The Darkening (15 page)

She glanced at her watch and saw it was 9:00. The

party hostess was gesturing to her. Did she really want to go through with this?

The image of Howard Parks's withered face flashed before her, and she knew there was no decision to make. She pushed away from the wall and followed the hostess into the back.

There, she was shown into a dressing room, instructed to remove her clothes and don the black hooded robe hanging there. She was handed a shiny white domino mask and told not to leave the dressing room unless she was wearing that mask. It was not to be removed under any circumstance for the duration of the party.

Once she was in costume, Lexi turned to examine her appearance in the mirror. It was startling. The mask covered most of her face so that she was completely unrecognizable. With the cloak and hood on, it was difficult to tell if she was male or female. Distinguishing Mai from the rest of the guests would be next to impossible. But right now, this was the best option she had.

When Lexi left the dressing room, she was shown into the large group-sex room. Though she'd never been there before, it looked just as it had on the video. It was a large open room with area rugs laid out in two rows, so that the room seemed divided in half. On each rug there was either a collection of pillows or an overstuffed bench that reminded Lexi of a narrow twin-bed mattress.

Hidden behind the mask, Lexi felt more comfortable moving into the room. Other guests were arriving, and Lexi noted that while some guests wore the white domino masks, others wore black ones. She hoped this was how she could tell the men from the women.

Lexi walked about the room, taking a closer look at each figure, trying to decide which of the whitemasked people might be Mai. She was distracted from her search when a black-masked figure walked up to her and let his hand trail down her arm.

"Have I got a treat for you, pet," he said in a selfassured tone that grated on her nerves. Before she could think of anything to say, he opened the front of his gown, proudly displaying his erection.

"Impressive," she said. But was it real? She silently spoke the incantation Heather had given her and generated enough of her magic to give the incantation strength. Immediately the man's aura shifted to black, and Lexi knew she was facing a demon. "Not interested," she said and moved on before he could stop her.

She invoked the incantation again and immediately saw that while most of the females in the room were human, most of the males weren't. There were only a couple of men whose aura showed the white of a living-magic creature. Lexi made her way toward them. If she were going to have sex with anyone tonight, it was not going to be with something of death magic. These times were too dangerous. But if she didn't find Mai soon, she had to get a partner, or they'd make her leave.

Spotting a tall, cloaked figure with a white aura, she made her way toward him. She was almost to him when she noticed another figure in a white mask moving his way. Before Lexi could get close enough to draw his attention, the other figure opened the front of her cloak, exposing her charms.

Almost immediately, several other males rushed to her from across the room. The male who had been the

intended target merely walked past them-and away from Lexi.

By now, couples and small groups were forming. Lexi saw that the other living-magic creature in the room had taken a partner, which left her with the choice of a demon or the tall man. Though the demon was closer, Lexi hurried after the tall man, catching up to him just before he reached another woman. Lexi grabbed the back of his cloak and gave it a tug, to get his attention. When he turned around, she gave him a slow, seductive smile.

He reached out to brush the back of his fingers against the lock of hair escaping from her hood. His hand dropped from there to run lightly across her breasts. Her nipples immediately stiffened. She blushed, embarrassed to have such a reaction to a complete stranger, especially when he seemed to notice.

It's just because of the full moon,
she told herself,

though it was difficult to form the thought as the man was now palming both breasts through her robe. She felt a tightening between her legs and struggled to remember why she was there in the first place: to find Mai.

He kissed her then, and the hunger rose. The wolf in her demanded that she mate with this male, that she alleviate the need growing inside her. Her senses turned lupine, and suddenly everything in the dim room seemed more intense. The music being piped in rang clean and clear, distinct from the gasps and moans coming from the couples all around them. And the smell of sex was everywhere.

Lexi felt moisture pool between her legs, and when the man opened her robe and pushed the fabric aside, she welcomed the cool breeze against her over heated skin. When he ran his hands across her, his roughened palms created a delicious friction that left her shivering.

Individual actions were lost as her entire being was focused on the sensations he aroused. She was barely conscious of having moved to lie on one of the beds. When the man climbed on top of her, she didn't care that he still wore his robe-she only cared that his erection was merely pressing against her while she wanted it inside her.

She rubbed herself against him until he lowered his mouth to the nape of her neck and gently sucked at the skin, pulling a reaction from deep within her belly. She responded by reaching down between them to take his pulsing member in her hand and, closing her eyes, guided him to her where-thank the goddesshe finally took the hint.

She felt the rounded end of his shaft probing the opening between her legs as he used her moisture to coat the head of his penis. Her body stretched to accommodate him as he pushed into her, and she had the fleeting thought that this was the second time in less than a week that she'd been with a man who filled her so completely. Then the thought was gone and she was consumed with a hunger so fierce, she thought it might devour her whole if she couldn't satisfy it. She contracted her inner muscles around him, squeezing with enough pressure that his hiss of breath brushed against her neck.

Opening her eyes, she saw that the man's robe had fallen open. A rush of white-hot desire shot through her, and she didn't even try to suppress the urge to let her hand travel across the expanse of his chest, pushing his robe back.

Lost in the tactile sensation of all that male virility, she didn't at first notice the textured pattern of colors across his chest. When she did, she had to blink several times to make sense of them. Then, to her horror, she realized she was looking at a golden serpent in the shape of a figure eight tattooed over his heart and a smiling dragon tattooed on the opposite side.

