Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
It straddled a fine line not many establishments could manage.
He looked up to the domed ceiling. “Are those swings up there, past the central drop lights?”
“Yes, new addition—the dome, too,” Dulce said. “We got hit in the war, figured why not build better? Customers love it. Too much.” A husky laugh. “We had to hire an angelic bouncer to kick off angels who were just sitting up there people-watching and not buying drinks.
“Now it’s a VIP section with a cover charge, which works nicely. Special mood lighting for that section, too, and flying bar service from young angels who want a risqué job on their résumé.” Amused affection in her tone. “I draw the line at under a hundred and fifty, though. You winged players are just babies before then.”
Ironic that this young near-immortal understood that truth better than Vixen or her former lover.
“Never in my life,” Aodhan murmured, his attention still skyward, “would I have imagined angels on swings in a club in New York, and now I want to paint the scene.”
“Come one night,” Dulce offered. “I’ll sneak you in the back—you can see everything on the security cameras if you don’t want to be on the floor.”
“Perhaps I’ll take you up on that.” He accepted the mead she handed him, while Illium—the towel draped around his neck and his hair tumbled and damp—wandered past the neatly stacked-up tables and chairs to look at a large mural on the back wall.
“This is new, too,” he said. “Are those cavorting nymphs?”
“Keep looking.” Dulce laughed, the sound throaty and low. “We told Sujata to create it as if she was high on mushrooms.”
Aodhan hadn’t heard of the artist before, but her work was eye-catching. Walking over, he pointed out a satyr twined with a snake creature wearing a tiara.
“Are you sure she wasn’t actually high?” Illium called back.
More laughter from Dulce, who was leaning on the bar sipping on a glass of blood that might well be her first meal of the day, given the working hours demanded by the club. “Knowing Sujata, it could go either way. She was impossible as a mortal and that hasn’t changed in the time she’s been a vampire except to grow more talented.”
“I would meet her,” Aodhan said, stepping back so he could take in the whole work. “While her style is different from mine, it’s bold and intriguing.” Yet in flux, but very much its own creature.
“Oh dear, mortal ancestors.” Dulce groaned. “Woman’ll be insufferable at hearing that, but I’ll pass on the word nonetheless. The things I endure for my friends.”
Smiling, Aodhan took a sip of the mead, allowed the flavor to settle. “This is excellent,” he told Dulce as they walked back to her. “Thank you for introducing me to it.”
“My pleasure.” She shot a glance at Illium, back at Aodhan. “So, spill. I know this isn’t a pleasure jaunt.”
“No,” Aodhan admitted. When he described the angel they sought, Dulce made a face. “Yes, I know her. She comes across as polite for an angel—no offense but some of your kind, especially the older ones, are utter nightmares.”
“Trust me, we know,” Illium muttered, his scowl so dark that Aodhan knew he was thinking about his arrogant asshole of a father. “Why don’t you like her?”
“Because it’s all an act.” Dulce put down her glass. “That sugar-sweet thing folks do to hide vile hearts. Pure calculation behind the eyes. She was up in the swings three days after she first appeared in the city—that’s how fast she insinuated herself into the top echelons of the club, the people who know the floor hosts and can always get a booking.”
“Social climbing wouldn’t be enough for you to dislike her,” Aodhan guessed.
“No, hell, I’d admire her if it were that alone—I mean, you have to be smooth to talk around the warriors who come in here and she managed it,” Dulce admitted. “And I clearly have a soft spot for charmers.”
Illium grinned at her pointed look.
“But,” Dulce continued, “she hit on one of my staff—a vampire not long out of Contract—and that’s a strict no-no. Staff are off-limits. If people hook up outside the club and get something going, it’s not my business. But the club is their workplace, and they deserve to feel safe doing their jobs.
“Everyone who frequents the club knows that. I cut her some slack because it was her first visit, even went and personally explained the policy. She came off sincerely apologetic and didn’t do it again inside the club…but the staff member spotted her hovering outside his window two nights later. Creeped him the fuck out.”
“She was showing off her ability to track him.” Illium slammed his glass down on the counter. “And scaring him for daring to deny her.”
“That was my take.” Dulce’s tone was as cold as Aodhan’s anger. “No proof, though, since she wasn’t caught on any cameras. Majority owners of the club said I couldn’t ban her, especially since she had so many socially influential friends.”