Chapter 1.

  Quill

  A crystal chandelier hung several stories above and I stared at it while prisms of color reflected about the ballroom. Beneath it, a congregation of people stood amongst round tables dressed to the tens. A dark thought crept into my mind as I watched them, wondering how many people would die if the chandelier crashed down in that instant.

  The pool of blood would be a mixture of dozens of different people from different backgrounds, ages, races. My fangs protracted at the mere thought, absently, I darted my tongue over them. A violent, but delicious cocktail.

  I pushed that unhelpful thought aside and moved to the bar. Leaning against the polished wood, I stared at myself through the mirror between shelves of liquor and frowned briefly.

  One myth was that vampires didn’t create reflections in mirrors. We did, I just hated to see myself. I was so damned pale. Under the warm light of the chandeliers, the pastiness of my skin seemed comically exaggerated.

  I was trying to blend in, but it wasn’t working at the moment considering I was keeping to the furthest corner of the ballroom and my tuxedo was about three decades old. Most people didn’t notice the subtle differences, but this was a sharp dressed group and I was feeling more out of pce than usual.

  I needed to get a bit buzzed before my thoughts and inhibitions would begin to blur, then I was more amenable to talking mindless drivel with a bunch of wealthy hobknobs who I couldn’t give a fuck about.

  On top of that, there was a strange buzzing in my ears, like a beacon calling for my attention. An aroma had piqued my attention the moment I stepped into the building, but I couldn’t decipher who or what it was right away. There were too many people here. It was both familiar and foreign. A deja vu of scent, if you will.

  And it was somewhere in this very ballroom. I was tempted to ignore liquor altogether and discover what perfumed creature was making my mouth water for their blood.

  But I wasn’t here to mingle or my own pleasure. I had to find a man and keep an eye on him.

  Terrence Brior. A phinthropist and self-made billionaire from his starter tech company that boomed in the early 2000s.

  For the past several weeks, his wife noticed something was awry with Brior’s personality and contacted me.

  It wasn’t uncommon for demons to borrow another person’s identity. But this particur little parasitic fucker by the name of Jagger had been escaping from my grasp for what felt like forever. Every time I’d hone in on his identity, he would vanish into the underrealm for a decade or two. Now he was back, and taking on the guise of this tech CEO.

  I had studied interviews and videos of the real Terrence– the man was about as awkward as any unsociable computer geek. He could barely keep his head up in public spaces.

  But this Terrence was open, charming, ughing. People were swarmed around him like a protective barrier, as if he knew someone like me was waiting to grab him.

  And Terrence had no problem swapping out his very lovely wife with a piece of eye-candy on his arm.

  At least it wasn’t the real Terrence cheating on her.

  The bimbo in question was blocked from my vision by a couple bodies, but then like magic, they parted and I could see her from behind.

  And then I was transfixed. This woman was built like a Goddess as if the curves of her ass were lovingly sculpted by some blessed sculptor. She wore a white sequin number that made her fucking sparkle under the chandelier– the por opposite of the effect it had on me. She looked warm and alive and … perfect.

  From where I stood, almost 15 yards away, I could smell her. Even over the strong perfumes and colognes, the cooked meat hors d'oeuvres moving around on trays carried by waiters.

  It was… Gods, I don’t even know how to pce it. Like wild flowers growing in a meadow. Sunshine on the skin.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her and I hadn’t even seen her face yet. Her hair was strawberry blonde and coiffed, which meant I could admire the elegant length of her neck and her fwless creamy skin. What did she taste like? If her scent was any indication, it would likely be earth-shattering.

  Was I getting hard? Damnit, I needed to concentrate on the fucker on her arm, not her.

  Unfortunately, my vampire beast dragged my eyes back to her again only seconds ter. It liked her. It liked what it saw. It liked the smell. And it was drawn like a fucking moth to a fme.

  I could often control my vampiric urges with enough concentration. For some reason– maybe the liquor? – I wasn’t able to keep it reigned in as well as I would have liked.

  I hadn’t intended to make myself known so early. But I saw her whisper something into Terrence’s ear and then turn to the bar.

  When she faced me, I felt my stomach churn and heart clench at the same time. Fucking beautiful. Plump lips, dark eyebrows, rge eyes the color of the ocean. Glorious breasts.

  Jagger had some impeccable taste.

  I watched her from the end of the counter as she approached the bartender. The man zeroed in on her, too, and I felt a flicker of jealousy as he smiled and leaned forward so he could hear her order over the voices and music.

  This was my chance.

  I watched the bartender turn to the shelves of liquor to make her drink and I slid three seats over. My watch made a quiet clink against the wood counter to grab her attention and I subtly watched from the mirror reflection if she noticed or not.

  She did. She was looking at me with the slightest, imperceptible wide-eyed blink and pause. Her whole body froze in the way mine did when I first saw her.

