Chapter 9
Celeste leaned forward, their lips barely touched before she felt him begin to drain her energy. Reaching out blindly, she grabbed Aidirian’s hand. She needed the support, whether it was for physical or mental strength, she needed it. He squeezed her hand in comfort as Daryn deepened the kiss. His tongue darted out, licking her bottom lip, but she kept her mouth firmly close. She was not stupid enough to give him more than what they had bargained for.
His kiss yanked at the energy stored deep in her body until she could feel herself become lightheaded. That was enough, this was exactly the stopping point that they agreed on. Before she could even protest to his kiss, he pulled back from her with a gasp. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes shined red, and his skin glowed a little on the edges. “You are the best,” he purred.
She took a step away from him and a step closer to Aidirian. “It is because of what I am,” she assured.
Daryn shook his head with a hungry expression. “It is not because of what you are, but who you are. That soul of yours is pure, chère. The purest I have experienced in my days.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled, unsure of how to react to his statement.
“Don’t worry, Celeste,” he said in a kind tone. “I would never take more than you asked me too.”
Aidirian yanked on her hand, making her take another step towards him. “I think that is enough,” Aidirian demanded. “You’re beginning to freak her out.”
It was true, but how did Aidirian know? “I can handle myself,” she said, attempting to summon up some anger, but it fell flat.
“We both know you can,” Daryn said, “but the jinni is right. I should not be taunting you after you gave me such a wonderful gift. So pure, so delicious that it melts in your mouth.” She sent him a disgusted expression, causing a sheepish smile to cover his face. “Sorry.”
She shrugged. “It is quite alright. Now,” she began, “tell me what I want to know.”
“About what?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Do not play with me, Daryn.”
“Believe me, Celeste,” he whispered, the noise still reaching her ears, “if you would play with me, we wouldn’t be here now.”
“Daryn,” she snapped, “enough. Tell me what you know about the Nephilim.”
He threw his hand over her mouth with a glare. “You know better than to speak their name in a place like this. Meet me in the red room. I’ll be back there in ten minutes.”
Opening her mouth, she bit his hand slightly in warning. Instead of drawing back as she thought he would, he just smiled with an evil glint in his eyes. “If you can bite, I get to bite back.”
Aidirian’s hand snaked out, pulling Daryn’s from her face. “We’ll be in the back room,” Aidirian said in an even voice. “If you are not there in ten minutes, we leave and I deem you oath breaker.”
Celeste looked at him with a confused expression, but by the scowl on Daryn’s face, the man obviously knew what Aidirian was speaking of. “I will be there in six,” he mumbled while turning his back on them and heading back into the crowd.
Aidirian grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the doors next to the bar. They slipped past the guard with a small smile and walked down the halls. It was easy to distinguish which room was which by the doors. The red room was identified by the red door and etcetera.
He stopped in front of the dark red door and smiled. “Matches your dress.”
“Guess it does,” she mumbled, still tired from her encounter with Daryn.
Aidirian inched the door open and took a slow step forward. Celeste did not move with as much caution as the man in front of her. She already knew what was on the other side of the door. As they entered, he froze and turned towards her with an inquiring look. “Black silk sheets, gothic furniture, and red walls; they should have named it the vampire room.”
“Immortals,” Celeste said absentmindedly, reminding him the correct term.
“Really?” he asked with frustration. “You can’t call me what I really am, but you can remember that? Plus, why should they be able to be called the Immortals. We’re all immortal.”
She shrugged while walking towards the bed. Sitting at the corner, she watched as Aidirian sauntered to the backless loveseat. Sitting down, he looked at her expectantly. “What do you want me to say? They shouldn’t have the name, but a bloodsucker gives them a lot of bad blood. Vampires make people think they sparkle, for some odd reason, and they are not demons.”
“So, immortals it is,” he whispered, trying to get comfortable on the couch.
She let out a frustrated sound, watching him squirm around was starting to make her fidget. “Look,” she said, standing to her feet and walking to the loveseat, “you sit like this.” She demonstrated by putting her head down on one of the arms that doubled as a pillow. Throwing her legs over him, she settled in with a sigh. “See, very comfortable.”
“Yes,” he groaned, shifting beneath her, “you must be very comfortable.”
“Fine, I’ll go sit back on the bed.”
“No,” he said in a loud tone, grabbing her hand as she tried to leave the couch. “Here if we just,” he grabbed her, flipping her around until her head settled on his stomach and her butt still touched the seat. “There we go, comfortable?”
“Yes,” she whispered, snuggling deeper into the warmth he was generating. Her eyes began to close, her breathing began to deepen, and soon, she was overtaken by a deep sleep.
Aidirian let out a sigh as soft snores left her mouth. If it weren’t for the fact that the entire place was being run by demons, he would have indulged in a nap himself. He had heard that people who took naps lived longer; although, did it really make a difference when he lived for a very, very long time?
The door opened, and Daryn stood there in all his happy glory. The man’s smile dropped though, when he saw a very asleep Celeste. “Is she okay?” Daryn asked, taking a step towards them with true concern on his face. “I took what we bargained for, mot any more than that.”
“She’s fine,” Aidirian assured while running a hand through her hair.
Daryn shut the door behind him and went to the bed. Sitting down with a sigh, he put his face in his hands. “She’s too trusting, you know?”
“I’ve only known her for two days,” he answered, “but I know what you mean. She doesn’t see the bad first, does she?”
“No,” Daryn grumbled, “and it’s going to get her killed. I try to scare her, try to make her realize that we’re monsters, but she doesn’t get it.”
“And she never will,” Aidirian finished. “She may have my bottle, but there are things I can do to ruin her life. She just assumed I would do the honorable thing, that I wouldn’t ruin her life as much as I could without physically harming her.”
“What about me?” he asked, raising his head to look at them. “Does she think that any other incubus would have stopped? With a pure soul like hers, it was hard for even me to stop. Imagine what would have happened; she would be dead.”
Aidirian snorted with a nod. His hand still ran through her hair in order to reassure him that she wasn’t going anywhere. “Tell me what she’s into.”
Daryn’s face turned guarded. “Tell me what your plans are first.”
“I plan on helping her as much as I can without crossing my own lines. She’s, at the very least, a friend, and I think what they sent her to do is suicide. I’m not letting her do it on her own.”
The incubus nodded before letting his trademark grin curl around his lips. “At the very least, huh?”
“Enough,” Aidirian growled, not wanting to explain his relationship with Celeste to him.
“Fine,” Daryn answered, his smile falling from his face, “I’ll tell you. The Nephilim are everywhere. There are more here than she thinks, more than anyone thinks, and they have a lot to do with some recent kidnappings and deaths. Celeste, you, and I aren’t going to be enough to end this.”
“Since when are you added into the mix?”
“She’s my friend, at the very most, but to be honest, I have a selfish reason for helping you two.”
“Can I ask what that is?”
Daryn nodded. “They are taking away my clientele. Without women, I have nothing, you understand that?”
“Yeah, I do,” Aidirian mumbled, “but what are you planning?”
“A little group of sorts,” he answered with a hand motion.
Aidirian’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What kind of group?”
An evil smile crossed Daryn’s face. “My kind of group.”