Impulse (39 page)
“Problem?” The bartender eased up and patted the Vampire on the shoulder. “Come on. These two aren’t looking for that kind of fun. Off you go.”
Sunny lowered her voice. “I feel like everyone is staring at me, but not in a good way.”
“They are. The ones that know you’re human. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of four-hundred-year-old horny men. The usual.”
“You should have heard what he said to me.”
I didn’t need to. Most immortals had no problems telling a woman exactly what they wanted. They were too old to beat around the bush.
“Where is everyone?” I out pulled the chair with the plush red seat and sat down, smoothing my arms over the wooden table. It was one of the most beautifully decorated Breed bars in town without the loud, obnoxious music.
“Knox is in the back with Novis.” She pointed. “Justus went outside a few minutes before you got here. Someone was running late.”
I frowned. “Sounds very covert.”
“Mmm,” she agreed.
“Who else is with them?”
She shrugged and waved a hand. A pretty silver bracelet slid up her arm.
“I wonder why Knox is involved,” I muttered to myself. “Is this your first time in a Breed bar?”
Sunny played with a loose curl of her hair and narrowed her violet-lined eyes. “I’m not uber impressed. A couple of the patrons look… catatonic.”
I turned in the direction of her gaze and saw a Sensor making a transaction with a customer. Her hands slipped inside of his shirt, and a red glow illuminated from beneath.
“It’s not so bad. Most of the men here are nice; you’re going to find exceptions no matter where you go. The women, on the other, hand aren’t very conversational with me, or they’re busy passing out orgasms,” I added, turning away from the scene.
“I bet they are with your Ghuardian.” She chuckled and admired her manicured nails.
“I don’t think they’d meet his standards,” I mumbled.
“I’ll be right back. I have to pee.” Sunny glided across the room and every slink of her hips was God given. Heads turned.
Justus always parked his car out front, but I didn’t remember seeing it in the usual spot. I jogged over to the second lot on the right side of the building.
Halfway there, a sharp whistle cut through the air behind me. I spun on my heel and saw Christian calling me over with a crooked finger.
“Is something wrong?”
His hands slipped into the deep pockets of his coat. “You should go back inside with your friend.”
“I’m looking for Justus. Sunny said he came outside but I’m worried because his car isn’t parked over there,” I said, pointing my finger.
“Best you go back inside,” he repeated.
The gravel crunched when I turned back around.
“Tried to warn you,” he muttered.
Halfway through the lot I stopped dead in my tracks. The wind changed direction and I recognized the song floating in the air. It was Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G minor. A song I’d never heard before I met Justus, but it blared from his car in the garage on the nights he came home late.
Five steps forward and I recognized Justus sitting in the driver’s seat of the Aston with his head reclined back.
Is he okay
?
Justus was gripping the back of the headrest and looked to be in pain. As he lifted his chin, the muscles in his arm bulged and his grip tightened.
I slowed my pace and got more than an eyeful. Cheap, red nails slid up his chest. He pushed her hand away and flattened his own against the ceiling of the car—grimacing. Blond hair appeared and then lowered out of sight.
That asshole was getting a blowjob.
My fingertips crackled. The fact that he left me at home so that he could get his rocks off in a vacant parking lot with some tramp really burned me the wrong way. I lifted a round pebble from the gravel below and hurled it at the car. It made a loud crack when it hit the glass and his eyes flew open. I flared with everything in me and he looked panic-stricken. Justus shoved the woman off and began to fumble with his pants.
“Unbelievable!” I shouted, turning away.
His door clicked open. “What are you doing out here when I specifically—”
“Don’t you even dare!” I spun around and he quickly zipped up his jacket, sweat glistening from his brow. “Is this your important meeting? Novis and Knox are inside waiting for someone, and
this
is how you pass the time? I was always under the belief that deep down, you hated being a Charmer. Yeah, you’re a flirt, but this is just seedy. Do you even know her name?”
“You should put your girlfriend on a leash.” The woman slammed the car door and fastened the small buttons on her white blouse.
“You need to shut the fuck up,” I said with a pointed finger.
“Silver,” Justus scolded. “Behave like a lady.”
Was he serious? “That’s grand coming from you, Ghuardian. Why don’t you behave like a gentleman? A gentleman isn’t defined by extravagant Italian suits, one-of-a-kind cologne, obscenely expensive cars, or even the fact that you opened the door for a lady before she went down on you. And
that
,” I said, waving my finger, “is not a lady.”
Justus looked behind me as a car pulled up and stopped near the club door.
“Come with me,” he said.
“Go to your meeting. I’ll be inside keeping Sunny company. I’m so glad I didn’t bring her out here with me; I would have been mortified. I know you’re a man who makes his own decisions, but
this
is a parking lot and
that
is a whore. You’re a Charmer. I get it. But where’s the seduction? Do you think that this is the best you deserve?” My heart was pounding.
Justus stalked off with an angry swing in his step. This was something I expected from Simon, and I wouldn’t have cared, but Justus was my Ghuardian. I’d seen him flirt countless times, but always imagined there was a selection process with his women. He bought nothing but the finest cars, clothes, furniture, watches, and yet the women he chose were so low class that I didn’t even know how to process it.
The whore lit up a cigarette.
“You know he’s a Charmer, right?” I asked.
A cloud of smoke blew out of her mouth and she wiped a smudge of lipstick from her chin with the back of her hand. “Honey, that’s the whole appeal. Being near that Mage is like foreplay without the foreplay, see?”
