2 Vampires, Warlocks, And Exes (6 page)
Read 2 Vampires, Warlocks, And Exes Online
Authors: Laura Lee
Her eyes started to water. “Thank you
, K. That really means a lot to me. I don’t know how I got so lucky to be blessed with such a great guy who also has such a magnificent cock! And he actually knows what to do with it!!! I mean, what are the odds?”
“Uh…”
Just then, Laney saved me from having to come up with an appropriate reply. As she tapped Erica on the shoulder she said, “Hey, ladies. Sorry to break up your convo, but Erica’s tables are starting to get restless.”
Erica looked over her shoulder and blushed. “Oops! Sorry, I’ll get right on them.”
“Crap, sorry.” I looked at Laney. “I’ll be right out.”
She smiled sweetly. “Take your time. I’ll cover up front.”
“Thanks, Laney,” I replied.
Around ten o’clock, Maria sauntered in and
, unfortunately, sat down right in front of me.
She smiled.
“Hello again, Karli. How’s your evening going?”
Okay, calm down. She hasn’t technically done anything wrong
. “Hello, Maria,” I replied. “Can I get you a drink?”
She trailed her finger lovingly along the edge of the bar. “Yes, I’d adore one. I think I’ll have another Bloody Mary. But this time, please make it with Gray Goose. Chad tells me it’s one of your favorites so I thought I’d give it a try.” What the hell?
I narrowed my eyes at her. “And why would you and Chad be discussing my drink of choice?” I asked, suspicion heavy in my voice.
She
winked. “Oh you know, pillow talk, that’s all.”
I mixed her drink and set it on the bar. “Wow, must have been really great sex if you felt the need to discuss another woman aft
erwards.” Okay, I know that was bitchy but I couldn’t help myself.
She took a sip and pulled back with a smile.
“Oh, quite the contrary. The sex was outstanding. He’s one talented demon. Oh, but wait a minute. You already know that. Don’t you?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business
,” I snapped.
She assessed me salaciously and grinned. “Oh, don’t be shy
, darling. I could tell that the two of you had a history so I asked him about it and the floodgates broke. He’s very fond of you and I can certainly understand why. You’re a beautiful woman, Karli.”
I scrunched my face. “Uh
, thanks,” I said as I started walking away.
She grabbed my wrist
, halting my progress. “No need to be so modest. Chad told me in great detail how electrifying you are in the bedroom. I know you’re certainly not a prude. I find myself wanting to experience it personally. Perhaps the three of us can get together sometime?”
“Um, thanks but no thanks. I don’t swing that way.”
She pouted. “What a pity. He said you wouldn’t agree but you can’t blame a girl for trying, right?”
Ugh. I was appalled! Who
did this woman think she was? Before I could tell her to get the hell out of my bar, Leo marched up to her.
“Maria, I he
ard you were back in town,” he scowled. “What are you doing here?”
She gave him a
fangy smile and grabbed his hand. “Oh, Leo, I was wondering when I would get to see you!” She threw her arms around his neck and leaned in to his body, lingering a little too long before pulling back. “Ooh, you are still as delicious as you always were! Can I buy you a drink? It’s the least I could do to repay you for everything you’ve given me.” Huh?
Leo stiffened and removed her arms f
rom his neck. He gave me an uncomfortable look before returning his attention to her. “No, that’s quite unnecessary. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave this establishment.” Yay, Leo!
She stuck out her bottom lip, pouting
again. “Oh, Leo, don’t be that way.” She sat back down and started trailing her finger up his forearm. “Really, after all we’ve been through? I was just getting to know your lovely bartender here. I hear she is
most
alluring. She’s managed to catch the attention of my two favorite men in Vegas... as you well know. No one has been able to do that since…well, since me!” She laughed and turned her attention back to me, staring intently as she spoke. “But this one is different. I hear that she’s managed to neuter one of the most insatiable, virile vampires I know. Heard he’s getting his blood from a bank these days. It’s a shame really, that he would deny himself the pleasure of taking directly from the vein. Makes me wonder what makes her so special?”
Leo’s face reddened, his
pale blue eyes took on an eerie glow, and his fangs shot out like a switchblade. I jumped. Shit, I don’t think I’d ever seen him this pissed before. I risked another glance at him and winced. Pissed was an understatement. I didn’t even know what to call this. “That’s enough, Maria.” He grabbed her by the elbow forcefully, lifting her off the barstool. “I’m not going to ask again. You need to leave now. Do not make me ask you again.” He growled. I mean, literally growled.
She held up her hands in surrender. “Oh
, put your fangs away, Leo. I’ll leave. I’m sure Ms. Lane and I will find other ways to get…acquainted. I’m back in Vegas indefinitely, you know. ”
“I’m sorry to hear that
,” Leo managed through fully extended fangs.
She took a fifty out of her purse and placed
it on the bar. She leaned over and covered my hand with her own. I was trying my damnedest not to flinch but I don’t think I succeeded very well. “Goodbye, Karli. I’ll be seeing you soon.” She turned around and blew Leo a kiss as she strolled out of the bar.
He came up to me and said, “Are you okay, my love?”
“Leo, what the hell was that about?”
“Whatever do you mean, my dear?”
I put my hand on my hip. “Leo, don’t do that. What the hell was she talking about? How well do you know her? What did she mean by ‘after everything you’ve given me’? What have you
given
her, Leo? And how the hell did she become a vampire?” I gasped as it hit me like a brick in the face. “Oh, fuck me six ways from Sunday,
that’s
what you gave her! You
made
her a vampire, didn’t you???”
He looked around, uncomfortable with the attention we were gathering. He leaned forward and whispered, “I will tell you everything tonight after work. Can you come by my
place?”
