Hellbourne (5 page)

“So what do you want me to do? Wait around while he fucks every female on the planet? I’m not going to go through that over and over while he makes up his mind. This is my life too, and he made it more than clear that I no longer had a part in his. He might want to share that information with his wolf.”

Sal pulled Luc close and kissed him on the top of his head, a familiar, loving gesture that brought tears to Luc’s eyes. “Just don’t give up on the whole pack, baby. Some of us still want you in our lives. Some of us still need you.”

The last part, whispered against his hair, was so quiet Luc might have imagined it. He kissed Sal on both cheeks as they separated.

“Take care of him, Sal,” he said, meeting the beta’s eyes. “He’s not perfect but he is your alpha.”

“I know.” Sal gave him a sad smile as he turned to leave. “I know.”

The soft click of the door closing sounded final to Luc’s ears.

* * * *

Luc tried to wait up. He desperately wanted to know what had happened downstairs, but the events of the day had drained him. Despite his best intentions, he was drifting towards sleep when the slam of the bedroom door jerked him awake. He blinked blearily at his lover. “What’s up?”

“I am.” Nikko’s lips crashed down on his. “I don’t care if he has a prior claim. I’m not letting you go.”

Luc broke away from the kiss to get back some of the oxygen Nikko sucked out of his lungs. “I didn’t ask you to. I won’t have sex with a married man. I may be pitiful, but I’m not desperate.”

“I don’t think he’s really married.” Nikko stroked Luc’s face. “The beta told me the mating isn’t official since the pair didn’t have sex.”

“It’s official enough,” Luc said, hearing the bitterness in his own voice. Seeking to distract the vamp, he undressed his lover and pounced.

The sex was wild and rough. Afterwards, both men were panting and sweat-soaked.

“Now that he knows where you are it’s better to stay here. He won’t hunt you as a wolf if he senses a larger predator.”

Luc nodded. He didn’t bother to tell the pushy vampire he could take care of himself.

A man needed his secrets.

Besides, he wasn’t feeling up to house shopping right now. He just wanted to take things easy for a while and coast on nights of hot sex and partying. Was that too much to ask?

Chapter Four

Luc lay in bed, savouring the large body wrapped around him. His blood-sucking teddy bear was back. Whether it was because Nikko was a closet snuggler or because he knew Luc needed the physical contact, the fae didn’t know, but the skin-to-skin connection kept him grounded and calm.

He needed calm.

With Luc’s days and nights messed up, he didn’t know if the seven on the alarm clock was morning or evening. Sighing, he carefully eased from beneath Nikko’s clutches.

Now what?

His stomach growled.

Well, that was one thing he could do. Pulling on his shirt and pants—he never bothered with underwear—Luc left the room. For a moment, he felt a tingle from the magical wards, but it passed once he closed the door behind him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Luc jumped.

Gabriel stood before him, a scowl on his face.

“Aren’t all good little vampires supposed to be asleep?” he asked with his most disarming smile.

The scowl didn’t leave. “Not all vampires sleep through the day. Just most of the ones here do because we run a nightclub.”

Luc was confused. “But doesn’t the sunlight burn you?”

Laughter filled the air. Rather unkindly to Luc’s thinking.

“No. The only reason that rumour exists is because it’s easier to hunt in the dark. Humans only saw us at night while we were hunting because the rest of the time we look just like them. That’s how it got started that we only come out at night. There’s no reason that consuming blood would have any connection to sunlight.”

Luc felt his face flush. “Now I feel stupid.”

Gabriel wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulders. “That’s okay. You still have your looks to fall back on.”

Luc pinched Gabriel’s side, causing the vamp to jump.

“What’s going on?” Nikko’s sleep creased face glared at the other vampire. “Are you touching my boy?”

Gabriel paled even for a vamp. “No, sir. Well, not the way you mean.”

Nikko pinned Luc with a fierce look. “Didn’t I mention you aren’t to talk to other vamps without my permission?”

