Page 90 of Stone Cold Touch

His low chuckle sent a shiver through me. “Lots of things, but you have to promise me what you see stays here.”

My gaze met his and curiosity truly got the best of me. When he turned and strolled toward the gray windowless door, I followed behind him, worrying my lower lip. He opened the door, spreading his arm out in a grand gesture. He bowed slightly at the waist as I walked past him, into the lobby of his apartment building. The faint, pleasant aromas of tobacco and coffee greeted me.

It was just as I remembered—old-school Hollywood. Golden chandeliers cast bright light onto the brown leather couches that looked worn and comfy. My gaze lifted to the domed ceiling.

The painting was the only thing out of place—a hard-core battle scene of angels fighting with fiery swords. Angels fell through misty clouds, their beautiful faces warped by pain. This time I noticed something I hadn’t before. The painted angels, the ones with their eyes open, all had blue eyes—that startling, electric-blue color that all Wardens had. I frowned as I studied them. What did Roth call the Wardens? Heavenly rejects?

“Shortie?”

I turned to where Roth waited by the elevators—elevators that only went down, and by down, I meantwaaaydown. He opened the door, and instead of going toward the upstairs, he headed to the steps leading down.

I halted in the stairwell. “Where does this go?”

“Remember how Gerald said that some covens have clubs where others of their kind can safely get together? We have the same thing.” He took the steps two at a time. “When we’re topside, we like to stick together in buildings like this and, in each of them, there’s always something extra special in the basement.”

As we went down a level, a set of bloodred doors appeared like a beacon of sin, waiting for us. Roth placed his hands on the center, flashed a quick grin and then pushed the doors open wide.

I didn’t know what I was expecting to see beyond the doors, probably something along the lines of a creepy dive bar, but what I saw was something else entirely.

The place was surprisingly bright. No seedy red lighting, no neon beer signs. Plush couches lined the walls, sectioned off by black velvet ropes. People of various ages lounged on the couches. I didn’t need my wonky ability to know that I was surrounded by demons.

Heady music thrummed. The kind you could dance to, lose yourself in. The place was packed and, in the shadowy corners of the room, I could make out thicker shadows moving sinuously. It was the middle of the day, so I was surprised to see so many here, but then again, I doubted demons operated by human schedules.

Roth chuckled as he lowered his lips to my ear. “You should see the look on your face.”

I shook my head, feeling out of my element and then some. “It’s...different.”

There was an S-shaped stage in the middle of the bar, surrounded by round tables and chairs, but it was what was onstage that caught and held my attention.

Scantily clad women danced. Women so beautiful, they could’ve walked the runways of New York and Milan. One in particular swayed in the middle of the S. A tiny ruffled skirt covered her lower half and she wore a bra that glittered and dazzled in the light.

“Is she wearing diamonds as a bra?” I asked.

Roth shrugged as he kept his eyes on me, catching each of my reactions. “Probably. It wouldn’t surprise me. We demons do like shiny, sparkling things.”

The blonde with the diamond bra moved to the music, dipping down and slinking back up. She moved like a snake, or as if she was a part of the throbbing music. She went down on her knees, throwing her head back as she smiled faintly at the man in front of her. An odd light reflected from her eyes.

“She’s a demon,” I pointed out stupidly, as though I didn’t already know that.

“They like to be called succubi,” he explained nonchalantly. “I do believe that’s the politically correct term.”

I shot him a dirty look, but my gaze was immediately drawn back to the girl. I’d never seen a succubus in real life before. “How can they be here? The Alphas forbid them from coming topside.”

“I’m not telling. Are you?”

Before I could respond, a man stood and leaned against the stage. The succubus in the diamond getup smiled playfully as she slunk down and bestowed a chaste kiss on the man’s lips.

He immediately went stiff, hands spasming at his sides while the succubus’s skin glowed. My mouth dropped open. Those reactions could only mean one thing. The man—he washuman.

“Hey!” I cried out. “She took his—”

Roth placed his finger on my lips. “Shortie, what you see in here stays in here. You promised.”

I did, but I hadn’t known what was happening. I knocked his hand away. “This is wrong.”

“Or it’s right. Look.” He turned me back to the stage. The man was sitting in his seat, a happy, sated smile on his lax face. “He’s not harmed. He just gave her a little energy booster. If anything, he thoroughly enjoyed the little kiss. Just as I’m sure most would enjoy a little kiss from you.”

I ignored the last part. “But how are humans in here? Do they know what’s around them?” I couldn’t imagine that they did, the rules and all, but I felt as if the world had been turned upside down the moment I stepped through those red doors.

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