La Luxure: Discover Your Blood Lust (16 page)

Maybe it was the electricity in the room, but
every nerve in her body was lit on fire.

"I realize it's a little packed up here,"
Armand said into her ear. "But I thought you might appreciate the
energy."

"I love it."

"Do you want something to drink?"

"I suppose Absinthe is out of the
question?"

"Afraid so."

"Wine...?"

"Of questionable quality."

"Beer?"

"Beer is good. Any particular vintage?"

"Abita?"

Armand flashed his teeth. "Perfect. I'll be
right back."

She watched the crowd fall away from him as
he made his way to the bar and then turned back towards the dance
floor. Beth, much to Julia's surprise, was standing right in front
of her.

"Mike's being a complete dick," she
complained.

"What's going on?"

Beth shook her head. "He's having a stupid
argument with some guy downstairs." Quickly, she took in her
surroundings. "This place is awesome. Do you want to go dance?"

Julia glanced in the direction Armand had
gone. He was busy talking to a man that looked suspiciously like
another vampire. She turned back to Beth. "Let's go. It looks like
he'll be busy for a little bit."

"So, what's going on between you two?" Beth
asked as they picked their way through the mass of people.

"I'm not sure."

"Well, he's fucking hot. And he's obviously
into you."

Julia bit her lip as she smiled, and tried to
keep the blush from rushing to her cheeks. Armand, the super sexy
vampire, was into her, Julia, the boring, nerdy engineer. She
wanted to squeal and jump up and down while clapping her hands. It
was like being in high school all over again.

"Is it really that apparent?"

"Oh my God, yes," Beth said. "And I hate to
say this, because Dave's my friend and he's pretty into you too,
but you gotta go for Armand. There is just something about him. I
mean, I don't normally go for freaky types, but he is super fine,
and I think you two are awesome together."

Julia was surprised by the statement.
"Thanks, Beth."

The music pulsed and Beth's body pulsed with
it. "This bar is so fucking awesome!"

Beth had the right idea and Julia followed
her lead, letting the drums drive her hips, and the melody flow
through her core. It felt good to let go and just
feel
the
music. She was tipsy enough that every beat went straight into her
body, and she didn't care who watched her dance or how silly she
might look.

Two, maybe three songs had passed and the
sweat was beginning to follow the curves of her body. Julia was so
engrossed in a rendition of "Personal Jesus" that when Mike stepped
right in front of her, she actually jumped back startled.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," he said,
grabbing Beth's arm.

She jerked away. "No thanks. I'm having a
good time."

"Fine. Well, I'm out."

Beth's sigh was so loud, Julia heard it over
the vibrating bass line. "Just give me a fucking second, okay."

"I'll be outside. Don't take too long." Mike
didn't even glance at Julia as he shoved past her.

"Is everything okay?" she asked Beth.

The blond rolled her eyes, shaking her head.
"Yeah, it's fine. He's just being his usual asshole self. Same
story, different day."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. We'll get back to the hotel,
he'll have another beer and forget the whole thing."

At first, Julia was appalled. But it only
took a few moments before she remembered all the times that Jeff
had brooded his way out of social activities, and how many times
she'd reluctantly left with him, doing her best to soothe whatever
injustice he felt he'd been served.

"Well, I hope everything works out." It was a
lie. She actually hoped Beth dumped Mike and moved on. "I enjoyed
hanging out with you."

Beth hugged her. The gesture felt
surprisingly natural. "Me too. And I'll try to get Dave to leave
with us."

"Thanks."

Beth joined Dave who was standing like a
rigid, arm-crossed statue near the stairs. Julia caught Armand's
eye as he lounged at the edge of the swarming dance floor. He was
easy to spot, and not just because he was tall. Her eyes were drawn
to him and she liked seeing him waiting for her. Even if he did
turn out to be dangerous, she no longer cared. The butterflies that
danced through her stomach at the anticipation of merely standing
next to him were worth any risk.

He held out her beer as she approached.

"Thanks," she said.

"Everything alright with your
colleagues?"

