Page 5 of Prince of Ruin
And maybe crossing to the dark side, kissing ass and cloven feet and whatever else worked, could at least earn you a reprieve.
The club promised everything Heaven couldn’t.
A sea of emotion pressed against her skin; lust, greed, envy…. Semi-naked bodies grinding against each other. Sex and sin beckoned.
Seraphine pushed her way through the crush, before fetching up at the bar. She’d have been marked for observation already—thanks to that stolen invite—but the point wasn’t to enter unobserved.
The point was to draw attention.
And the wings were doing that.
Everyone here was dressed in black. Leather. Lace. Chains. Red lipstick. It was a desperate attempt to fit in with what the humans thought of demonspawn.
To wear these wings was like afuck youto every demon in the place.
She knew they’d get her the attention she needed—to carry out her theft, she needed to be targeted, not glossed over in the crowd. She needed to be chosen as one of the initiates. She needed access to the dark halls upstairs, where Azazel ruled with his merciless whip.
And there was nothing the denizens of hell desired more than corruption.
A hand clamped down over hers, pressing her palm to the sticky bar as she fanned herself with a handful of ten-dollar bills.
“Pretty girls like you shouldn’t come to places like this,” said a voice in her ear.
She fought the urge to drive her elbow back into the bastard’s throat.
Not the kind of attention she needed.
“Or what?” she asked over her shoulder. “You’ll spank me?”
A human stared back at her, a spiked collar around his throat. “Is that what you want?”
“Ugh. What is up with the creeps in here?” Tay asked, flaring like a beacon in her head. “I thought you promised me some hot demon ass.Stomp him, Sera.”
As much as she would have liked to, that wasn’t the sort of attention she was looking for.
Sera ignored him as the bartender—an imp—turned her way. “I’ll have an Angel Fuck, thanks.”
“Naughty,” Tay whispered.
The imp leered at her, his forked tongue wetting his lips. “I’ll bet you would.”
“Hey.” A hand caught her chin, forcing her attention back to him. “I was talking to you.”
No. You were treating me like a dog. She pasted a smile on her lips. “Does this attitude work on the ladies here? Or are you trying to play tough guy for the boss men?” She pushed at the human’s chest, using a little of her supernatural strength, and he staggered back. Shocked. “They’re not going to pick you. So crawl off back into your little hole and choke on that collar.”
His eyes seethed.
But help came from an unexpected source.
“You heard the lady,” said the imp. “Choice is choice, you little glob of camel spit. Fuck off and let her drink her drink.”
The creep slipped back into the crowd. If they’d been alone, she might have had to deal with him a little more roughly, but he was a coward at heart.
They always were.
Sera gave the imp a slow nod as he leered at her. She took her drink, slapped a pair of tens on the bar and then sucked at her straw.
“You enjoy your drink,” he said, before turning back to tend someone else.
