Evermore, an Arotas Novella (The Arotas Series) (9 page)

“I
have my ways,” she responds coyly.

His
fingers dig into her waist, pulling her back into his chest as he
whispers in her ear. “When we get home, I expect to get a
private viewing of those wicked ways.”

Roseline
laughs and allows herself to be led into the club. If she thought it
was hot outside, the interior is far worse. She can actually see
steam rising off of the horde of bodies on the dance floor, like
clouds of dry ice filtering through the air.

Unlike
Torrent,
this bar’s cages are filled with dancing girls in skintight
sequined dresses that leave little to the imagination, instead of
blood slaves. The music is just as loud and obnoxious, but the feel
is completely different.

Roseline
has been to her fair share of clubs in her past. Most of them were
dark with a tinge of danger on the air. Skimpy dresses were replaced
with men and woman draped in black. Corsets replaced halters and the
scent of leather was common, if not expected.

No
one wore jeans and torn T-shirts to those clubs. Of course, most of
those clubs housed many of the underbelly of the immortal world
without humans being any the wiser. The love of all things gothic is
merely a given.

In
this place, she can smell the strong odor of hops on the air instead
of O-negative blood. The bathroom door she passes smells strongly of
urine and vomit, scents lingering just under the eye-burning doses of
bleach used nightly to mop away the filth.

For
the most part, the club lies in darkness. The shadows are especially
darkest in the balcony overhead, roped off by plush red single-loop
barriers attached to two golden stands and a bouncer who looks like
he has slipped a few too many steroids over the years.

Only
the strobe lights flitting from a crisscross of metal rafters
overhead lights the dance floor in a myriad of shapes and neon
colors. Black lights hang from above, casting a luminescent glow on
everything. The music pouring from speakers thumps in Roseline’s
chest and she can feel herself being drawn in.
Pandemic
offers
a crowd that you can easily get lost in.

“This
is wicked.” William leans far over the railing, taking it all
in. His hair is matted to his forehead and he unconsciously brushes
it back out of his eyes. Trickles of sweat trail down his neck and
into his vest. Strong muscular arms taper into strong hands,
unobscured by sleeves. He is sure to turn a few heads in this crowd,
as are Nicolae and Gabriel, but she knows they can handle themselves.

Roseline
can’t help but feel slightly protective over William, as if he
were a brother to her instead of just a friend. “Keep an eye on
him tonight,” she whispers to Gabriel. “We don’t
need to have someone slipping something into his drink, or have
Claudia turn up unannounced and fly into a jealous rage.”

He
nods and silently moves toward William’s side, suggesting they
grab drinks for everyone.

“What
about you? Are you going to watch over my brother too?” Sadie
purrs, running her hand down Nicolae’s arm.

A
telltale flush rises along his neck and he nods. “Only if you
promise me a dance later.”

“Deal.”

Sadie
and Roseline watch as the guys move away, unconsciously tapping their
boots in time with the music. “So we’re here now,”
Sadie says, glancing down at the dance floor. “What now?”

A
slow smile spreads along Roseline’s lips as she tugs on her
friend’s hand. “I want to dance.”

“Right
on!” Sadie whoops and follows Roseline’s lead as they
slither through the crowd, shoving against hot bodies as they weave
toward the center of the dance floor.

Roseline
isn’t familiar with the song blasting through the speakers, but
the guitar riff calls to her as she begins to sway her hips. Sadie
closes her eyes and raises her hands in the air, weaving to the beat.

The
scents rise around Roseline, drawing her into a different place. She
focuses on the colognes, perfumes, and the thumping of heartbeats as
she writhes beside Sadie. She has only ever felt this free once
before—back in Chicago at the prom with William. It was the
first time she could truly dance, to express herself.

Roseline’s
eyes fly open wide with the memory. “Sadie, I should probably
warn you—” But she never gets the chance to say anything
as a hand grabs her friend’s backside.

Sadie’s
eye fly open wide as she turns to find a guy, probably barely old
enough to be allowed into the club, flashing a wide grin as his hand
continues to feel her up. “Hey, beautiful. Wanna dance?”