Luc laughed. “Nope. I’ll sit at your side, but there’s no way I’m not going to talk to someone if they talk to me first. If that’s part of the deal, I’ll go and find a new home today.” He meant it too. There was no way he was going to be some automaton who didn’t speak unless given permission by his master.

Nikko sighed and ran a hand through his short black hair, making it stand up in messy spikes. “How about a compromise? When it’s just my tribe, you can talk to whoever speaks to you, but when we’re at the club among strangers, you only address people when I give you permission.” The alpha vampire played with a curl on Luc’s shoulder while he waited for his response.

Luc thought about it for a moment. He didn’t really want to give Nikko any problems. He just wanted a bit of peace. If the cost of that calm was sitting quietly beside his master as if he were a good little sub it was a small price to pay, and the necklace was rather spiffy.

Luc nodded. “Fair enough, but if you pet me on the head, I’ll bite you.”

“Deal. Now, why are you out here instead of in bed with me?” The look in the alpha’s eyes should’ve set the building on fire.

“I’m starving.” Luc gave a pout guaranteed to get him his way.

“Get my baby some breakfast, Gabe. He’s got other things he needs to do.”

Before Luc could protest, Nikko grabbed him and dragged him back into the room and into his arms.

It was much later before he got his promised meal but it was difficult to bitch while sporting a wide smile.

* * * *

Nikko couldn’t remember the last time he was this nervous. As he sat there waiting for his beautiful thrall to dress in the clothes he’d bought, he remembered the scene earlier that afternoon.

The pack beta, Sal, had come into his office accompanied by two of his bodyguards. “I brought this for you.” The werewolf placed a leather bound book on his desk.

“A present for me?” Nikko couldn’t help the scepticism in his voice.

The beta scowled. “No, it’s for Luc.”

Nikko opened the book. It had to be over two hundred pages. The first page had a handwritten title, ‘The Care and Feeding of Lucifer Hellbourne’. “What kind of sick parent names their child Lucifer with a last name like Hellbourne?”

“You’ll find out,” Sal said before hastily continuing. “It has his food preferences, what to do if he gets the fade, his likes and dislikes and who to call in an emergency.”

Flipping through the pages, Nikko was amazed at the incredible detail that went into creating the book. “You love him, don’t you?”

The beta’s eyes burned with a fierce fire. “If I didn’t know it would upset Luc, I would’ve snapped Bran’s neck in a second for tossing him aside. We’ve only been friends, Luc and I, but I would give him anything.” The werewolf sighed. “However, I’m not what he needs right now. After Bran’s betrayal, the pack no longer means home for Luc and there’s nothing I can do to take that pain away. As it is, our alpha isn’t bonding with his wife.”

“You mean his mate,” Nikko interrupted.

The werewolf shook his head. “I’m pretty sure that Luc is Bran’s mate, which means the alpha will always live a half life as he pursues his goal of having pups. It weakens the pack, and if he doesn’t do something soon, I’ll have to take over alpha duties.”

“Will you challenge him?”

Sal shook his head. “No, the pack will do an intervention. He can’t be a good leader if his heart is torn. I’m hoping we can get him to step down. Bran’s been our leader for a hundred years. We’d hate to lose him now. But a good leader listens to his wolf half.”

“I’m not giving him back.” Nikko felt it was important to let the beta know up front that he would fight to keep his little fae.

Shrugging, the beta gave him a challenging look. “I’m all for leaving Luc here. Bran has hurt him enough. But keep in mind, the pack will be watching and if you hurt him, I have no problems with snapping
your
neck.”

The memory of his conversation with the beta wolf made Nikko smile. As a vampire, he was no lover of the wolves but the fact the beta still felt protective of the gentle fae said good things about his little love.

“Well, what do you think?” Luc’s satiny voice cut through Nikko’s thoughts.

