Ill Will Page 16

  When his emotions lightened, I made an effort to block them off. The Cords trembled, like they knew what I was trying to do and disapproved.

  I didn’t really care. Be your own demon, Sura.

  Humans liked pep talks. Turns out they worked.

  “And what about your date?” Will looked up at me, no longer looking quite so pissed.

  I couldn’t help but grin. “I’m a sexually liberated being, I can share.” Oh, if only he knew.

  Another thought flashed through him, hitting me like a punch to the gut: Tori between us, writhing on our cocks, as Will leaned forward to catch her mouth in a kiss…

  Fuck, fuck, fuck. Maybe he did know. I stopped myself from staring at him, wondering if he suspected what I was. The prospect of sharing Tori had turned his repressed thoughts and desires into a flashing sign at the front of his brain.

  He blinked and the thought faded, thank Lucifer, because my cock was pulsing and every fiber of what I was urged me to act on those desires.

  I had to sever the Cords before I entwined any further into his psyche, or my free will would be subjugated by his once more.

  Will sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I screwed up. I shouldn’t have fucked her.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, frowning. “I thought I could keep that in check.”

  Maybe. It’d taken the tiniest nudge in the history of incubus-kind to send them over the edge. I might not have needed to do anything at all, but their building desire had left me ravenous and I needed them.

  “Believe me, Will, if I get the chance, I’m doing the same.” A wicked grin split my face, just a hint of the incubus peeking out, but I reeled it in before Will opened his eyes. “But unlike you, I’m going to treat it like my birthday came early.”

  He shook his head, but the tension was gone. I could’ve sighed in relief.

  Two more days, then I was going to do whatever it took to make Tori mine.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ________

  TORI

  If I’d thought I was going to get away with my one-foot-on-Clouded-Court-territory plan, I’d been sorely mistaken.

  The vampire bastard was waiting for me. I wore the tiny red mini-dress Lydia had lent me, and it was impossible to ignore the tingle in my stomach when Sura licked his lips, the tension in his hand on my waist.

  Will was quiet. He hadn’t said one cruel thing since we’d done the deed. Maybe he was reeling as badly as I was; confusion, want, and anger all vied for first place inside me.

  He was right. When Mom met Percival, totally by chance, I’d jumped blindly at the chance to take back what I’d lost. I saw a guy who would’ve been James’ age, the chance for a happy family again, no more long weeks of Mom going into a fugue and forgetting to eat, no more sleepless nights.

  I’d been so determined to force us into the role of happy siblings I hadn’t stopped to consider if he even wanted that.

  But now that I accepted we’d never fit that mold, it opened new doors that left me sick with both trepidation and excitement. I tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep without imagining Will in the next room over, more than a little terrified that we’d never be able to look each other in the eye again.

  Christmas was going to be so fucking awkward.

  The limo pulled up in front of Club Bathory, and I let everyone else get out, including Sura, until just Will and I were left.

  He paused, his eyes running from my bare legs, the low neckline, up to my face. I’d smudged black eyeliner around my eyes, figuring if I was going to a vamp club I might as well look the part. “You look beautiful, Tori.”

  For a second, I was speechless. Will’s green eyes cut like shards of glass as he climbed over to me. “You’re all Sura’s tonight, but I want you to know you’ll be driving me wild, too.” He leaned forward and caught me in a kiss, his tongue plunging into my mouth.

  Heat filled my center, nipples hardening under the silky dress as his fingers ran up my thigh. “Someone might see,” I rasped, pulling away. Whether or not we wanted it, everyone else thought of us as the same family.

  “Let them see,” Will whispered. “I don’t give a fuck what any of them think.”

  I might’ve wrapped my arms around his neck, but Sura leaned back into the open door. “At least let me have a few drinks with my date before we undress her, yeah?”

  The total confidence that either of them would be undressing me took my breath away.

  Maybe because Will was about halfway there, pushing my skirt up.

  And knowing that if I wanted to, I could end this night on Sura, riding that huge cock like my very first pony-

  “You’re blushing, Tori,” Will said dryly. “Reel it in or all the vamps will get excited.”

