Sinfully Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 1) (13 page)

“I can drive you to the studio,” Trevor offered.

Mel raised an eyebrow. “You think I need a ride?”

Trevor shrugged. “I thought you might.”

“How do you think I got here?” she asked. “Do you think I
rode my broom?”

“Speaking of acting like a bitch,” I said quietly, and Mel
laughed.

“You know I’m a bitch,” Mel said. “Everyone knows that.
Well, everyone expect the pretty warlock, but he’ll figure it out.”

“It seems her broom is shoved up her sexy ass,” Trevor
muttered, and Mel laughed.

“We’re going home,” Dylan said to Trevor. “I’ll call you
later.”

“I need to go to work,” I insisted.

“Marcos will give you the night off,” Dylan snapped.

“Unlike you, I have bills to pay,” I argued.

“Are you honestly trying to tell me your father doesn’t pay
any of your bills?” Trevor interrupted. “The Talbots are very well off.”

“I don’t want his money,” I insisted. “Besides, it’s more
than the money.”

Dylan obviously wanted to argue with me, and I had to give
him credit for reining it in. “I’m just worried about you being there after
last night,” he admitted. “If something happened to you, I’d never forgive
myself.”

Okay, now I really felt like a bitch. “Maybe we can come up
with a solution to make us both happy.”

Dylan visibly relaxed and reached out to stroke my cheek.
“What the hell are you doing to me, Allie?” Before I could answer, he pulled
away. “I’ll take you home to change, and I’ll hang out at SpellBinders for the
night.”

He braced himself for my argument, but his suggestion seemed
reasonable. “Okay, but we’d better hurry or I’ll be late.

Spending the evening at SpellBinders was pretty damn boring
when you weren’t planning to get laid or watch others have sex. Still, I had no
intention of leaving Allie alone until the killer was caught. Allie agreeing to
let me come with her had been a surprise, but maybe she was just tired of
arguing with me tonight. I’d been doing nothing more than keeping a barstool
warm while I nursed a drink for the last three hours, which gave me plenty of
time to think about what had happened at the council meeting and wonder about
my own sanity.

One could argue that Allie’s reaction to the affinity test
had hurt my pride, but my reaction had little to do with my pride. Okay, some
of it was about my pride, but I also wanted Allie to see that things really
could work for us. Crazy as it sounded, even to me, I was sure we’d pass the
test. I was also convinced my mother wouldn’t push for more than that. Yeah, my
mom was eager for me to give her grandbabies to hold, but if I passed and was
actively dating Allie, my mom would be convinced I was working toward those
grandchildren she so desperately wanted. It wouldn’t be a lie, either. I was
sitting here thinking about the big picture with Allie, which was crazy since
we’d just met.

Of course, I’d heard about witch pairs who were truly a good
match and knew right away, but I’d never really believed that. When my mom had
told me stories about knowing my dad was the warlock for her within minutes of
meeting him, I’d assumed she’d just read too many romance novels over the years
and forgotten that love took time to grow. Did I love Allie? No, but I could
see myself loving her. Mostly, I just felt drawn to her, like she was my other
half—not something I was going to say to another person for fear of sounding
stupid.

“Why don’t you let me find you some company?” Marcos asked,
slithering up beside me like the snake he was. Marcos was dressed much like the
last time I’d been here, in slacks and a black silk shirt, so I suspected this
was his typical work attire.

“No need. I’m just waiting for Allie to get off work,” I
said curtly, not wanting to encourage conversation. I wasn’t
that
bored.

“If you’re worried about Al getting upset, don’t be. We’re
all very discreet here. I could get you in a room without her ever finding out
about it. You like curvy brunettes, right?” he asked with a smirk.

Every time I was around Marcos, I found even more reasons to
dislike him, and convincing Allie to quit this job moved up on my list of
priorities.

“Get the fuck away from me,” I finally said, because I
wasn’t in the mood to play nice with Marcos tonight, or any night for that
matter.

Marcos’ composure slipped, and he looked pissed. “You know
she’s never going to settle down with a warlock, don’t you?” he asked in an
almost taunting voice. “Her father cheated on his witch. Her uncle cheated on
his witch. Now, she gets to see warlocks who come here to fuck around behind
their witches’ backs. People think sex demons like us are sluts, but it’s the
warlocks who’ll fuck anything. You’re into her now because she’s new and has a
hot little pussy, but that won’t last. You’ll get bored with that pussy and
look for a new one. Why don’t you just let her go before you hurt her?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I ground out,
wondering what his game was. No fucking way did I believe he gave a damn about
Allie getting hurt.

