Revelation of Blood (23 page)

“They’re all over The Mausoleum, too,” I
frowned. “Most of VIP and at least a third of the first floor. I
don’t know what’s going on. Dark come in all the time, but we’ve
never had even half of what’s in there tonight.”

Dean’s eyes slid to the monitor and he arched
one brow. “Showtime,” he whispered under his breath. “Gavin is
closing up shop. Let’s see if these bloodsuckers are smarter than
they look.”

I glanced up at the clock on his wall as I
nervously chewed the inside of my bottom lip. It was five past two
in the morning and that meant The Mausoleum was closing too.

“
I don’t think the Dark Ones will give
anyone trouble,”
Archer tried reassuring me, responding to my
unease, “
but if it will make you more comfortable, I'll send
Hagan back to the club
.”

“I think they know better than to cause shit
in your club,” I whispered aloud, “but you could maybe text Jameson
and Quinn just to make sure?”

“What’s that?” Dean frowned as he glared at
Archer and me in confusion.

“Skye was worried about the Dark Ones causing
trouble tonight at The Mausoleum as they leave,” Archer rumbled as
he nuzzled his nose against the back of my ear for show. “I was
trying to put her at ease.”

“But she didn’t say anything,” he frowned,
his eyes narrowed as they glanced back and forth between Archer and
me.

“She drank my blood last night,” Archer
replied all too happily, “as she was fucking me. She absorbed my
powers.”

Dean’s face morphed into a disgusted grimace
and he shook his head. “Fucking vampires can’t keep your fangs out
of each other for a day, can you?”

“Don’t hate,” I chuckled and smiled as I sat
up on the edge of Archer’s lap. “You have no idea how good a bite
feels.” I let my eyes slowly slide down his face as they found his
neck and the rapid pulse there. I licked my lips hungrily and
cocked one brow as I stared. “I bet you taste fucking amazing,
Dean; wild and sweet…definitely a little spicy. I’ve never had a
werewolf before. What I wouldn’t give for just
one…tiny…little…lick.”

Dean’s pupils dilated as his jaw went a bit
slack. I got a strong whiff of his desire and I closed my eyes as I
took a deep breath in, savoring its rich, tantalizing bouquet.

“Fuck me,” he whispered and swallowed
thickly. I watched as his hand disappeared under the desk and I
knew he was adjusting his new friend.

“Never going to happen,” Archer growled in my
ear and drew my back against his chest, his arm banded tightly
under my breasts.

“No it’s not, baby,” I giggled as I let the
want slide from my eyes and winked at Dean. “But maybe our friend
here will be a little less judgmental toward our feeding habits…now
that he knows he’d like it.”

The heat didn’t immediately leave Dean’s eyes
and his thoughts promised I could have a taste of him anytime I
wanted. I leaned my head back and kissed Archer before he had a
chance to growl at Dean’s nerve again.

“Only yours, baby,” I whispered against his
cool lips as I nuzzled my nose against his, reminding him of who I
belonged to.

“They’re leaving,” Hagan said from his spot
by the door and I glanced over at the monitor again.

He was right. Everyone was gathering their
things and I watched as the table of Dark Ones left without
incident. Dean’s employee locked the door and Dean stood up from
his chair with a sigh.

“Fuckin’ A.” He ran his fingers through his
hair and then shook his head. “That’s surprising. They way Weston
was acting, I figured we’d have had a bigger problem. Still, I
don’t like what this means, Rhys. Vampires are not welcome in
Tricky Dic’s. Ever.” His eyes slid to mine and he smiled at me.
“Well, everyone except you of course, babe.
Mi casa es tu casa,
mi bella dama. Siempre
.”

“
Voy a cortar la mano si alguna vez tocar
su nuevo, perro
,” Archer growled as he stood, taking me with
him.

“Promises, promises,” Dean smirked as Hagan
opened the office door.

“
Está hecho medir su pene ahora
?” I
cocked an eyebrow at Dean and smiled. “I appreciate our friendship,
honey, so let’s not rock the boat too hard, eh?”

Dean threw his head back and laughed. “When
did you learn Spanish, toots?”

“I had a lot of down time while I was
recovering from the battle with Amun,” I shrugged one shoulder.
“The soap operas and game shows on the Spanish channels are a trip.
Couldn’t help but watch and pick up a few things.”