  They were so casual about the idea of sharing. Holy fuck. I’d died and gone to Double-Dick Heaven.

  I straightened myself out, got out of the limo, and stopped dead in my tracks.

  Càel was leaning against the brick wall outside Club Bathory’s doors, next to a shadowy vampire bouncer who didn’t look too pleased about his company. The White Wolf gave me a syrupy-slow, gorgeous grin… or one that would’ve been gorgeous, if it weren’t for the fangs.

  Even so, an unwanted jolt of lust pulsed in my stomach. “Great, it’s you.”

  The actual bouncer looked horrified, inching away from Càel.

  “Cutting it a little fine, aren’t you, mo shíorghrá?”

  I spread my arms, scowling up at him. A vampire had no right to look that good… or so happy to see me. Especially given how we’d met. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  “What did he call her?” Will muttered to Sura.

  Càel tapped an imaginary watch on his wrist. “With ten minutes to spare.”

  “No idea. Sounded like he was gargling pebbles,” Sura said.

  “You’re tracking me down to the minute? That’s a little obsessive, don’t you think?” I crossed my arms over my chest when Càel’s pale gaze dipped lower than my face and his grin widened.

  “The agreement was for once a week,” he purred. “To the minute. But you look so delicious, I’d have forgiven the late fee this once.” The bouncer was trying to fold himself as small as possible into the corner of the doorway, which wasn’t working very well, given that he was built like a refrigerator. I wondered if I should be nervous that a guy who terrified walking refrigerators was eye-fucking me with a purr in his voice.

  Probably, yeah, but my lady bits had other ideas.

  “Well, my end of the agreement is fulfilled for this week. If you’ll excuse me, I have a date.” I looped my hand through Sura’s arm, took one step forward, and slammed into Càel’s chest.

  Goddamn, he was fast. I inhaled in surprise, breathing in his foresty juniper-and-mint-on-manly-bod scent.

  It was probably a testament to his reputation that neither Will nor Sura stepped in when his face moved towards mine, but Will’s jaw tightened when Càel took a deep breath and smirked.

  “I smell your brother on your lips, shíorghrá. Is that what they do in New York?”

  “I’m not her brother,” Will said, tension evident under his even tone. “And even on Court territory, your rights end where hers begin. She’s done nothing to break your Law.”

  Without thinking, I slipped my fingers through Will’s and his hand clamped down on mine. Càel didn’t miss the gesture.

  “How strange. I believe you introduced yourselves as siblings to my King only seven days ago.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, ready to retort, but Will squeezed my hand. The feeling of his fingers laced in mine, Sura at my side, and Càel in front of me kicked up butterflies in my stomach.

  Now that was a ménage scene I didn’t need stuck in my head later.

  “He’s just trying to fuck with you, Tori,” Will said smoothly. “He knows perfectly well we’re not related by blood.”

  “How defensive you get,” Càel said with a laugh. He laughed like he was genuinely amused, with a smil
e that lit up his whole face.

  Watching him laugh like that, it was hard to believe he was responsible for so much death and mayhem over the centuries.

  “What does that word mean?” Will was right. I wasn’t going to give Càel the satisfaction of knowing he could rile me up. “Heergraw?” I probably butchered it, judging by the slight wince Càel had. Good.

  I also should’ve known he wasn’t going to let me off easy. “Appalling pronunciation. It’s for me to know, and you to figure out, Victoria Holmwood.”

  He disappeared so quickly I was a little stunned. Will released my fingers, and after a few seconds, the vampire bouncer uncurled from his safe space in the corner. I patted his shoulder as we passed; if vampires could sweat, the guy would’ve been swimming.

  The pixie club was already swarming with bodies and the gold glitter of dust when we pushed the door open. I saw flashes of other Tenebris students here and there, Apolline with her lips and tongue sparkling as she danced against a moonspawn in ripped jeans, Lydia out of her shell and… yep, there went her dress, too.

  Sura wound his fingers through mine with a grin. “Not this one, Victoria the Resplendent.” He pointed up. “Seventh Heaven.”

