were strong and a bit dark. I was picking up a lot of confusing feelings from him and I tried to block them out as best I could.
“You’re new,” he said straight away.
“Not really,” I replied with a smile, “I’ve worked here since we opened,”
“Not what I meant,” he leaned in as he took a seat on the barstool and put his hands on the counter. “You’re a newborn.”
“Guilty,” I smiled tightly and changed the subject. “What can I get for you tonight?”
“Blood Rocks,” he answered as he eyed me closely and I went about filling his request.
I set the red Solo cup in front of him on a napkin and accepted his credit card to open a tab. His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist as I was picking up the card off the counter. “What are you?” he asked, confused.
“My name is Skye,” I smiled and put on my best ‘don’t fuck with me’ face, “and I’m your bartender today.” I put my hand on his and exerted just enough pressure on his wrist to show him I was stronger and did not like to be touched. He released my hand in surprise and I gave him a wink as I started to walk to my next customer. “You just let me know if you need anything else.”
I immediately liked working the VIP more than the main floor. Tips were outrageously large and the vampires were to the point. No one grabbed my boobs or ass when I delivered bottle service and though some flirted, it wasn’t overly obnoxious flirting like some human boys tended to do.
As the night wore on, I noticed Archer had stationed Emrick at the top of the stairs and Pádraig on my end of the bar. Someone was being overly cautious I thought, but it was sweet all the same. It was kind of nice having someone who cared enough to go to such lengths to protect me. Wow, I have really changed! I would have seen it as a pain in the ass and a sign they thought I was delicate and weak when I was a human.
I was on my way back from delivering a bottle of Dom to a table when Emrick caught my attention. “Dean Cruz is with Quinn. He wants to have a word with you.”
“Well, send him up,” I smiled.
Emrick shook his head and leaned to whisper in my ear. “Werewolves are not welcome up here.”
I leaned back and felt my eyebrows rise in understanding. Werewolves and vampires did not normally get along with one another. I had heard one bite from them could pretty much kill a vampire. Oh no! I’m a vampire now. He’ll hate me!
“Is there a problem?” Archer asked Emrick, his palm on the center of my back.
“Cruz is downstairs,” Emrick nodded. “Wants to talk to Skye.”
Archer’s brow furrowed and he sighed. “Shit. Okay, five minutes Skye. Emrick will escort you down but do not leave the stairs, got me?”
I nodded as I took a deep breath and steadied myself. Will I lose him as a friend because of what I am now? I followed Emrick down and spotted Dean standing next to Quinn at the bottom of the stairs. Dean smiled when he saw me, but it quickly faded and was replaced by a look of confusion.
Chapter Eighteen
“What the hell is this?” he asked, looking to Quinn for answers. “I don’t understand.”
Emrick stopped me fours steps from the bottom and would not allow me to get any closer. “Hey, handsome,” I smiled and tried for normal. “’Bout time you came to see me again.”
“’Bout time you showed up, toots,” he growled unhappily. “You weren’t here when I came yesterday. What the fuck did you let those blood suckers do to you?”
“Lower your voice, wolf,” Quinn growled lowly. “If you want to discuss this, chill the temper and use your inside voice when you speak. We are in the company of humans.”
Dean seemed to remember where he was and angrily jerked his head once, showing he understood. “Tell me,” he said under his breath but I could hear him perfectly, even over the driving industrial beat.
“It’s not what you think,” I said just as softly. “I didn’t choose this but it was either this or the final death.” I quickly gave him the condensed version of what happened and he paled considerably.
“Jesus Christ,” he whispered, his face disgusted.
“Don’t you dare look at me like that, Dic,” I seethed, my eyes narrowed in