Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(18)

The enormously scary half demon looked down at me, his eyes flaring briefly. “Good evening, sir. Good evening, Miss Wharton. Welcome to Ether.”

The halfling’s genteel speech was only marred by the slightest lisp made as his tongue maneuvered its way around his enormous fangs. I was speechless for a moment, and it takes a lot to render me speechless.

“If there’s anything I can do to make your evening more enjoyable, please do not hesitate to ask,” the demon said. “We pride ourselves on service.”

“Thank you, Albert,” Dev said as he led me through the door.

I stopped, forcing Dev to stop with me. “You own the club.”

He laughed. “I own this club and two more. I have one in New York and one in Vegas. We’re working on finding a suitable place in Miami.”

So he was gorgeous and wealthy, putting him even further out of my league. “You let me think that bouncer was going to toss me out on my keester.”

Dev took my hand again, leading me on. “Albert is far too civilized to ever throw a lady out on her rear. He would have politely had you escorted back to your car. He’s just filling in tonight. Most of my security team are werewolves, and it’s a full moon. I tend to get a little thin during the full moon.”

“What does Albert normally do?”

“He’s my butler,” Dev said seriously. “And he does my taxes.”

We walked through the impressive foyer. I noticed a large sign stating the club’s rules.



Welcome to Ether

No weapons allowed

This includes holy objects, silver, iron, guns, stakes, swords or the like

No humans or hunters

Please, no exorcisms on the dance floor

The bringing about of the apocalypse on the premises is strictly discouraged

Thank you and have a nice day!



I was pondering the rules when I heard a sound that made me turn. There was a shriek that managed to resound over the thumping techno beat. “OMG! I can’t believe you’re here!”

I turned to see Neil pushing his way off the dance floor toward me. He was dressed to impress in form-fitting black slacks and a tight white T-shirt that showed off his well-muscled chest. “Hey, I thought you had a date.”

“Girl, you look good enough to eat! Witchie worked some magic on you.” Neil took my hand in his and twirled me around to get a 360 degree view. “You should wear that every day from now on. Sorry to say my date turned out to be a bust. I’m so gonna call that dating agency. They are supposed to match you based on compatibility, but telekinetic boy turned out to be a vegan. You can guess how that worked out.” Neil turned his attention to Dev. When I thought about it later, I realized it was a testament to our friendship that Neil had talked to me first. There was nothing he liked more than a really hot guy, and Dev fit the bill. Neil’s eyes went wide as he looked Dev up and down. “Oh, honey, is this your date? Please say no. Please tell me he’s your new homo friend.”

Dev took it all in stride, and I liked him all the more for it. He smiled and leaned forward, offering his hand. “The name’s Dev. And sorry, I’m a hundred percent hetero.”

Neil shook Dev’s hand and sighed. “Well, it just looks like Z has cornered the market on hot guys tonight. What’s a boy to do? Between this one and…oh crap. The two of you are on a date, right?”

“Yes.” Did anyone think I could get a date?

“Quelle drama!” Neil sighed. He seemed to come to some inner decision, and he took my hand again. “Listen, I was just thinking about heading out. This place is kinda dead. How about we three go somewhere else and have a drink? The bar here sucks.”

Dev huffed a little and seemed ready to defend his club when we both saw the reason Neil was attempting to get us to leave. Sitting at the bar, dressed in an immaculate suit, was Daniel. He had his arm around a chesty blonde. He was staring straight at me, and as he realized I was looking, he curled his hand around her shoulder. I could see even from here that her IQ probably matched her bra size.

“So you just work with him, huh?” Dev asked, frowning a little.

“There might be a little more to the story,” I admitted with a sigh.

It was going to be a long night.





Chapter Six





“Coffee, black, please,” I ordered when the bartender finally got around to me. He gave me a puzzled look but was professional enough not to ask questions. Unfortunately, he was the only one who didn’t ask questions or make way too perceptive comments.

“You’ll have to forgive my employer.” I turned just in time to see Albert settle his hulking body onto the barstool next to me. It looked like the butler/accountant/part-time bouncer was taking a break to play counselor.

“Oh, I disagree. I don’t see myself forgiving anyone involved in this particular evening.” I brought the coffee cup to my lips and glanced over at the scene playing out just yards away.

Dev, Neil, Daniel, and the girl I had come to affectionately refer to as “Skank Ho” were sitting in the VIP section of the club. It was like a lushly decorated living room. There was a decadent-looking sectional sofa and a large coffee table. The room came with its own bar and bartender, and a server stood off to the side waiting to fulfill any request. The room was open on two sides, allowing a view of both the impressive dance floor and the regular bar area. Large screen plasma TVs covered the other two walls. The screens had been set to music videos when we entered the room but Dev had quickly switched to both a baseball game and a basketball playoff game.