Ripper (Hunter #1)(54)

“You’ll take care of her, Marcus?” Quinn asked as the vampire opened the door and the sounds of Ether assaulted me.

The vampire turned, his eyes narrowed on the faery. “You knew I would.”

As the door closed behind us, I noted the look of satisfaction on Devinshea Quinn’s face.

Marcus’s face was tight and I could feel the rage pouring off him. I turned to him before we started down the first step. I had no idea what was between the fertility god and the vampire, but I had a feeling I’d made things more difficult for Marcus.

“Did I do something wrong?” I asked over the noise of the dance floor.

Marcus took a deep breath, and when he glanced back at me there was a calm look on his face. Marcus Vorenus did not wear his emotions on the surface. He kept them deeply hidden and I wondered how close you had to be before he shed the polite mask he wore. “Not at all, Kelsey. The prince and I are at odds. It’s nothing to concern yourself with. I promise it won’t affect my ability to aid you in your investigation. Allow me to show you around.”

I thought about the gorgeous redhead in the picture. She was obviously Devinshea Quinn’s wife. The boys had mentioned that Marcus wanted to kiss her. He had a thing for the faery’s wife and it didn’t look like the faery wanted to share more than he already did. Marcus mentioned problems with Daniel as well. I wondered if he’d had an affair with the woman in the picture. She was everything I wasn’t—polished and beautiful and sunny. She had a centerfold body and a stunning face. She probably wore beautiful clothes and didn’t complain because they were made for her. It occurred to me she was precisely the type of woman Gray needed.

“Kelsey!” Liv was practically on top of me the minute I hit the bottom of the stairs. She threw her arms around me and pulled me away from Marcus. “What’s going on? First you disappear, then Gray storms off and he wouldn’t tell me anything except to talk to Quinn because you chose him.”

“I didn’t choose Quinn.” Gray had lost his damn mind. You would think I’d tossed off my clothes and begged the fertility god to take me. “I stayed behind to ask him some questions. I did what we came here to do. He stormed off because he hates Quinn, but we need him.”

“Kelsey, we need to go,” Liv said. “I don’t think it’s safe for you here. Gray said that guy might be after you. Without Gray, I think we should leave.”

“Your friend is perfectly safe.” Marcus stepped up to stand beside me. “I will escort her around and allow her to ask her questions. No one will bother her.”

Liv put one hand on her hip and eyed the Italian. “And who will protect her from you?”

“Liv,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Marcus bowed formally. “I give you my word as a gentleman that she will come to no harm. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Marcus Vorenus.”

Liv’s eyes got big. “Councilman Vorenus?”

“At your service,” he offered with a courtly nod. “You must be Olivia Carey. Devinshea explained you were here with Kelsey. He promised he would speak with you about Kelsey so you wouldn’t be worried.”

A delicate blush stained Liv’s face. “He talked to me, all right, but I kind of watched him. His mouth was moving…I was thinking about other things.”

“Nice, Liv,” I laughed. “Your hormones kick in at the worst times.”

“Well, he’s just so…you know,” Liv said, willing me to agree with her.

“Oh, he’s hot, but I kind of agree with Gray on this one. He’s a dick. Not that I let that fact get in the way of taking his money.” I sighed. Gray wouldn’t like me taking the faery’s money, but at least I didn’t have to fight him on it. “Why don’t you go back to your party, Liv? The councilman will show me around and then we can call a cab.”

Marcus waved off the suggestion. “I’ll take you home, Kelsey. I promised to escort you tonight and a ride home is all part of the service. I would be happy to take Ms. Carey wherever she needs to go.”

“About that,” Liv said with a frown. “I need to go. Scott and Alan are too drunk to drive home. Mr. Hot Faery has a driver waiting. I got that much from our conversation. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

I said all the right things to make Liv believe I was going to survive the night and she was off. Marcus began to politely show me around Ether. He explained the procedures and protocols for how the club worked. We walked the perimeter of the club with him showing me some of the security features. Ether, he explained to me, was considered a “place of peace.”

I enjoyed my time with him. I sat and had a glass of wine as he told me stories about his time here. We fell into an easy friendship and I had to wonder if he was the man the fertility god had spoken of, the alternative to Gray. There was no question of our chemistry, but it was an almost familiar thing. Like I’d known Marcus for a long time.

Eventually, I forced myself to get back to work.

“The girls would begin their evening here,” Marcus explained as he pointed out the bar and the VIP room.

Finally, I was making some progress. “Why here and not the vampire club?”

Marcus shrugged. “This is an excellent place to meet for many. I prefer to see it as purely a business transaction, but some would rather have a different experience.”