GABRIEL

The vampire was dancing, or at least he was awkwardly swaying around to the rhythm of the music in a way that suggested he was trying to appear like he was.

But dancing with Mikah… wasn’t terrible.

After the last few days, I really needed to let off steam. It’d been nonstop since I’d met up with Xavier again. In a good way, but we had barely done anything to take the edge off. And there’s nothing quite like dancing in a crowded room full of pheromone-exuding, horny-but-in-a-fun-way, blissed-out people to do just that. Plus, the view wasn’t anything to complain about from where I was dancing, either.

A lot of unpleasant things could be said about vampires as well as Mikah’s winning personality, but the vamp was pretty fucking hot. I danced closer to him, inhaling the scent of sweat and sex and lust all around us. There was something else in that mix, too, a scent I’d come to associate with Mikah. Sandalwood and something floral with a metallic edge—a combination that might sound bizarre, but I had a feeling I could breathe it in all day, and it would never get old.

Of course, I would have preferred to get eaten alive by the ugly non-sex demon than share that with Mikah.

I glanced at his face with a smirk. He never would have admitted it in a million years, but he was having a good time. Probably. Although you couldn’t tell from the way he was dancing. Guy was as stiff as a board. “So, when’s the last time you actually danced with somebody? The freaking eighteenth century? Rubbing elbows with the Founding Fathers?” I snorted at my own joke. “Nah, I bet you were a Redcoat.”

Mikah rolled his eyes, but he continued to contort his body in those jerky motions that looked like somebody’s poor attempt to dance. That weird New Wave shit. “I don’t dance while I’m on the clock.” He sighed in that long-suffering way of his, and my smirk widened.

“Come on, man. You’ve gotta feel this, right? The bass pumping, everybody low-key getting off on each other. You can practically taste the pheromones in the air—”

“I literally can,” he muttered.

“Exactly. So, lean the fuck into it. This isn’t a waltz. We’re two guys looking for fun in Lust Central instead of two guys on a job for X. Pretend for a minute that you’re looking to get some action, and blend in.”

His eyes flashed red for half a second, an echo of when he’d lost control and given in to his bloodlust, and my heart stuttered. Heat rushed low in my belly, and I felt my hairs stand on end. Fuck. What was wrong with me? I should not have been getting turned on by the thought of a vampire losing control.

“I just…” I cleared my throat. “I just mean that we don’t want to alert all the demon guards lurking around. This is a waiting game until Xavier and the rest of the group arrives, and the less we can draw attention to ourselves, the better.” I felt that smirk tugging at my lips again, and I gratefully leaned into that part of my persona, into that shred of familiarity. “I bet they can smell a stick in the mud a mile away.”

Mikah shook his head, though he did start to dance a bit more naturally. Emphasis on a bit. “You’re such an asshole. If anything, your complete inability to take this situation seriously is what’s going to get us in trouble,” he hissed.

“Why would I take anything seriously? You’re bringing enough seriousness for both of us.”

He leaned in closer with a snarl, his eyes flashing again, and I couldn’t prevent the grin that spread across my face. Playing with Mikah was more fun than I’d had in a long, long while.

He seemed to be coming to the realization that he felt the same way about me, because he stepped back, bumping into a couple who had been dancing behind him. The jam-packed dance floor wouldn’t allow him to shrink away from me the way he had downstairs in the hallway.

I winked at him, and he growled. Then I threw him a bone, so to speak, and glanced around the dance floor to take full stock of our surroundings. It was hard to see anything around the mass of bodies crowding us in, but I could make out guards near the doors and hallways, keeping a watchful eye on the crowd.

When I turned back to my reluctant partner, I was surprised to see he’d graduated from his robotic shuffle to something more fitting for a steamy, sex-fueled night club. He gyrated his hips, dancing along with me, though he was obviously very uncomfortable.

Stick-in-the-Mud Dracula was trying to blend in. Adorable.

“1988,” he blurted out.

I blinked. Was he having a stroke? “What are you talking about?” I glanced around as if the meaning of that number was written across the sweaty forehead of the woman dancing next to me. “Is that code for something?”

Mikah cleared his throat, looking incredibly uneasy. “It was the last time I danced with someone. 1988. New York City.” The words seemed to pain him, as if the story of New York in the late eighties hadn’t had a fairytale ending. Though, it had been the 80s.

“Um…” I blinked again, and my dance steps stuttered to a stop. Was he actually opening up about his past? I didn’t know how to respond, what to say. I didn’t really know much about him, now that I thought about it. I didn’t know how old he was, how long he’d been a vampire, or anything to give “1988. New York City” any kind of context. Serious emotions had never been my strong suit. Naturally, a few jokes of varying quality popped into my head:

Will you teach me the worm?

Did you own parachute pants?

Let me guess: you did the running man and it was so bad you swore off dancing forever?

He must have been able to read the humor in my expression, the jokes sitting right on the tip of my tongue. Mikah grimaced. There was something dark in his already-dark and gorgeous brown eyes, something that made me hold back my sarcastic words, made me abandon my impulse to make a witty remark out of respect for whatever was going on inside his head.

The music shifted to a slow song, and Mikah stepped back with a disappointed expression still on his face. I didn’t even think twice before grabbing his hand and pulling him into me.

He blinked in surprise. “What are you doing?”

Honestly? I had no fucking clue. But I’d never let a lack of a plan stop me before. All I knew was that I couldn’t let him walk away with that hurt look on his face. Not when he’d shown me a part of himself that he’d always kept hidden, and I’d almost fucked it up with a joke.

Mikah glanced around at the other people on the floor and then nodded like he understood something. “Right. Gotta keep our cover.”

Oh yeah, our cover. Xavier. Portal. Blah blah. I nodded. “Show’s not over yet.”

He moved closer to me, and his intoxicating scent enveloped me again. I tried to be cool as a cucumber about the whole thing, but inside I was practically purring.

Mikah leaned in then, his breath ghosting over my neck and the shell of my ear, and I almost swallowed my tongue. My brain helpfully barraged me with images of that mouth on my neck, how warm and firm they’d be, just like when I’d kissed him earlier.

I had that electric feeling all over my skin again, and I shifted ever so slightly. Was a vampire really giving me shivers just by whispering in my ear?

“Do you see that door in the back?” Mikah asked, his voice low and soft. It took me an extra few seconds to parse the meaning of it all. While I was distracted by his sensual voice, he grasped my hand and artfully spun me around so I could get a good look.

Mikah’s arms snaked around my waist, and he whispered in my ear again, his lips barely brushing against the sensitive skin on my ear. “Do you see it?” he asked.

I shuddered in barely suppressed pleasure. Yes, that was definitely a door. Good looking out, Mikah.

“There’s a demon guarding the door,” he explained, his breath on my neck sending chills down my spine. “It clearly requires a key or a fob to get through. What kind of door would have those protections in place?”

“A door to something they don’t want anyone else opening,” I supplied.

“Mmmhmm.” His hum vibrated against the back of my neck, and I was definitely feeling turned on at this point. I was starting to forget what was so bad about vampires, anyway.

I cleared my throat and thought to myself, Come on, Gabe! Get your shit together! Xavier’s coming! You need to facilitate his safe passage into the Fae world so he can find Cali. “What do you think is back there?”

I felt Mikah shrug behind me. “The goblin owner?”

“Only one way to find out.” I took his arm and spun him across the room, trying like hell to focus on our trajectory instead of the fact that Mikah was in my arms, his scent wrapping around me, driving me fucking insane, his hands firm on my waist, his eyes darkening in something that looked like lust—and then we crashed into the demon guarding the door, and all three of us tumbled to the floor.