Don't Rush Me (Nora Jacobs #1)(4)

He laughs as if he’s just said the world’s funniest joke.

“Get off me.”

I try to break free again, and this time, thankfully, he lets me go with a sigh. “All right, all right, relax.” He rolls his eyes at Parker in the rearview mirror. “Apparently we need to get the virgin a little looser before she’s ready for me. What do you think, should we hit up Club Noir?”

Parker frowns. “That’s a bit rough for her. Let’s go someplace better. Perhaps Vortex?”

“Too many rich white people,” Xavier says. He smirks at Parker. “No offense.”

Parker ignores the jab. Apparently he’s a rich white guy, not that I couldn’t have guessed by the car and the clothes. “What about Motown?” he asks.

Xavier thinks about it and nods. “Yeah, that could work.”

My head starts spinning with ideas. If he plans to take me to a club before dragging me back to his dorm room or some cheap motel, I might have a chance to escape. Especially if I can get him drunk. But I have to get him to let his guard down first, which means playing along a little. Hopefully I can do that without getting sick. “Are we really going dancing?” I ask. “I’ve never been to a club before.”

Xavier grins at me. “It’s your night, birthday girl. You like dancing?”

“I love dancing.”

Batting my eyelashes at him might be a bit much, but he falls for it enough that he slides a possessive arm around me again. He looks down at me through hooded eyes and speaks in a low, husky voice. “You never told me you like to dance.”

The lustful thoughts I’m picking up from him are enough to drown me. Swallowing back my revulsion, I force another smile and shrug. “You’ve never asked. I’m not very good at it, though.”

“I doubt that.” Xavier shivers and graces me with a vision of the two of us grinding on a crowded dance floor. His hands are holding me in places that shouldn’t be touched in public. “Motown, it is,” he rasps, “and step on it.”

“Actually…” An idea pops into my head that I can’t ignore. I wait until I have his full attention before finishing my sentence. “If you’re going to take me to my first club, I want to go to Underworld.”

Xavier’s jaw falls slack, and Parker glances sharply at me in the rearview mirror.

“Underworld?” Xavier hoots in amusement. “Girl, you’ve got a lot more spunk than I gave you credit for.” He smiles at me again, but this time it’s patronizing. “Baby, you are way too sweet for a place like Underworld. Hell, I’m way too sweet for that club.”

“It’s not so bad,” I insist. “A guy who comes into the garage I work at goes there all the time. He says it’s intense.”

“Nora, Underworld is dangerous. Crazy shit happens there. Unexplainable shit. They say it’s cursed.”

“Rumors.” I roll my eyes, faking a confidence I don’t feel. I don’t doubt the place is cursed, considering the creatures that run it and have their fun within its walls. Neither of the guys in this car knows what kind of true monsters frequent that nightmarish place. They believe humans are the only intelligent beings in this world. They believe we’re the most dangerous things out there. They’re wrong. I learned that for myself when I was only six. Since then, my awareness had grown thanks to the message boards and people like SorcererX.

X told me that Underworld is the central hub for the supernatural community in Detroit. Humans stupid enough to go there usually end up being some monster’s prey. With my gift, I’ll have a chance at getting out unscathed, but Xavier won’t. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for. Maybe it’s a cruel fate, but it’s no worse than the plans he has for me. “Are you scared, Xavier?” I taunt, hoping he won’t be able to refuse.

Parker finally speaks up. “Aren’t you?”

He pins me with an intense look that I can’t decipher. I don’t like the way he’s staring. I’ve made him suspicious, and it’s never good to have someone curious about me. There’s too much I can’t explain. Too much I can’t hide. I try to look impassive as I lift a shoulder and let it drop. “Not really.” Glancing at Xavier, I mutter under my breath, “Underworld is no more dangerous than my present company.”

In the rearview mirror, Parker’s eyes narrow and slide from me to Xavier for a brief moment, as if he heard exactly what I said and understands my meaning. He eventually returns his focus back to the road.

Xavier shakes his head. “All right, fine, but I’ll have to call a friend to help us get in.”

I frown at the thought that Xavier knows someone who could get us into Underworld. He even sounds like he’s been there before. Humans can’t get into Underworld on their own very easily—I was banking on my gifts to help us get in. I don’t like that Xavier hangs out with monsters who could grant him access to Underworld, whether he knows what they are or not.

Xavier misinterprets my frown to be confusion. “They’re really selective about who can enter,” he explains. “Without a regular with us, we’re not nearly pierced, tatted, or scarred enough to get in. Not to mention, you aren’t dressed slutty enough.”

“I can get us in.” Parker’s low voice is confident.