“Not all vampires are bad!” I should have become an activist for vampire rights after all the defending I did on their behalf.

“Well, I hope that doesn’t come back and bite you in the ass—or throat for that matter.”

My phone chirped, taking my attention away from Dorian. A text message from Aiden reminded me I was late. I ignored Dorian’s comment; Aiden would never hurt me. Tonight we’d enjoy each other’s company and have great sex. All would be right in the world, at least until I came back down to reality in the morning.

11

I stepped out of the cab and eyed the red sign that read ‘Thorn’ in black letters with a black thorny vine framing the title. A few patrons stood in a line waiting their turn to enter. Most were dressed a lot more casual than me. The men wore jeans or slacks and either t-shirts or polo’s. Some of the women were dressed in skimpy skirts and tops, but most were in jeans and halter tops or tank tops.

I walked down the concrete steps, eyes twitching to the left and right, to a red door that had ‘Thorn’ written in calligraphy, across the middle.

A tall, thin woman dressed in skin tight leather pants and a shirt that barely covered her breasts, stood guard. Her washboard stomach didn’t hold an ounce of fat and her bored expression never faltered.

“I.D,” she said. I knew right away she was a vampire, her energy projected off of her like a smack in the face.

Rifling through my purse, I dug out my license and handed it to her. The woman’s eyes scanned the thin plastic card and then her body tensed up. “You a witch?”

Damn. When the supernatural revelation happened in the 80’s, the humans required that all of our licenses state our species. Witch was in thick black letters right under my name—something I never thought of as dangerous, until now.

“I am.” I kept my voice calm, but inside I worried whether she’d attack me right now or at least wait until I was behind closed doors. “I’m here to meet Aiden Blake.” I hoped mentioning his name would buy me enough time to find him before they rang the dinner bell.

She returned my license and with a nod of her head, motioned me inside. My feet stayed glued to the ground as I eyed the red door. Shrugging off my fear, I curled my fingers around the handle and stepped inside.

The lighting was minimal, except for the dance floor which glowed with what looked like black lights. Silhouettes of bodies broke through the darkness as my eyes adjusted. Bass beat against my body. The DJ stood on an upraised platform, his hand raised in the air while his head bobbed to the music.

One thing I noticed upon entering was the fact that the air vibrated with energy. As I watched the movements of the clubbers, I realized why. Thorn was full of vampires. Why did Aiden pick a place like this? It was like chumming the ocean for sharks and I was main course.

Making my way further inside, I walked around the club trying to find Aiden. The vampires watched me. I knew they could smell I wasn’t a vampire, but the looks they gave me resembled fear rather than hunger. Strange.

Dancers moved their bodies in perfect unison to the rhythm. Watching vampires dance was like watching a gracefully choreographed ballet. The precision of their movements was breathtaking, even when dancing to hip hop.

I paused next to the dance floor watching the beauty of the their moves when arms slipped around my waist. I didn’t need to see his face to know it was Aiden, his energy sizzled around me like a security blanket.

With a quick movement, he spun me around, and I snickered at his outfit. Aiden’s normal attire consisted of dress pants of some sort and a button down shirt, but not tonight. Tonight he was dressed in jeans and a white tank top that hugged his toned chest and stomach. His hair was slicked back, but a few black strands escaped and hung over his eyes.

He snaked a hand around my neck to tangle in my hair and directed me closer for a knee weakening kiss. His tongue teased mine deliberately, causing ripples of excitement to burst throughout my body.

When he ended the kiss, he took my hand and led me onto the dance floor. I followed behind him as we made our way through the congested crowd. Aiden raised a hand to the DJ and the current beat was replaced with Usher’s There Goes My Baby. His hand wrapped around my waist and drew me toward him, a sexy glint in his blue eyes. Our bodies began to move in sync, our lower regions rubbing against each other as we lost ourselves in the music.

We rocked and swayed, hands on each other bodies, pure hunger evident in our eyes. Towards the end of the song, Aiden leaned in for another kiss while the surrounding couples gyrated against us. Their touches were like an erotic fire driving my desire over the top. The entire atmosphere changed from fun to sensual. Lava filled my veins spreading within me like one long, delightful caress as I watched the men and woman dance suggestively against each other.

“Would you like a drink?” Aiden leaned in to whisper in my ear. I nodded and followed him through the throng of people. A sitting area was off to the right where couples cuddled and made out. Off to the left were privacy rooms, something almost every vampire club had so they could feed or screw in discretion. The thing about vampires was their libidos were almost as powerful as their inhuman strength. Aiden mentioned how drinking human blood was a sort of aphrodisiac, it heightened all of their senses.