  The seventh was one of the floors blocked of all light. The tiniest coil of disquiet tugged at my limbs, then I pushed through the crush of dancers to the staircase and found a dark metal door to the side.

  The words Seventh Heaven had been painted on it in bright pink Gothic letters, glowing under a blacklight. A portrait of a demon’s face grinned down at me, forked tongue coiling through the letters. “Can’t believe I haven’t seen it before,” I shouted. The bass thump of music was echoing in my chest and bones, shaking my body apart. Crazy that the pixie club would be so much louder up here.

  “Because it’s enchanted,” Sura shouted back. “You don’t see it unless someone who’s been here invites you in.”

  I glanced back down the staircase over my shoulder. Will had taken up residence in the corner of the pixie club, the rim of a beer bottle pressed to his full lips. For some strange reason, I didn’t want to leave him there, but… this was supposed to be my date with Sura.

  Sura pushed the door open. Glittering smoke billowed out, tinted in shades of hellfire, and he pulled me through. The door immediately slammed behind me, locking us into a swirling storm of fog and pulsing crimson lights.

  It was almost impossible to make out the bodies through the thick fog, but Sura never let go of my hand. The fog finally cleared a little around the edges of a black-lacquered bar, where a demon with broken horns was slinging drinks.

  I tried not to stare, a hot gush of fury filling my stomach, but it was impossible not to examine a demon standing this close.

  He was an ex-Legionnaire, which meant he looked like a larger-than-average human, with dark hunter-green skin. Black brands were burned into his chest and abdomen, and if his horns hadn’t been shattered near the roots, they would’ve formed a large, curled rack.

  The demon looked up at Sura with eyes that burned like marsh fire. “You brought a date, Mr. Enver.” His precise, faintly-accented voice surprised me a little- I’d expected an incomprehensible gargle of demonic gibberish.

  Sura pulled out a chair for me and I slid into it, never tearing my gaze from the bartender. “Victoria Holmwood, Korso. Korso, Tori. She’s new in Libra.”

  “And you brought her to precisely the one place she shouldn’t be?” If I didn’t know better, I’d say Korso sounded dry.

  My stomach was flipping in earnest now. Why was Sura on such good terms with a Legionnaire? “I decide where I want to go, thanks.”

  Korso’s disconcerting eyes flickered, but I held them steadily. Shockingly, they weren’t as terrible to look into as I thought they’d be. Sura’s hand slid over my shoulder, his fingers stroking my skin and wandering to the back of my neck, and Korso’s head tilted a fraction to the left.

  “Very well, Victoria; we’ll introduce you to Seventh Heaven the proper way.”

  He placed a row of shot glasses on the bar top and pulled out a bottle of liquor that no human distillery had created. The whisky was rich and dark, but it had a glint to it that spoke of demonic origins, like the liquid would spark and burst into flames at any moment.

  Korso lit a match and touched it to the surface of each shot glass, but instead of burning continuously, the whisky lit up, turned black as pitch, and the flame guttered out.

  He took one for himself, put two in front of Sura, and handed me one, which I was fine with, because there was no way I was taking more than one shot of what looked like tar scooped right out of Belial’s toilet.

  I picked up the little glass, which was much heavier than it had any right to be for such a small amount of liquid.

  We could’ve just gone to his room to watch horror movies and… hang out (my brain stuttered over fuck his brains out, but I pushed the thought aside), but instead we were in a demonic bubble nestled inside a vampire club, and I was about to willingly drink…

  “Satan’s Bathwater,” Sura said with a wicked grin, raising his shots.

  “All hail the Dark Prince!” Korso declared fervently.

  Sura downed one of the glasses. “All hail.” He slammed the other.

  What the hell? “Small snail the quark mince,” I muttered quickly, and tossed it back before Korso could ask me what I’d toasted.

  Satan’s Bathwater went down like molasses, so dark and rich I could almost bite into it, caressing my tongue all the way down until it landed in my stomach and filled me like a glowing coal. Then the inferno hit.

  Korso slid me a glass of ice water. I downed half of it before the sensation of being eaten alive from the inside settled, and the Bathwater zipped through my veins with a gnawing buzz.

