Nocturne in Blood & Smoke

Dorian

Attending a gala in lower Manhattan was the last place I wanted to spend my Friday night.

The wealthy and privileged congregated in a ballroom dressed to the nines.

A massive chandelier hung overhead, nearly two stories above them. The light glittered and reflected prisms across the waxed floor.

I inevitably wondered what would happen if the chandelier fell. My tongue darted over aching fangs.

I hadn’t drunk in almost a day. I should have known better; the thirst was starting to warp my thoughts.

Pushing the intrusive image aside, I moved to the bar. I leaned against the polished wood countertop and stared at myself through a mirror between shelves of liquor. A frown tugged at my lips.

One myth was that vampires didn’t create reflections. We did, I just hated to see myself, how damned pale and gaunt I was. Under the warm light of the chandeliers, the pastiness of my skin was comically exaggerated.

I was trying to blend in, but it wasn’t working at the moment, considering I was keeping to the furthest corner of the ballroom and my suit was about three decades old.

Most people didn’t notice the subtle differences in tuxedo styling, but this was a sharply dressed group, and I was feeling more out of place than usual.

That wasn’t the only reason I felt… off. There was something peculiar about this space. It was like a strange buzzing that hummed in my ears, like a beacon demanding my attention. Yet I couldn’t pinpoint its exact source.

Still, there were too many people, too many distractions to focus.

The thirst wasn’t helping my concentration, either. But I wasn’t here to schmooze or to indulge in my own curiosity.

There was a man I needed to find.

Terrence Brior. A philanthropist and self-made billionaire from his starter tech company that boomed in the early 2000s.

For the past couple weeks, his wife noticed something off in Brior’s behavior.

She came to me for help, convinced he was cheating.

But the truth was bleaker: a demon had taken his place and assumed his appearance like a changeling. I had no idea if the real Terrence was still alive.

It wasn’t uncommon for demons to steal another’s identity. But this particular little parasitic fucker by the name of Jagger had been slipping from my grasp for what felt like forever.

Every time I would hone in on him, he would vanish into the under realm for a decade or two. Now he was back, and taking on the guise of this tech CEO.

I studied countless recorded interviews of the real Terrence that morning. The man was about as awkward and unsociable as any stereotypical computer geek. He could barely keep his head up in public spaces.

But this Terrence was open and charming, always laughing and grinning. People swarmed around him and had been for the past hour of this damn event. Getting him alone was going to be a challenge.

To complicate matters, Terrence had no problem swapping out his wife for a piece of younger eye-candy who had been diligently at his side all night.

At least it wasn’t the real Terrence cheating on her.

I tried to get a good look at the new woman in question. My vision was blocked by two bodies.

But then, like magic, they parted.

All of a sudden, the world in my peripheral darkened. The jazz quartet's live music turned muffled.

For that instant of time, all I could see was her.

This strawberry-blonde woman was built like a Goddess, as if the curves of her ass were lovingly sculpted by some divine-blessed artist. She wore an ivory sequin dress that made her literally fucking sparkle under the chandelier. The polar opposite of the effect it had on me.

She looked warm and alive and perfect.

From where I stood gawking nearly ten yards away, I could pick up her scent. It cut through heavy perfumes and colognes, even cooked meat hors d’oeuvres, weaving through the crowd.

The smell was... hard to describe. Like wildflowers blooming in a meadow. Like sunshine warming bare skin.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her and hadn’t even seen her face yet. Her hair was coiffed, which meant I could admire the elegant length of her exposed neck and flawless, creamy skin.

What did she taste like, I wondered? If her scent was any indication, it would likely be earth-shattering.

Damnit, I needed to concentrate on the fucker next to her, she wasn’t a part of this.

Even as I tried to look away, my vampire urges dragged my eyes back to her again only seconds later.

The beast in me liked her. It liked what it saw. It loved her smell.

I had not intended to make myself known so early. But she whispered something into Terrence’s ear and then turned towards the bar.

When she faced my direction, my stomach churned and heart succumbed to a vice grip at the same time.

She was fucking beautiful. Plump lips, dark eyebrows, large eyes the color of the ocean.

Jagger had some impeccable taste.

I watched her from the end of the counter as she approached the bartender. The man zeroed in on her, too, and I felt a flicker of jealousy as he smiled and leaned forward so he could hear her order over the cacophony of voices and music around them.

This was my chance.

The bartender turned to the shelves of liquor to make her drink, and I slid three seats over. My watch made a quiet clink against the wooden counter to grab her attention. I subtly watched from the mirror if she would notice.

She did, and looked at me with the slightest, imperceptible, wide-eyed blink and pause. Her whole body froze in the way mine did when I first saw her.