  But she was smooth, and her recovery was fast as the bartender turned to pour scotch into a gss. He was about to reach for a bottle of wine, but she held her hand up.

  “No need,” she said quickly, and grasped the scotch. She was trying to get away from me and hoped I didn’t approach her.

  If I didn’t know any better, this girl had been told about me. Did Jagger-Terrence know I was here? Was she about to warn him?

  “Hey,” I called after her. The blonde stopped, but didn’t turn around.

  “Did I see you with Terrence Brior? The Terrence Brior?” I asked.

  The woman slowly turned, and I tried to not internally groan when our eyes met and her delectable scent overpowered me again. I wanted to lick her neck. Not even bite. Just… lick. It might even be worth getting kneed in the crotch. It would shut up the primal beast inside me.

  “Yes,” she replied after a reluctant pause. Her voice was soft and sultry. She looked me up and down several times in a slow way, like she was taking stock of me. This tuxedo I wore admittedly made me feel like a super vilin, but I wouldn’t have been allowed in here without formal attire. I’ve been told I’m not too hard on the eyes, but this girl doesn’t seem terribly impressed.

  She almost looks… disappointed? Sad?

  I don’t get much time to read too much into it because she’s turned back around and is about to get lost in the crowd. Before she can get away, I reached out and grasped her elbow. The connection of skin makes the beast in me hum with satisfaction. It’s pleased when she’s close. It’s even more happy when we have her in our hold.

  Vampires are innately possessive. But I’ve been careful to not attach myself to anyone in the 150 years I’ve been alive, and I’ve never had an issue fighting my urges. Until this very fucking moment in time.

  “Wait a second. Please. What’s your name?”

  The woman’s head drops forward as I hear her mutter a quiet prayer under her breath. She turns her gaze to me over her shoulder.

  “Cecilia.”

  Cecilia. It imprints upon my brain with pleasure, awakening new synapses by the name alone.

  “Cecilia, it’s nice to meet you.” I smiled and her face faltered. I see her blush as she looks forward into the crowd again. Maybe Cecilia doesn’t hate what she sees after all. I held back a smirk.

  “I had better deliver this drink,” she says with a slight shrug of her shoulder, forcing me to let go of her arm. The tone sounds friendly and gentle, but I know she’s desperate to get away from me.

  “May I ask you something, first?” I pressed with the same fixed smile.

  “Sure,” she replies, trying to hide the dread from her voice, but I pick up on it easily.

  “What’s a nice woman like you doing with a married man?”

  Her entire body stiffens and her eyes become severe. Her lips turn downward as she gres at me and I feel my cock harden just a little. The sadist in me thinks she’s even more beautiful when she’s mad.

  And let me tell you, Cecilia looks pissed.

  “I am not… with Terrence,” she hissed quietly. “Please excuse me.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” I continue just as she’s about to leave. “You see, I have reason to believe that isn’t really Terrence Brior. Since you two seem chummy, I need you to either help me or get the fuck out of here before shit hits the fan.”

  Cecilia stares at me with bulging eyes and parted lips. I gnced down at her mouth and internally felt my heart and pants tighten again. I want to taste that mouth. I want to see what it looks like wrapped around my cock.

  Fuck.

  Cecilia’s mouth slowly shuts and she straightens her spine, her glorious tits jutting out more. Fuck, I would take one bite and then gdly die. It’s like water to a man dying of thirst. One sip and I would be sated. I swear it.

  “You don’t think that’s Terrence?” she asked, pointing to the crowd.

  “It isn’t Terrence. Did you not find it strange that a notoriously reclusive CEO is suddenly mister fucking charisma?”

  As if on cue, the man in question starts ughing, cutting through the noise of the ballroom and the crowd around him joins in.

  “Do you have to curse so much?” she asked quietly with a soft sigh.

  “At this moment, I sure as fuck do.” Her lips twitched at my words and I wonder if she’s offended or hiding a smile.

  “Well, can you… um, expin more?” she asked, stepping closer to me again. I gnced at the drink in her hand and raised an eyebrow.

  “I’d like to, but we’re pressed for time. Are you in or out?”

  Cecilia gnces over her shoulder to the ughing crowd gathered around her date and shakes her head. “Expin this to me. I have a couple minutes before he notices I’m still gone.

  Fucking doubtful. If Terrence is as entranced by this goddess as I am, then I imagine our time together is gonna be mere seconds, not minutes before he comes to cim her from me. The thought makes my insights twist painfully.

  If she was my partner, I would never let her out of my fucking sight. And not in a pce like this, full of drunk, wealthy, egotistical men.

  “What do you know about bonded souls?” I asked quietly, resting a hand on my hip. Her lips purse and I notice her throat slightly move.

  “A bit.”