“Sadie…”
Roseline warns as her friend’s hand curls into a fist. “This
is not the place.”

Sadie
grits her teeth and releases her fingers, pressing them tightly
against her outer thigh. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ve
already got a dance partner.”

His
vivid blue gaze rises to take in Roseline beside her and his grin
widens into a leer. “More the merrier.”

“We
should leave now,” Roseline says, tugging gently on Sadie’s
arm. As she turns to leave, she comes face to face with another man,
his chest broad and squarely meeting her at eye level.

“What’s
the hurry?” His voice is deep and his breath rank with alcohol
as she looks up to meet his slightly glazed stare.

Three
more guys encircle them, each with a definite lustful glint in their
eyes. Roseline sighs and looks to Sadie. “I knew this would be
a bad idea.”

“Nah.
It’s the best idea you’ve had all night,” a guy
with a torn white T-shirt and a set of perfectly straight teeth that
glow brilliantly under the backlight says.

Roseline
ignores him and focuses only on Sadie. She can hear the wild thumping
of the men’s hearts mingling with several others on approach.
Why didn’t she think to warn her friend about trying to keep
her hormones in check? She isn’t even sure if Sadie could have
managed to do that in the first place, but she should have at least
mentioned it.

A
lot of good I am
,
she thinks sourly as she tugs Sadie close to her side.

She
swats at the guy behind her as he reaches for her arm. He snarls and
sways slightly in place. Roseline knows one good push would send him
sprawling off his feet, but she doesn’t want to draw any more
attention to them than they have already managed to garner.

Sadie’s
eyes flash with anger as the guy behind her reaches for her again.
This time his aim is high and lands dangerously close to the bottom
of her halter. She lashes out and slams her boot into the guys shin,
downing him instantly.

Several
more guys have crowded around. Roseline sighs.
Looks
like there’s not going to be an easy way of slipping out of
this mess.

“Whatever
happens, don’t lose control,” she orders through gritted
teeth as another hand lands on her arm. This one is beefy and
disgustingly sticky, though she can’t tell if it is from
spilled beer or profuse amounts of sweat. Neither seems like a
pleasant option at this point.

“I
don’t think it’s us that we need to worry about,”
Sadie mutters, her gaze focused beyond her.

Roseline
turns to look over her shoulder just as a cry rises over the music.
It is shrill, startled, and cuts off quickly as the guy in the
shredded T-shirt slams into a far wall. After a sickening crunch, he
slumps to the ground, unmoving. A line has carved through the crowd
as people peer at the fallen partier. Gabriel stands less than three
feet behind her, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

His
nostrils are flared, his lips peeled back from his teeth. A low growl
rumbles steadily in his chest. Nicolae stands at his side, his hand
instinctively reaching for the knife that he normally keeps at his
side but was left behind for the evening’s festivities.

They
entered Brasov unarmed. At least in the sense of no human being able
to detect it. She made sure to tuck a small dagger into Sadie’s
boot just before she did the same with her own. Gabriel has a similar
knife tucked into a sheath attached to his calf. Knowing Nicolae,
there is no doubt that William is the only one who came unarmed
tonight.

“Why’d
you do that?” she hisses.

Gabriel’s
eyes widen and his cheeks darken as he splutters. “They were
touching you.”

“Of
course they were,” she utters in barely constrained
frustration. “We were handling it.”

“Didn’t
look like it to me,” he growls back. He crosses his arms over
his chest and Roseline feels her stomach clench with desire. Gabriel
has his own hormonal pull when he wants to and right now she is
feeling irresistibly drawn to him.
Maybe
this whole protector thing isn’t so bad after all
,
she silently muses.

“I
appreciate your desire to defend my honor,” she says aloud,
placing a hand on his chest to calm him, “but you know you
can’t just toss people around without raising questions.”

He
blinks, as if suddenly realizing for the first time that there is a
crowd around him. A crowd filled with nosy people with cell phone
cameras poised for a photo op.

The
music has stopped completely. Large men in stretched black shirts are
heading their way, but their progress is stunted by the unyielding
crowd.