But the woman’s recovery was faster and much smoother than mine as the bartender turned to pour scotch into a glass. He placed a clean wine glass upon the counter and was about to open a bottle, but she held her hand up.

“No need,” she said quickly, and grasped the scotch. “I’ll just stick with this, thank you.”

She was trying to get away from me.

If I didn’t know any better, this girl had been warned about me. Did Jagger-Terrence know I was here? Was she about to tell him to run?

“Hey,” I called after her. The blonde stopped but didn’t turn around. “Did I see you with Terrence Brior? The Terrence Brior?”

The woman turned, and I tried not to internally groan when our eyes met and her delectable scent overpowered me again.

I wanted to lick her neck. Not even bite. Just… lick. It would be fully worth a knee in the crotch.

“Yes,” she replied softly after a reluctant pause. She looked me up and down several times, taking stock of me. Maybe she didn’t like my tuxedo. Maybe she knew it had been collecting dust in my closet for the past twenty years.

But the way her stare lingered on my face made me curious. I had been told I’m not too hard on the eyes, but this woman didn’t seem impressed.

Rather, I saw... disappointment? Sadness, maybe?

I didn’t have time to read too much into it because she tried to slip back into the crowd. Before she could get away, I grasped her elbow.

The connection of skin made the beast in me hum with satisfaction.

Vampires were innately possessive. Yet I was careful not to attach myself to anyone in the one hundred and fifty years I’d been around. I never had an issue fighting my urges.

Until this very fucking moment in time, that was.

“What’s your name?”

The woman’s head drooped forward, she muttered a quiet prayer under her breath.

She turned her gaze to me over her shoulder.

“Cecilia.”

Cecilia.

The name imprinted upon my brain and awakened new synapses.

“It’s nice to meet you, Cecilia.” I smiled. Her cheeks blushed red as she looked forward into the crowd again, not wanting me to see her reaction.

I withheld a smirk.

Well, well. Maybe Cecilia didn’t hate what she saw, after all.

“I better deliver this drink,” she said with a slight shrug of her shoulder, forcing me to let go of her arm. The tone was friendly, yet tight. Just like her jaw.

“May I ask something before you go?”

“Sure."

“What’s a nice woman like you doing with a married man?”

Her body stiffened. Blue eyes turned severe as she glared. I’m not proud of it, but my cock hardened just a little. The sadist in me thought she was even more beautiful when she was mad.

And let me tell you, Cecilia looked pissed.

“I am not… with Terrence,” she hissed. "Now, please excuse me.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” I continued just as she was about to leave again, getting into her personal space with one step forward.

“That isn’t really Terrence Brior standing over there. And since you two seem chummy, I need you to either help me or get out of here before shit hits the fan.”

Cecilia stared with surprised, bulging eyes and parted lips. I glanced down at her mouth and felt my heart and pants tighten again. I wanted to kiss and taste that mouth. I want to see what it looked like wrapped around–

Fuck. Focus, focus!

Cecilia’s mouth slowly shut, and her spine straightened, her glorious breasts jutted out more with the motion.

I stared, sweating.

It would take a single bite and then gladly, gladly die. It was like water to a man dying of thirst. One sip and I would be sated.

I swear it.

“You don’t think that’s Terrence?” she asked, pointing to the crowd over her shoulder, unaware I was thirsting for her like a horny teenager.

And thank fuck for that, because it was mortifying.

“It isn’t Terrence. Did you not find it strange that a notoriously reclusive CEO is suddenly Mister Charisma?”

As if on cue, the man in question started laughing loudly. The sound filled the ballroom, and the crowd around him joined in.

“Can you explain more of your plan?” she asked. I glanced at the drink in her hand and raised an eyebrow.

“I’d like to, but we’re pressed for time. Are you in or out?”

Cecilia glanced over her shoulder to the laughing crowd gathered around her date and nodded her head. “I have a couple of minutes before he notices I’m still gone.”

Fucking doubtful. If Terrence was as entranced by this Goddess as I was, then I imagine our time together would be mere seconds, not minutes, before he came to claim her from me. The thought alone made my insides twist.

If she were my partner, I would never let her out of my fucking sight.

And not in a place like this, full of drunk, wealthy, egotistical men.

“What do you know about bonded souls?” I asked quietly, resting a hand on my hip. Her lips pursed, I noticed her throat slightly flex in discomfort.

“A bit.”

“Terrence’s wife is a celestial. It means she’s bonded to another by a blessing from the sun goddess, Elathor. And that person–” I pointed a finger like a gun, shooting it over her shoulder. “Is your lover.”