"I guess. Mike's insisting they leave. I feel
bad."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes, but I hate that Beth is caught in the
middle. My ex was like Mike and no one should have to put up with
that bullshit."

Julia was surprised by the ease words flew
from her mouth whenever she was around Armand. When she'd first met
him, she attributed it to nervousness, but she no longer thought
that was the case. Maybe it was the attentive way he listened, or
the booze in her blood, but there was something about him that made
it easy for her to share her thoughts.

"Don't worry. She's ready to leave him."

"How do you know?"

He shrugged. "Instinct."

"You're good at reading people," she noted.
It was another of his
skills
most likely attributed to his
special breed of human.

"I do own a bar. It comes with the
business."

She waited for his wink, but when it never
appeared, she took a drink instead.

"You realize you're an exquisite dancer," he
murmured suddenly in her ear.

She nearly inhaled the beer in her mouth,
coughing in a rather unattractive way. With a grin that covered his
face, he patted her back. "It helps if you swallow that."

Giving him a sidelong glance, she wiped the
edge of her mouth with her thumb. "Hmmm, well, thanks."

"Where did you learn?"

"College, but apparently they didn't teach me
well enough. I must've failed Beer Bong 101. Oddly enough, I don't
recall."

"It is a difficult subject," he replied. "And
what about the dancing?"

It was refreshing that he was able to pick up
so quickly on her joke. None of the guys she ever dated got her
humor. "Clare. Or rather the classes she drags me to. You're
looking at two years of belly dance, 6 months of burlesque, a few
months of flamenco, and one rather grueling month of hula hoop,
which is much harder than it looks."

"I imagine."

"I still take the belly dance classes even
though Clare got bored with them last year. It's one of the most
freeing forms of dance I've ever taken. It just feels good."

"It shows. You move beautifully."

The intense sincerity of his words surprised
her. All joking and sexual innuendo aside, it was a truly
heart-felt compliment. "Thank you."

The music switched and she couldn't help her
hips from moving to the surging bass line of a band she'd never
hear from a source other than her computer. "Oh my God, Puscifer!"
The words,
I love this song!
almost leapt from her mouth but
thankfully, she wasn't quite that drunk.

He laughed. "Go. Dance."

She already was. Her chest popped in time,
rolling and lifting with the drums. "Will you join me?"

"Watching you is temptation enough."

"Please?"

A growl erupted somewhere deep in his throat.
"Put your doe eyes away," he said into her ear. "Begging will only
get us both into trouble. I'll be right over there." He gestured
towards the far corner of the dance floor.

She decided not to read too much into his
lack of desire to dance with her, focusing instead on letting the
rhythm tell her body how to move. It wasn't a difficult task, the
abundant amount of liquor swimming through her veins, and the
quality of music the bar played, fueled a dance frenzy she'd never
quite experienced.

Armand had moved to a high-backed chair
overlooking the dance floor. Like a king observing his subjects, he
watched over the dancers with his unnerving gaze. She was often his
focus, but instead of being embarrassed by the attention, she felt
empowered and sexy.

After a while, another vampire type joined
him. He was an exceptionally good-looking man, with long, waist
length, straight, jet black hair. His iridescent eyes were lined in
black, his lips painted red, and long, black fingernails topped
neatly folded hands in his lap. He reminded her of
Blaise
Carmichael
.

She considered joining them, curious to learn
about the other vampire, but whenever she happened to glance their
way, the conversation looked intense. The stranger spoke directly
into Armand's ear while Armand stared straight ahead with a dark,
impassive expression. It wasn't a conversation she cared to
interrupt.

When trickles of sweat started running
between her breasts, the cool outside air - and the ladies room -
called to her.

It wasn't difficult to get Armand's
attention. The minute she thought hard about him, his gaze swung to
meet hers. Instead of trying to push through the masses of people
to get to him, she fanned herself furiously with both hands, and
then pointed towards the exit.

He nodded and mouthed,
I'll be right
out.
She replied with a smile and headed for the stairs. As
enjoyable as working up a sweat on the dance floor had been, she
was ready to see where the rest of the evening was headed.