He looked up and almost swallowed his tongue. Soft, buttery leather faithfully moulded Luc’s thighs, showing that the man couldn’t possibly have anything on underneath his pants. The silk shirt in brilliant blue brought out the fae’s colouring and made his eyes even greener.

“Wow.” Really, what more could be said.

Luc smiled. “Thanks. You look pretty hot too.”

“Why don’t you go ahead to the club and I’ll catch up with you in a minute. I need to meet with my lieutenants before I go down. I’ll send you down with Sheila so you won’t be unprotected and Jerrod will have a plate ready for you.”

“Sounds good. I feel like dancing.” Luc didn’t even comment about being sent down with a girl for protection. He had the impression that Sheila was much tougher than she looked.

After a hot, bone-melting kiss they parted.

Luc met Sheila at the top of the stairs. “How’s it going, girlfriend,” he teased, batting his eyelashes playfully.

She looked him over carefully, her eyes cool and calculating. Her gaze stopped at his neck. “Did the master give you that collar or did you knock off a museum?”

“Meow,” Luc said with a taunting smile.

Sheila laughed. Linking her arm with his, they walked down the stairs arm in arm. Eyes turned towards them as they reached the landing. “I love walking in with the most beautiful person in the room,” she said with a smile. “Now keep close to me. If I lose you in this crowd, Nikko will slit my throat and drain me dry.”

Luc started to laugh but the expression in the vampire’s eyes told him she wasn’t kidding. “Oh. I’ll be careful to stay close until Nikko arrives. Would you like to dance?”

“I can’t dance,” Sheila said, biting her lip.

“Sure you can. Everyone can dance. Besides if you’re going to live for centuries, you might as well enjoy it.”

See him give life advice.

With a smooth turn of his heels, Luc swept Sheila into his arms and moved her around the dance floor. As he swung her about, he mentally calculated how far she could step in her tight black dress and high heels. Luckily, it was still a little early for the hard partiers so there were pockets of emptiness on the dance floor. With fancy footwork and a little mind influence, he spun Sheila around in an intricate pattern that matched the rhythm in his soul.

Luc didn’t notice other people watching until the music ended and applause thundered through the club.

He held out his arm to Sheila, giving a graceful bow while she gave a short curtsy. She wrapped her hand around his biceps as they walked regally off the dance floor and straight towards the bar.

“Thanks, Luc.” Sheila’s voice was subdued, bringing Luc’s gaze to her.

He sat her down on a bar stool and took the one next to her. “What’s wrong, pretty girl?”

“I had a lot of fun.”

“That’s bad, how?”

Sheila sighed. “Because it’s hard to find a sweet man who dances like a dream and when I do,” she looked up, pinning him with her blue eyes, “they’re already taken. And even if you weren’t, I wouldn’t appeal to you.”

Luc gave her an understanding smile. “Don’t fall for me, beautiful. I’m all about heartache.” He motioned for two beers from the bartender who promptly placed them on the bar and waved away the money Luc offered.

“The boss would kill me if I charged you,” he said with a wink before moving on to serve another.

Sipping on their beers, the pair watched the crowds move about the dance floor. After a while, Luc noticed a few vamps sliding through a doorway in the back.

“Where does that go?” he asked, pointing at the quickly exiting vamps.

Sheila looked where he pointed. “Oh, back there are rooms for private parties.”

“Yeah, what kind of parties?”

He looked over to see Sheila blushing.
Wow
, he didn’t know vampires could blush. “Ooooo, sex parties?”

She shrugged and Luc could see she was trying to regain her nonchalance. “Sometimes. Sometimes blood parties.”

A tremor snapped across Luc’s senses. Pain, someone was in a tremendous amount of pain. As a prince of hell, Luc could always sense when someone else was suffering. His brothers used the talent to savour the screams of the ones they tortured. Luc always used it to find and help others.

He could feel the pain emanating from the back where Sheila said the private rooms were located. “Be right back,” he said with what he hoped was a charming smile.