Walk on the Striped Side (27 page)

Elena stared at him in horror. “You
named that disgusting thing Rufus?”

He nodded. “Yes, I did, and you
can’t kill him for two reasons. One, he’s my familiar so he’s very important to
me. And you wouldn’t want to break my heart now, would you, big sister?”

“You slimy, little turd!”

He continued on as if she hadn’t
spoken, “And two, he’s going to help us get Delta out of her mess.”

Hearing Delta’s name brought her rage
back down. Remembering that Delta needed help of some sort, she felt ashamed
about momentarily forgetting her while being consumed with a maddening drive to
kill the furry, bug-eyed monster. If Delta needed her, she would do anything to
get her sister back to safety. Even play nice with the spider. She shuddered at
that thought.

“You still haven’t told us what
trouble she’s in or where she’s at,” Chloe snapped.

“Delta is at the den of Bash Yasin;
a very old, scheming and deceptive vampire.”

Elena, Chloe and her aunts all
started talking at once over each other, asking different variations of the
same question, which was, “
Why
?”

Manus held his hands up in the air
and shouted, “QUIET!”

The Demos women promptly quieted
down to wait for an explanation.

Elena took this silent opportunity
to give Manus the once over thoroughly for the first time. Now that she was
paying attention, she could see the genuine concern written all over the man’s
face. He was truly worried about Delta, which in turn worried Elena.

Impatient, Elena snapped out,
“Well, give us some answers already.”

Deo pet his spider, causing Elena
to shudder in revulsion again. The first place she was going afterwards was
home to the shower. Then she was going to scrub every inch of her body raw in the
hopes that the heebie jeebies the stupid spider gave her would go away.

“Rufus here was hitching a ride in
Delta’s purse yesterday to spy on her for me. I’ve been watching you all since
we were informed of Mom’s death, trying to decide on whether I should make
contact with you or not.” When Chloe started to say something, he held his hand
up to stop her. “So, last night, Rufus was there with Delta when she took the
meeting with Bash Yasin. Apparently, they’ve met briefly before through a
mutual acquaintance. Some guy named Rhett Baines. Bash had heard about Delta
asking Rhett to turn her, and how Rhett had denied her, rather harshly from the
sound of it. Bash offered to turn her himself, however there was a catch.”
Their brother gave them a stern look and said, “There’s always a catch with
those vamps, don’t forget that. Nothing is ever free with those stingy
bastards. Anyways, if Bash turned Delta, she would be indentured to him for the
next one hundred years.”

Chloe snorted. “There’s no way
Delta took a deal like that. She’s naive, sure, but stupid? Not hardly. So
where is she now? Crying into her tea cup about not getting what she wanted?”

Deo shook his head. “How quickly
you’ve forgotten that I’ve already told you that Delta is at Bash’s den. And
you forget all of Delta’s admirable traits, like her romanticism of fairy tales
and epic love stories. This Rhett may have turned her down and broken her
heart, but do you really think that Delta would walk away from the opportunity
to live forever? Did you forget how much she likes her ‘research’? Think of all
the things she could research with an infinite life span. Yeah, I see by the
panic on your face that you’re figuring it out. You’re wrong, Chloe; she took
the deal. Delta’s not here because she’s a vampire now.”

“Holy shit,” Elena whispered in
shock.

After gathering her wits, she
asked, “What do we do now?”

Manus shrugged. “Wait for Bash to
let her come home.”

Gage added, “And finish clearing
Lulu’s name in the meantime.”

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Thank you for reading
Walk on
the Striped Side
! For those of you who are thinking, “Lulu’s stuff wasn’t
solved.” And, “What the heck?” DON’T PANIC. The ultimate resolution of Lulu’s
case will be resolved in the next
Big Bad Bite
book,
The Demon Who
Loved Me
. I have to break out the big, bad Kent to properly handle that
situation, and he demanded a story of his own to do so.

Turn the page to read that book’s
first chapter for a sneak peek.

