Page 61 of Night of the Vampire
"She'll come around, man."
I didn't know about that. "I'm opening the doors, lads," I warned them. "Have a good night, and uh, sorry for the outburst."
As they cheered me out the door, my thoughts turned to Lizzy. I still didn't understand why she'd left the way she had, but I would give her the time she asked for. Because when she came back, and she would come back...
She wasn't leaving me again.
Chapter 21
Lizzy
Three Days Later
The Purple Fang was exactly what I'd expected. But what I hadn't counted on was seeing Killian up on the stage, shirtless, breaking out moves I had no idea an Irish boy was capable of, to the thrill of the crowd of women clustered around the stage waving five-dollar bills at him.
I made my way over to the long bar at the back of the room. A good looking guy with tanned skin, dark hair, and a short beard was throwing drinks together and flashing his fangs at his customers, much to their delight if I was to judge by the overflowing tip jar. I was sure the customers thought they were fake, and I wasn't about to tell them otherwise. Jamal had assured me no one was seriously hurt by what the vampires did, so even though it didn't sit quite right with me, I was also grateful none of them were running around terrorizing the city.
I watched the show on stage while I waited for the bartender to make his way to me. I didn't think Killian had seen me walk in, but suddenly his head jerked up, his eyes searching the club until they landed on me. The slow smile he gave me was far from friendly, it was sinful, and made my stomach flip and my heart skip a beat. I watched him dance, trying to play it cool as my blood heated in my veins, and it only got worse as he slid his hands down his flat stomach and beneath the waistband of his jeans, then pulled them back out and rubbed the heal of one hand over his cock as he rolled his hips erotically in time to the music.
Wow.
"What can I get ya, darlin?"
A cold shower would be nice. "Um." Tearing my eyes away from the vampire on the stage, I faced the bartender. "Just a beer. Whatever you have on draft."
He grinned, not even trying to hide those pointed teeth as he grabbed a chilled glass and started filling it. "I'm Elias," he said. "What's your name?" He slid my glass across the bar.
"Lizzy," I told him, handing him my new debit card.
His eyes locked onto my face with new interest. Apparently, he'd already heard of me. "You don't say. Want to start a tab, Lizzy?"
"No, thank you. I don't think I'll be here that long."
With a wink, he handed it back to me along with the receipt to sign and then made his way to the other end of the bar, taking orders as he went.
I took my glass and found an empty seat at a high table that looked like it was unoccupied by any of the women rushing the stage. After that first initial acknowledgment, Killian proceeded to ignore me, playing it up for his "fans." Watching him like this, I realized three things:
One, he was a truly, truly beautiful specimen of a man.
Two, he was a really good dancer. It was more hip-hop than Broadway, but the strength and the control he possessed was amazing.
And third, as I watched him pull a pretty brunette up on stage with him and seat her in a chair so he could give her an up close and personal performance, I was not okay with sharing these things—or any part of him—with other women.
Chugging down half of my beer, I almost left him to it. This wasn't high school. I wasn't going to make a scene. I'd only embarrass myself and it wouldn't accomplish anything. However, I also didn't have to sit here and torture myself.
It was stupid of me, really, to be so surprised. I knew he owned the strip club. Jamal had told me where to find him. I don't know why I had it in my head that he only ran the place and didn't participate. He was one of them. He needed to feed just like the others. At least, he had before he met me.
So why was he even up on that stage? I thought I was his "mate." His new one and only. He'd told me he would never allow me to become a vampire because then he couldn’t drink from me. So, if he wasn't here to feed, what other need was he planning to fulfill?
Maybe, he'd lied about not wanting anyone else. Maybe, it had only been a way to lure me into his bed. I lifted my glass in a silent toast to myself because it had worked.
And it had been the best sex of my life.
Great sex was great sex. It happened. It was over. Finishing my beer, I left it on the table and stood to leave. But at the last minute, I changed my mind and went back over to the bar, taking the empty glass with me. "Tell me," I nodded toward the stage. "Do you guys do private dances?"
"We sure do, darlin'."
Perfect. How about one more round then before I leave? "How would I go about getting one?"
