Reign A Romance Anthology - Nina Levine Page 0,212

you.”

Relief felt like the post-rush of an orgasm.

“Nice work, Tay,” she whispered under her breath as she slipped past the red velvet rope. Implanting fake memories like that had taken the technowitch a solid thirty-six hours. Though she was going to have words about the tattoo that Tayla had painstakingly added to her ass in the vision.

A sign appeared as she pushed through the double doors, the wave of music and the humid blanket of pure lust hitting her like a train.

‘Welcome to the Ninth Circle’ it said.

Sera took a deep breath as the demonspawn attendant came forward to check her.

She was here for a reason.

And unlike everyone else in this fucking building, it wasn’t to beg a demon for the precious gift of an immortal life. It was to take something from him.

2

The club pulsed with noise.

The reaping nights happened once a quarter, and every desperate wannabe vampire in the city threw their hat into the ring.

Immortality.

More heady than any drug….

All it cost you was your soul.

If Raphael was the lure Heaven used to draw others to their cause, then this was the bait Hell offered. No prizes for guessing who was winning the recruitment battle. The demons’ propaganda—that Heaven was no longer open for business—was a crushing blow. Who wanted to save their soul when there was no guarantee of a peaceful forever?

There was no Heaven anymore.

There was no ever-after….

And maybe crossing to the dark side, kissing ass and cloven feet and whatever else worked, could at least earn you a reprieve.

The club promised everything that Heaven couldn’t.

A sea of emotion pressed against her skin; lust, greed, envy…. Semi-naked bodies grinding against each other. Sex and sin beckoned.

Seraphine pushed her way through the crush, before fetching up at the bar. She’d have been marked for observation already—thanks to that stolen invite—but the point wasn’t to enter unobserved.

The point was to draw attention.

And the wings were doing that.

Everyone here was dressed in black. Leather. Lace. Chains. Red lipstick. It was a desperate attempt to fit in with what the humans thought of demonspawn.

To wear these wings was like a fuck you to every demon in the place.

She knew they’d get her the attention she needed—to carry out her theft, she needed to be targeted, not glossed over in the crowd. She needed to be chosen as one of the initiates. She needed access to the dark halls upstairs, where Azazel ruled with his merciless whip.

And there was nothing the denizens of hell desired more than corruption.

A hand clamped down over hers, pressing her palm to the sticky bar as she fanned herself with a handful of ten-dollar bills.

“Pretty girls like you shouldn’t come to places like this,” said a voice in her ear.

She fought the urge to drive her elbow back into the bastard’s throat.

Not the kind of attention she needed.

It took all her strength of will to plant a fake smile on her lips. “Or what?” she asked over her shoulder. “You’ll spank me?”

A human stared back at her, a spiked collar around his throat. “Is that what you want?”

“Ugh. What is up with the creeps in here?” Tay asked, flaring like a beacon in her head. “I thought you promised me some hot demon ass. Stomp him, Sera.”

As much as she would have liked to, that wasn’t the sort of attention she was looking for.

Sera ignored him as the bartender—an imp—turned her way. “I’ll have an Angel Fuck, thanks.”

“Naughty,” Tay whispered.

The imp leered at her, his forked tongue wetting his lips. “I’ll bet you would.”

“Hey.” A hand caught her chin, forcing her attention back to him. “I was talking to you.”

No. You were treating me like a dog. She pasted a smile on her lips. “Does this attitude work on the ladies here? Or are you trying to play tough guy for the boss men?” She pushed at the human’s chest, using a little of her supernatural strength, and he staggered back. Shocked. “They’re not going to pick you. So crawl off back into your little hole and choke on that collar.”

His eyes seethed.

But help came from an unexpected source.

“You heard the lady,” said the imp. “Choice is choice, you little glob of camel spit. Fuck off and let her drink her drink.”

The creep slipped back into the crowd. If they’d been alone, she might have had to deal with him a little more roughly, but he was a coward at heart. They always were.

Sera gave the imp a slow nod as he leered at her. She