We hope you enjoyed reading this
book as much as we enjoyed writing it. If you did, please consider leaving a
review at your favorite online retailers, such as Amazon and Barnes &
Noble, or review websites such as Goodreads. These are great ways to help
spread the word about books to readers who have yet to discover them.

We have excerpts from our friends’
books and this book’s playlist after the first chapter of
The Demon Who
Loved Me
, so make sure you keep turning those pages! Happy reading!

The Demon Who Loved Me

Big Bad Bite Series #3

*Aspects of this excerpt may change between now and
it’s publication day*

CHAPTER-ONE

Chloe

One month later…

“The terms of our original agreement are no longer
sufficient. We need to renegotiate.”

Chloe snorted at the demand. The demon must think
she’d been born yesterday. “Wrong, Kent. Our agreement stands as it is. If you
don’t like losing, perhaps you shouldn’t make bets.”

A smooth growl came over the phone. “You scammed me
and you know it.”

She laughed at the accusation. “Wrong again. I didn’t
scam you, I schooled you, and if you don’t like learning hard lessons, then
don’t play games with me.”

“Do you realize what you’ve done to my life? Do you
honestly fucking grasp what I’ve had to do to cover my marker from this
ridiculous goddamn bet?”

Little did the people in her life realize, Chloe did
feel regretful about some things that particular situation was one of them.
Because Kent was right, she had turned his whole life upside down over a bet.
It hadn’t started out that way for her. No, that night, a little over a month
ago—when they had run into each other at the McPhee owned bar—Chloe would have
never guessed that she’d walk away owning a marker from the demon, but he’d
challenged her, dammit. And she’d won that bet fair and square.

Chloe had been sitting at the bar, minding her own
business and watching some douchebag treat his girlfriend like shit, when she’d
realized that someone was watching her. Looking around to see who her admirer
was, her eyes had stopped on a drop dead gorgeous man with brown hair, cobalt
blue eyes, a five o’clock shadow with a panty melting grin, eyeballing her from
his side of the bar. The demon who was only known by his last name, Kent. She’d
first laid eyes on him in that very bar just days before when she and her two
sisters had confronted Gage Ivanov about his sister, Lulu’s, whereabouts.

He’d caught her eye even then, yet she hadn’t truly
found him interesting until she’d gone home and done a little research. Her
sisters might think she was an airhead, but that was only because it was the
persona she liked to play. The real Chloe was an information whore. She wanted
to know who everyone was, what they were doing, and the dark secrets they
stored in their proverbial closets. So when she’d pulled up her aunts’ notes on
demons in the area and did some extensive late night reading, imagine her
surprise when she discovered that laid back, playboy Kent played a cop by day
to avoid his rather influential, wealthy and demanding family.

Why would a man walk away from easy living to play
cops and robbers in real life? With a little more digging, she’d figured it
out. Kent’s family was big in the demon hierarchy and politics. He was the
first born son, and therefore, expected to take his family’s seat on the Ninth
Circle Council. For reasons she couldn’t discern yet, Kent had done his best to
put off those obligations.

Interesting information, but not necessarily useful.
Yet. Chloe had learned over the years that information was the best kind of
weapon a girl could have because you never knew when it would come in handy.

That information had been beneficial a lot sooner
than she would have expected it to, as well. She thought back to the night that
had put this whole
clusterfuck
into motion.

It seemed like a crime to ignore Kent’s appreciative
glances to keep track of the douchebag boyfriend who was berating his poor,
sweet girlfriend in front of his friends. Chloe hated assholes like him and
loved to make examples of them. She was just waiting for her opportunity to do
so.

She was so engrossed in staring at the douchebag
as he joked with his buddies that she didn’t notice when Kent sat down on the
stool next to her.

“Do you have a thing for men that are taken or
something, sweetheart?”

The sound of his voice near her ear almost made
her fall off her seat it startled her so badly.

Placing a hand over her hammering heart, she
turned to glare at him. “No, I do not have a thing for men who are taken. Do
you usually scare women in bars half to death?”