“You mean your actual home?” I asked, shocked by the invitation. “Not th
e club?”
He looked around nervously. “Go through the back door of the c
lub and meet me in my office,” he replied. “I’ll be waiting for you. I can escort you downstairs.”
My curiosity overrode anything else I was feeling for the time being.
“Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I get out of here.”
Eight
Vance arrived a few minutes after Leo took off. He spotted me and increased his pace until he was standing directly in front of me. “Leo called. He said Maria was headed here. Where is she?”
“Is Leo Maria’s maker?” I asked.
“What makes you think that?” he countered.
“Because of the way they were behaving towards one another. And what she said to him. There’s definitely a past between the two of them. I’ve never seen him get that pissed before.
Ever.
It wasn’t even close to the way I’ve seen him get with you.”
“What did she say to him?
And where the hell is she?”
“
She’s gone. Leo made her leave. She said that they’ve been through a lot together. And that I must be something special to catch the attention of her two favorite men in Vegas. She also added some pretty degrading things towards him that I’m not going to repeat.”
“So what was Leo’s response to all of that?”
I bit my lip. “He told me he’d tell me everything tonight after work. At his place.”
A muscle worked in his jaw. “And what was
your
response to that?” he asked.
I lowered my head. “I agreed to meet with him.”
“In his home?”
I nodded.
“Yep.”
“And where exactly is that?” h
e asked. “After all these years, I’ve never been able to figure out where that man hangs his hat.”
I looked away. “I can’t tell you.”
“You
can’t
tell me? Or you
won’t
?”
I looked him square in the eye. “I won’t. Leo trusts me. I’m not going to violate that.”
He scoffed. “And what’s stopping me from following you?”
I put my hand over his and squeezed his fingers.
“Because I trust you. And I know that you would
not
compromise my trust. Understood?”
He stood up and turned away from me. “I understand
, Karli. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He walked out the door without looking back.
*****
I let myself
in the back door of the club into a hallway lit by a dim red bulb. I immediately had to press my body into the wall to avoid running into the middle of a couple going at it. Things like this used to shock me. It kinda bothers me that I’ve become so desensitized to it. I spotted Leo’s office up on the right and managed to work my way over.
I knocked on the door.
“Leo, it’s Karli. Are you in there?”
He open
ed the door a half second later. “My love, thank you for coming.” He stepped aside. “Please come in.”
Leo’s
office was exceptionally masculine and sophisticated, much like its occupant. It was decorated in black, white, and crimson with a huge mahogany desk in the center. Two plush black leather guest chairs sat on one side of the desk, with a high back office chair on the other. Six flat-paneled security monitors were hung on the wall, streaming live footage from the club. Since this was an anything goes sex club, provided it was consensual, odds were pretty solid that each monitor would display a live sex act of some kind during business hours.
Curiosity got the best of me
again as I found myself staring into the third monitor on the left. It was focused on the room that Vance and I had once occupied, triggering a flashback to a major moment of indiscretion on my part. We had come here while he was investigating a murder. The environment combined with a little too much vodka and a side of sexy detective had taken control of my body as if I were possessed. I very nearly had sex in public that night. Not my finest hour by any means.
Leo
must have noticed me looking because he cleared his throat and brought me back into the present with his question, “How was the rest of your shift, my love?”
“
Uh, fine,” I replied. I took in his ensemble that I had somehow missed earlier during all the Maria drama. Leo dressed differently when he was at Voyeur-Gasm. I suppose it was to fit in better with his patrons but it always threw me off. Normally he wore all designer apparel looking every bit the successful businessman. Tonight, he was dressed in vinyl pants with a blood red shirt that was unbuttoned, revealing his magnificent chest and olive skin. I was suddenly incredibly aware that this was the first time we’d been alone together in months and I became more than a little anxious. “Leo, you know why I’m here so maybe we should go somewhere so we can talk?” I suggested, hoping dearly I could keep my hormones in check.
He nodded.
“Of course.” He picked up his phone and dialed an extension. “Yes, Sonia, my dear. I’ll be unavailable for the rest of the evening. Will you please make sure everything is shut down properly?” He listened while his head bartender responded. “Yes, thank you.” He hung up the phone and came around the desk to lock his office door. He took my hand and guided me behind the desk. He bent down, lifting a small area rug beneath his chair, revealing a hatch door. He pulled a lever and lifted the hatch, revealing a wooden staircase.
I stared at it incredulously.
“Really? The entrance to your super-secret lair is under your desk? Aren’t you afraid someone will discover the hatch? Like say, oh, I don’t know, the cleaning crew?”
He chuckled.
“Not at all. As far as anyone who might happen upon this entrance is concerned, it is simply the staircase to my private wine cellar.” He gestured for me to step in. “Please, after you.”
I hesitantly took his hand as he guided me towards the stairs. I walked down about a dozen creaking steps and found myself standing in a room about twelve feet wide and twenty feet deep, lined with red brick and cedar wine racks. The shelves were filled to capacity. Curious, I inspected
the labels on a few bottles. Most people would probably not understand the value in this room, but I was well aware that the bottle I was currently holding was valued at well over three thousand dollars. The occasional high roller asked for one to impress the bimbo on his arm.
“Wow, this is some stash you have here.”
He circled me and eyed me inquisitively. “What made you select that particular bottle?” he asked.
I thought about it for a moment. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I was just drawn to it
, I guess. Why?”
He grabbed the bottle from my hand and placed it back on the rack. Before I could question him
, he rotated it forty-five degrees counterclockwise. I heard a series of clicks before the rack dropped back into the wall about six feet revealing another staircase below. He looked back up at me and smiled. “Good instincts.”
“Holy fuck
.”