“My baby’s smart,” Archer chuckled.

“So, what do you want to do about these vamps
taking over our city?” Dean asked as we started to file out of his
office and into the hallway.

“Wait and watch,” Hagan replied, crossing his
arms over his broad chest. “What else can we do?”

“They’re here for a reason,” Archer rumbled,
casually throwing his arm around my neck. “I’m going to find out
what that reason is.”

“The Dark Ones at the club tonight were
calling me ‘sister’,” I explained to Dean as I wrapped my arms
around Archer’s trim, tight waist. “Maybe they just wanted to check
out the person their leader was showing an interest in. But these
vamps in your bar? I haven’t the slightest idea what they’re
thinking by coming in.”

“Doesn’t sit well with me,” Dean growled as
he ran his fingers through his dark hair.

“Aye, wolf,” Archer nodded seriously.
“Doesn’t sit well with me either. I’ll talk to my sources tonight
and see what I can find out for you.”

“Let us know if they come in again tomorrow
night,” Hagan said, opening the back door for us. “If they do, I’ll
stop by and have a beer…let my presence be known. With your
permission, of course.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that, warrior,”
Dean nodded his head respectfully to Hagan.

“See that?” I said, smacking the back of my
hand to Archer’s chest. “Now why can’t you and Dean play nice like
he and Hagan can?”

“Because he doesn’t want to fuck Hagan’s
woman,” Archer growled as he pulled me up against him
possessively.

“Oh, I want to do much more than fuck your
woman, Rhys,” Dean grinned and I grabbed on to Archer’s wrist and
pulled him out the door as his chest started to rumble with
anger.

“Stop poking the bear, Dic!” I growled over
my shoulder, shoving Archer further into the parking lot. His
laughter rang out before the closing of the back door silenced
it.

“Fucking Dean,” I shook my head as I took
Archer’s hand and moved to stand in front of him, running one hand
up his chest to encircle his neck. “He can want all he wants, but
the only man I want is you, baby.”

“Fuck, I love you,” Archer whispered as he
leaned down to capture my mouth with his, the kiss hot, needy, and
possessing.

“Right back at you, handsome,” I smiled and
wrapped my arms around his waist as we began walking back to the
car.

Don’t Cha blared loud, rescuing me from yet
another nightmare, and I took a deep breath as I groggily answered
the phone.

“Good morning, doll,” Dan’s rich, mellow
voice sounded.

“Hey, honey,” I smiled tiredly, rubbing the
sleep from my eyes as I rolled over onto my back again.

“Did I wake you?”

“Yeah,” I sighed, “but it’s okay. What’s
up?”

Dan sighed and I could tell right away
something was bothering him. “I really hate to ask this doll, but I
need a favor.”

“Anything, Dan,” I said gently as I sat up.
“What’s going on?”

“I was calling to see if you could come in
and maybe help me out at Drop Kick’s today. Nikki hasn’t been to
work in the last two days and I can’t get ahold of her. She was
supposed to open. I don’t have anyone to cover her section and
Angel’s out on vacation.”

“What?” I whispered as I flashed out of bed.
“You’re kidding me. That’s not like her.”

“I know, doll,” he sighed and sounded as
worried as I was. “I know. She’s been spending a lot of time with
Lyric lately so maybe she’s just shacked up with him and shirking
job duty for a few days.”

“I don’t know, Dan,” I said skeptically as I
looked at the clock by the bed. It was eleven in the morning and
Nikki should have been at work forty-five minutes ago. “Nikki never
misses work. Let me get dressed and I’ll head right over. I’m going
to see if I can get my friend Trey to go by her house and check if
she’s there. She’s been watching Styvi Nix for me the last couple
of weeks and I want to make sure they’re both okay.” The thought of
Styvi left by herself for two days sent cold chills down my spine.
My dog was my world and I had to make sure she was okay. Better
still, it was time she came home to me.

We said our goodbyes and I raced into
Archer’s bathroom to start getting ready. I quickly brushed my
teeth and hair, slapped on some neutral makeup, and flashed across
the hall to my old bedroom closet. Finding a black miniskirt long
enough for Dan’s, I threw it on and paired it with a simple tight
white t-shirt and my black cage heels. Grabbing my bag, I took one
final glance in the mirror then headed out in search of Archer and
Trey.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to go far because I
found them in the living room. Archer was seated on the sofa next
to Jameson, where they were each reading a section of the morning
paper, and Trey was canoodling with Pádraig in front of the flat
screen.