“What’s your Breed?” I snapped.
“Sensor,” she replied with a lift of her chin.
No wonder
.
“Ah. So just a business trade.”
Her eyes rolled up. “I’ve wanted that man since I first saw him, and I always get what I want. Justus has a reputation as a walking one-night stand; he’s never with the same woman twice. Some of the dumb ones think that they actually want more than sex from him.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” I folded my arms.
She took another slow inhale of her cigarette. “I’ve heard women say he’s quite good at pleasuring them, but when it comes to himself, he’s a powder keg. Some Mage are like that; they have such a tight control over their energy that they never fully experience the act. I had to see for myself if I could break the man, and I like a good challenge.”
“You even think about breaking that man and I’ll snap your neck.”
She smiled and some of her lipstick stained her front teeth. “Justus has more restraint than I gave him credit for. I offered him a trade for dinner
and
a show. Dinner was delish, but he still owes me.”
Before I acted impulsively, I spun around, scraped my foot backward, and kicked gravel all over her as I stormed off. Not even my shadow could keep up with me.
“What’s wrong?” Sunny asked when I returned to the table. “Justus flew by me like a hurricane and you look upset.”
“Nothing,” I murmured. “I need a beer.”
As she made her way to the bar, I rubbed my face in my hands. Did I really just say all of that to my Ghuardian? I felt numb. He had a right to do whatever he wanted in his free time and I certainly wasn’t one to give advice on how to have a great sex life, but Justus deserved so much better.
I scooted my chair back a foot when I finally looked up.
Sitting across from me was a man with neatly combed black hair, wolfish eyebrows, and skin the color of desert sand. His cologne was as exotic as his gaze. Nothing prepared me for Marco De Gradi walking into the Red Door.
“Where is your Ghuardian?”
“What are you doing here?”
He leaned across the table and seized my wrist. “
Where
is your Ghuardian?”
“Marco?” A timid voice gasped. I glanced up at Sunny and the evening went from epic failure to catastrophic.
Before I could react, Sunny poured a bottle of beer over his head. It ran down his face and splashed on his expensive suit. Marco flew up and knocked his chair over. She ignored him and held her thumb over the rim while shaking out the fizz. His arm flew out and knocked the bottle from her hand.
“You’re despicable,” she hissed. “I can’t believe you lied to me and used me just so you could—”
“Sunny!” I warned before she broke confidentiality.
She wasn’t hurt because Marco dumped her. Sunny blamed herself for leading Marco to me, which had ultimately brought Samil into my life.
“You’re just a human,” he spat. “Did you honestly think I could care for someone like… you?” His eyes raked her over.
My “oh shit” alarm started blaring.
Sunny’s hands balled up into fists and a couple of men tensed but stayed out of it. Many of the immortals would protect a woman, but Sunny was a human and not many men were willing to stand up and defend one.
I flared. Hard. Justus could distinguish my energy from others. He often found me in a bar without explanation, or knew when I was entering a room. It was a skill that had to be refined and an older Mage was more sensitive to energy—a skill I hadn’t acquired.
Heavy boots with thick treads announced that Justus was coming. He didn’t even slow down when he emerged from the hall—not until Marco turned to face him. Justus knocked over a chair and his face paled. Knox jogged in from behind and when he caught sight of Sunny’s pained face, he snatched the knit cap from his head and stalked forward.
I held my breath when he stepped up to Marco, who was wiping of the beer from his sleeves.
“Who the fuck are you?” Knox asked in a gravelly voice, staring Marco dead in the eye.
Sunny’s fingers traced the side of her cheek. “
That
… is Marco.”
Knox threw out his arm and hit Marco like a bag of concrete. Bone cracked and Marco spun to the floor. Knox didn’t throw a punch like any mere mortal man—he swung a hammer of the gods.
The bartender intervened with a look of irritation. “Get out or you go on the list.”
“I have this,” Novis announced with a lift of his finger.
“He leaves,” the bartender demanded, pointing at Knox. “He may not be Breed, but he’s instigated violence in this club. Everyone follows the rules; no exceptions.”
Novis agreed. “Knox, your assistance tonight was valuable. Escort the lady home and we’ll tidy up here.”
Knox cupped Sunny’s face and kissed her nose. “You okay? Did he touch you?”
I glanced back at Justus, who was frozen like a statue. “I’ll walk them out and leave you to uh… talk to your Creator.”
This was the first time that Justus had seen Marco in years. A man he once respected. I could only imagine what would happen in that back room, because that’s all that Justus seemed to care about—confronting Marco.
Knox helped Sunny into the Jeep and talked with her in a low voice as he buckled her seatbelt. She was visibly shaken. After seeing them off, I headed back to the Ducati in the other parking lot. I had to cut between two buildings to get to the bike.
“Is that a number-two pencil? You’re such a dumbfuck,” a voice chided somewhere out of sight.
“It worked, so shut your pie hole.”
I kept walking, feeling regret for losing my cool and yelling at Justus. I turned into the alley and heard a distinct snap of gum behind me.
“Well, well. How’s it going, sweetie?” Tarek spit out his gum and lunged at me so unexpectedly that I didn’t have time to react.
He held my arms firmly behind my back, staring down his nose at me.
“Tarek, let me go. I have people here with me and—”
A sharp fang scraped along my cheek. “Silence is golden,” he murmured in slow words. “Be
silent
, female.”