Of course, he couldn’t very well tell the police that his club had never served a minor because the men carding at the door were actually preternatural creatures. And preternatural creatures were absolutely great at sniffing out underage partygoers. Minors always gave off a specific and strong vibe. Youth, nervousness, and excitement. Hard to miss and easy to turn away.
Fortunately, the police decided the accusation was unfounded without that information. With that problem solved, he was now ready to focus on more pleasurable things. He needed that. Between the NYPD, and his brothers, he needed some fun.
He also needed to reaffirm himself. To reaffirm that his existence was just fine the way it was, despite his brothers’ opinions to the contrary. He was single, he was undead, and he was damned happy about both.
He grinned at Hannah.
“Hi there, Han…darling.” Maybe it was better to avoid names, though.
Probably-Hannah’s smile widened, her eyes narrowing with a predatory hunger that would put any vampire to shame. She stepped back to him, pressing her breasts against his arm as she leaned in to speak.
“Sebastian, I missed you.”
He sighed at the sensation of her body against his. Oh yeah, Probably-Hannah was definitely the right place to start reaffirming. He didn’t have that confused.
“Where have you been? I couldn’t find you the last time I was here.”
“You were looking for me? When?” he asked, making sure his voice dripped with disappointment.
“Last Saturday.”
He could have guessed that. Probably-Hannah was one of his club’s many regulars. Repeat mortal customers who his vampire patrons labeled “Fang Freaks.” Mortals who returned to his nightclub over and over in hopes of hooking up with a preternatural being. Of course, the mortals didn’t understand that was what kept them coming back, nor did they understand the source of their addiction. They just knew that what happened here didn’t happen anywhere else.
Sebastian glanced over Probably-Hannah’s shoulder to see a group of women watching him.
He smiled. They each responded with some form of invitation: a tempting smile, a coy bat of the lashes, an enticing shift of their bodies that readily said, “Here I am.”
He breathed in deeply. Damn, it was good to be a vampire. And the owner of one of the most popular nightclubs in Manhattan. This is where he ruled, where he had control. And his possibilities were so open. But for tonight, he’d made his choice. He might not remember if she was Hannah or Anna, but Sebastian hadn’t forgotten this woman’s reaction to him or her taste on his tongue. His body responded, his fangs distending just a bit.
“Care to dance?” He motioned to the dance area, where muted red and purple lights glowed under the frosted flooring.
She nodded, twining her arms around his and falling into step beside him.
Carfax Abbey, a name taken from his favorite novel, Dracula (of course), was busy tonight. As he stepped into the throng of gyrating dancers, he was overwhelmed by the scent of mortals, warm and musky with a heady undertone of sweet rustiness. Mingling with that was the impression of other preternatural beings. Their presence made the air vibrate as if the molecules and atoms were agitated by their very existence. The sensation was as exciting as the humans’ scents, but not quite as alluring.
He pulled the lovely blonde against him and began to move with the sultry beat of the music. Her arms came up to snake around his neck, her fingers toying with his hair. Her eyes locked with his as she followed his movements instinctively. Their bodies pressed tight together. A delicious friction.
“I love this song,” she said, her lips grazing his ear as she spoke over the music. “I love how you dance.”
He pulled her tighter, more interested in enjoying her body than her small talk. Which could explain the uncertainty on her name.
He dropped his nose to her hair, smelling the fruity perfume of her shampoo and the sweet scent thrumming just beneath the surface of her smooth skin. Maybe one more dance, then he would invite her to his apartment upstairs over the club.
Tonight he was edgy. His hunger barely contained. Sex and feeding were his two favorite pastimes, but this evening his body literally ached for both.
“Hannah, you found him.”
Ha! He’d been right; it was Hannah.
He turned his head to see an auburn-haired beauty in a black-and-red brocade corset and a very tight, very small, black leather skirt. A pair of black boots came up over her knees.
Sebastian started to speak, but paused. He’d slept with her, too, hadn’t he? What was her name? Alex? Alice? Elise? Damn.
“Yes, I did find him. See, Sebastian, you’ve been very, very missed.”
The new woman, whose name definitely did start with a vowel, smiled widely and nodded. “Very missed.”
“Sebastian Young!” Another woman with exotic dark eyes and long black hair joined them. “Where have you been?”
She stepped between the two women and hugged him.
Now, he did know this woman’s name. “Hello, Leah.”
The dark-haired woman pulled back and smiled admonishingly. “Gia, love.”
“Right. Right. Gia.”
“So, Sebastian, why have you been so scarce lately?” The redhead touched his arm as she spoke.
“I had some family commitments I needed to attend to,” he said. Actually, it had been more like family torments. He loved his brothers, but they were newly reformed and utterly fang-whipped. In other words, dead dull.
Not that they’d ever been that much fun anyway.
Which was why he was here. “But enough boring talk. Let me get you beautiful women drinks.”
He herded them toward the bar, his thoughts already on the delights that lay ahead for the night.
The entire length of the bar was lined up a couple rows deep with waiting patrons as two of his bartenders, Nadine and Ferdinand, rushed to fill drink orders. He strolled to the end, which was left clear for the cocktail servers to pick up their orders.
The area was empty, except for one waitress, a rather ordinary-looking woman with her black hair pulled into two messy ponytails/knots on the top of her head and plastic-rimmed glasses. At first he thought she was a mortal, which surprised him, because it was standard club policy to avoid hiring humans. Then as he got closer, he realized she was actually a preternatural. A vampiress.
He frowned, regarding her in disbelief. This creature was a vampire? The vibe radiating from her wasn’t as obvious as it was with most vamps. In fact it was quite faint, but it was definitely there.
He studied her, realizing her faint preternatural vibration wasn’t the only thing strange about her. Not all vampires were beautiful, but they were all striking in some way. This vampiress had nothing remarkable