“Morning, my love,” Archer’s eyes smiled
above his paper before he raised his brows questioningly at me.
“You going somewhere?”

“Nikki hasn’t been into Dan’s in two days,” I
explained as I turned to Trey. “Honey, if you’re not busy, can you
and Pádraig do me a huge, huge solid?”

“Of course, sugar,” he answered, leaning up.
“Anything.”

“Can you please run to Nikki’s and see if
she’s okay? Dan said he hasn’t been able to get ahold of her and
I’m worried for both her and Styvi.”

Archer and Jameson both put their papers
aside and looked concerned. “Bring the dog back here, Trey. I know
Skye misses her and there’s no need for her to be away anymore,”
Archer said. “Skye is fully healed.”

“Baby,” I turned to him. “Dan called me and
asked if I could cover Nikki’s shift today. I hope it’s okay that I
said yes. He doesn’t have anyone to cover Nikki and he really needs
me or he wouldn’t have called.”

“Of course it’s okay,
cion
,” he said,
getting up and coming over to wrap his arms around me. He pulled me
tightly to him and brushed the hair back from my face. “Don’t worry
about your friend. We’ll take care of it, baby.”

“I’ll go with Trey and Pádraig,” Jameson
said, standing from the couch.

“Thank you,” I whispered gratefully to him
then stood on tiptoes to kiss Archer. “I love you, Archer.”

“And I you,” he whispered back, nuzzling my
nose with his. “Forever, baby.”

“I’ll meet you guys at the club when I get
done,” I said as I dug around in my bag, finding my house keys. I
tossed them to Pádraig and then hugged Trey. “I really appreciate
you guys doing this for me.”

“It’s no problem,” Pádraig replied and I gave
his cheek a quick kiss and turned to Jameson.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” I whispered as I
hugged him tightly. “We’ve missed you around here.”

Jameson managed a small smile and kissed the
corner of my mouth. “I’ve missed being here. I’ll catch up with you
tonight at the club, okay?”

“I don’t know what time I’ll be there, but
it’s safe to assume I’ll be working until at least seven.”

“Take any car you want, baby,” Archer said as
I broke from Jameson’s hug. “The keys are hanging in the garage.
Jameson and I are planning on shopping for your replacement cars
later today. Is there anything in particular you want?”

“Something reasonably priced and fast,” I
shrugged one shoulder, not really caring too much about what kind
of car I drove since Archer had a veritable playground in his
garage that was at my disposal anytime I wanted.

“You got it,
cion
,” Archer chuckled.
“Jameson has a few great ideas for you.”

“My boys have good taste, so I’m not
worried.” I kissed Archer once more, said goodbye, and flashed
through the house. Choosing the black Porsche 911, I tore ass down
the drive and all the way downtown to Drop Kick Dan’s.

“Hey, handsome,” I greeted as I walked into
Dan’s office and hung up my bag. “Have you heard back from Nikki
yet?”

“No,” he sighed as he finished typing numbers
into his calculator. I hadn’t seen Dan in a few weeks and seeing
him again made me realize just how much I missed him and the
familiarity of Drop Kick’s.

“Well, Trey and his boyfriend are headed over
to her house now to check in on her,” I frowned worriedly as I
borrowed Angel’s bottle opener from her cubby. “I’ve been staying
out at Archer’s house on the lake or I would have checked on her
myself.”

“I heard,” Dan said, putting aside his
paperwork and looking up at me for the first time. “Nikki said your
new boss was working you too hard—Jesus! What’s wrong with your
eyes?” Dan was staring at me hard and I immediately closed my eyes
and turned my head to the side, away from him.

Shit
! I’d forgotten all about my eyes
being different. Working at The Mausoleum and being around vampires
meant that I never had to worry about appearing human. People in
the Goth scene wore lots of unusual colored contacts, so it was
never an issue.

“Uh…contacts,” I explained quickly, turning
back to my bag and digging out the hazel contacts Archer had
purchased for me when I first awoke. I took the small white case
out and waved it at Dan. “I forgot to take them out last
night.”

“They’re really creepy, Skye,” he shook his
head. “Our clientele is a bit different from The Mausoleum’s.”