me a second look, but I gave her one. Ihadto see her ass covered in velvet.Lucifer’s daughter, it was hypnotic. Every time I looked at Diana, I mentally beat myself up, because I still wasn’t sure if she would ever forgive me. I should be real with myself and accept that she hated me, but the fact that she was talking to me at all was an improvement. Her verbal spars with me were even better. For some weird reason, I got turned on when we argued…it was like our love language. Eventually, I’d wear her down, and she’d start to like me.We have all the time in the world now that we know she’s immortal.
Everyone held hands while we faded to a back alley behind Fortuna’s Garden Luxury Resort & Casino, the sole supernatural-only destination on the Strip. Of course it wasn’t only a casino-resort–they had their fair share of dark business ventures running out of the casino, the most lucrative being their blood supply chain. They specialized in designer magical blood. If you wanted to drink angel, demon, hybrid, fae, or any other specific creature’s blood, they could procure it. They even sold leprechaun blood imported from the Emerald Isle. The entire business model impressed me, and maybe when we were done striking our deal, I could ask him some questions about it.
Walking down the Strip to our destination was a mindfuck. In my 250-something years, I’d never seen the Vegas Strip before. The rare times the guys came out here to party, I volunteered to stay home and look after our business ventures.I regret that decision now.Thankfully, Desmond set everything up so that our managers could run things during our ‘extended business trip’. None of us actually had to be on site, and I could enjoy the beauty of Las Vegas.
The casino lights shone brightly against the night sky, their vibrant glow radiating like fireworks. The whole aesthetic added to the vitality of the people, musicians, and performers who crowded the streets. The entire city seemed to be a frenzied ball of energy constantly in motion, overwhelming me in the best possible way. It blew my mind to think about the fact that electricity wasn’t even in homes back when I was human, but now it was the hallmark of an entire city.
We reached the building, and Charlie looked at us all like we were insane. To be fair, most of us were.
“Why are we visiting a corny gift shop? I thought we were going to a casino?” he complained, arms crossed and foot tapping. He wore a bright yellow men’s Prada jumpsuit, and as ridiculous as it looked on the hanger when he brought it in, he pulled it off. Paired with a black fedora hat and sunglasses, the whole vibe gave him an air of opulence.
“We are…” Diana said, as if it was obvious to a human. “It’s beautiful. Very Roman-Greek Goddess chic.”
“Diana, try holding Charlie’s hand?” I suggested. She raised an eyebrow at me but did as I asked. “Do you see it now?”
“Oh yeah, it’s gorgeous–the lights! The columns! Wait, I only had a couple of shots to pregame, but I swore this all wasn’t there a few minutes ago.”
“This is a supernatural-only resort. Humans can’t see it unless they’re accompanied by someone supernatural. And since this is a vampire led business, Charlie, Diana, and Mal need to register at the front and sign some paperwork. If you’re comfortable being bitten, you’ll wear a designated bracelet. If not, you go without it,” Desmond explained. Diana looked at him like he was insane. “That’s the custom, dollface. Vampires need to feed on blood like humans eat food. All new patrons need to fill the paperwork out.”
“That’s fine, Desmond,” Charlie said. Diana also begrudgingly agreed.
We walked in through the doors, and I heard Diana’s breathy gasp. It was an impressive space. All of the gold benches and armchairs near the check-in counter were carved with an intricate, meandering pattern. Marble columns and floors gave off a Greco-Roman feel. Frescos and busts tastefully decorated the space, contrasting with the palms, ferns, and bewitched moving flora. A golden-metallic shimmering mass swarmed the domed glass ceiling.
“This place always reminds me of home,” Ares commented, a thread of awe in his voice. He wrapped his arms around Diana from behind, pulling her in for a hug. “See that giant glittery cloud up there?” He held Diana’s hand, guiding her index finger to the disco ball-cloud.
She momentarily stopped staring at them to kiss Ares’ cheek. “Whatarethey? I’ve never seen something so beautiful.”
Ares whistled, and one of the shiny entities broke off from the cluster and flew toward us, landing on his finger. It was a golden pixie.
They were rare magical creatures from the Mediterranean, measuring at just over a few inches tall. Everything, from her hair and skin to her metallic wings were varying shades of gold. She eyed Diana’s golden necklace and licked it, nodding approvingly and giving her a little glittery kiss on the cheek before flying away. Diana giggled like a school girl, and the sound went straight to my heart. I loved to hear her laugh.
“Their appreciation of gold is how they refuel their magic. In Greece and Italy, you’ll find them near natural gold sources, jewelry stores, and museums. If this group didn’t live surrounded by gold, she would have stolen your necklace for herself. They can be shifty, but so beautiful to look at,” Ares explained.
“Oh, that’s why you insisted on buying me the gold necklace. I’m sorry I argued with you about it, I just wanted to wear the teeth necklace you got me.” She turned in his arms and gave him a huge kiss.
How in Azrael's asshole could I ever get to that point with her? She barely looked my way, and after what I’d done, I wasn’t sure she ever would. I’d wanted to kiss her ever since she came home. But no matter how hard I tried, I either didn’t know what to say or she shut me down. The whole situation made me feel hopeless, and I found it more difficult to hide my feelings behind a mask of resting bitch face.
Desmond’s stern tone broke me out of my musings. “Diana, Mal, Charlie–I got you all registered. Come on, we have to meet Judas downstairs.”
We got in the elevator and watched the digital floor counter hit negative digits as we plunged into the subterranean levels.
