Freak Show (6 page)

I held my breath when he thrust inside her. The sound of my own heart pounded in my ears. Perspiration broke out on my forehead, and I swiped a hand through it. I was certain my companions could hear my heartbeat and smell my lustful hunger.

Arys clasped my free hand in his and squeezed. The quaking hunger raging inside me quelled but not nearly enough. Still, I was grateful for his presence. Thankfully, this time he was keeping my feet on the ground rather than sending me off the deep end.

‘You have to keep it together. Don’t let Jenner know he’s getting to you.’ Arys’s voice echoed in my head, his mental touch gentle and soothing.

‘How is this not getting to you? Don’t tell me part of you doesn’t want to go up there and join in.’ The desperation in my thoughts made me cringe.

Arys stroked his thumb over the back of my hand. ‘Are you kidding? Every part of me wants to. I’ve had centuries to gain control over that urge. He wants to have an effect. Don’t let him.’

Jenner claimed Layna’s body with total abandon. He pumped into her with furious, fast strokes that forced the cries from her. The lust rolling off the audience was enough to choke me. I half expected them to start humping each other in the aisles, even though they couldn’t feel it the way I could.

‘If we don’t get out of here, I may climb in your lap and ride you right here.’ I let him feel the immensity of the need driving me. ‘This is seriously disturbing. He’s a fool to do this shit in front of humans.’

‘Oh, he is many things. A fool is the least of them.’

I couldn’t sit still. Watching a vampire I didn’t know have sex with a woman I would never know was uncomfortable. However, knowing what was coming made it almost painful.

Shaz shifted in his seat, a small growl rumbled in his throat. This was bad. We should never have brought him here. He wasn’t ready for something this intense. I eyed him anxiously, waiting for him to lose it. He held himself together though. Lucky him, he also didn’t have to feel it the way I did.

A war was going on inside me. I had been the victim and the vampire. In that moment, I couldn’t decide which I wanted to be.

Jenner flipped Layna over, forcing her up on her knees. Gripping her hips, he pounded into her with an urgency I felt in my stomach. The sound of his hand slapping her ass echoed. She screamed and moaned, his name an unintelligible ramble on her lips.

 I tapped my feet on the floor, nearly fidgeting myself out of my seat. I tried drinking more of the blood in my glass, but it wasn’t what I wanted. Setting it down, I stared anywhere but at the stage. My gaze kept coming back to it. Dammit, I wanted to watch Jenner bleed her.

He shoved a hand into her hair and jerked her head back. Baring her neck, he ensured the audience had a good view. I licked my lips, leaning forward. Arys’s grip on my hand tightened. Eroticism oozed from the stage. The pornographic display was more than an act. It was an expression of true passion. To Jenner, this was performance art; to me, it was a gross glamorization of what we were.

Layna closed her eyes in bliss before Jenner leaned in for the bite. He sank fangs into her neck, and blood spilled down her chest. The hum of energy was loud in my ears, deafening. My breath came fast. I was losing the battle of temptation. Again. I didn’t make a conscious decision to leap out of my seat. Simply riding the high of Jenner’s power wasn’t enough. I needed the climactic release that came with the kill.

Arys was ready. He caught me around the waist and dragged me onto his lap, fighting to keep me in his chair with him. Rational thought had stopped. Between the power, the sex and the blood, there was no room left for me. I was all monster.

Jenner raised his head to survey the crowd. His mouth dripped scarlet. His gaze landed upon me, and he winked.

“Alexa, it’s all an illusion,” Arys hissed in my ear. “You’re letting him manipulate you. You are my wolf, and you are stronger than that. Resist him.”

Jez leaned away from us but watched with wide eyes. Shaz was tense, ready to help Arys pin me down like a mental patient. Arys’s touch was calming despite the power that sparked between us. I was stronger with him. I clung to that. I sat stiffly with Arys’s arms around me. The erection beneath me revealed that he hadn’t gone entirely unaffected either. We watched in strained silence as Jenner feasted in all ways upon his prey. I needed this to be over.

