The Summer King Bundle 3 Stories - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,6

horseshoe-shaped bar at the front. I couldn’t see into the shadowy alcoves surrounding the floor or upstairs, on the second floor VIP area.

That’s where I needed to be, because I knew he was up there.

A squat, broad man blocked the staircase. Behind him was a red rope. Entry to the second floor was by invite only, and those up there didn’t come down here. They sent scouts instead, scouts that were trained to find a certain type of human.

And I was the living embodiment of that type and tonight was the night.

“Hey,” the man said into my ear.

I kept searching. “Yeah?”

“What’s your name? I’m Dale.” He tried to move his hands again, but I kept them on my hips.

“Sally,” I lied as a tall, slender woman at the bar pushed away and turned to the dance floor, a vibrant, too-bright purple drink in her hand. Nightshade. She lifted the drink to her lips as she stared out over the floor.

I’d found who I was searching for, and I saw her for what she really looked like.

“You wanna get out of here, Sally?” Dale asked, his lips brushing the side of my neck. “I know a place we can go to.”

“No, thank you.” Letting go of his wrists, I pulled away from the man, walking off and slipping between the bodies before his shocked expletive could get under my skin.

Keeping an eye on the scout, I eased around a couple who were practically mating right there on the floor. I couldn’t tell where one of them ended and the other began.

Goodness.

I passed a high, round top table, plucked up the forgotten, half empty pink drink, and made a beeline for the bar. As soon as I stepped out of the cluster of bodies, I slowed my step and fixed a lax smile on my face as I neared the female. She wasn’t focused on me, instead eyeing two young college girls who were dancing and laughing, obviously buzzing. She started toward them.

Letting the borrowed glass dangle from my fingers, I tripped, bumping my shoulder against the female.

She turned to me in a slow, calculated snake-like movement. Her lips peeled back in a sneer as she lowered her glass of nightshade. To everyone else in this club, her smile appeared normal. To me? I saw the two wickedly sharp incisors on each side of her mouth. Not fangs. Just sharp as an obsidian blade teeth that could tear through flesh.

“I’m so sorry.” I teetered on my high heels as I spoke over the music, placing my free hand on her arm. “Someone bumped me. Ugh. People are so rude.”

She lifted a single dark eyebrow.

“What in the world are you drinking? It looks sooo amazing.”

The female cocked her head to the side as her pale blue eyes drifted over every inch of my body, from the thick red hair and bright lips to the plunging neckline of my strappy silvery dress that showed off more than it hid. She must’ve approved of what she saw, because a tight-lipped smile replaced her sneer. “This drink is a little too hard for you.”

“Oh?” I bit down on my lower lip. “I like… hard drinks, though.”

“Do you?” When I nodded, the female stepped closer. She was my height, so her gaze lined up with mine. “How hard do you like it?”

“Very hard,” I repeated, forcing myself to hold her gaze as I giggled.

She tilted her head slightly. “I might have something better for you. You here alone?”

“My friends already left. I was getting ready to go, but… I think I have another good hour or so left in me.”

“Perfect.” The moment her black pupils constricted was brief and not noticeable to anyone who didn’t know better, but I did. I knew what she was doing, entrancing me. I forced my muscles to loosen, for the eager smile that said I was down for anything to slip off my face. I stood before the female, silent… and waiting as she leaned in, brushing her lips against mine as she whispered, “Come with me.”

She plucked the borrowed drink out of my hand and placed it on the bar beside us, then she took my hand in her cool grasp. Her pace was fast and steps long as she led me around the bar to the staircase.

Jackpot.

The man standing at the foot of the stairs stepped aside, and one glance at his vacant expression told me he was a human that had been fed on until he was completely