“I’m sure she’d have something to say about that.”
He chuckled. “She already did. When I told her about the Lilin, she told me in no uncertain terms that she is not leaving.”
I sighed heavily. “As much as I want Beth away from this, I know she’d hate me if I tried to get her to leave. I’m already on thin ice with her.”
“She hasn’t broken the bond, so the ice can’t be that thin.”
My heart constricted at the mention of breaking the bond. Even though Beth had stayed away from me since yesterday, I could feel the connection between us every time I saw her or felt her nearby. The furtive looks she shot me when she thought I wasn’t paying attention said she felt it, too.
“We’re not breaking it,” I said gruffly.
His brows rose in question.
“We have things to work out, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” I gave him a sheepish smile. “There may be some groveling involved.”
Nikolas burst out laughing.
I scowled. “You’re going to enjoy this, aren’t you?”
He leaned back into the couch, wearing a devilish smile. “Immensely.”
Chapter 9
Beth
“Mr. Kent, it’s good to see you again,” said the blond half-ogre male who admitted us to Blue Nyx.
Chris smiled and ushered me in ahead of him. “Dolph, it’s been a while.”
“It has. Mistress Adele is expecting you. You can go on up.”
I’d been in a few underground clubs in Los Angeles, but one look at the interior of this one told me it was vastly different from the other clubs. Most places catered to a specific nonhuman species such as weres, demons, or Fae. Blue Nyx’s patrons were an odd mix of people I never would have expected to see together in one building.
As we entered the main room and walked past the dance floor, I saw several species of demons, some of whom I’d only read about. Mox, vrell, and taag demons danced together away from a group of tall, blond, and exquisitely beautiful people who had to be faeries. A human male ground against a female pixie, and beside them an elfin male was practically undressing a human woman.
The air in the club was thick with lust and something else that made me think of pressing my body against Chris’s and…
Whoa. I blinked and mentally shook off the naughty images flooding my mind. I resisted the urge to place my hands against my heated cheeks, and I prayed Chris had no idea what had been going through my head. Sneaking a glance his way, I let out a sigh of relief when he seemed unaware of my frazzled state.
I should have been more guarded. I knew Adele was a succubus, and she fed off the sexual energy in the club. Her magic drove people to a higher state of arousal, and apparently, I was not immune to it.
I couldn’t tell if it affected Chris at all or if he was just used to it. Either way, he ignored the dancers and headed straight for a flight of stairs to the second floor. He checked to make sure I was beside him, and then we ascended the stairs together.
At the top of the stairs, Chris turned toward another half-ogre standing in front of a door. The guard tipped his chin in recognition and stepped aside to allow us entry. Chris opened the door and waved me into what must be Adele’s office. There was no sign of the succubus, but Chris looked unconcerned as he took a seat on one of the two couches. I sat on the other end of the same couch, keeping two feet of space between us.
A door at the far end of the room opened, and a tall, gorgeous woman with long blonde hair and violet eyes emerged. She wore a floor-length gown of midnight blue with a deep V neckline that plunged to her naval, where a diamond piercing winked at us.
She gave me a brief assessing look before her gaze settled on Chris. Her red lips curved into a sensual smile. “Chris. It’s good to have you back in LA. Why have you waited so long to come see me?” She pouted as she walked toward him. “You know how much I enjoy your company.”
I felt my brows shoot up at her suggestive tone. When Chris stood and Adele pressed against him in what was definitely not a friendly hug, something dark and ugly stirred in my gut.
Mine, my Mori growled.
Not ours, I thought as my hands curled into fists. I had to fight the stupid urge to tear Adele away from Chris and throw her through the window overlooking the club. I gritted my teeth and looked away from them. If he wanted to get cozy with her, it meant nothing to me, even if my Mori wanted to rip her limb from limb.
“Good to see you, Adele,” Chris said amiably. “I’d like you to meet my new partner, Beth.”
Partner?
Adele echoed my thoughts. “Partner? But what about Nikolas? You two have worked together so long.”
“We still do, but it was time for a change.” Chris smiled down at me. “Beth and I go way back, and I think she’d make the perfect partner for me.”
My stomach fluttered at the dual meaning of his words.
“I see.” Adele looked at me with new interest. “It’s nice to meet you, Beth. Any friend of Chris is welcome at my establishment.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, too.” Liar, liar.
Adele trailed a hand down Chris’s arm before she sauntered over and reclined on the other couch in a provocative pose. Now I saw why Sara couldn’t stand the succubus. If she’d behaved like this around Nikolas, it was a wonder Sara hadn’t fried her ass. I wasn’t even mated to Chris, and I wanted to gouge Adele’s eyes out to stop her from looking at him like he was her next meal.
“So, what brings you here tonight?” Adele asked as Chris sat again. “You were very mysterious on the phone.”
“This is not something either of us wants to discuss on the phone,” he replied soberly.
Adele sat up straighter, suddenly all business. “It sounds serious.”
“A fertile Lilin always is.”
The succubus drew in a sharp breath, but her eyes betrayed her. She knew something.
“Who is he?” Chris asked, coming to the same conclusion.
“I don’t know.”
I had planned to let Chris ask all the questions since he knew Adele, but I couldn’t resist saying, “I thought you knew everything that happened in this city.”
Her lips pressed together in annoyance. “There are some things even I don’t know.”
“Tell us what you do know,” Chris said.
Adele smoothed the fabric of her dress over her thighs. “Two weeks ago, there were twenty-three Incubi in the greater Los Angeles area. To my knowledge, there are none left as of today. They were either killed or scared off. There is only one thing I know of that could drive every Incubus out of a city.”
Chris nodded. “Did you ask around to see what was going on?”
“I did when the Incubi first started disappearing, and an Incubus friend told me he believed a Lilin had arrived in town. He was planning to leave the city because we all know a Lilin will not tolerate other Incubi except his sons in his breeding ground.”
“Do you know where your friend went?” Chris asked her. “I’d like to contact him.”
Fear flashed in her eyes. “That would be difficult because he was killed last week. Since then, I’ve stopped asking questions.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I had no love for Incubi or Succubi, but it felt like the right thing to say. She had lost a friend.
Adele gave me a surprised look. “Thank you.”
Chris leaned forward with his arms resting on his knees. “Can you tell us anything else?”
“I can tell you that it takes a very old and powerful Lilin to clear a city of Incubi this fast, and there are about to be a lot of disappearances in this area.”
“It’s already started,” Chris said. “Three girls so far, that we know of.”
She nodded gravely. “If he is as old as I suspect, he’ll want to sire at least ten to fifteen young, maybe more. He’ll take twice that many girls.”
I gasped loudly. “Thirty girls?”
Her violet eyes met mine. “I don’t know how much you know about Lilin. They will breed with as many females as possible to ensure viable pregnancies.”
“Oh my God.” I felt ill thinking about what those girls would suffer if we didn’t find them.