  “Okay. Well, Terrence’s wife is a celestial. It means she’s bonded to another as a blessing by the highest order of deities. And that person–” I pointed a finger like a gun behind her, over her shoulder. “Is your lover.”

  Cecilia’s eyebrows drop again as she glowers up at me. “I told you, Quill. This isn’t a date and he isn’t my lover. He invited me as… a professional courtesy.”

  Professional. So either Cecilia is a hooker, or she’s dumb enough to think that Terrence wants her for her brains or whatever it is she does for a living.

  Either way, my desire to protect her from this dumb-fuck is growing by the second.

  “Okay. Well either way, his wife is understandably a little concerned that her life partner is out at functions that he’s never attended before. Moving money around. Spending time with beautiful women.”

  Cecilia’s face softened. “And from that… you’ve deduced he’s…”

  “A demon who took over his form.”

  Cecilia doesn’t ugh me down, which surprises me. She must be familiar with supernatural species. Most mortals are only privy to the bullshit stereotypes and the few supernatural who do operate in the mortal world don’t share much about their lives. Those worlds are kept fairly separate.

  She steps even closer to me until our fronts are almost touching. From my height, I can see down her sequin dress. And now I definitely can’t hide my erection.

  “How did you pn on proving this?” she whispers. I try to subtly tug on the fabric of my trousers so it isn’t obvious I’m pitching the most painful tent in my life, but thankfully Cecilia isn’t looking at my crotch. She’s staring directly into my eyes with so much intensity that it almost feels intimate. Like there’s no one else here.

  I wish I could forget that I’m here to do a job. I’d ask her to dance even though I hate it. I’d ask for her number. I’d drag her to the darkest corner of this building and make her bite her fist while I go down on her.

  Fucking Christ, Quill. Focus! It had been a while since I’d been id, but this craving was on a whole other level. I’d smelled plenty of delicious prey in my life and every species there was. But none were as tantalizing as this creature in front of me.

  And she was… well, despite being human, extremely beautiful. But that was it. She was just a human. And unless I wanted to murder this poor girl for being like crack to my vampire urges and rip out her throat and drink her blood, I needed to back off.

  I took a careful and measured step backwards. “It’s… um, instinct.” I answer and jut my chin at the crowd behind her. “It’s not like he has a tumor in his brain altering his personality. It’s a demon trapped inside there.”

  “And do you know the whereabouts of the real Terrence?”

  I shrugged. “I gotta capture him to find that out. I just want to bring the real one home safe to his mate.”

  Her lips tug downward and I wonder if for a moment that she really did think it was a date. Maybe I’ve ruined Cecilia’s night. Better now than ter when she finds out the truth, right?

  “So? Are you gonna help?” I paused to take a sip of my drink. “Or are you gonna get out of here? The choice is yours.”

  She doesn’t spend much time deliberating, as she stares at a floor-to-ceiling window behind us. Then her eyes slide back to me without any fear. “What do you want me to do?”

  I’m impressed by her confidence. But I know it’s fake. I can hear her heart beating rapidly. Her lips are slightly pursed. All telltale signs she’s also terrified.

  “Get him away from the ballroom and somewhere secluded. It can be a room, an alcove, a fucking bathroom… I really don’t care. But if you help me, I can keep this ga from turning into a blood bath.” I gave a cursory gnce at the chandelier above us.

  She follows my line of sight and her brow crinkles. “What makes you think he’ll go with me to some dark, quiet pce? We’re just here as friends.”

  “Because he may be a demon, Cecilia, but he’s a man.” I gesture at her up and down. “You’re beautiful. Breathtaking, actually. If you made even the slightest inclination you wanted to fuck him, he’d probably jump on it.”

  I hear her breath hitch, and I don’t know if my crass words or the reference to her beauty have her blushing. But it’s a gorgeous sight either way.

  “I’ll… um,” she presses a few fingers to her forehead like she’s dizzy. I held back a grin. Vampires can use ensnarements to seduce their targets, but I’ll take it as a personal, and very important challenge to get this beauty in bed without it. So far, looks like I’m off to a head start. “Okay. Give me a minute with him. I’ll get him alone.”

  I watched as Cecilia sashays that perfect ass back into the crowd and I take the moment of privacy to adjust my pants again.

  I finish my drink at the bar with a small grin to myself while thinking of her blush. So adorable. So innocent. That was one thing I liked about humans. They weren’t all brutal or hardened. Sometimes you came across the ones that weren’t marred and cynical by life’s disappointments. Sometimes you struck gold and found mortals like Cecilia. She was gentle. Her aura was calming. Even with the few brief moments of our skin contact, the beast inside me was content, practically purring.

  Vampire beasts didn’t fucking purr. But all the same, I felt like curling up around her feet and ying down like an obedient dog.

  My smile slowly fades as I continue to repy our conversation in our head.

  I told you, Quill. This isn’t a date.

  …

  How did she know my name?