Layna collapsed on the chaise lounge, a dopey smile on her face. Jenner licked and sucked at the wound, encouraging the flow to continue. Just when I thought my head might explode, a large velvet curtain descended to hide the stage from sight. The spotlight blinked out and darkness fell.

A soft moan echoed from behind the curtain. The twenty-minute show had felt like hours. Finally, it was over. If she wasn’t dead yet, she soon would be.

Chapter Five

Several seconds passed before the lights came on. Ushers appeared to herd everyone out a rear exit, opposite the way we’d come in. Except for us.

Roscoe approached from a door behind the stage. Leather clad and bearded, he strode toward us with a swagger that made me certain he owned a motorbike. He headed us off before I could follow the rest of the crowd. Too bad.

We were on our feet, looking at one another with wide eyes. Arys held tight to my arm, keeping me close. He pushed a calming energy into me, and I grabbed on as if it were a life raft during a flood. I vibrated so hard with the effort it took to hold myself together that my teeth nearly rattled.

“Jenner wants to see you backstage,” Roscoe said, the dim light glinting off his golden fang. He waited expectantly for us to get moving.

Arys fell into step beside the burly vampire, walking with an angry stride. “When the hell did he start this crazy train? Feeding in front of humans is ballsy. He should know better.”

“He does.” Roscoe shrugged. “He just doesn’t care.”

Backstage was a dressing room clearly designed for private parties of the bloodletting kind. Spacious and open, swanky sofas lined the walls. The carpet was dark and lush. But in my current state of mind, the vampiress feeding from a half-naked man captured my attention. This place was going to be the death of me.

Sloane looked up abruptly as we entered. She released her hold on the man’s bleeding arm and gave him a shove. “Go now. I’ll send for you later.”

He slipped by us and out the door without a backward glance. Sloane licked the small drops of blood from her lips with a dainty swipe of her tongue. She smiled and reached to smooth her hair.

“Have a seat.” She gestured to the sofas and matching easy chair. “Jenner’s just cleaning up from his performance.”

“Performance?” Arys refused to sit. He stood stiffly, arms crossed and jaw clenched. “Is that what he calls it?”

Sloane eyed him, amusement shining in her cerulean eyes. “Death is an art, baby. You know that. You do it better than any of us.”

“Don’t sweet talk me, Sloane. I’m not in the mood. You’re an idiot to participate in this exploitation.”

I chose not to follow Arys’s lead. My legs were shaking, and my entire body hummed with the pent up power I’d called during Jenner’s little show. I needed to sit down. Shaz sat beside me, but Jez placed herself opposite Arys where she could watch both Sloane and the door.

Roscoe leaned against the doorframe, staring at his cell phone. There was something about vampires and technology that made me giggle. Some of them were adept at change; others were so behind the times it was laughable.

“If anyone is being exploited, it’s the mortal suckers that show up to see something they can only read about in trendy books that pollute the beauty of what we are.” Sloane crossed one leg over the other, turning that simple action into a sensual display. “Simmer down, Arys. You saw his tame show. That was nothing. People love it. They tell themselves it’s not real, that it’s an act, the illusions of Vegas. But they know the truth. Deep down inside. And they enjoy it.”

“Why are you still here?” Arys asked, pinning her with a knowing stare. “You used to talk so much about leaving.”

“As did you,” she agreed. “I suppose you had a reason to go. Everything I have is here.”

They fell silent, both of them remembering a time before any of the shifters present had lived. Though she was otherwise cool and composed, a dark shadow passed through Sloane’s eyes.

Just when the silence became ridiculously awkward, Jenner swept into the room. His hair was disheveled, but he was dressed, thankfully. Exuding a heavy, sticky sweet energy, he glided through the room as if his feet never touched the ground.