Kent shook his head. “Didn’t mean to scare you,
but you’re staring at that pencil dick over there pretty hard. I was just
trying to figure out if you wanted to jump his bones or something since you
won’t give me the time of day.”

Chloe snorted in disgust. “I’d rather tell him to
take a flying leap off a tall building than give him the time of day. Have you
seen how mean he’s being to his girlfriend?”

“Yeah, it’s a shame, too. Pretty girl like her
could definitely do better than him. She’s probably with him for his car.”

Chloe gave him a confused look. “His car?”

“Yeah, sweetheart, his car. Saw him getting out of
his Ferrari when I pulled in. That pretty little girl probably took one look at
his car and thought she was hooking up with a high class man. Instead, she
hooked up with an idiot.”

Chloe pursed her lips in thought as she stared at
the miserable girl. The poor thing looked as though she wanted to be anywhere
other than there. Maybe Chloe could help her with that.

“Think it would make her night if she got to drive
his car? Then maybe she’d have at least one good thing about tonight she could
remember.”

Kent laughed. “There’s no way in hell you’re
getting that guy to let her drive his car.”

Well now, she did love a good challenge.

Leaning into his personal space, she crooned back,
“What would you give me if I walked out of here with his car keys and the girl
so that she could drive his car?”

“Anything because there’s no way you’re pulling
that shit off.”

She gave the demon a small, flirtatious smile.
“And what do you want if I lose this little bet?”

“You, in my bed, any way I want you for
twenty-four hours straight.”

She didn’t even have to think about it. Not
because she wanted to have marathon sex with Kent, although she had to admit
the idea was appealing, but the truth was, she was that confident in her
abilities. He should never have blindly walked into a bet. His mistake would be
her gain, though.

And really? Twenty-four hours? Why did men always
try to bullshit about their stamina? Chloe doubted there was a man, or
Other
, on the planet that could have a sexual marathon
for twenty-four hours.

Running one of her manicured fingers down the side
of his face, she whispered, “Remember this was your bet, demon. When it comes time
for me to cash that marker, I’ll contact you about what I need from you.”

She got up off her bar stool and walked away from
Kent, who was watching her with a curious face as she sashayed over to her
mark’s table. She’d seen a hundred guys just like him, and they never failed to
disgust her; the privileged, over-confident and atrocious jackasses that liked
to treat women as objects instead of people.

When she reached her destination, she pulled up a
chair and invited herself to sit down. Every single man there was already
leering at her, and half of them weren’t even bothering to look at her face.
The only one unhappy to see her was the douchebag’s date, however that was
okay.

“Hello, boys,” she purred. “Who wants to buy me a
drink?”

Two of the four men were up and out of their
chairs so fast they were practically tripping over themselves to get to the bar
and do as requested. Douchebag was one of the two left behind. Chloe turned
herself sideways in the chair and crossed her legs to give him a view of her
tan limbs and red high-heeled, fuck me shoes.

As usual, Chloe was dressed to kill. She was
wearing a black sheath dress with an overlay of red lace that clung to her pin
up figure and had a low, square neckline to show off her abundant D cups.

She leaned back a little to thrust her breasts out
and watched her mark’s eyes zero in on her assets. This wouldn’t be hard to
pull off at all. She was almost disappointed at the lack of a challenge.

Chloe spent the next hour coyly flirting with four
men that she’d rather pour gasoline over and set on fire, yet she was
determined to win the demon’s marker. She could feel Kent’s eyes on her, and a
part of her wondered if it turned him on to see her schmoozing other men. Maybe
losing the bet would be worth it? Her pride, however, wouldn’t let her throw
the bet for a bit of pleasure.

Douchebag was practically drooling all over their
table at the thought of getting in her panties and he’d all but forgotten that
he had another date sitting there with them. All she had to do was make her
move now.

Excusing herself to use the restroom, she got up
from the group and walked down the hallway to the women’s bathroom. She went
in, dug her lipstick out of her purse and touched up her lips with her favorite
luscious red. Then, she fluffed her hair and checked her figure in the mirror.
Satisfied that she’d wasted enough time, Chloe grabbed her purse and walked out
of the bathroom where she found Mr. Douchebag himself—real name John—leaned up
against the opposite wall waiting for her.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into his body,
sliding his hands down to rest on her ass. “Hey, sexy, you ready to get out of
here and have some fun?”

