Page 25 of Demon's Desire

“No, thank you.” Onyx handed her a tip anyway. He didn’t bother checking if he’d grabbed a twenty or something larger.

The money disappeared into her top. “You must be the guy Star was talking about. How about a lap dance instead?”

“That’s an excellent idea. Why don’t you grab a few of your friends and take me to a private room?”

She beamed. “You got it, darling.”

Onyx stood and followed the woman across the club. She grabbed Star, who’d changed out of her blue outfit into something cherry red, and beckoned another woman to follow them.

“I’m Angel, but the way,” she said over her shoulder. “You’ve met Star, and this is Jade.”

“Lovely to meet you all. I’m Onyx.” He followed them into aprivate room and sat on the cushioned bench seat, the bouncer catching his eye from beyond the partially open curtain.

Onyx extracted a wad of cash from his pocket and set it on a small side table. “How do you ladies like working here?”

“Oh, it’s not bad.” Star seated herself beside Onyx and ran her hands through his hair as she had earlier.

Jade glanced from the money to Onyx, fine black hair falling into her face. “Do you actually want a dance?”

“Not really.” He dragged the table into the middle of the room and kicked his feet up. “So working for Rowan is all right?”

The women exchanged a glance. Jade sat beside Star and Angel perched on his other side, kicking her stiletto-clad feet up next to his, saying, “Working here is way better than anywhere else I’ve been.”

Onyx had no desire to like Rowan, but was glad all the same. “Why’s that?”

“The security here is next level.” Star tugged on his hair, and Onyx closed his eyes briefly. It was like the woman had read his need to be touched the second he’d walked into the club. Fuck, he liked a head massage.

“Yeah, I’ve never worked in a club where half the bouncers weren’t as bad as the patrons,” Jade added. “Here, they aren’t afraid to kick problems to the curb.”

“And I consistently make more here than I have elsewhere.” Angel took Onyx’s cash and began counting it. “I got this job thinking I could move to bartending in the casino if I needed something more consistent, but why take the pay cut?”

“Not that they aren’t paid well upstairs,” Jade said quickly.

So Rowan wasn’t scum. Onyx would have to work at hating him, not that it’d be a problem. He was a vampire and, therefore, annoying by default.

“How do you know Rowan?”Star asked.

“Friend of a friend. We’ve only met a few times.”

Angel slid her feet off the table and divided the money into three piles. “What do you do, Onyx? That’s such a cool name, by the way.”

“Thanks.” He grinned. “I run a gallery.”

Angel laughed. “Fuck, it must pay well.”

“It does. My artists make a killing.”

Onyx didn’t take much of a commission, less than other comparable galleries. It was easy to pass up the money when he’d had two hundred years since his escape from Hell to amass wealth, and magic to help him do it. He only bothered taking a commission to pay Scott and keep his business from drawing the wrong kind of attention in their circles.

Jade leaned forward. “Which gallery do you run?”

“Jade studied art in school,” Star added.

Jade glared at her.

Onyx sat a little straighter. “I run Gallery Four. What medium did you study?”

Jade’s eyes went wide at the gallery name. “Um, acrylics and a little bit of digital art.”