“I know how tight Al’s pussy is,” Marcos said with a smug
grin. “It’s easy to get addicted to a cunt like that, especially with a
succubus, but I can tell you from experience, it gets old. Part of the appeal
with Al is how innocent she seems, but after a while, you realize it’s just an
act.”

Grabbing Marcos by the collar, I leaned forward. “Don’t you
ever fucking talk about her like some whore again or I will kill you. I already
know you’re trying to make me believe you fucked her, but we both know that’s a
lie. Allie has too much class to get involved with a piece of shit like you.”

Marcos jerked away and laughed, but it sounded forced.
“Whatever makes you feel better about all of this,” he said with his slimy grin
back in place. “A bit of advice, friend. Don’t forget who Al is. No matter how
much you want to parade her around like a good little witch, she’s not. She’s a
succubus, which means she has needs you can’t possibly understand.”

On those words, Marcos disappeared into the throng of
people, which was probably a good thing since I was pretty sure I’d get my ass
thrown in jail for setting him on fire if he said one more word about Allie.
The logical part of my brain knew he was only saying those things to get a rise
out of me, and I already knew Allie wouldn’t sleep with Marcos. That made it
even worse, because I had to play nice with an asshole who was making up lies
about my witch. Even if she had slept with him, it was her past. I didn’t care
how many men Allie had been with in her past. What right did I have to judge
her?

Watching Allie approach in her tight red dress, my emotions
were running high. After only a day with her, I knew this wasn’t her normal
attire. She was expected to dress this way for work, making me even more pissed
about her job. A voice in the back of my head told me to calm down and keep my
mouth shut, but as Allie took a seat beside me, I felt my inner-asshole coming
to the surface.

“Are you bored yet?” she asked, sounding exhausted.

“You can’t keep working here,” I told her, turning my
attention to my drink.

“Excuse you,” she said. “Did I miss the part where you get
to tell me what to do?”

That’s when I turned my angry glare on her. “Someone
obviously needs to tell you what to do because no intelligent person would work
in this hell hole.”

There was absolutely no hesitation or shocked gasps from
Allie. Her palm made contact with my cheek hard enough that I was sure it would
leave a mark.

“You’ve got five seconds to apologize before I put the heel
of my shoe in your balls,” she warned.

Fuck me! Allie’s attitude made me want to do her on the bar.
I was so hot for her in that moment that I was having trouble forming a
coherent thought. Luckily, I was smart enough to know she’d probably follow
through with her threat to injure my balls. “You’re right. I’m sorry for being
an asshole.”

“You’d better be,” she muttered.

“I’d just talked to Marcos, and I was pissed,” I explained.
“At him, not at you, so I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“Marcos has that effect on everyone,” she said. “That still
doesn’t mean I won’t slap you again if you call me stupid.”

“You’re so fucking sexy when you put me in my place,” I
murmured as I stood and lifted her off the barstool. “I need to get you naked,
now. Direct me to a room we can use, or I’ll do it out here.”

Allie’s eyes widened and her breathing became shallow as she
pointed in the direction of a room. At least, I hoped it was a room. As much as
I wanted Allie, I wasn’t at all sure I liked the idea of anyone else seeing her
naked.

With Allie in my arms, I stalked across the crowded club.
Had we been anywhere else, people might have been staring, but at SpellBinders,
they ignored us. The only person I thought might say something was Marcos, but he
was nowhere to be seen.

Once in the room, I set Allie on the floor and kissed her.
My tongue invaded her mouth as she tugged at my shirt to pull it from my jeans.
The feel of her hands on my back was enough to make me moan.

“Fuck, Allie,” I said against her lips. “I’m not sure
anything could get me hotter than you telling me off like you did.”

She let out a husky laugh. “You really like me threatening
your balls with my shoe?” she asked.

“I like that you’re strong and not afraid to tell me when I
screw up,” I said as I trailed kisses along her neck, making my way to her
barely covered breasts.

“Dylan,” she said, grabbing my hair.

