Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) - Amelia Hutchins Page 0,104

thick scent of cinnamon and masculinity clung to my skin. I closed my eyes, turning my head toward Erie before opening them once more.

She was dressed in her goddess outfit, and her naked breasts were on full display. Twin swords sat in her hands, and the Raven Guard stood around us. Everything happened so swiftly that I hadn’t even realized it until they surrounded us.

Erie tossed her blades into the air, where they turned into black feathers that drifted to her skin, becoming tattoos. Reaching toward me, she smirked and scrunched up her nose, plucking Lucifer’s hand from me.

My heart thumped against my ribcage, and my gaze swept over the red, charred flesh where Lucian’s mark had flourished on my wrist, along with the ancient scrawl of words. Lifting my stare, I studied how Erie held Lucifer’s hand up, dropping it into a bag as if it was a trophy.

The men around us vanished as rapidly as they’d appeared, and I opened my mouth to speak, closing it when I sensed someone else in close proximity to us.

A masculine tsking sound alerted us to the fact that we weren’t alone. Adrian’s sea-green eyes skimmed over Erie’s body once, rolling back up to her face.

“I know we don’t have a dress code, Goddess, but it isn’t Rock Out with Your Tits Out night at Nightshade. Cover those perky things before you end up starting a riot,” he purred, nodding at me in hello. “We should get inside if you’re coming. The club is about to move again.”

“Is that what it is doing? And here I thought I was going insane because I kept getting lost!” She exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air, then placing them on her hips. “I’m not crazy after all!” Adrian and I shared a knowing look before she rolled her eyes. “Did you hear that? It was the sound of my bell dinging in the back of my head. If my eyes roll any harder, they might just roll away. Let’s go, Lena. Maybe if the club moves enough, Lucian won’t catch us so quickly.”

I followed her toward the door, where Adrian held it open with a smile that lit inside his turquoise gaze.

“Ladies first, I insist,” he murmured, sweeping one arm toward the bar where Vlad stood, arms crossed over his chest, observing us. “Something tells me all hell is about to break loose?”

“Uh, that’s an accurate assumption,” I agreed.

“I’ll begin clearing out the club to prepare for Spyder and Lucian, then. Please, have a drink on the house, woman. You’re going to need it,” Adrian snorted, moving past us as we headed to where Vlad watched, a perturbed expression in his stare.

“Bloody hell, this night just won’t end,” he grumbled while procuring three glasses, filling them with top-shelf whiskey.

I studied Vlad’s posture, frowning at how he glanced between Erie and me and a table full of women. I’d never witnessed Vlad drinking before, and something told me we weren’t what had him the most frustrated inside his club tonight.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The world was on fire and burning around us, and I merely wanted to burn with him. I wanted to feel the flames I saw in his stare consume me until only ashes remained. ~Lena

A rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire was playing on the speakers, and there were only two tables with patrons inside the Nightshade tonight. I scanned the few who remained, noting that Vlad’s stare lingered on the table filled with women.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, smiling when his silver gaze slid toward me.

“I don’t suppose this is a permitted field trip?” he returned, shifting his gaze between Erie and me. When neither of us said anything, he exhaled, shaking his head before sliding the bottle closer to us. “So what brings you beauties in tonight?” Vlad crossed his arms, giving us his full attention.

“Lena has Lucian problems, and I killed my guy, again,” Erie popped off as if she was explaining the weather.

Vlad’s brow lifted, and his gaze slid between us slowly. “Elaborate on both issues,” he snorted, gazing toward the back of the room where the last stragglers were moving to the lower level, which was a sanctuary for creatures. “Something is buzzing.”

I grimaced, shaking my head before groaning. Before I could explain, Erie chuckled, patting my shoulder.

“That would be Lena’s pussycat,” she beamed like it was something cool. “Lucian stuck a vibrating tracker into her vagina and hasn’t let her come in days. He’s more archaic than