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Seductive.

A tasteful neon sign of the top row of a vampire's teeth, cut off at the fangs in shimmering white, hung beside a set of heavy doors with inverted crosses as handles. Glowing red droplets hung from the sign, giving the effect of glossy blood dripping away from the enamel. I didn’t have to be a genius to figure out that through them were the private rooms, the ones that acted as the live blood bar—and just about anything else, if the mood was right.

Vampires and humans alike relaxed at tables, stood in groups, or were tucked into booths. Dancing, drinking, and, for one particularly shameless couple in a booth near the stage, getting well on their way through some foreplay.

On the stage, a pair of dancers were doing a routine together to an upbeat jazz track. The girls transitioned fluidly from standing to lying together on the floor, movements suggestive and erotic. I fought to keep myself on task—I could watch theperformances after I spoke to Kaylee and secured my free drink, courtesy of Dana.

If this afternoon had taught me anything, it was that I was in no position to decline a vampire’s generosity.

The floors were shiny, black, and lacking the perfunctory nightclub stickiness as I dodged patrons on my way to the bar.

It was strange. Despite being packed with bodies, the room wasn’t stiflingly hot like I’d come to expect from the human nightclubs in the Upper City. Being sweaty and warm was sort of part of the ambience when it came to dancing. But here? The temperature was downright pleasant.

The bartop lined the entire back wall, offering plenty of places to sit along its polished wooden surface. I grabbed a stool, careful to make sure my ass was covered in the tiny scrap of fabric I dared to call a dress before I perched more than sat to study the bottles lining the shelves overhead. Their collection of liquor was extensive, especially the near fucking ancient scotch they had on hand. I wondered if my Dana-provided freebie would get me a couple of fingers of a hundred-year-old Strigoi Black Label.

A girl could dream.

“Hey,” I called over the music and din of conversation to the tall, short-haired bartender where they faced away from me, pulling liqueurs from the glass shelves. “Could I get a?—”

My voice died in my throat as the bartender turned to face me, my heart juddering to a stop in my chest for a couple of long moments as our eyes met.

“Flat White,” Ren teased with a grin that revealed her pointed fangs. “Fancy seeing you here.”

I leaned my elbows on the bar, resting my chin on my entwined fingers. It was meant to look casual. Something that was entirely thrown out the window as I batted my eyelashes at the gorgeous woman, shamelessly pretending like she hadn’tsaved my ass from one of the most humiliating moments in my entire life only a few hours ago.

“Have we met before?” I teased, my voice fighting to carry over the music. “You look so familiar.”

“Ha, ha.” Ren said dryly, leaning on her elbows as she leaned into my personal space. “I take it you’ve been in before?”

“No, actually. I’m just here to meet my roommate,” I said, reminding myself not to fidget as Ren’s nostrils flared slightly with her deep breath. I thanked my lucky stars that Kaylee had gifted me a beautiful bottle of perfume for my birthday a few months ago—the reminder of the reason why I was here keeping me tied to my mission. “She works here, Kaylee?”

“Kaylee?” Ren asked, confusion pulling her dark eyebrows together.

“Y’know, blonde, sun-kissed golden skin, eyelashes out to here?—”

“Oh! You mean Babydoll!” Ren said, chuckling. Her eyes moved down my frame, catching on my cleavage as her lower lip disappeared between her teeth.

I laughed at the overly cutesy nickname. “Yeah, sorry, I forgot you use working names at the club.”

So what if I arched my backjust soto give her a better view of my cleavage? I was only human!

The vampire’s gaze was pulled to the offered skin instantly, eyes carving a path up my chest and over my collarbone before landing on the thrum of my slightly elevated pulse at her obvious attraction along the side of my neck.

I cleared my throat, a raised eyebrow my only defence against a full blown cocky smirk.

Ren recovered quickly, straightening up and cupping her hands around her mouth. “Go tell Baby she has a visitor!” she called down the bar to a busser bringing over flats of glassware before turning to look back at me, a long-fingered handscrubbing through her short hair and making it stand adorably on end.

It made me wonder how it’d look after spending a couple of hours tucked into one of those infamous back rooms.

Deliciously frazzled, perhaps?

“Can I get you something to drink while you wait? It’s on the house.”

My flirty return was interrupted before it started.

“Back off,” Dana’s voice drifted from behind me as she slid onto the stool at my side with a grin, elbow meeting the bartop. “I already told her I’d buy her a drink. Besides, she’s too pretty foryou.”

I looked between the two vampires, self-conscious that they’d likely heard the way my heartbeat increased like a rabbit caught in a snare. A super sexy, exciting snare that I wanted to be right in the middle?—