I looked up at her, hoping she wasn’t going to tell me stop
because that might kill me.

My expression must have been pretty funny because she
laughed. “Can you throw your shirt over the security camera?” she asked,
pointing to the camera mounted in the corner. That’s when I gave an inward sigh
of relief, stripped out of my shirt, walked across the room, and tossed it over
the security camera. Okay, it may have taken me three tries to get it to stay
up there while Allie stifled giggles at my attempts, the first of which wasn’t
even close.

“I guess this explains why you weren’t involved with sports
when we were in school,” she teased.

“Smart ass,” I said as I looked around the room, hoping to
find a bed. “What the fuck?” I asked, looking at Allie with one raised eyebrow.
“Is that a rack in the corner?”

Allie nodded. “Some demons and werewolves are into pain on a
level you wouldn’t want to imagine. This room doesn’t get used often, which is
good because it takes hours to clean up.”

“Not an image I want in my head,” I said as I sauntered
toward her. “I guess this means I’ll be fucking you standing up against the
wall.”

Allie looked around skeptically. “If you can find a free
space.”

She had a point. The room had more torture equipment than a
medieval dungeon. “Door it is,” I said as I slipped a foot down to take off my
shoes before thinking better of it. “You may have ruined the mood,” I admitted,
enjoying the sound of Allie’s laughter.

“It’s just as well,” she said with a sigh. “We really can’t
do this.”

“In general, or just here?” I asked.

She smiled. “Here. While the first time was in a tame room,
there are plenty like this, and I don’t want that memory stuck in my head.”

I didn’t argue with her because it was something I’d prefer
to avoid myself. “You’ve just got to stop getting me all hot and bothered when
I’m here.” I brushed the hair back from her face.

“And how am I supposed to do that?” she asked with one hand
on her hip.

I grinned at her. “Simple, just do everything I say like a
good girl, and I won’t be tempted to fuck you so often.”

Her laughter flowed over me like sunshine on a winter day.
That’s when I realized I might need to hand in my man card later for my poetic
thoughts. I gently stroked her cheek with the back of my hand and stared at her
for a moment before speaking. “What the hell are you doing to me, sweetheart?”

With Dylan’s hand on my cheek, I found it impossible to
speak. There was so much desperation and confusion in his question that I had
no idea what to say. I didn’t even know if he really wanted an answer.

The pounding on the door was not a welcome interruption when
I felt like something big was happening, but I was probably late getting back
from my break, so Marcos was likely mad at me again.

“Damn!” I said, pulling away from Dylan. “That must be
Marcos. He’ll assume we’re in here fooling around when I’m supposed to be
working. Of course, he was almost right.”

“Marcos is an asshole,” Dylan muttered as he turned to
snatch his shirt down from the security camera. Luckily, part of it was
dangling so he could reach it without too much effort.

“You’re right about him being an asshole,” I agreed. “In
this case, he’s probably got a right to be mad. He is paying me to help
customers, not mess around with my boyfriend.”

Dylan had just slipped his shirt back on, and he was
grinning from ear to ear.

“Why are you suddenly in such a good mood?” I asked cautiously.

“You just called me your boyfriend,” he said and came over
to kiss me on the nose.

“I did not,” I argued before realizing he was right. “Fine,”
I said, throwing my hands up in the air. “You win, we’re dating. Just don’t be
surprised when I start getting death threats from the other single witches.”

As I reached for the door, Dylan caught my arm and gave me
one quick kiss before letting me go. “I’m sorry about making you late getting
back from your break, but I’m really glad we had this talk. I know you’re
afraid I’ll hurt you, and I appreciate you giving me a chance to prove I
won’t.”

“You’d better not,” I warned with a playful smile, despite
the fact that I was freaking out a little on the inside.

Marcos had pounded on the door some more while we talked,
and I wasn’t sure if he’d be outside the door or in his office getting the key
to the room. I found him leaning against the wall outside the room with his
arms crossed in front of his chest.

“You have a client, Al,” Marcos said in a bored tone. “While
I understand your warlock is enjoying that addictive pussy of yours, you have a
job to do, and he’s not paying to fuck you tonight.”