  “Wow,” I breathed. “That’s some good shit.”

  Korso nodded sagely. “Indeed it is.”

  Sura took his second shot and shook his head when Korso offered him water. As drunk as I suddenly was off one shot, the lights were rippling strangely off their skin, and the fog didn’t seem so thick anymore. A dark iridescence touched Sura’s skin, shimmering, begging me to touch him. “If you’re a demon, why is this called Seventh Heaven?”

  “Jokes, Tori,” Sura said in my ear, his hands at my waist. “Demons like their jokes.”

  I allowed him to spin my bar stool around until we were face to face. His fingers trailed over my knees, pushing upwards. “Why are you so friendly with demons, Sura?” My words were thick, like they had a hard time pushing past my tongue. “Isn’t this conduct unbecoming of a slayer?”

  He grinned, teeth flashing white against his deep skin. “Tori, right now you’re like the poster girl for conduct unbecoming. Might as well take it all the way.” Sura pushed between my knees, ran his hands over my hips, and my stomach exploded into little fiery, black-winged butterflies.

  What, in Sura’s book, was taking it all the way? I slid off the stool, stepping so close you couldn’t have slid a sheet of paper between us. He towered overhead, but I reached up and touched the hard line of his jaw, tracing it down to his chin.

  “If you’re going to fuck him, take it out there.” Korso’s terse voice interrupted the spell. “Importing infernal liquor is very expensive. Can’t have you damaging the goods.”

  “Just ignore him.” Sura was barely audible over the thumping bass that seemed much heavier now that I was well and truly drunk. He swallowed, his dark eyes glittering as he looked down at me, and I blinked. For a moment, with the way Seventh Heaven’s glittering fog wreathed his head, it looked like he’d had horns. “Come with me, Tori.”

  Well, hell yes, I would.

  I let him pull me through the fog, into the mass of dancers. Unlike the pixie club’s chaotic strobing lights and screams overlying the music, everything here seemed so much more intense, pulsing into my bones, like the dancers weren’t just dancing.

  It was a ritual. I slowly realized that as I fell into the wave, buoyed by the othe
rs. There were humans, wide-eyed and slack, demons with their curling horns and marsh fire eyes, and even a slayer or two alongside me, their skin imprinted with geometric tattoos.

  Balls of foxfire drifted overhead, and I caught one glowing orb in my hands, passing it along to the next dancer and leaving a line of crackling light between us.

  Sura’s fingers danced over my waist. There was no room between us as he ground against me. “Remember what you said our first night here?”

  I strained to hear him over the music, lost somewhere between the tides and the heat in my limbs. Korso’s whisky was less frenetic than the pixie dust high, making me feel like I was swimming in fire. “I’ll be honest, I mostly remember the more… physical parts.”

  A quick smile flashed across his face. “You said you wouldn’t fuck a Shadowed Worlder.”

  “And I stand by that.” I slid my hands over his heavily-muscled thighs, luxuriating in the feel of him against me. “So don’t go trying to set me up with Korso.”

  Sura scoffed, pulling me back against him. His cock was like an iron bar across my ass. “I wouldn’t share you with Korso for anything,” he said. “I’m just curious.”

  “To be honest, I can’t believe I even let you bring me into a demon club. The idea of sex, or hell, even feelings for someone not of my kind just seems… inimical to everything we are.” A small, spiny imp chattered overhead when it heard me, and a thought hit me like a punch. Apolline and her like were openly interested in vampires… and Sura had clearly been a regular of Seventh Heaven for a while. “You’ve been with demons before, haven’t you?”

  What other reason could he have for being part of a hidden demon club?

  I couldn’t hide the sick swoop in my stomach when I pictured Sura entangled with a demoness, drunk on their brand of infernal power, and his hands tightened on my shoulders when I stiffened.

  “No, I haven’t been with a demon, Tori.” He spun me around, forcing me to look up at him. “Look, I really didn’t bring you here to grill you about your sexual preferences. Korso’s good people, and I just wanted to have a good time with you without Will cock-blocking.”