Cecilia’s eyebrows dropped in a glower. “I told you, Dorian! This isn’t a date, and he isn’t my lover. He invited me as… a professional courtesy.”

Professional.

So either Cecilia was a hooker, or she was dumb enough to think Terrence wanted her for her brains or whatever it was she did for a living.

“Well, at any rate, his wife is understandably a little concerned her life partner is out at functions he’s never bothered to attend before. Moving money around. Spending time with beautiful women.”

The beautiful comment didn’t throw her off even one second. “And just from that, you deduced he’s…”

“A demon who took over his form,” I confirmed with a nod. “He also smells like sulfur. Another dead giveaway.”

Cecilia didn’t laugh me down, which surprised me.

Most mortals were only privy to the bullshit stereotypes of the supernatural and the few who operated in the public world didn’t share much about their lives. Our worlds were kept fairly separate.

She stepped even closer to me until our fronts were almost touching. From my height, I could see down her sequin dress. And now I definitely couldn’t hide my growing erection.

“How did you plan on proving this?” she whispered. I subtly tugged on the fabric of my trousers so it wasn’t obvious I’d been pitching the most painful tent in my life, but thankfully, Cecilia wasn’t looking at my crotch.

She was staring directly into my eyes with so much intensity that it felt… intimate. Like, there was no one else there but the two of us.

I wished I could forget that I was here to do a job. I’d ask her to dance even though I hated it most of the time. I’d ask for her number. I’d drag her to the darkest corner of this building and make her bite her fist while I went down on her.

Fucking Christ, Dorian. Focus! What the fuck was wrong with me?

It was a long while since I’d been with anyone, but this craving was on a whole other level. I scented plenty of delicious prey in my life. But none were as tantalizing as this shining light in front of me.

And she was… well, despite being human, extremely beautiful.

But that was it. She was just a human. And unless I wanted to murder this poor woman for being like crack to my blood lust-- I had to retreat.

I took a careful, measured step backward for her sake. “It’s… instinct.” I answered and nodded my chin at the crowd behind her. “It’s not like he has a tumor in his brain changing his personality. It’s a demon inside there.”

“Do you know the whereabouts of the real Terrence, then?”

I shrugged. “Gotta capture and interrogate Jagger to find that out. One thing at a time.”

Her lips tugged downward and I wondered if I had disappointed her with the truth about her date. Maybe I’d ruined Cecilia’s night. But, better now than later, right?

“So? Are you gonna help?” I paused to take a sip of my drink, leaning an elbow back against the bar counter. “Or are you gonna get out of here?”

Cecilia stared at a floor-to-ceiling arched window behind us and the void of night beyond it while she deliberated. Then, only a moment later, her eyes slid back to me without fear. “What do you want me to do?”

I was impressed by her confidence. But I also knew it was fake. I could hear her heart beating rapidly. Her lips were slightly pursed, her body was tense. All telltale signs she was terrified.

“Get him away from the ballroom and somewhere secluded. It can be a hallway, an alcove, a bathroom, I really don’t care. But if you help me, I can keep this gala from turning into a bloodbath.” I gave a cursory glance at the chandelier above us.

She followed my line of sight upward, and her brow crinkled while I watched the lights dance in her large blue eyes.

“What makes you think he’ll go with me? We’re just here as friends.”

“Because he may be a demon, Cecilia, but he’s a man.” I gestured at her up and down. “You’re beautiful. Breathtaking, actually. If you made even the slightest inclination you wanted to fuck him, he’d jump on it.”

Her breath hitched, and I don’t know if my crass words or the reference to her beauty had her blushing. But it was a gorgeous sight either way.

“I’ll… um,” she pressed a few fingers to her forehead like she was dizzy.

I held back a grin. Vampires could use ensnarement to seduce their targets, but I would take it as a personal and very important challenge to get this beauty in bed without it.

So far, it looked like I had a solid head start.

“Okay. Give me a minute with him. I’ll get him alone.”

I watched as Cecilia sashayed that perfect ass back into the crowd. With the moment of privacy, I adjusted my pants again.

I finished my drink at the bar with a small grin to myself while thinking of her blush. So adorable. So innocent.

That was one thing I liked about humans. They weren’t always all jaded, brutal or hardened.

Sometimes you struck gold and found mortals like Cecilia.

She was gentle, her aura was calming. Even with the few brief moments of our skin contact, the beast inside me was content and left purring.

My smile slowly faded as I continued to replay our conversation in our head.

Vampire beasts didn’t fucking purr. But all the same, I felt like curling up around her feet like an obedient dog.

“I told you, Dorian! This isn’t a date.”

Dorian.

I never told Cecilia my name.