Page 22 of The Blood Witch

As if on cue, the music from the club started, a deep thumping bass that shook the furniture enough to make the books rattle. Fey laughed.

“You think I could sleep through this, Alastair? That anyone could sleep through this?” she asked mockingly. He frowned, and she leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on his lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, right? Ferus is running things then?”

Reluctantly, Alastair nodded. “He is.”

“Good.” She gave him one more lingering kiss, then hopped off his lap. “We can have dinner together tomorrow, after I get home from work. But I’m getting out of here before it gets too busy.”

“Fine,” he said, watching her as she gathered her clothes. “But Fey?”

She turned toward him, pulling her pants back up to her waist. “What?”

A smile broke across his face. “I love you,” he cooed.

Fey snatched his tie from the ground to chuck it at his face.

Chapter 8

JASPER

The floor shook with every bass line from the club’s music, the beat so strong you could feel it in your bones. Jasper moved to the rhythm of it, weaving effortlessly around Sid—the other Wolf bartending tonight—to grab another bottle.

He lived for this. Lived for the almost deafening roar of the music, the burn of alcohol in his blood, the tipsy haze that descended on him at this point in the night. He was always careful to never get drunk at work, notreallydrunk, but on nights like this he enjoyed walking that fine line between buzzed and messy.

This was exactly what he needed after that unexpected visit from his niece. She had pulled out every trick in her book to delay him and convince him to let her hang out at the bar with Alastair and Fey. By the time he’d finally managed to get back to work, he was running late for his shift and Ferus had been pissed off enough to make him work at the VIP bar instead of downstairs.

Not that Jasper cared much either way. Slinging drinks up here with Sid wasn’t much different from slinging them down there. The patrons were just as drunk, just as horny, and the music was just as good.

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea for Vivian to work here, actually. Hell, at least he could keep an eye on her if she was here, make sure shewasn’t getting into too much trouble. Half the time she was meant to be with her Nan, Jasper suspected she was actually out with her friends, causing mischief.

Her mother had been like that when they were kids.

So had Jasper, come to think of it.

Is this how Nan had felt when she was trying to raise the two of them?

Goddess help her, Jasper and Alicia had likely been even worse. It’s any wonder Nan lived long enough to see her granddaughter take up the mantle.

But thoughts of Vivian and Nan all felt distant now that he was here, in his element. Here, where he belonged. On the other side of the VIP bar, Sid popped the cork on a bottle of bubbly for a group of university students, celebrating the end of their exams. Their merriment was contagious.

A Demon with wicked eyes and feathers weaved in his hair ordered a round of shots for his friends, and Jasper filled them to the brim after he’d lined them up, adding an extra one for himself. He flashed Sid a wink as he downed it, and the other Wolf returned it with a laugh. This was the life. Good booze, loud music, and the scent of lust heavy in the air.

The Witch currently trying to catch his eye wore that smell of lust like a heavy perfume. She leaned over the bar far enough that her breasts threatened to spill out of her top, biting her lip when he finally came over to get her order. Jasper gave her a flirty grin as he poured her drink and wasn’t surprised when she slipped her number across the bar toward him before she left.

The slip of paper went into the trash the moment her back was turned. The motion was so automatic, Jasper didn’t even question it.

Not that the Witch wasn’t attractive. She was stunning, and those curves were to die for. A couple of years ago, she wouldn’t have had to slip him her number at all. He would have already been leading her to the stockroom, with one hand snaking up her skirt to feel those delicious curves, excited to show her a good time.

But something had changed. And with the music and the booze and the wonderfully numb drunk he had going tonight, he didn’t want tothink too hard about what it could be. Didn’t want to think about why he couldn’t seem to bring himself to enjoy his random hookups anymore.

For now, he didn’t want to think at all. He wanted to have fun.

He wanted to be a little numb.

When a familiar face appeared in the crowd, coming from the back hallway and making his way toward the bar, Jasper’s grin widened and his good mood rose even more. Right on schedule.

“Evening, boss,” Jasper shouted over the music as Alastair leaned an elbow against the bar top, his eyes skirting over the crowd. Jasper was already pulling a bottle of whiskey from under the bar—the boss’s favorite.

“Good crowd tonight,” Alastair remarked, drumming his fingers on the wooden bar. He looked relaxed. Hell, he wasn’t even wearing his tie.

---