Swiftly, he caught Sloane around the waist and lifted her out of the chair before sitting down himself with her on his lap. An irritated frown creased her brow, but she settled in against him, going so far as to sling an arm around his neck.

“Did you enjoy the show?” Jenner directed his question at Arys. Then his shifty eyes slid over me on the couch. “I know you did.” When I didn’t respond, he added, “Hot damn, those eyes are fascinating.”

With the power raging through me, my eyes had to be Arys’s vampire blue. I relaxed into the couch and brazenly reached out metaphysically to taste Jenner. It was rude, but I didn’t care. Manners didn’t strike me as the kind of thing Jenner cultivated.

His power was vast, impressive. It felt like Harley’s, which was a bit different from how Arys felt. I could only assume that Arys’s link to me gave him a different flavor. The power was deep and alluring, beckoning to me. He was likely the most powerful vampire in the city, as long as Arys wasn’t around.

He sat there watching me as I psychically prodded him, not attempting to shield against me. “Find anything you like?”

“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” I was flippant, wanting him to know he couldn’t play with me. His sire had loved to play. Harley had caused all kinds of hell for me. I wouldn’t allow Jenner to do the same.

Trailing a hand up and down Sloane’s thigh, Jenner grinned. “My turn.”

I raised a hand in invitation, allowing him to feel me out. It wasn’t too invasive since I didn’t resist. Jenner’s metaphysical touch was sensual, bathing me in heat. He lingered longer than necessary, but I remained without reaction.

“I bet you taste as good as you feel.” Jenner’s gaze strayed to my neck, seeking what lay beneath the choker I wore. “You’re dangerous though. I suppose a smart vampire wouldn’t want to tangle with you. They all seem to end up dead.”

I waved a hand dismissively. “Only the ones that hurt me or try to use me as leverage because they’re too weak to earn their power. I’m actually quite a nice person when I’m not being treated like an object.” I swung my foot and ran a hand through my hair, beaming at him as if I knew something he didn’t know.

“I’ll bet you are.”

“Is there a reason for this, Jenner?” Arys cut in, impatient with the way we were sniffing one another out. “The phony chatter, it’s not necessary. I’d hate to think I sat through staring at your bare ass for nothing. Make with the threats so we can get down to business.”

Jenner’s low laugh was like the smooth skin of a snake, wrapping around me in places that could not be touched. “I just wanted to welcome you to my city, and to tell you to hurry up and get the hell out of it.” His expression never changed, but the atmosphere grew heavy with malice.

Sloane stiffened noticeably, her eyes darting from Jenner to Arys. I didn’t move a muscle though I was ready to react. As were Jez and Shaz, I was sure.

“Ah ok,” Arys said with a nod and a smirk. “So this is the part where you parade around like a self-appointed god and try to run me out of town. Predictable, yet entertaining. What else have you got?”

Roscoe snickered but said nothing. Jenner shot him a dark glare.

It wasn’t hard to figure him out. He thought we were here to make a play for Harley’s territory. We weren’t. At least, I hadn’t thought so. The challenge Arys issued made me second-guess that.

“Does it have to come to that?” Jenner captured Sloane’s hand and decorated it with small kisses. She pressed her lips together tightly.

“This isn’t your city, Jenner. It was Harley’s. He was the master vampire. You have no more right to his authority than any of us.” With a slow, calculated gait, Arys came to stand beside my end of the couch.

A dangerous light flashed through Jenner’s ice-cold eyes. “You’re the reason he’s dead. You turned your back on this city and forfeited any right you may have had to it. Get out before I forget that I once called you brother.”

This was going from sketchy to downright deadly fast. Arys’s growing rage echoed within me. He drew on our connection, and my stomach clenched. It took a lot for him to get to the point of tapping our shared power. I knew Harley was still, and maybe always would be, a touchy subject for him. Perhaps it was worse than I thought.

“Can I just state for the record that we came to Vegas as tourists?” I interjected, sliding a glance at Arys. “At least, I did.”