Marcos had spoken low enough that Dylan hadn’t heard him,
which was a good thing because I really didn’t want Dylan to beat the hell out
of Marcos. Actually, that was a lie. I
did
want him to beat the hell out
of Marcos, but it was still a bad idea. I couldn’t blame Dylan for his hatred
of Marcos. It took a lot of effort to avoid snapping at Marcos, and I’d had
more experience dealing with him.

“Which room?” I asked.

“Red room,” Marcos said.

I nodded and made my way to the red room. All the rooms had
names, but most wouldn’t make much sense to anyone who didn’t work at
SpellBinders. The room I’d just been in with Dylan was the paisley room. The
red room was one of the few that made any sense. It was the one decked out in
red satin.

Entering the room, I found a lone slender man waiting for
me. Marcos had better not be trying to sell me to another client. Since I was
late and only one person was in the room, it certainly didn’t look good.

Pasting my brightest smile on my face, I greeted the client
in my professional tone. “Hi! My name’s Allie, and I’m going to help with your
scene tonight.”

His back was to me when I came in, but he turned and gave me
a dry smile. With his hands stuffed in his front pockets, and a lock of hair
falling across his youthful face, most would consider him attractive in a teen
movie kind of way.

“As you can see, things didn’t exactly work out the way I’d
hoped,” he said as he gestured to the empty room.

I did my best not to sigh with relief, but I really was
thankful he wasn’t expecting me to be his date.

“Would you like me to find another partner for you?” I
asked. “We have several suitable women here who are willing to participate in
scenes with our clients for a fee. I can see who’s available, if you’d like.” I
couldn’t help wondering how old he was. While many preternatural species aged
slowly, most appeared to be in their twenties by the time they were old enough
to enter SpellBinders.

He gave me a toothy grin, revealing his fangs for the first
time. Suddenly, his youthful appearance made sense. Vampires had a tendency to
look like they were stuck in a perpetual state of adolescence. It was why my cousin,
Mel, had so many vampires on her television show. They looked like they were
still in high school, even when they were hundreds of years old.

“You aren’t going to offer to take her place?” he asked.

I might have assumed Marcos had promised him just that, but
he didn’t seem at all interested in me that way. Still, I figured it was better
to make sure he understood my rules up front. “I’m not available.”

“Too bad,” he said with a laugh. “I hear draining a succubus
can make a vampire look less like every girl’s teen dream.”

“Really?” I asked, suddenly curious. I’d never heard that
before. The COWs had gone on about the ways sex demon energy could be used to
increase the power of a sorcerer, witch, and even other demons, but no one had
mentioned anything about vampires. Then again, witches and vampires were
usually happy ignoring the other’s existence. I was curious how the thing with
the vampires worked. “Is it just taking a little blood or draining them
completely that can make you look older?”

“I’ll make you a deal, Allie,” he said as he studied me in a
strange way.

“As long as it doesn’t involve sex or blood, I’m willing to
listen,” I agreed.

“Yeah, I’m not looking for a replacement for the woman who
was supposed to be here with me,” he admitted with a sad sigh. “She’s the one,
or the one I want, but that’s probably not gonna happen unless I sell my soul
to the devil.”

“I wouldn’t joke about that in here,” I warned. We had far
too many demons in the club. While most were harmless, there were some pretty nasty
high-level demons who frequented SpellBinders, and any one of them would gladly
suck up this guy’s soul.

“I actually meant that figuratively,” he said with a laugh.

“What do you want in exchange for the information?” I asked.

“Just stay in here with me for a little while,” he said.
“I’m not ready to face my friends yet after being ditched.”

I felt bad for the poor guy, so I nodded my agreement.

“So, tell me what you meant about draining a succubus,” I
prompted.

“It doesn’t really have to be a succubus. Any sex demon will
do,” he explained. “The process is a lot more complex than I made it sound.
Simply sucking on your vein won’t do much for me other than feed me. I’d need
someone who could cast spells to make it work. Basically, I’d take blood while they
cast a spell to release some of the demon’s soul.”

“There are sex demons who agree to this?” I asked, because I
couldn’t imagine agreeing to give up part of my soul. Then again, there were
plenty of sex demons who frequently engaged in risky activities just to try
something new. My mother was one of them.

He shook his head. “From what I was told, they don’t ask the
sex demon’s permission first.”

“That’s illegal!” I said. “You can’t steal someone’s soul.”