Aiden told the bartender our drink orders and then focused on my outfit, his eyes running up and down me. “You look breathtaking, my Gwen.” His hand rested around my waist but trailed down to cup my ass. I should have been embarrassed about our little intimate dance and the show of PDA, but the club had a way of making you not give a shit about all the insecurities you’d normally feel.

“And you,” I began as I allowed my eyes to roam over his casual clothes. “Look like a sexy bad boy.” A smile spread across my lips as his mouth lifted into a grin.

The bartender slid our drinks to us, and Aiden threw cash on the bar. Taking our drinks, we made our way over to a corner booth. The seats were covered in what looked like velvet. Black lights hid behind the molding, bathing us in the same eerie glow as the dance floor.

I settled in close to Aiden and lifted my glass to my lips. The mojito was crisp, the mint perfectly balanced with the rum. “So, this wasn’t exactly the place I was expecting. Isn’t it a little dangerous for a witch to be hanging out in a vampire club?” I set my glass down and looked up at my vampire. His eyes were focused on something across the way, but at my question, he looked back at me.

“Those sorts of vampires are not allowed in Thorn. Not all of us are bloodthirsty monsters, Gwen.” I frowned at his tone but understood the emotion. I’d been complaining about my safety and looking at the war from only the witch side. The truth was, innocent vampires were in just as much danger.

“Actually, I’m sure most of the vampires here are more afraid of you than you are of them. Most are young and aren’t looking for the kind of trouble that will end up getting them killed.” Aiden lifted his glass filled with a dark red liquid and took a long drink.

“Hey,” I said to draw his attention towards me. “I didn’t mean anything by my comment, it’s just—things are fragile right now.”

His hand grasped mine as he leaned in to kiss my forehead. “I know, my Gwen.” He took a deep breath. “I thought you deserved a night of fun. I can’t imagine what the NAWC has been putting you through, so tonight, no talk of war or brew. Tonight it’s you and me, a normal couple in a club enjoying each other’s company.”

I smiled wide. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all month.”

With a quick motion, Aiden lifted me onto his lap. My legs straddled either side of him while his hands roamed up the length of my body. The lighting in the club gave the illusion of privacy, but the vampires would be able to see what we were doing, and I didn’t care. Various couples were in the process of the same thing.

Leaning down, I brought my lips to Aiden’s. I freed my mind of any anxiety I had with PDA and just focused on him. His energy buzzed to life and wrapped around me, my flesh sizzled with want.

My dress inched further up my thighs as his hands traveled over my legs. With a frustrated moan, I eased his hands back down and fixed my dress. I guess not all inhibitions had been thrown out the window. I didn’t mind straddling him and making out, but I wouldn’t expose my ass to a crowd of at least two hundred.

Aiden chuckled at my shyness, but that didn’t stop him from snaking his hands under the fabric of my dress to cup my ass. The music switched to another slow, sensual song. There was something about the slow beat of an R&B song made me feel sexy. It was like the music guided my movements as the slow, sexy rhythm pumped through my body. From the feel of the hardness between Aiden’s legs, he was enjoying the lap dance as much as I was. At the moment my mind was free. Not a speck of the NAWC, Ian, the war or Dorian occupied my thoughts. I was so enthralled with Aiden I didn’t even worry about the club full of vampires. It was just him and me in the room.

Aiden scooted out of the booth, with me still on his lap, and made a beeline for the private rooms. When he set me down, we were in a ten by ten room with a couch against the wall. The room was pretty dark except for the ceiling which twinkled with fiber optic lights made to look like stars.

The lock clicked, and then Aiden was on me. My back hit the wall while his hand gripped my arms above my head. He trailed is nose up my neck, shivers danced across my skin. His lips paused at my ear. “I crave you more than anything, my Gwen.”

My breathing increased. My chest rose and fell with each labored breath. Aiden trailed a finger down my chest, pausing between my breasts. The anticipation of what he was going to do was like my own personal drug. The intensity of not knowing his next move was erotic and exciting.

His finger disappeared from my skin, and I frowned. He laughed, and my frown deepened. He could see me as clearly as if the lights were on but I couldn’t see him. “Could you please conjure candles, ice, a blanket and two strips of fabric?”

My eyebrow arched. “Why?”