Page 70 of Hoofin’ It

The young succubus dismissed me with a wave. “Lycanthropes are amazing lays. You should try one sometime. Right, Marian?”

“Why are you asking me? Shane’s not a lycanthrope.”

“His daddy is. That’s close enough. They’re supposed to be real beasts in bed, but I’m not allowes to have my rounds with them—not until I get my wings.”

“I can verify he’s a real beast, but I’ve yet to try his performance in an actual bed.” Marian smirked.

My face burned. “She didn’t need to know that.”

“Did he take you in an alley against the wall? That’d be hot. That scar gives him a real bad boy appeal.”

“No, I did no such thing. Damn it, Kelly!”

With her smirk widening to a full grin, Marian whispered something in Kelly’s ear, which made the unfledged succubus’s mouth drop open. “Oh hot damn, do I wish I’d gotten a piece of that. No wonder you branded him. Screw branding him, I would’ve chained him up and never let him out from under me again.”

I closed my eyes and wished I could disappear. “The boss?”

“Hold your horses. This is serious girl business we’re attending to.”

Expecting a succubus working a brothel to have restraint made me unreasonable, especially when gossiping about sex was involved. While I waited for her and Marian to finish their giggle-punctuated discussion, I faced the nearest wall and banged my forehead against it.

Turning my back to the entry of a brothel ranked among the dumbest things I could have done, so when a strong tail coiled around my leg and a silk-clad pair of breasts pressed against my back, I clacked my teeth and grumbled curses. “Hello, Amy.”

“Am I so obvious, Gibby?” the succubus purred.

“Yes. You’re the only one of your demonic sisters to put on clothes before rubbing up against me.”

“You brought a female into my domain.”

“She’s off limits.”

“I heard. I’m jealous. The boss sent me down to bring you both upstairs, and he asked me to tell you to leave the shirt off. He likes it.”

Of course he did. Vampires enjoyed naked flesh almost as much as succubi, and Ernesto had been trying to get a sip from me for years. “All right. Get off, and at least try to keep some control over that tail.”

“Kelly’s right. You are a spoilsport.”

I heard the click of Marian’s little Ruger. “That one’s mine. Get your hands off.”

“Ah, I love them when they’re so jealous. So delicious. You should take her for another ride, Gibson. She’d like it.”

One day, maybe I’d be able to tell if the succubus was being serious.

Chapter Twenty

One of Chicago’s five crime lords, a vampire the CPD hunted daily, seemed like someone I’d want for an uncle if I could ignore his record and tendency to view humans as prey. As far as arch nemeses went, Ernesto Saven numbered among the better ones, tempering cunning, ruthlessness, and greed with humility enough to put humans to shame.

Old long before Christ’s birth, Ernesto possessed a Middle Eastern flair, eyes darker than sin, and a smile promising hell to any who got in his way. “Shane, dear boy, it’s been too long since you’ve paid this old soul a visit. And to bring a lady with you? There’s hope for you after all.”

“Do I need to shoot you in the kneecap again, Ernesto?”

“Do I get that sip I’ve long desired?”

My next words would condemn me. Some sins were worth committing, and if making a deal with a vampire sold my soul to the devil, the cause was worth the price. “I’m open to negotiations.”

Ernesto rose from his seat to perch on the edge of his dark desk, and a flicker of red light burned in his eyes. “You have my undivided attention. But first, your eye. That worthless bauble is buying justice for many. I’ve been watching the news. Humans.” Disgust dripped from his tone, intense enough Marian grimaced. “It is not often I find pride in having an enemy who has morals and integrity. If only they knew what they wasted.”

“I’m confused. Are you trying to flatter me so I shoot you or don’t shoot you?”