Nicolae
reaches Sadie’s side as the offending gang of drunkards seems
to recover from their shock. “You’re gonna pay for that.”
The guy who speaks as he shoves his way through the front of the
crowd seems older than the others, his hair shaved and a wide
bullring slotted through his nose. He has matching rings in both
eyebrows as well.

Roseline
eyes him up. “What’s it to you?”

His
look is so different than the other guys. He seems to be of a rougher
stock. “That guy your boyfriend just chucked across the room is
my little brother.”

“Well,
that little pervert had his hands on my friend,” she replies
curtly. “He deserves what he got.”

The
man’s cheeks darken with anger. He inserts himself in Sadie’s
face, showing only the slightest hint of concern when Nicolae shoves
between them. The guy might be taller than Nicolae, but even a
complete stranger should be able to tell that Nicolae is dangerous.

“Back
off before someone else gets hurt,” he warns in a low voice,
dark and definitely threatening.

The
man laughs and Roseline realizes his words are slightly slurred. The
scent of alcohol seems to pour straight from his pores. “He’s
drunk, Nicolae. Let it go.”

“Let
it go?” The man laughs. “Are you going to let the little
girl tell you what to do?”

Nicolae
snarls and pushes into the guy. “Trust me, she’s not
someone you want to mess with.”

His
laugh is mirrored by many in the crowd surrounding them. Roseline
closes her eyes for a moment, pinching the bridge of her nose to help
herself calm down.
I
knew something like this would happen. A club? Why did I ever agree
to this?

The
guy puffs up his chest and snakes his hand past Nicolae to latch onto
Roseline’s arm. “I’d like to see her try.”

His
grip is firm against her forearm. Roseline shakes her head at Gabriel
and Nicolae, waiting for them to step back as she closes the gap
between herself and the nose ring punk. She can hear Sadie turn to
Gabriel and say, “I’m going to enjoy this.”

“What
are you going to do now?” The man gloats. Spittle flies from
his mouth and lands upon her cheek. Disgusted, Roseline wipes away
the offending moisture and smiles.

“Which
body part do you care least about?”

His
eyes narrow and she notices his pupils are highly dilated. “Are
you threatening me?”

She
sighs and grabs his hand. “Just remember I gave you a choice.”

With
lightning-fast reflexes, she whips his hand around behind his back,
lifting it nearly high enough to touch the base of his neck. She
hears a loud pop, followed instantly by his howl. Raising her foot,
she slams her boot into the back of his leg, driving him to the
ground. With a simple push, he sprawls to the dance floor. His shouts
of pain can barely be heard over the hooting of the crowd, which goes
nuts as she takes him down with ease. No doubt that video will make
its debut on the internet tonight.

Roseline
looks up, idly noting the bouncer’s continued struggle to get
through the wall of cheering patrons. They are making little headway.
She glances toward Gabriel and sees his open pride. “That’s
how you take down a guy in a club.”

He
nods as she steps over her victim. No part of what she did would look
out of place in the human world, apart from the fact that she is much
smaller than him. Perhaps people will wonder if she has some sort of
martial arts training or took a self-defense class. PMS could also be
a highly likely candidate.

“Feel
better?” he asks, grinning as he winds his arms around her
waist.

“Much.”

Sadie
looks around. “Where’s Will?”

Nicolae
turns, craning his neck to look toward the bar. “He was just
behind me.”

Roseline
lifts up onto her toes, peering over the heads of the crowd
surrounding them. “There he is!”

A
hand grips her arm with enough force to cause pain and she looks back
to see Gabriel. His face has drained of color. “What’s
wrong?”

His
eyes are focused beyond her and she turns to follow but sees nothing.
“Did you see that?”

“See
what?” Sadie asks as she drags Nicolae along after her.

“I
saw something on the balcony.” There is a distinctive tremor in
Gabriel’s voice that worries Roseline.

She
lifts her gaze one more time to peer into the shadows, but the
balcony is completely empty. It’s not like him to overreact, at
least not to this extreme. Flaring out her nostrils, Roseline takes a
deep breath and freezes.

There
is a new scent on the air. Dank and animalistic. “There’s
something in here.”