"Darius?" she croaked, pushing at his chest until he stopped. "Mother Goddess-Darius, is that you?"

He blinked down at her several times as if waking up from a dream and forcibly swallowed. "Yeah, it's me."

"What are you doing here?"

He sort of shook himself and then glanced down to where their bodies were joined. "I would have thought that was obvious." He moved his hips, and it was enough to drag a gasp from her. She couldn't help moving her own hips in response.

"Mighty Re," he swore, "give me strength." He pulled off his mask first and then hers. "I thought I could . . He swallowed again. "I was wrong. You feel too good.

He looked off into the room, like he wasn't sure what to do. Then his head jerked up a little further and she heard him mutter, "There she is." Then he was unceremoniously scrambling off her. "Lexi, I...
"
He looked across the room once more. "I'll explain laterI have to go."

She hadn't even had a chance to bring her knees back together before he was running away, leaving her more humiliated and angry than she'd ever been before.

Whipping her robe about her, she got off the couch and raced from the room, pushing through the crowd. She was barely conscious of being out in the cool night air. With her head down, she had only one goal-to go home-but she'd only taken a couple of steps when she ran straight into a warm, hard male body She gasped an apology and tried to make a quick escape, but the arms holding her wouldn't let her go.

"Whoa, Lexi. It's me."

Startled to hear Ricco's voice, she looked up. "What are you doing here?"

His smile turned to a frown. "I'm looking for some missing members of my gang, but more importantare you all right? You're crying."

She shook her head, unable to find the words, but when she tried to move past him, he wouldn't let her. "Did someone hurt you? Because if they did-"

"No, it's nothing." She wiped at her eyes and tried to offer him a reassuring smile, but couldn't. Thanks to the full moon and recent events, her emotions were raw and her hormones were, apparently, beyond her control. Tears of hurt and anger started coursing down her face.

"Here, now," Ricco said, leading her away from the club and around the corner, where he pulled her into his arms and held her. It felt so nice to be comforted that, before she knew it, the tears were really flowing, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him why. That would have been too embarrassing.

After a few minutes, she'd stopped crying and felt more in control. "It's my fault. I should know better than to go into a party like that so close to the full moon. How could I possibly have thought I could stay detached?"

At that moment, Lexi heard Darius calling her name.

She must have tensed, because Ricco glanced down at her. "Is that the guy who hurt you?"

"Yeah, but I don't feel like talking to him right now."

"Well, I'd like a few words with him."

Alarmed, Lexi grabbed Ricco's arm before he could walk off. "No, Ricco. Please don't. It'll just make the whole thing more ... humiliating."

Ricco studied her face, and for a second she thought he might argue with her. Then he nodded. "Listen, you should probably shift and go home," he said softly.

"But my clothes-"

"Have already been left behind."

Confused, she looked down and saw that she was still wearing the black cloak. There was no way she was going back inside for her clothes, but, "My wallet."

"I'll get it for you."

"What about the Vlads? They're not going to let the leader of the Bloods just waltz into their club."

He smiled and fingered the fabric of her robe. "With luck, they won't even know I'm there-and it'll give me the perfect opportunity to see who's in there."

"All right, but be careful. And thank you."

"No problem," Ricco said, leaning forward to place a kiss on her cheek. "You know I'm always here for you."

"I know." She smiled and then shrugged off the cloak and handed it to him. His gaze ran over her in a very male way, making her feel feminine and attractive. It helped lift her spirits a little after being rejected-yet again-by Darius.

"Be careful," she warned him. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Ow," he said with a frown. "As you just pointed out, I
am
First Fang of one of the most powerful vampire gangs in New York City. There are some people who consider me quite dangerous."

She gave him an apologetic smile. "You know what I mean."

Then, with a wave of her hand, she changed into wolf form and headed home, letting the night swallow her as she ran.

Darius hurried around the corner of the building just in time to see Lexi morph into a wolf and race off. He swore silently and ran after her, afraid that if she got away, he'd never see her again. He'd only taken a couple of steps when a hand closed around his throat.

The man Lexi had been talking with had moved with alarming speed. Darius grabbed his dagger and was about to plunge it into the man's heart when he spoke.

"I should kill you for hurting her," the man growled.

Darius hesitated. Though this man was a vampire, he seemed sincere in wanting to protect Lexi. Darius couldn't kill him for that.

He slapped his dagger back on his arm and with a quick twist, broke the vampire's hold on him. In the brief moment of the vampire's stunned hesitation, Darius punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over. But the vampire quickly came up, his fists moving so fast they were a blur.

Darius took a blow to the jaw that snapped his head back. White dots of light burst behind his eyelids, but it didn't slow him down. He anticipated the vampire's next move and dodged out of the way, delivering a massive kidney blow of his own. "Stop. I don't want to

hurt you," he said. "Especially since you seem to be a friend of Lexi's."

"Save your breath," the vampire said. "Lexi doesn't want to see you again-ever. I'm going to make sure her wish comes true."

Darius understood that kind of protectiveness. "I'm not going to hurt her," he tried to explain.

"Too late."

That caught him off guard. "Are you sure?" he asked, blocking the vampire's punch to his jaw. "That I hurt her, I mean."