Chapter Text
New York City in the early summer was warm but the air around our small little group was nice with a small bite of chill to it. Little lines formed around Mia’s mouth as she frowned at me. “Nox, stop showing off.”
I gave my best friend’s wife a wide toothy grin. “I’m not. It’s fucking hot out here.”
“It’s only June. What’s July and August gonna be like?” Jace complained. “Just be thankful he’ll be around to make our weather change. Outdoor air conditioning.” Mia’s arm was a blur of speed as she slugged her husband with a smile. “Ow!” Jace said rubbing his arms and grinning like a fool.
Jace swept Mia in tight against his body and kissed her. I turned around and surveyed the line - giving them at least a modicum of privacy. I could have given them complete privacy, but throwing up a veil just to hide what every other couple was doing as we stood in line at Club Aspect felt pointless.
It was my birthday weekend. Jace and I had been going to this club the Friday before my birthday every year since we turned 16. I could have walked up to the bouncer, flashed him my drivers license and flirted with him to get in to the club. It was an Aspect tradition. The bouncers usually only did it for girls, but the bouncer on the door tonight was just as into men flirting with him as the girls. Or at least he used to be, in my younger years it was exactly what I did.
But now I wasn’t sneaking into Club Aspect against Dae’lin and Dorian’s wishes; I was not eager to get inside the club. Outside was quieter and we could talk. It’s funny how growing up makes being able to talk one of the defining points of any outing. But we were here to celebrate my birth. It was a tradition.
Fingers entwined between my long fingers and I turned to see Mia. She reached up and ran her fingers through my chocolate brown hair with the fringe dyed sapphire blue. The hair color matched my nail polish and my shirt. She smiled up at me with her big brown eyes. I was happy for Jace, he settled down with the love of his life. They dated each other on and off for so many years it felt funny to have them together for so long. But they were happily married with kid number one. They were talking about kid number two.
Jace was all for it, but he came from a large family. Mia on the other hand was like most Venatori - one sibling and raised inside of the Apex Unlimited building by the community.
I’d been getting hounded for the past few months, my deadline for procreation was approaching. The Venatori unlike humans are a small contained race. We don’t limit procreation but we require it, and after graduation you were given 5 years to create a progeny of your own devices. If you failed to follow through on it during those 5 years, they would hound you and make you look for a partner that fifth year. That’s where I was.
Dr. Hillary Silas had been sending me emails and texts. She stalked my every move trying to get me to decide. The fact that I was half human had a big impact on the women who would sleep with me to make a child. However, being the most powerful Cesari offset that for some, but not for others. I only had to choose a girl, like it was that simple. I’d been avoiding it, and I was more than happy to ignore it tonight.
Mia put her hand around my neck which meant she had to stand on her tip toes and pulled me down to her level. “You so need a drink.”
I grinned at her. “I just need to get lost in the music with some random girl or guy and I’ll be good. No need to drown in alcohol when the music will do the same thing.” Dancing was one of the few things that calmed my anxieties. Dae’lin didn’t sanction it, she told me it was a foolish endeavor when I was growing up. But both Dorian and Margo encouraged it. They didn’t encourage my sneaking out to learn, nor my sneaking out to go to clubs to dance, but they encouraged the natural release - it was better than drinking or drugs.
Mia tugged on my hand and laughed. “Well that’s good birthday-boy cause we are up.”
Jace leaned against the red velvet rope that separated us from the entrance. He winked at the bouncer and put his wide hand on the bouncers bicep and smiled. He laid on the southern charm including that southern accent he kept hidden most of the time. “Ain’t that sexy.” He squeezed the man’s arm, but he shook Jace off with ease.
Mia laughed and dropped my hand to pull her husband away from the bouncer. “Don’t mind him, he’s not drunk enough yet to be smooth.”
Jace frowned. “Hey. I’m smooth.” My best friend turned with his blue eyes and his disheveled blond hair and a playful grin then said, “Ain’t I Nox. I’m smooth.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Let him sweet talk the bouncer, Jace, you suck at it.”
“We are next. Why do I need to sweet talk anyone?” I complained. I didn’t see the point of flirting with the bouncer.
