Bad Vampire by Lauren Dawes (read aloud books txt) 📕

I waved away her comment. “Already established. They look like whipping scars?” She gave me a blank stare, and I asked, “What the hell happened to you?”

She shrugged and slid a black sheath dress over her head, the silky fabric covering her back and hiding it from view. The dress was full-length, but light enough that she could move easily. She slid on a pair of black stilettos—the bottoms painted a vibrant red that looked like blood.

Taking the cue that she didn’t want to talk about it, I cleared my throat and asked, “So will you feed tonight?”

She smiled devilishly. “Oh yeah. Tonight, it’s going to be like an all-you-can-eat buffet, and I’m going to gorge myself.”

“Will you take someone home?”

“Only if someone takes my fancy. I’ve really been into fallen angels lately.” She shivered. “Those fellas know how to spank a female.”

“I can’t unhear that,” I drawled. “Thank you. Also, fallen angels are real?”

“Oh, sweet, sweet Cat. I forget that you’re so ignorant sometimes. Fallen angels are a dichotomy of good and evil. Mostly evil, but they know how to make a female feel good.”

“Remind me never to fuck a fallen angel.”

“Oh, you don’t fuck them, they fuck you. Hard.”

I waved my hands in front of my face. “Okay, this just moved into awkward territory.”

Faline laughed, just as there was a knock on the door. “Could you grab that? I just have to touch up my make up.”

I wobbled my way to her front door, cursing the stilettos heels for making me feel like a fucking giraffe, and opened it. I found Sawyer standing on the other side, dressed in black slacks and a black-button down… in other words, how he normally dressed. His hair had that sexy tousled look, the stubble on his jaw just the other side of five o’clock shadow. Unable to help myself, I drew his chocolate and whisky scent into my nose.

“I see you went all out for tonight,” I told him.

His heated gaze raked over my body, and I made sure to stand still. I wasn’t going to be intimidated by him. But holy hell. The look in his eyes was electrifying.

“That’s what you’re wearing tonight?” he asked, almost angrily.

I folded my arms protectively over my chest. “Yes. Why?”

His scorching gaze returned to my face. “No reason. I’m just glad I’m going in armed.”

Sixteen

Slayke was loud and oppressive. As soon as I set foot inside the door, my opal warmed against my skin and I became hyperaware of the shard of conduit glass sitting in my jacket pocket. While Sawyer spoke to someone he knew, I took a moment to take stock of the club. It was located downtown in a former industrial part of Buxton that had recently undergone a series of upgrades. Trendy bars and clubs had opened there in the last few years, the memories of drug deals and murders a not-too-distant memory.

The outside of Slayke was black brick, but the inside was a combination of deep reds, golds, and black. To our right was the bar. The left side had the DJ booth, elevated above the whole club. Cages hung from the ceiling, but the occupants locked in there didn’t look like they wanted to come out any time soon. There were at least two people in each, sometimes three, and there was one that was at least twelve feet by six feet—big enough to house the orgy that was taking place.

I let out a shallow breath and tried to remember that I was here for Faline. That it was her birthday. It wasn’t like I was a prude. I enjoyed sex. A lot. It was the mix of human-looking and non-human looking sexual partners in those cages that made me cautious. There was a woman with shimmering purple skin and a long swishy tail dressed as a Dominatrix inside one, with a creature that looked like it had hooves for feet and was covered in hair. It was very clearly male and very clearly enjoying himself.

“Where’s everyone else?” I asked, looking around for the rest of the team. Although Brax wasn’t coming, that still left BDSM and Growling Guy.

The succubus pouted. “They bailed. It doesn’t matter though. Let’s go and get a drink!” she shouted above the noise, grabbing my hand and leading me toward the bar. I ordered a double shot of Jack and downed it before ordering another one.

Sawyer sidled up beside me. “See anything you like?” he asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him, then looked out at the crowd. “It’s all very… uninhibited.”

He laughed. “It’s a supernatural sex club. What else did you expect?”

“Touché.” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I just expected things to be a little more closed door, you know? They could go to a room if they wanted to fuck.”

“You can do that too, but the cages are for the exhibitionist and voyeurs. Everyone’s needs are catered to here.”

“Have you ever been in the cage?” I asked softly. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. When he looked at me again, his eyes were black. He blinked rapidly a few times, the color swirling back to gray.

“Were you just feeding?”

He nodded. “Sorry. It’s really fucking hard to ignore the atmosphere in here.”

I knew what he was talking about. Sex was like a haze in here, and even though it shouldn’t have affected me, I felt my body respond to the sounds and smells around me.

“Does that disgust you?” Sawyer asked, brushing his knuckles gently down my cheek.

I stared at him, holding back the shiver his touch had elicited. “Not as much as I thought it would.” Swallowing a mouthful of liquor, I added, “What happens if you don’t feed?”

Leaning his elbow on the bar, he drew in a deep breath. “What happens if you don’t breathe?” he countered.

“You have to do it? Doesn’t that get boring?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted, “But that’s my nature. You can’t be angry at something that’s built into your