* * *

With a bit of longing, Armand watched Julia
weave through the crowd and disappear down the stairs. He was
anxious to join her, anxious to privately enjoy her company away
from her colleagues, away from The Cell. But he first needed to
finish the conversation with his neighbor, the famed artist Lohr
Varius. He owed Eve that much for the disservice he'd done her.

"Is that your Doll for the evening?" Lohr
asked, following Armand's line of sight. "She is very pretty."

It took a great deal of effort for Armand to
wipe the disdain from his expression before turning back to Lohr.
"She is my date, yes. For more than just an evening I hope." It was
important that Armand claimed Julia. Marking her as his territory
would help keep creeps like Lohr away from her.

"Ah, I see." Lohr stared towards the
stairwell, his pale eyes thoughtful. "You and I are more similar
than you think," he said, slowly returning his gaze to Armand.

Besides being prominent figures within the
Sang Community, Armand could think of very few similarities between
them. Lohr was a notorious Grazer, and his cravings ran deeper and
darker than most. Still, Armand forced his tone to be neutral when
he replied, "How so?"

"We prefer our pets pure. Clean. Simple.
Without drugs or excessive emotional baggage tainting their
blood."

Armand held his tongue and let Lohr continue.
He needed to hear the rest of what the other man knew about Eve,
and arguing with him now wasn't going to facilitate that.

"But they are difficult to find and even
harder to capture. But oh are they fun to play with." Lohr's grin
was sadistic and sly. "It is one of the reasons I'm considering a
permanent gallery here in New Orleans. The pool of willing Donors
is vastly superior."

It was time to change the subject. "So, what
were you saying about the Forever Dark Ball on Saturday?"

"Ah, yes. Eve. She was everyone's Blood-Doll
that night. I'm sorry I missed it."

"The woman is dead, you know."

"I know. I'm sorry I missed that too."

Armand knew his face revealed the full extent
of his surging anger, especially when Lohr laughed. It was a
breathy sort of chuckle. "Easy my friend, I was merely joking. I am
sorry she met her end. Victims are almost as fun as Virgins." He
slid smoothly from the perched chair. "I'm afraid I cannot help
you, Armand. I've told you the extent of my knowledge. And since my
flight didn't land until Monday evening, what I've repeated is
nothing more than hearsay."

Armand fought to keep his tone cordial. "Of
course. Thank you for your assistance."

"I'd let it go if I were you. The death of a
Victim is hardly anything to lose sleep over." With a smug smirk,
Lohr fell back into the crowd.

Pushing the second wave of disgust to his
core, Armand let his head fall back against the back of the plush,
velvet padding, and stared blankly at the exposed air ducts on the
ceiling. Even if the conversation had proven fruitless, he was
relieved the other man left. One more disturbing comment and Armand
might have lost it. But his frustration over the lack of
information about Eve - not only from Lohr, but from everyone he'd
spoken to at The Cell - wasn't justification to start abusing the
more eccentric Community members, no matter how much they deserved
it.

With a deep breath, he shoved everything
aside and focused on more important matters. Downstairs right now,
Julia was waiting for him.

Chapter Eleven

As soon as Julia stepped off the last step
onto the ground level, and Armand was safely out of sight, Dave
swooped in. He was like a hyena waiting for the lion to have his
fill. Julia, the hapless Zebra, had been happy to let the lion
feast on her. She wasn't so keen on hyenas.

"I thought you left with Mike and Beth."

"What are you doing?" he asked instead.

"Um, trying to pee?"

"I mean with Armand. What are you doing with
him? You can't possibly be interested in a guy like that?"

"I can't?"

"A woman like you doesn't go for his
type."

"I don't? Huh. That's a funny statement
considering you just met me 3 days ago. How can you possibly know
what I'm interested in?"

"C'mon Julia. You're an engineer. He probably
works in a tattoo shop or liquor store or something." He might as
well have suggested Armand was a convicted felon.