Page 91 of Dark Souls

“Did you not see his eyes?” Grandpapi stated and I lifted my head to find him already looking at me. “He has no humanity. Which makes him ruthless. If she is truly under his protection at the club, she’ll be safe. But…” I gulped when he narrowed his eyes at me. “He may keep you safe from others but a vampire with no humanity is not someone you can ever fully trust, Ilaria. Be careful.”

I nodded in agreement because I knew that was what they wanted to see. That I wasn’t being naïve. But they didn’t really know the truth.

“Good. I feel much better about this now.” Grandpapi smiled with cheekiness as I glared at him. “A man willing to place his life in a blood oath for my granddaughter is someone who has my respect. But if he fucks up, I am bound to complete the oath and kill him. So win, win.”

I turned to stare at my Grandma with alarm as her face paled.

“Let’s hope he never fucks up then,” she muttered.

The Pleasure Den

ThePleasureDeneventswere always popular. Most members attended because, let’s be honest, a chance to act out their darkest, most taboo fantasies in a controlled environment was too tempting to pass up.

I took a quick sweep around the venue, checking everything was as it should be before the doors opened. This was one of our higher end establishments. It was a modern, super flashy mansion, all glass windows and sleek architecture that belonged to one of our VIP members. He’d agreed to let us use his place for The Pleasure Den last year, and it was such a hit that it became a permanent location for this event.

But The Devil had requested this one to top them all, so he spared no expense on the equipment, bar staff, dancers, and drugs. Two entertaining rooms on the ground floor were equipped with bars, plush sofas, and floor beds. An array of narcotics would be available from the waitress at an extortionate price. Drinks would be free though, so at least they couldn’t complain about that. Podiums stood in the centre of all the ground floor rooms for the exotic dancers.

I made my way up to the first floor. There were five bedrooms in total, as well as a cinema room. The cinema room would play very graphic porn, while each bedroom had a specific theme. Bondage. Blood play. Torture. Orgies. And a role-play room.

As I continued up the stairs to the second floor, I felt the air shift with magic and my throat closed up. I hated magic with a passion. So much damage could be done by it. But magic sold. Especially when it came to pleasure. I had enlisted one of our witch members, who I could just about tolerate, to cast an enchantment spell on the entire floor. The moment a supernatural stepped onto the landing, they would lose all their inhibitions and become completely immersed in their deepest fantasies. The theme: Dark Desires. I stopped at the top step and the witch, who was using her talent to create it all, Sarah, noticed me and smiled before finishing her final touches to the decor and making her way over.

“Is it done yet?” I asked sharply. I could never be polite to a witch. My past just wouldn’t allow it. I knew it was unfair to put all witches in the same camp as the ones that ruined my life, but it was hard to forgive and forget.

“Yeah. Want to test it out?” she asked, her blue eyes sparkling with the remnants of her magic.

“No. I don’t dabble in magic.”

“That’s a shame.” She leaned against the wall, undoing her hair from the clip at the back and letting her brown curls fall around her shoulders. “You are missing out.”

“I prefer the real thing to illusions.” I didn’t wait for her reply and turned around, marching back down the stairs. Ilaria would have to be kept away from that floor, especially. Fuck, this was the worst idea I’d ever had. Why did I ever agree to let her come to this? How was I going to keep my head and pretend that she meant nothing to me at an event where everyone was here for one reason only? Pleasure. Maybe I was a sadist after all, because clearly, I loved torturing myself. The most annoying part about this event was that I couldn’t hide away in a backroom unless I was needed. I had to be out there, on the floor, keeping everyone in check, because things could escalate far too quickly at an event like this.

I took my position in an armchair on a raised platform at the back of the largest entertaining room on the ground floor and positioned the laptop on the table next to me with the live camera feeds of all the rooms. This way, I would have eyes on everyone at all times.

A vampire barmaid came and placed my vodka on the table and zoomed away, leaving me in peace as I sunk back into the chair and shifted in my leather trousers to get comfy. It only felt right that I look the part tonight. Black leather trousers, a studded belt, my silver chains and rings were all I was wearing. This was one of the few Underground events where the dress code was relaxed. I nodded to the bouncers by the door to gesture that they could open the front doors and stand guard outside.

An hour had passed since the doors had opened, and I was becoming increasingly restless. Ilaria still hadn’t arrived, which I should have been happy about. Maybe she’d changed her mind. Maybe Ezra and Arius had refused after all. This night would be a lot easier if she never came, yet a small part of me was longing to see her walk through those doors. Just to be in the same room as her.

I’d texted her earlier, demanding that she didn’t have a single drink and had to stay on the ground floor where I could keep my eyes on her. But it was a selfish request too. I’d lose my fucking mind if she went into any of the rooms upstairs or on that enchanted floor. No fucking way would I let that happen. I knew the kind of creeps that would be here tonight and no one was touching what was mine.

My eyes were glued on the device in my hand that alerted me to every member that checked in at the front door and when the name Raven Darmont appeared, I struggled to keep my breathing under control. I lifted my gaze just as I felt her presence enter the room and my jaw fell slack at the sight of her. Fury and desire rampaged through me, creating a war within that had me wanting to speed over there, fling her over my shoulder and take her upstairs myself or throw her out of this party because that outfit was going to be the end of me.

Wearing the tightest and shortest PVC dress in existence with a leather corset around her waist and hips that accentuated her curves and suspenders covering those long legs, she strutted in her six-inch high heels with metal spikes. She was wearing a sleek black wig with bangs that stopped at the curve of her ass and a studded black leather choker.

Fuck. Me.

I was pretty sure I’d let her do whatever the fuck she wanted to me dressed like that.

Dragging my eyes away from her and seeing the attention she was already getting from several males in the room, I realised I wasn’t the only one thinking that way. My jaw clenched so tight that my molars cracked under the pressure. My nails extended as I gripped the arms of the chair and forced myself to remain where I was. I couldn’t show her any special attention if I wanted to keep her safe tonight. She had to blend in and just be another member. But fuck, why did she have to torture me like this? Did she have any idea what she was doing to me?

Her red eyes met mine across the room. She smiled subtly, her fangs on display, and I hissed through my own. Fucking hell, she was in her full vampire form. Yeah, she knew exactly what she was doing to me.

With an air of confidence and effortless sex appeal, she made her way towards the bar and gained even more attention as males and even women noticed her. She leaned onto the bar and allowed her feisty gaze to sweep the room and I lifted my hand to hide my mouth. My fangs were aching. I wanted to punish her so badly for daring to wear that and making this night a living hell for me. But I was pretty sure that was exactly her intention.

When a man approached her, placing his hand on the small of her back, I snapped the fucking device in my hand. She turned out of his touch subtly, which made him drop his hand as she spoke to him. But my vision was already darkening with that red haze of fury. I knew she had to speak to people tonight. I knew she had to read minds. But the reality of seeing her giving another man all her attention had me wanting to commit mass murder. I needed to feed. My thirst was about to send me spiralling, and I was struggling to keep control with her here. I moved my gaze around the room and contemplated my choices. All the dancers were human and had signed contracts agreeing to be fed from in the same way as at our nightclub. The woman currently on the podium hadn’t taken her eyes off me all night, so that wasn’t an option. I was a taken man, after all.

I noticed a male dancer making his way through the room and whistled at him through my teeth. He turned to look at me, instantly fearing for his life, when I beckoned him over with a wave of my hand. I spread my legs apart and pointed to the floor.

“Sit.”