Electric Moon (5 page)

 Chapter Five

EARLY EVENING

R
aven
jerked open the doors to the club, not hesitating like she had the first time
she’d entered just a few days ago. The industrial magnet snicked shut behind
her with a finality of being sealed into a tomb. The stifling air only
increased that impression.

The walls were stripped bare of decoration, all except the
prominent word
Talons
clawed into the heavy wooden panels. It didn’t
surprise her to find Durant’s scent all over the carving.

Heat and music crested over her first. While sorting and
filing everything away, the many scents snuck up and swamped her. The spice of
vampires, the stench of burnt magic and the more soothing, natural smell of
shifters.

She expected vampires, shifters and magic users, the usual
clientele.

What she didn’t expect was to double over when a wall of
lust slammed into her. Acting on instinct, she yanked a blanket of pure
electricity around her. The air crackled and it took a minute longer to gain back
her breath. Only when she was sure she had control did she turned down the
wattage to a manageable level.

If she kept the shield too high, she’d have the attention of
every shifter and vampire in the club. Too low, and she might be caught up in
the need to explore the rampant desire flooding the room. She rubbed her skin,
debating the wisdom of pinning down the bastard in his own lair. One thing convinced
her to enter. If she reacted this drastically just being around others, the
conclave itself would be pure torture.

She needed to acclimate herself to the sheer amount of
shifters and hoped to hell she could adjust accordingly before more trouble
found her. Taking a deep breath, she opened the second set of doors and entered
the club.

Red and blue lights flashed over the bodies on the dance
floor, their sensual movements captivating to watch. The bar to the left was
packed three people deep. The booths in the back were all occupied, shadows giving
the occupants an impression of privacy.

She scratched her arm then stopped when she realized what
she was doing. The presence of so many shifters was like a plea to let her own come
out and play. The rushed shower she’d taken had done little to cool the lick of
fire under her skin.

When Raven made eye contact with Cassie, the girl blanched.

“OhshitOhshitOhshitOhshit.” Durant’s assistant hurried
forward, chanting under her breath as she shoved her way through the sea of people.

At the commotion, people turned toward the door then stopped
to gawk. Whispers spread around the club like fire.

That’s when Raven noted the surprised expressions. Another survey
around the room increased her unease. Out of the few women present, she was the
only shifter.

But it was too late to retreat. She straightened her
shoulders, lifted her chin, daring them to approach. She refused to run and be
seen as weak.

“What are you doing here?” Cassie reached for her arm, halting
an inch from touching her skin, encountering the energy Raven used like a
shield.

Her eyes immediately washed to black.

Fangs descended.  

“Crap.” Cassie’s thirst beat at her like worms wiggling
under her skin. Without being too obvious about it, Raven drew off a steady
bead of electricity surrounding Cassie until the girl forgot to breathe.

Since she was a vampire, no problem. Cassie was new, the
action more of a comforting habit than anything else.

“What the hell was that?” Cassie staggered, and Raven resisted
the instinctive reflex to catch her.

No need to repeat what’d just happened.

The added power danced over her skin, threatening to escape.
Shifters around them stopped, their eyes splintering to yellow or green as
their animals surfaced, and she quickly swallowed down the extra energy.

She wouldn’t be responsible for Durant’s whole club going
furry. An arm wrapped around her from behind, a large body cuddling up to hers,
close enough his erection nudged against the small of her back.

“Taggert?”

The breath in her throat nearly strangled her.

He must have followed her.

When she would’ve turned and put distance between them,
knowing physical contact between them had to be painful, he held her still and
nuzzled her neck.

“Let me help.” Power leeched away slowly at the contact, his
touch soothing the wild current enough for it to settle in her bones in a
delicious ache. Lust and comfort was all wrapped up in his embrace.

Raven sighed of relief and faced him. “You shouldn’t have
come. It’s too dangerous for you to be here.”

His tense posture alerted her that something was horribly
wrong. “What the hell did you do?” She reached for the collar of his shirt when
he manacled her wrists with his fingers.

But too late.

Cold metal of the slave collar encased his throat, the beautiful
threads of gold and silver doing nothing to disguise the terrible truth behind the
twisted strands of metal.

“How could you?” Especially after they’d risked their lives
to remove it.

He’d been free.

The back of her throat ached, and she couldn’t bear to meet
his gaze, see him forced back into the role of a slave.

All because she lacked knowledge of the shifter lifestyle and
kept blundering into trouble.

Her stupidity had cost him everything.

If she wasn’t careful, his relentless need to protect her
would eventually get him killed.

“You needed me.” Taggert shrugged as if his freedom meant so
little when she knew it was everything. She tugged her hands away from him,
unable to tolerate his touch after what she’d did to him, but he refused to
release her. “It was the only way I could protect you without placing you in
more danger.”

“Bullshit. People already knew you had the collar off.”

“There was no proof.” Taggert stepped toward her, and she
recoiled.

Hurt clouded his eyes, but the magnitude of his loss because
of her stubbornness wouldn’t let her unbend.

She was terrified she might shatter if he showed her any
kindness.