Did he not care that he had a date sitting at the
table?

Ignoring her disgust for him, she bit her bottom
lip like she was considering it. “Why do we have to get out of here to have
some fun? We could sneak into the men’s bathroom and you could bend me over the
sink instead. Wouldn’t that be hot?”

The man’s eyes widened and he smiled widely, like
he’d hit the sexual jackpot. “You want me bad, don’t you, baby? Can’t even
stand to wait for me to take you home. Fuck, yeah, let’s go in the bathroom and
I’ll fuck you so good they’ll hear you screaming in the bar.”

Chloe ran her finger down the front of his chest teasingly.
“There’s only one little problem, stud. I’m not excited yet, at all. I have a
hard time getting hot and bothered, if you know what I mean. My psychologist
says I’m a nymphomaniac with an adrenaline rush problem and dangerous
tendencies.”

Douchebag’s eyes glazed over a bit and he started
panting a little. Chloe could guess that jerk-wad had a serious thing for what
he thought might be crazy pussy.

“What does that mean?” he panted.

Sticking her bottom lip out, she playfully pouted.
“It means I have to do something that gives me a rush before I can get off. I
saw that beautiful Ferrari you drove here. If you let me take it for a spin
around the block, I bet my panties would be soaked by the time I got back.”

“Really?” he squeaked.

Chloe nodded. “Really. I’m getting excited just
thinking about your car. The engine purring, and when it revs up, how I’ll feel
the vibrations between my legs. God, that’s just so sexy. So hot, even, that
I’d be willing to park the car around back and let you bend me over the hood
and fuck me fast and hard. Can’t you just picture it, baby?” Chloe pressed her
body tighter into his and put her lips against the shell of his ear to whisper.
“I’ll get out of the car and you can push me down all rough-like on that hot
hood. The warmth from the motor will burn my nipples a little through the
fabric of my dress, but that’s okay because it’ll feel
sooooo
good. Then you can push my dress up over my hips, rip my thong off and slide
right in because I’ll be wet and hungry for you. You’ll be able to fuck me nice
and hard. What do you say, sexy?”

Douchebag had his keys out of his pocket and in
her hand so fast it was laughable. He started physically pushing her down the
hallway, back into the bar’s main room.

“You go for that spin, honey. Hell, take it around
the block twice just avoid a speeding ticket or wrecking it. I’ll be waiting
for you around the back when you’re done.”

Chloe turned around and put a hand on his chest to
stop him for a second. “I don’t want to go by myself, though, so I’m going to
take the other girl with me. We’ll be right back, sexy. Have your dick out and
waiting for me.”

Douchebag stood there with his jaw hanging open
while she grabbed his stilted date’s hand and dragged her towards the bar’s
entrance.

Before she walked out the door, she turned her
head to look at the bar, finding Kent’s eyes on her. She waved the keys in the
air and gave him a finger wave before walking out with the other woman.

“Are you fucking listening to me, Chloe?” Kent
snapped through the phone, bringing her back to the present. “You and I both
know that I had to go above and beyond walking into that meeting and accepting
my family’s seat to get Lulu the time and reprieve she needs. You’ve got to
admit that my debt has more than been paid and now I’m stuck in the very
situation I’ve been avoiding for years, dealing with uptight, sniveling
politicians. You owe me for this, Amazon, and you owe me big.”

He was right, however that didn’t mean she was going
to admit it.

Heaving a bored sigh, she asked, “What exactly do you
want to even the score, demon? Depending on what it is, I’ll consider it, even
though I technically don’t owe you a damn thing.”

She waited for Kent’s response, but he didn’t say
anything right away. Thinking perhaps he’d gotten mad and hung up on her, she
pulled the phone away from her and checked the screen. The call was still
active, so she called out his name.