Blonde & Blue (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #4)(19)

“I told you not to hunt here, Arys.” My glare was wasted on him.

“You told me not to kill here. I followed the rules. Although nobody else seems to have to.” With a smirk, he pulled me close for a bruising kiss.

The taste of blood was fresh and strong when he slipped his tongue between my lips. A series of images flashed through my mind, ending with the lifeless body of Abigail Irving. The bloodlust was sharp and sudden. I jerked away from Arys, fighting to clear my head.

“Please tell me you’re not feeding from the willing victims here.”

He frowned as if I’d suggested something vile. “Hell no. I grabbed a guy in the alley out back. It was just a taste. I didn’t kill anybody.”

I did my best to roll my eyes, but I ended up giving him a pained look instead. “Kill whoever you want to. Just don’t do it in here, and I don’t care.” As an afterthought I added, “Ok, well not whoever you want to. You know what I mean.”

“Are you alright, love?” The humor fled from his expression as he regarded my discomfort. “That’s what happens when you feed the bloodlust at first. Rather than feel satisfied, you just want more.”

“You knew?” Of course he knew, the same way I’d known the moment he walked in. Hiding it from Arys was impossible.

“Well yeah. You and Sinclair bagged yourselves a human. Nice change. Can’t say I mind. Although I’m not too keen on him being your tag team partner.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” I flashed him a vicious warning look, one that he didn’t ignore.

Arys held his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, if you and Kale want to use a job as your excuse to kill shit without a guilty conscience, feel free. But, I can see where this is going even if you choose not to.”

“No, you can’t. It was one human kill. One.” I argued for the sake of refusing to allow Arys to be right. It was useless.

“Just one? Come on, Alexa. You’re not that naive, just incredibly stubborn. It’s never just one. Not for us.” He reached to stroke a lock of my hair back from my face, and I leaned into his touch. “Already it’s burning inside you, the hunger for more. I can feel it.”

I shook my head vehemently. “I’m not going to be a slave to the bloodlust, not while I still live and breathe.”

I knew he was thinking that I was living in denial. Thankfully, he was sweet enough not to say so. It had been a while since I’d killed a human, almost a year, and it felt better than I remembered. I had to shake myself out of that frame of thought. Remembering was not going to help crush the hunger taking root in my core.

I turned to head back into the heart of the club. The Kiss was already busier than it had been just minutes before. Damn blood junkies.

Arys gave the club interior an intense once over. “Do you get a lot of demons in here?”

“What? No. Never.” I followed Arys’ gaze to the front entry.

“Well, there’s one.”

I’d had little experience with demons, and all of it was bad. I didn’t know why one would come to The Wicked Kiss, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

It hit me all at once. The sinister power that crept towards us was stifling. For a moment I couldn’t breathe. It was strong, like cold bitter coffee. Black. It was just so black. I had no better word for it.

The humans were none the wiser, but the vampires in the club quickly withdrew to the farthest corners of the building when the demon entered. Like all of the demons I’d seen, he looked human, Japanese to be precise. Average height with shining blue-black hair, he was quite attractive. I found that most demons presented a handsome façade, but it wasn’t their true face.

Even from where I stood I could make out how inhuman his intense red eyes were. That gaze landed on me, and he smiled. Adrenaline crashed through me. Oh, shit. He made his way across the room, and I watched him, my mouth as dry as cotton.

Arys stood calmly next to me. His expression revealed that he wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with this demon.

The demon stopped a few feet away. I was relieved that he stayed out of my personal space. His power was so unbearably strong that I fought to shield against it.

“Alexa O’Brien.” He greeted me with a nod. “I believe we have a mutual acquaintance, Veryl Armstrong.” His voice was like a dark, somber melody, immediately mesmerizing. He didn’t offer me a hand so much as he helped himself to mine. “My name is Shya. I’d like a few minutes of your time if that’s alright.”

We all knew the uber polite act was for show. He fully expected me to cooperate. He was one of the people Veryl had said I didn’t want to deal with. So much for that. I had no intention of pissing the guy off if I could help it.

His hand on mine was warm as his power slithered up my arm like a snake. I wanted to jerk my hand from his but resisted. “Sure. There are a few tables behind the bar where it’s a bit quieter.”

Shya shocked me by holding up a hand before Arys. “Sorry, Mr. Knight. I’m afraid this is a private matter. And, since you’ve turned down our offer, you’ll have to sit this one out.”

I held my breath and waited for Arys’ response. He never told me that demons had asked him to work with them. Why would he choose not to mention that?

Shya never gave him the opportunity to reply. He turned his back on Arys without a second glance and indicated that I should lead the way. I hesitated just long enough to see the fury flash through Arys’ midnight blue eyes. Hoping to avoid trouble, I quickly led the way to an empty table behind the bar. I almost laughed with relief when Arys stayed put. It wasn’t like him, which told me more about Shya than I wanted to know.