Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)(8)

“Goodbye, Sloane.” Jerking the door open, Arys ignored her pleas. He swung his arm in a gesture for her to get out. The two vampires had a stare down the way vampires often do. Arys won.

With a huff and a shrug, Sloane sashayed from the room. Lingering at the door, she cast a glance at each of us in turn, ending with Arys. “I was hoping you’d prove to be the more reasonable one. God knows it isn’t Jenner. Your presence opens up old wounds. You should know better.” Without another word, she disappeared into the hallway.

The door slammed behind her, and I faced Arys with a deadly glare. “Are you kidding me? What the hell was that?”

“I didn’t know she was coming,” Arys began to explain, continuing even as my glare darkened. “Sloane was just being Sloane. She’s a bit over the top sometimes. She doesn’t mean any harm though. I’m sure she’s overreacting.” Realizing he was rambling, he paused to study me. “Are you ok? You feel a little scattered.”

“I wasn’t ok before I walked in here. Now I’m not ok, and I’m pissed.” Instead of allowing my temper to start a fight, I walked away. I went to the bedroom to dig through my suitcase. My hands shook from hunger and fury. Damn vampires and their touchy feely, cryptic crap.

From the living room came Jez’s low murmur, telling Arys about my near attack on the man downstairs. Shaz’s voice joined the mix, and I tuned them all out by crossing the hall to the bathroom.

The tub was nice and big, with jets. A quick perusal of the small bottles lined up on the bathroom counter revealed bubble bath. If I could relax and refocus my energy, perhaps it would help. The urgency and demand of the bloodlust had faded, though it remained as an ill twinge in the pit of my stomach.

I was expecting Arys when he knocked, then opened the door. I stood at the counter, tying my long locks up into a bun to keep them from getting wet. The mirror allowed me to watch him enter, closing the door behind him. Our eyes met through the reflection.

“How are you feeling?” He asked tentatively as if expecting me to tear his head off.

“I feel like a failure for losing control like that. I feel like bitch slapping you for flaunting another former lover in my face.” I leaned over the tub to check the water temperature and turned the hot up a bit. “I won’t though. I’m mostly just mad at myself. And that cheap blonde floozy.”

Arys’s lips twitched as he tried to hide his amusement at my jealousy. “There’s only one blonde for me. You know that.”

“I do. I know.” I nodded, peeling my top off and tossing it on the floor. I saw the way his gaze traveled over me, lingering on my bra-covered br**sts. It was a nice stroke of my ego, especially after seeing the knockout that just walked out of here. “Are you planning to stay and watch while I relax in a bath? Maybe tell me some lies about how this Vegas visit won’t be a total mind f**k?”

“Oh, it will be that and more, I’m sure.” Arys leaned against the counter, watching me strip down as if he hadn’t seen my body countless times before. “I came to give you blood. It’ll kill the urge for a while. Don’t slap me for saying this, but you might have to, um, partake a little. Obviously, the ideal place would be Jenner’s club. I believe I owe it a visit anyway.”

Harley Kayson had owned a small franchise of nightclubs for those who wanted to give and take blood, among other things. The Edmonton club caused tons of trouble in my city, until Shaz and I killed Harley. Naturally, I took over control of that club, but that’s where my control ended. Harley’s other properties were scattered around North America, and Lord knows where else, each of them under someone else’s control. Las Vegas was Jenner’s.

I didn’t need blood to survive. Not yet. But I did need it to keep the bloodlust at bay. Vampire blood was potent and powerful but a short term fix at best. It wasn’t mortal, yet it would take the edge off. However, Arys was ludicrous to think we could walk into the club of the vampire who had told us to get the hell out of town.

“We didn’t think this part through before leaving home.” I turned off the water and stuck a toe in the tub. It was hot and welcoming. “I can’t take blood from some Vegas blood whore. And most definitely not at a club owned by someone who hates you. We’re not going in there.”

“What about Shaz? You could take his blood. No power games.”

I shot Arys a dirty look, surprised he would suggest such a thing. “Absolutely not. Totally out of the question. I can’t use him as a blood source. It’s far too dangerous.”

“For who?” Arys challenged. “Him or you? It’s just blood, Alexa. He can handle bleeding a little.”

“It’s never just blood!” My voice echoed, amplified by the bathroom acoustics. I lowered the volume, aware of the keen ears beyond the door. “You’ve said the same thing yourself.”

Arys held his hands up in surrender. “Fine. I’ll leave that between you and the pup. Eventually, it will come up again. But I’m out of it. Ok?” He held his wrist out to me in invitation.

I didn’t want his wrist, but I accepted it anyway. I preferred a more intimate bite. There was nothing like feeling someone’s jugular beneath my lips. My fangs sprang forth, yet I hesitated. Wolf fangs didn’t pierce as neatly as vampire fangs. When Arys gestured for me to go ahead, I bit carefully into his wrist. The tangy vampire blood spilled from the wound, deliciously coating my tongue. I sucked hard on the bite, coaxing a groan from Arys.