Mia goaded me, “Oh, come on Nox. Show us how you do it.”
I sighed but relented. With a wide smile and bright eyes I held my drivers license between two fingers and I laid the two painted fingers against the man’s arm. Unlike Jace, I would only do the barest amount of touching to a man with questionable strength. I wasn’t super strong like Jace, this man had arms the size of my legs and he could break me in half like a twig if he so wanted.
I knew my eyelashes were a defining feature - or so many girls informed me with ‘I wish I had your eyelashes’. And the eyeliner I wore around my eyes only made that more apparent. The small gesture had brought the bouncer’s attention with ease. There was no need to bat pretty eyelashes when you could just smile with your eyes.
I leaned across the red velvet rope and pressed my chest against his arm. If I’d been a girl, it would have worked better, but it was the closeness I wanted as I whispered into his ear. “It’s my birthday. Mind if you let us on in now, Duckling?”
The big black bouncer chuckled and took my drivers license from my hand with a smile. “It’s not till Sunday.” Jace was reaching into his pocket for his wallet, a big tip might let us in. But it wasn’t part of the game to get in. I put my hand on his arm to ask him to wait. The bouncer was watching me with coal black eyes.
“What would let you let us in early?” I asked with a sideways grin. I knew the answer already.
The man on the other side of the rope said, “You kiss your friends here and given the crowd a little show. I’ll let you in.”
Mia and Jace both laughed. “Seriously, that’s all?”
The man must have thought that I wouldn’t go through with it because he laughed with them. “You know the rules.” And we did. I’d seen it happen. A guy tries to flirt with the male bouncer to get in early and when the request for them to kiss another man came they’d be like all ‘oh I don’t do that’. I wasn’t most guys, I did.
I grinned at him and I offered Mia my hand first and she took it with grace. Her skin was soft against my fingers and I pulled her close to kiss her deeply. It wasn’t much of a show - but he said my friends here, which included Mia.
The bouncer laughed, “That wasn’t what I meant.”
I broke the kiss with Mia and she was looking up at me with those big brown eyes breathless. We’d never dated, but we had slept together - with Jace, but still we’d done so much more than kiss before, but we hadn’t since before they had gotten married. I grinned. “I know. I’m just getting started.”
Jace made a game of it. He hid behind Mia but she helped me as I grabbed his grey t-shirt and pulled him against me. He came with the gentle tug - he had wanted me to catch him. His blue eyes were sparkling with desire. Jason and I had never had sex. We’d been in the same bed with girls and guys. We’d touched each other and even spent the night alone together in the same bed. But we’d never done more than what I was about to do right now. I licked my lips and the sparkle in Jace’s eyes grew into a dark lust filled look.
I closed the gap between our lips and we kissed. The surrounding crowd cheered but my mind was on the man before me. The way his lips felt against mine. The taste of dinner lingering on his tongue as they danced inside our mouths. I tried to break away but Jace kept me close deepening the kiss. My heart raced and my breath was quickening. Jace knew how I liked it.
He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against mine. “Happy Birthday, bro.”
I gave Jace a peck on the lips and smiled at my best friend. “Thanks.”
The bouncer behind us cleared his throat. “I’m feeling left out after a kiss like that.”
I laughed and winked at Jace before I turned around and laid a kiss deep on the big black man’s lips. He gasped and stiffened as I did it but he relaxed into it and then I felt a hand along my waist line pulling me closer. When the kiss broke he laughed. “I will remember you next time.”
I whispered into his ear as I walked past the now removed red velvet rope. “It helps when you like boys.”
He laughed hard as we walked through. I handed the man a twenty. “Been a pleasure.” I dropped my arm in front of me and I bowed with a flourish. And turned on my heel and went into the club. The music grew louder and Mia pulled me down close so she could whisper in my ear. “We’ll catch up with you in an hour. See what your plans are.”
I laughed into her ear and placed a tender kiss on her cheek, “I’m going home with you and Jace tonight. When you guys are ready to go just let me know.”