“Like hell you did,” Jenner spat. “You came to finish what you started when you murdered my sire.”

Oh boy, here we go. I somehow managed to resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Let me remind you that Harley came to my city to force me into a blood bond. I had every right to defend myself. I am not sorry, and I don’t give a rat’s ass about what he left behind here.”

Jenner mulled that over, clearly unhappy with my refusal to be apologetic. He fell silent, almost sullen. He pressed Sloane’s hand to his face, thoughtfully staring at me with a devilish spark in his eyes.

At last, he dragged his gaze back to Arys, his expression changing to one of violent accusation. “How could you let her do it? He loved you.”

Arys perched on the arm of the couch beside me, shaking his head. Sorrow flickered briefly in his eyes. “We’ve been over this. I told you last time I came that he brought it on himself. I stopped her once. I told him I wouldn’t stop her again.”

“He was so hard headed when it came to you, Arys,” Sloane said with a sigh. “Nothing we said or did would stop him from going after you once he learned that you’d actually found her.”

I frowned, unhappy with being talked about as if I wasn’t present. Apparently, every vampire in Harley’s little blood-sucking family knew about Arys’s dreams and visions of me from before I was born. I didn’t get the feeling they understood it though.

“Yes,” Jenner added bitterly. “Nothing could come between Harley and his favorite.” He pinned me with a chilling stare. “Nothing except you.”

Sibling rivalry. Typical enough, yet Jenner’s words still sent a chill through me. I’d have thought they would be beyond this kind of thing. I guess hundreds of years only intensified those things rather than erased them.

I leaned forward on the couch, never taking my eyes off Jenner. “What is it that really bothers you? That you weren’t Harley’s favorite? Or that I killed him? Claire and Maxwell failed to take me down. So will you. Think carefully about what you want to do here.”

It was a ballsy thing to say, and I was more than a little concerned it would blow up in my face; however, he had me backed into a corner here. If I didn’t come out swinging, Jenner would have the advantage, and he would know it.

Jenner sat stiff in his chair. He dropped Sloane’s hand and clenched his into a fist. His power filled the room, a growing heat that quickly became scorching hot.

“I like her,” Roscoe said with a nod in Arys’s direction. “This bloodline could use a woman like her. Sorry, Sloane.”

She huffed and stuck her nose in the air, refusing to acknowledge his comment. As far as I knew, she was the only existing female in Harley’s bloodline until I turned.

“This isn’t your city.” Jenner’s voice rose in a near shout. “Harley’s dead, and now it’s mine. Arys, take your wolf and leave. This is not your home anymore.”

“No, it’s not. But I won’t be ordered around. I wouldn’t take that shit from Harley, and I sure as hell won’t take it from you.” Arys exuded an outward calm; though I knew inside, he was roiling. “You think playing on stage with humans is the way to run this place? You can’t just walk away from a blood ring. You’re not ready for this city, Jenner.”

Jenner exploded from his chair. Shoving Sloane aside, he hurled a slap of power at Arys who caught it, neutralizing the attack. The close proximity to the shot caused my body to tingle.

Arys rose, meeting Jenner in the center of the sitting area. They stared into each other, and something unspoken passed between them.

“Three of our vampires, including our sire, are dead because of her,” shouted Jenner. “You are obligated to make it right. So either you came here to do that, or you came to challenge my authority.”

Shaz was tense beside me. We exchanged a look, and I gave a slight shake of my head. It wasn’t time to jump in yet, though the room was overflowing with tense vampire energy. Sloane backed away slowly to linger near the door with Roscoe. Jez did the same, keeping her distance from all vampires present.

Arys was tapping so much power it made me lightheaded. He considered Jenner’s demands with a grave expression. “I loved him too, you know. But it happened, and it’s over. How the hell do you expect me to make something like that right?”

“A life for a life. Put one of your shifters in the ring to fight to the death.”