“And I wouldn’t,” he insisted. “Actually, I don’t even know
anyone who’s tried it, so maybe it’s just an urban legend.”

That had me wondering if maybe the succubus killer could be
a vampire. “Do they kill the sex demon?”

“I don’t think they need to,” he said thoughtfully. “Some
vampires like to kill, so I guess it might happen. I’ve also heard that death
magic can be more powerful.”

“How do you know about this?” I asked, wondering if the
killer had told him about it. Maybe he’d have some idea who the killer was.

He shrugged. “It’s common knowledge among vampires. There
was a time when some sex demons even sold this service to vampires, but I guess
they figured out that selling part of your soul is bad for your health.”

That was true. It wasn’t that you would die without it,
merely that it was easier for other demons to prey on you if your soul was
weakened.

He laughed at my shocked expression. “You really are pretty
innocent for a succubus, aren’t you?”

“I guess I am,” I admitted. “What’s your name?”

“Damian,” he said.

“Really?” I asked skeptically. “Your name is Damian?”

“Why are you so surprised?” he asked.

“You totally don’t look like a Damian,” I told him.

“Fine, my name’s Nick,” he admitted with a sigh.

“The vampire Nick,” I said with a giggle.

He laughed, too. “That’s why I told you my name was Damian to
begin with. Nick is a ridiculous name for a vampire.”

“What’s it short for?” I asked.

“That’s the real problem,” he explained. “My parents figured
they might as well name me what they wanted to call me, so my name is just
Nick.”

“I guess it’s a good thing they didn’t like the name Dick,”
I told him, trying hard not to laugh.

“They do,” he said with a grin. “I have an older brother
named Dick.”

Now, I was laughing so hard I had to sit on the bed. When I
finally got my laughter under control, I was lying on the bed with Nick beside
me.

“So, your brother is a vampire Dick?” I asked with a giggle.

“In his case, the name fits,” Nick said with a grin.
“Thanks, Allie.” He reached over to squeeze my hand.

“For what?” I asked.

“Making me feel better,” he explained. “This evening was
pretty crappy and about to get really embarrassing. Now, at least when my
friends start making fun of me about Zoe leaving me, I won’t feel like a
complete loser.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“I got to spend time with the coolest succubus I’ve ever
met,” he explained with a shy smile.

That’s when Dylan stormed into the room to find me on the
bed, holding hands with Nick. I expected him to be mad, but he just shook his
head. “Another one, Allie?” he asked as he closed the door behind him. I’d ask
what he was doing in the room, but I was pretty sure it would begin with
something Marcos said.

“What do you mean?” I asked sweetly.

“You’re looking at him just like you look at Trevor and
Gryphon,” he replied with a sigh.

“Isn’t Trevor having another party tonight?” I asked because
I seemed to remember Trevor saying something about it.

Dylan nodded and settled on the bed on my other side. “Yep,
tomorrow’s a holiday, so he figured he’d party tonight since he won’t have any
appointments in the morning.”

“We should go,” I told Dylan, enjoying the annoyed look he
cast my direction. “You should go with us, Nick,” I insisted. “You’ll love
Trevor, and you could use a party after what happened tonight.”

“I’m not sure I’ll be in much of a party mood after my friends
get done teasing me about being ditched,” Nick said.

When Dylan looked over at Nick, my heart did this funny
little flip flop thing that made me nervous. “You’re planning to keep this one,
aren’t you?” Dylan asked.

“Keep me?” Nick asked.

“Allie has a tendency to collect people in need,” Dylan
explained.

“What am I in need of?” Nick asked with one raised eyebrow.

“Friends who won’t make fun of your pain,” I said.

“Guys do that sort of stuff,” Dylan argued.

“You’d make fun of Trevor’s pain?” I asked him in disbelief.

“Of course,” he said. “I’d probably cheer him up first, but
I’d have to make fun of him.”

“They’re not likely to take me out to cheer me up,” Nick
muttered with a sad sigh.

“Then you’ll go to Trevor’s party with us after I get off
work,” I said as if he’d already agreed. “You can hang out with Dylan until
then.”

I was wondering how Dylan would react to my suggestion that
he spend the evening hanging out with Nick, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ve got an idea for dealing with your friends,” Dylan said
with a wicked twinkle in his eyes. “Trust me. They won’t make fun of you after
this.”