She stopped and looked up at me with confusion and Jace leaned down and whispered something in his wife’s ear. She smiled and nodded and then whispered in my ear. “Okay, we’ll find you when we are ready to go home. Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.” Mia giggled as Jace dragged her off on to the dance floor. I watched my best friend and his wife disappear into the mass of bodies moving to the beat of the music.
I made my way to the bar on the other side of the room. I would not get drunk, but I wanted a beer none-the-less. However, I never made it across the room before a hand was grabbing my arm and pulling me into the hallway that lead to the bathrooms. “Whoa, whoa, I don’t even know you.”
The small blonde looked up at me with a frown of disgust etched into her face. “What?” She looked down the hall to the line of women coming out of one door and paled. I laughed. She spluttered, “No. Not.” She stamped her foot into the ground and glared up at me with green eyes that were neither pretty nor one of those disgusting colors; they were just green. She could use a little makeup if you asked me.
There must have been a smirk on my face. “Wipe that smile off your face. This isn’t a game, Nox.”
“You know my name. I think it only benefits us both if I know yours.” I grinned at her with evil in my eyes. “Otherwise what name am I going to scream out when I come?”
The color of her face turned to the color of a beet. She wasn’t red - more like purple with rage. “I am Dr. Hillary Silas. I am…”
“What the fuck lady, are you following me? I’m out having a good time and you are here hounding me. Can’t this wait. Make a damn appointment like everyone else.”
“Mr. Sétanta I have been trying. You won’t return my calls.” She was furious.
“My name is Nox.” I hated being called Mr. Sétanta, it was just a reminder that my mother was a bitch. “My calendar is public for a reason. Ms. Silas.”
“Dr. Silas.”
I guffawed. “Dr. Silas. See where I’m busy. If you make an appointment, I’ll be there. I’m leaving now.” I turned to walk away, but she grabbed my arm again.
“Mr…. Nox. I’m here now let’s talk.”
“Look, lady. I’m here to drink and dance, so unless you want to do either of them leave me alone.” I yanked my arm free of her tight grasp. Surprise lit my face. I hadn’t expected it to be so easy to stalk off to the bar. But I felt her following me.
There were plenty of girls at the bar, but that wouldn’t scare the lady away. But there was one guy standing there alone. He had bright blue eyes. I recognized them from somewhere. But I couldn’t place him this far away. He was leaning against the bar watching the dancers. He’d work - hopefully.
The blue-eyed man was drinking a Sam Adams, and I grinned. I walked up beside him and slipped into the small space between him and another man at the bar and leaned against it waving at the bar tender. When she came by with a sweet smile and pink hair I said, “I’ll have what he’s having.” I pointed at the blue-eyed man and said it loud enough for both he and the bartender to hear.
I could feel the piercing green eyes of my stalker as the blue-eyed man turned to look at me with a grin. I smiled at him and I saw the deeper blue - the sapphire blue eyes that matched my signature color today. He grinned at me in return. I knew his face. I don’t know why, but I did. He shifted so that his attention was on me, his body was long and lean and I made it obvious I was checking him out. I would love to see that body naked.
Dr. Hillary Silas was watching me check the man out and when I leaned against him a little while I waited for my beer to arrive she stomped her foot and left with a loud huff. I grinned and turned my attention back to the pretty man before me. “Hey, Duckling.”
My blue-eyed friend laughed and handed me my beer. “Hi,” he said with a grin.
I took a long swig of my beer, never breaking eye contact with those great blue eyes of his.
I leaned over and took a deep breath. He smelled clean with a hint of lavender. I hummed softly into his ear before speaking. “Want to dance?”
He turned against my cheek and chuckled, “First, tell me what that was about.”
I pulled away and looked at him. “You mean her deal?”
He nodded, and I shrugged in return, “She’s stalking me. I told her to make an appointment.”
He grinned at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “She won’t contact your pimp huh?”
I laughed at him but I wondered how much he knew about me to make such a comment. “Bitch don’t know the rules.” He laughed, and I bit my bottom lip as I watched the mirth in his face and the light in his eyes. Such beautiful eyes. “Dance with me?” I said a little too breathless for me taste, but he nodded and his smile grew wider and stayed on his face as we walked to the dance floor.
