Succubus Unchained - Heather Long Page 0,29

A whisper of Fin’s breath brushed my shoulder as he half-sighed.

“David,” he murmured. “This is a terrible idea.”

Despite the pounding beat and rattle of conversation, I had no trouble picking up Fin’s words, and I had to guess, neither would ‘David.’ Wait—the so-called new Prince of Dallas?

The vampire who’d approached me was back, along with a dozen more. And there were still more filtering through the door behind them.

“This isn’t personal,” one of the vampires said. Maybe ‘David.’ Maybe not. I really didn’t care.

Chin dipping, Fin pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “Beautiful, I know you wanted to go. Will you go back to your table for me? Just go and enjoy the show that lovely dancer is putting on. I can tell she wants your attention.”

A little shiver cascaded down my spine. Yes, the dancer did want my attention. She was a stunning brunette with more muscle control than the average dancer, and she definitely had her eye on me. More than impersonal lust rolled off her. Maybe not the best plan.

The tension climbed a notch as Varick put on an appearance. Elias snarled, moving to insert himself between me and the new arrivals. Since that would also require separating me from Fin, he just put Fin behind him.

Weird.

Now I really couldn’t go back to my table. He was counting on me to watch his back, and I couldn’t absolutely guarantee Fin wouldn’t sucker punch him.

You’re wounding me again, Beautiful. You said you didn’t want him harmed. I won’t harm him. I could almost feel his attention shift from Elias to Varick, who seemed to spend as much time glowering at me as he did at the cadre of vampires invading the club.

He’s harmless.

Fin snorted. He didn’t believe me.

Well, too bad.

Not even the exquisite dancing kept the patrons from noticing all hell was about to break loose. More and more wolves poured out of the back. Bon Vivant wasn’t neutral territory, it was owned by Elias’ pack, another reason I chose it. They tended to be a little looser on the rules for guests, but apparently, not tonight.

In sheer numbers, the vampires outnumbered the shifters by nearly three-to-one. More than one patron abandoned their table and headed for a rear exit. The dancers leapt down from their platforms and poles, including miss seductive muscle control.

Her eyes flashed wolf, and she gave me a toothy grin.

Yeah, okay, she was cute.

Under other circumstances…

Beautiful, keep eyeing her like that and I won’t be responsible for what I’ll do next.

I snorted and slapped his shoulder. He was so full of shit. The fact that the wolf was eye-fucking me turned him on.

He sighed and slanted a look at me.

“David,” Varick spit his name out. “You’re asking for trouble.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” David told him. “And I have no fight to pick with you. This is vampire business. Stay out of it.”

I studied David. He seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him. Granted, my visit with Isaac had been hella brief and I hadn’t had a chance to memorize everyone there, but I swore I knew him from somewhere.

His dark eyes tracked to me. Malevolence filled them.

Huh.

Hate like that said I’d done something to piss him off. Pity I didn’t remember what it was.

“This is my club,” Varick reminded them, mouth twisting as though the next words were distasteful. “Inside my club, they have my protection.”

Le sigh. Fine, I’d apologize to the big galoot later. I thought he got the score. But since he was going out of his way whether he wanted to or not and his wolves had now encircled me and Fin in this little cone of protection, the least I could do was apologize.

Right, I’d put that on a list.

Somewhere.

“You get between me and the target, you will have only yourself to blame for the consequences.” The implicit threat couldn’t be interpreted any other way.

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Fin said, his tone idle and relaxed, damn near bored. “This is a mistake, David. Walk away. I will offer no further opportunities.”

Bravado or stupidity? There was such a fine line between the two concepts. But David focused on me again. His expression menacing. “This does not involve you, Lord Fin, but a private matter that must be handled. Just give us the succubus bitch, and we can all return to our lives.”

The silence in the club expanded, like too much air pressed into a balloon threatening to pop and still more poured in. The