things had fallen apart with Seth and me. My world had been torn apart, and I found myself with an empty soul and bitter self-loathing of my own. Seth had inspired me to believe in better things in the world, but all that hope had disappeared with our love. Dante’s bleak, cynical outlook seemed more realistic now and more in line with my own worldview. He and I had hooked up, eerily compatible in our mutual despair. I didn’t love him, but I liked him.
I poured us glasses of Grey Goose once we were inside. I preferred gimlets but didn’t feel like going to the trouble of finding my lime juice. We settled on my couch with our drinks and cigarettes, and I finished up the story of my Canadian misadventures.
“Wow,” he said when I was done. “All that because you fucked your therapist?” Unlike Seth, who hadn’t liked knowing details about my succubus sex life, Dante took it all in stride.
I shrugged. “Well, I had nothing to do with the vampire gang war last night. But yeah, the rest is on me, I guess. You think they’re related?”
He swirled his vodka around. “If you don’t think Cedric did it, then probably not. The vampire thing is likely a coincidence. But that Portland demon was right. You probably are being played.” There was almost a growl to his words, uncharacteristically protective.
I groaned. “But how? Everyone keeps saying that, yet I only got involved twenty-four-hours ago. How am I being manipulated in some huge affair in so short a time?”
“Because you’ve walked into something that’s been going on for a while. It’s not built around you per se, but now you’re in it.”
I leaned back against the couch and stared bleakly at the ceiling. “I should have never slept with Dr. Davies.”
“Was he good?”
“Are you jealous?”
“Nah. Just trying to figure out what turns you on.”
“Scathing wit, if present company’s any indication.”
“Somehow, I’m not convinced that’s the allure. Besides, are you saying you’re turned on right now?”
I was still staring at the ceiling. There were some fine cracks in the paint I hadn’t noticed before. “Do you think I should move?”
“What, closer to me?”
“No, as in out. Into a new place.”
“What’s wrong with this one? You have a great place. At least you don’t live where you work.” Dante’s bedroom was attached to his store.
I leaned forward and looked at him with a smile. “I might as well live where I work. I don’t know. I feel like it’s time for a change.”
His gray eyes were thoughtful as he regarded me. “You’ve told me about this—how you get an itch for change and suddenly end up transforming your identity and moving to a different country.”
Reaching out, I gently brushed some of his black hair out of his face and tucked it behind his ears. “I’ve only been here for fifteen years. It’s way too soon to leave.”
“So you say. Today you talk about a new apartment, tomorrow you could disappear. For all I know, maybe you’re scoping out new employment opportunities in Vancouver.”
I laughed and knocked back the rest of my vodka. “No, definitely not. Although, I think Cedric would be easier to work for than Jerome. Or at least a little less annoying.”
“Even in Canada?”
“Canada’s not that bad. Vancouver’s actually a pretty cool city. But don’t tell anyone I said that.”
Dante set his glass down and reached into his shirt pocket. “Maybe I can bribe you to stick around. Or at least be on time.”
A flash of gold caught my eye as he lifted out a watch. It was delicate, almost looking more like a bracelet than a true watch. It had gold links for a band, and its face had a filigree pattern that glittered in the light. I often found watches boring and utilitarian, but this was beautiful. He handed it to me, and I held it up to get a better look. I could shape-shift any jewelry I wanted onto me, but something manmade—something given as a gift—always had more meaning.
“Where did you get this?” I asked. “Did you steal it?”
He scoffed. “Figures. I do something nice, and you have to question it.”
“Sorry,” I said, feeling a tiny bit bad. That had been pretty ungrateful of me. “But you can’t tell me this is part of your normal budget, not with the business you get.”
“I told you, I had a good streak last night. And since you weren’t around for a night on the town, I figured I’d show you my undying affection some other way. Now, are you going to say thank you, or are you going to keep bitching me out?”
“Thank you,” I said. I fastened the watch onto my wrist and admired the way it looked against my tanned skin.
“Maybe you’ll be easier to find now—or at least be on time.”
I grinned. “Oh, this wasn’t affection. This was pragmatism.”
“Nah. A little of both. I wanted to get you jewelry, but necklaces and rings are too sappy.” He held up his own wrist. “Only thing that didn’t make me want to throw up.”
“And they say there’s no romance left in this world,” I laughed.
He gently reached out and touched the watch, tracing a circle around my wrist. Then, his hand trailed up my arm and along the edge of my blouse’s V-neck, letting him slip his fingers underneath it. Slowly, carefully, he moved over to one of my breasts, his fingertips dancing around the edges of my nipple, which already stood up hard under the thin fabric. He circled the nipple, pressure increasing, until he finally pinched it between his fingers, squeezing it so unexpectedly hard that I gave a small gasp of surprise.
“Whoa, you don’t waste any time,” I said. “You give a gift, and thirty seconds later, it’s a free-for-all?”
His eyes were hungry and intense now, reminding me of storm clouds. “I’ve missed you,” he said. “I keep thinking I’ll get used to you…that you’ll stop being so sexy. But it never happens.”
Impromptu or not, I felt my own lust stirring. We hadn’t been together in a while, and there was a big difference between sleeping with strangers and with those you were close to. He wrapped one hand in my hair, holding it tight, not caring if it hurt me or not. Domination and power, the ability to inflict pain if he wanted, always turned him on, and I had gotten used to this game. He jerked me to him and pressed his lips against my neck as I tilted my head back. His breath was hot against my skin as his teeth grazed me. Meanwhile his hands reached out and grasped the sides of my blouse, ripping it open. A couple of buttons scattered across the floor.
Heat was building between my legs, and I moved closer as his hands closed around the cups of my black satin bra. He pushed the edges of it down so that my breasts spilled over the tip, then pinched both nipples down, nails digging in. I moaned again, and while I really wasn’t into pain, I always liked the way he mingled it with pleasure. Satisfied at my reaction,