The music got louder on the floor, it was darker and his eyes turned into deep pools of black. He was taller than me by a few inches - so rare for me to have to look up even those short few inches. It was refreshing. The beat thrummed through our bodies as I pulled him against me and we moved with the throng of people. It looked chaotic from the outside, but from the inside it was a perfect pattern. One couple would move this way, and another would take their place. The singles would mingle through the dance floor following the beat, brushing their bodies against another single or a part of a couple.
A small brunette curled up against my blue-eyed friend and he turned to face her, his back side pushed against my front. I wrapped my hand around the front of his stomach to move with him as he danced with the girl in front of him. She smiled and moved off to the next man dancing to our left. But we didn’t move. His hand reached up behind me and he leaned his head back against me as we moved around the dance floor.
I buried my face in the crook of his neck and breathed in his clean scent. My heart was racing both from the exertion of dancing and from the excitement building inside of me. I hadn’t come in to the club with the thought of getting laid, but here was this beautiful man before me, making me want him the more we danced.
I lost track of the time, of how many songs we had danced too. I got lost in him and he was more than willing to dance his night away with me. We’d had a few women come up behind both of us during our dancing, none stayed long when they noticed we were into each other more than her. A blond with purple tips wrapped her arms around my blue-eyed friend’s neck and he leaned down to let her speak in his ear. His friend. I remembered her too but from where I didn’t know.
She left through the throng of people and he wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed his body against me. His hands trailed down my back, and I froze with fear as his fingers brushed against the silky blue shirt that matched his eyes. Until he found the to waist of my jeans. He played with the belt loops before pulling me closer with his hands on my ass. He grinned as he felt the foil packs in my back pocket.
One hand left my ass, and I didn’t know where he was moving it to, caught up in the motion of his face dipping into the crook of my neck and his lips brushing feather light touches against the tight skin of my collar bone. I lost all breath and bit back a moan that tried to escape and betray my cool exterior. He was unraveling me with ease.
He pulled away and held a crumpled card between two fingers making sure I saw it. I followed his movements until his hand was behind me and slipping it into my back pocket. He grinned. Those blue eyes sparkling at me as he held up the two foil packs that had been in my back pocket. He leaned closer and whispered. “I’ll take these. Call me.” I stood in stunned silenced awed by his game. My blue-eyed tormentor held the packs between two fingers and slipped them into his own back pocket with a mischievous grin. He left me standing there alone watching him walk away, but he turned around with a smile and shouted, “Call me,” before he slipped through the crowd and disappeared with his purple haired friend.
With a sigh I left the dance floor myself and headed for the bar. I couldn’t help but look for the mysterious blue-eyed man who played me better than I had played him. He left me wanting more. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out his card. It read. “Sage Morgan. Security Consultant” Below his name listed his contact information, email and phone number included.
I tucked the crumpled card back into my pocket when Mia found me and pulled the stiff paper from my pocket with a grin and turned on her heel and headed off the dance floor to find Jace. He was standing near the bar sipping at a beer holding two others by the necks in his free hand.
Mia cozied up next to him, wrapping her hand around his waist and holding the crumbled business card up for him to read. I snatched the card from her fingers and she giggled at me. “You never keep their numbers.”
I grinned at her. “He took something of mine.” I tucked the number back into my back pocket. I wouldn’t ever call him, but throwing it away after he made such a big effort to leave me wanting him made me keep it.
Jace handed me a beer. “Drink up, we need to get home. Babysitter called. Naya’s running a fever.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “She’s only teething, but Jace has gone all panicked father so we have to go.”
I took a swallow of the beer and set it down. “We can go anytime.”
Jace laughed, “What you aren’t going to hook up first?”
“Do I always hook up?” I asked. Both my friends nodded their heads with great big gestures. “I do not.”
“You do too.” They said in unison, looking at each other with a grin afterwards.
I sighed with a grin as I patted my back pocket. “Seems my mysterious blue-eyed boy took my protection with him.”
Jace busted out laughing. The guys standing next to us gave us that look and moved a little further away which made Jace laugh even harder. “Don’t look at me bro, I don’t carry anymore.”
“I’m good.” I took his beer from him and set it down next to mine and Mia followed. “We can go - honest.”