“Uh, maybe we can discuss this in private?” Cassie nodded to
the crowd, her eyes constantly scanning, braced for attack.

Raven glanced about the club. Way too many pairs of eyes were
centered on them. It made her skin itch. “Lead the way.”

Cassie cleared a path. The shifters gave the vampire wide berth,
but they immediately crowded closer as Raven passed.

Damn touchy-feely shifters.

She picked up her pace, refusing to feel grateful for
Taggert’s presence at her back.

The door to the office closed behind them, cutting off
nearly all sounds from the club. Cassie whirled toward the fridge, took out a
bag and popped it into the microwave.

The smell of blood blossomed in the office.

The cool, natural tones of the room didn’t lessen Raven’s
growing anxiety. The massive desk and matching set of chairs dominated the
room.

They suited Durant.

A love seat rested against the wall, and she could all but
envision Durant seducing a willing young woman on the overly plush cushions.
The smell of leather only increased the rage building in her at thoughts of
Durant with someone else.

Raven prowled the confines of the room. She’d come to
confront Durant, both about his omission on hosting the conclave and his
demolition of her bathroom. But once she stepped into the club, she felt blindsided
by her wildly out of control emotions.

What worried her most was if she reacted so viscerally to
them now, how would she be affected when the alphas entered the picture?

She’d be served up on a platter.

The microwave dinged twenty seconds later. Cassie popped in
a straw, turned and leaned against the counter, settling in to watch the show.

Perturbed to watch her feed, Raven clenched her fists and stared
at her hands. A sheen of blue rose from her skin. “Cassie, call Durant.”

She mumbled behind her straw.

“What?” Raven slowly lifted her head and eyed Cassie. Barely
twenty years old and a vampire of only a few days, she stood there like a seasoned
vampire with at least ten years of experience, all thanks to Durant’s uber
potent shifter blood. The girl had taken a call at the club meant for Durant
and had been attacked. If they hadn’t turned her, she would’ve died from her
injuries.

“He’s meeting with clients to get the club ready for the
conclave.”

“Get him.”

Cassie gulped then quickly hurried toward the phone without
comment. Raven could hear Durant’s brisk words across the club.

“Raven’s waiting in your office. She’s a little miffed, so you
might want to come. Like now.”

Miffed didn’t even begin to describe the stunt Taggert had pulled.

First Durant and then him.

“Sit on her if you need to. I’ll be there in five.” The
phone disconnected.

Raven saw the way Cassie eyed her. “I wouldn’t try it.” Her
lips curled into a snarl, and Cassie lifted her hands in surrender, though she
didn’t back down completely. If Raven tried for the door, Cassie would do her
best to follow through on Durant’s order.

True to his word, Durant entered the door with a harried
expression crouched in his eyes. He quickly scanned his office. When he spotted
her, his shoulders eased.

“Leave.” He barked the command at Cassie, and she skedaddled
out the door like her panties were on fire.

Then he turned those golden eyes of his on Raven.

“I was two levels lower than the main room when I felt you
enter the club. What the hell were you thinking.” It wasn’t a question. The dangerous,
hypnotic tone in his voice was back. The one he used when he was either
seriously pissed off or wanted something.

He stalked toward her, his gait all loose-limbed of a
shifter on the hunt. Refusing to be intimidated by the bully, she lifted her
chin. Nothing he could say would make her feel any worse. She was devastated at
the steep cost Taggert had paid over her stupid little grievance with Durant.

And it was all her fault for being so damned stubborn.

She should’ve known he would’ve tried something. “Would you
care to explain why you let three strange male shifters into my house without
my permission?”

Durant halted on the spot, but his eyes lit up as his animal
rose fully to the surface. It was incongruent to see him in his outfit, so pressed
and perfect, with his beast staring out at her so boldly. “What happened?”

“Besides them seeing me half naked, you mean?” She took
pleasure in the little growl of rage that rumbled from him. “How about a thing
called invasion of privacy? I could’ve accidently killed them.”

“Did they touch you?” He inched closer, his eyes roaming her
body for injury as he prowled around her.

His perusal left trails of heat in its wake, potent enough
to stun her out of her anger. He appeared genuinely concerned. “I’m fine.”

“The three brothers signed a privacy contract. Besides their
excellent work, their guaranteed privacy is what makes them the best in their
field.” He continued to hover over her.

 The molten gold eyes peering out at her sent her back a
step. He mirrored her move. There was less than a foot between her and the wall
behind her. A snarl curled her lips at being cornered, and she planted her
feet. He was a furnace, throwing off heat hot enough to singe.

And all she wanted to do was be scorched.

She shook off that thought. She would not be managed. If he
took one more step, she would have him at her feet and enjoy every minute of seeing
him there.

“You shouldn’t have come alone.” The danger in him was
enticing, calling something deep inside her to come out and play.  

“She didn’t.” Taggert stepped forward, a solid presence at
her side and inching up the lust level to an almost unbearable degree. The men
eyed each other, neither backing down. Then Durant caught sight of the collar
and sighed.