Page 20 of Love Me Darkly
She held up her tray and grinned. “Are you sure I can’t interest you in a specialty shot? We’re serving them tonight only. This is the Archangel—it’s vodka with gold liqueur and an edible shimmer. Sins of the Flesh is a tequila shot with a spicy chili infusion, and The Veil is a secret recipe … but my personal favorite.”
Mateo’s neck prickled as he eyed the drink she had called ‘The Veil’. If it wasn’t his imagination, Donovan stiffened beside him, going deathly quiet. The liquid was dark purple and had dry ice smoke drifting off its surface. His throat clenched as he envisioned the worn book in Aveline’s hands, demonic markings and the image of Azrael leaping at him off the pages. Suddenly, the atmosphere of the club became stifling, the walls closing in. He struggled to breathe, his chest burning as if the fog wafting from downstairs were really acrid smoke. Squeezing his eyes shut, Mateo fought for composure, realizing that Melody was watching him, waiting for him to accept or refuse one of the shots.
The wide-eyed innocence in her stare sent doubt swirling through the suspicion filling his gut. He’d be stupid to think the name of the drink was a coincidence, but she had said it like she might when mentioning a fast-food joint or a gas station. The owner of the club might have ties to The Veil, but what about Melody? Donovan had been ready to shrug her off as being just a waitress in a club, but Mateo couldn’t ignore his instincts. Something about this woman in this place didn’t sit right with him.
“I’ll try Sins of the Flesh,” he said, once he managed to find his voice.
He held Melody’s gaze as he threw the shot back. The tequila scorched his throat and heated his belly, while the chili infusion made his tongue tingle. The combination was intriguing. He liked it enough to ask her for another one. She watched him down it while setting her tray on the empty table near them. Plopping down across from Mateo, she stretched her legs out and crossed them at the ankles.
“Y’all don’t mind if I sit here for a minute, do you? These are my favorite shoes, but they aren’t the best for being on my feet all night.”
“Knock yourself out,” Donovan said, at the same time Mateo muttered, “You didn’t seem to have any trouble dancing in them.”
Melody chose to acknowledge Mateo, hardly seeming to have heard Donovan. One of her eyebrows ticked up. “You were watching me?”
Mateo let his gaze move down her body, lingering on her shimmering legs. He wondered if body glitter was edible and how it might taste. Probably not great. Not that it would stop him from licking?—
“Everybody was watching you,” he blurted, because he had to say something. He could feel Donovan observing them, and realized that his abrasiveness would seem strange when, as far as he knew, they’d only met Melody once. The man had no idea what Mateo got up to in his private time. If he did, he’d likely call up D.C. and report him to Carlisle.
Melody shrugged. “Trina needs a break sometimes. And when I’m on break, I like to dance. They don’t bring the cage out often.”
“You were good,” Donovan said, leaning in to be heard over the music. “Unc here couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”
Mateo cut a sharp glare at Donovan, who only joined Melody in a laugh. He wasn’t fond of this habit they seemed to share—laughing at him.
“So, what’s the deal?” she asked suddenly. “Two attractive guys come to a club like Solstice and neither tries to pick up a girl, or even dance with one? I didn’t think our drinks were that good.”
Donovan grinned. “I’m seeing someone, so the whole pick-up thing isn’t really happening right now. I don’t know about Mateo, though … you’d have to ask him.”
Melody swiveled a questioning glance at him.
He grimaced. “No pick-ups for me, either.”
“And dancing?” she prodded.
“I can’t remember the last time I asked a woman to dance.”
Way to point out how ancient you are. At least, he was ancient compared to most of the teen to twenty-somethings crowding this club.
For that matter, he had no idea how old Melody might be. She didn’t look any younger than Donovan, but that would still put him a decade or more older than her. Surprisingly, the thought wasn’t as much of a turnoff as he’d thought it would be.
“What if a woman were to ask you?” she prodded, a clear challenge in her eyes.
After the awkward end of their coffee date, Mateo had expected her to keep her distance. Maybe she would think him rude or weird or not worth the trouble of getting to know. Their moments of flirtation couldn’t have made much of an impression after the way he’d run out on her. But she was looking at him as if waiting for an answer. As if she were daring him to say yes.
Beside him, Donovan seemed to be choking on the sip he’d just taken of his drink. Though his coughs sounded suspiciously like chuckles.
“Depends on the woman,” Mateo countered.
“And if I’m the one asking?” she teased.
Something inside him jerked and drew taut, as if he were a fish snared on a hook. It was exactly how he felt as he snatched up the gauntlet she’d just thrown down. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“I get fifteen minutes every hour for a break.”
Donovan swiveled his head back and forth as he watched the exchange as if it were the most entertaining thing he’d ever seen.
Leaning back in his chair, Mateo nodded before he could change his mind. “I’ll be here.”
