Creatures of THE Night

A churning stomach.

Eyes blurring with tears.

My shoulders felt so heavy. So fucking heavy.

I wanted to scream but I couldn't get out of my own head. They were in my head. I could hear them. Laughing. Whispering behind closed doors. But I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

My boyfriend, Deacon’s voice was unmistakable. “Shh, Nova. Don’t be too loud. She’ll hear us.”

Followed by the noise of my supposed best friend giggling and sighing.

How the fuck was I supposed to look at them right now?

Pretend everything was fine?

Like I didn’t know? I guess I should be angry, but instead, I felt lonely. Empty. The last two people I had in my life betrayed me. I didn’t have anyone else.

My fingers traced the deep scar marring the side of my face. Maybe I was pretty once upon a time, but Deacon was always fast to point out how I wasn’t pretty anymore. How I let myself go after my mother died.

I don’t know why I held on so tight.

My lungs constricted as if I was barely holding on under the surface, my lips breaking the surface of the water just long enough to catch a breath. Just enough so I didn’t drown.

I did this to myself.

“Shut up.” I gripped the side of my head, gritting my teeth. I was over it. Over the self-pity. At least for tonight. I’ll worry about the consequences in the morning. If there was a morning. At this point, I didn’t care what happened to me.

My head was a lonely place to be. So I decided I wasn’t going to stay there.

I dressed in my shortest, skimpiest dress and put on my highest heels. I wore my boldest lipstick and I took a cab to The Den of Sin. Suiting name for a nightclub.

If I weren’t so distraught, I’d be too self-conscious to go in there. Have everyone see my biggest flaw across my face. But this dress even showed off the scars on my thighs. Hid the marks along my ribs.

A car accident the doctors said I was lucky to walk away from. My mother didn’t.

So I didn’t feel very lucky.

The music was so loud I could feel the bass from outside. Practically smell the sweat from grinding bodies. For once, I wanted to feel desirable. My mind would be fuzzy from alcohol. Hell, I already felt like I was drowning.

Might as well drown in a bottle of tequila. I couldn’t afford to pay my bills anyway. If I ended up in a ditch by the end of the night, at least it would be over.

The bouncer checked my ID but had to do a double-take because I didn’t have scars in the photo. My job was nice enough to keep me on while I recovered from the accident, but eventually, they decided I didn’t have the face for the concierge desk anymore.

The massive man handed back my ID. Sharp jawline and a charming smile. I stared at his amber-hued eyes, noticing how fantastic his cologne smelled.

I bet he got dozens of phone numbers by the time the club closed, but I wasn’t going to be one of them.

Because I noticed how the charming smile contorted into a pitied one when he got the door for me. Another sharp reminder sliced across my skin.

For a split second, I could feel the shards of glass. Then it was gone again.

Bar.

Where was the bar?

I needed a fucking drink.

Maneuvering through the grinding bodies, I found the bartender. She was dressed head-to-toe in leather, a massive slit diving down between her breasts, exposing near-perfect tits. Blonde hair tied up on top of her head, not a flyaway in sight. An ethereal quality about it. Immaculate golden ochre skin. Too beautiful to be real.

Unfair that women like that existed.

She noticed me, a uniquely amber tone in her eyes. For a moment I wondered if she was related to the bouncer outside, but then I remembered I didn’t care. I only wanted a drink.

“Hey, baby. Rough night?” the bartender asked, sliding over to me.

I didn’t say anything, but I’m sure she could see it in my eyes.

Instead of offering me an uncomfortable smile like everyone did, she winked at me. “I got you, baby. On me.”

My eyes narrowed suspiciously as I watched her shake together a rather strong cocktail. Three types of rum, gin, and finished off with a bit of blackberry liqueur and macerated berries ground at the bottom of the glass. “Why would you offer me a free drink?” I asked as soon as she handed me the deep purple beverage.

“Because you look like a woman scorned tonight. Girls like you deserve a free drink,” she replied, looking beyond pleased to hand me such a bold drink. “Go on. Tell me what you think.”

I sipped the drink, the alcohol warming my throat. A touch of sweetness from the blackberries. A smile pulled at the side of my mouth. “It’s delicious. Thank you,” my eyes flickered down to her name tag, “Lily.”

“Anytime, babe. Have fun tonight.”

I felt so starved of kindness I could’ve cried. But I didn’t want to embarrass myself, so I turned away, gulping down the drink and wiping the wetness from my eyes with the back of my hand.

The drink blurred my vision for a moment, but I ignored it, tipping it back into my churning stomach. I wanted to feel nothing.

I wanted to be numb.

Placing the glass on the bar, I walked into the sea of bodies. I moved along to the beat, swaying my hips and enjoying the music. I don’t know how long I was dancing alone, closing my eyes as the bass washed over me, obscuring my sense of reality.

The alcohol coiled inside my stomach as I let it blur my surroundings. My eyes shot open when a hand found my waist, cupping my hip.

Strong hands pulled me back into a firm chest. I didn’t even know what this man looked like, but desire quickly buzzed through my system. My insides quivered when I felt him move against my back.

He moved with me in tune with the music. I arched my back, enjoying the sensation of this mystery man against me. I wanted to turn around and see who was dancing with me, but as soon as I did, it would be over. As soon as he saw my face, it would be over.

And I didn’t want it to stop.

Heat stroked my skin as his hands climbed up my waist, brushing against the turquoise sequins all over my dress. Full lips pressed against the hollow behind my ear, a hot tongue curling around my earlobe.

A moan slipped out of my throat and I pressed my ass against him, feeling how he wanted me. Goosebumps pebbled across my skin and I could feel the lips tilt into a smile. One of my hands reached up behind me, cupping the back of the man’s neck.

Suddenly, he gripped my waist and spun me around. My breath caught, heart thundering in my chest. I expected him to pull away from me completely when he saw me.

But he didn’t.

His bright amber eyes brightened further as if my appearance pleased him. My thighs quivered, my breath catching.

Oh my god, he was gorgeous.

He grinned at me, dimples forming on either side of his mouth. White teeth. Plush pink lips. A golden hue to his skin. Clean shaven to show off his unbelievably sharp jawline. Had to be in his mid-thirties. The man stood tall over me, even in my six-inch heels. Had to be nearly 6’4”.

He wore a tailored black blazer. His red satin shirt underneath had a few buttons undone, the lack of a tie made it appear much more casual. Broad shoulders guided my gaze down to a tapered waist. Black slacks and elegant shoes. Clearly better taste than most, if not all, of the men in this place.

Which begged the question: why would he be dancing with me?

My eyes only widened when he pulled me flush against his chest, almost causing me to stumble over my uncomfortable shoes. My breath hitched and I caught the scent of his cologne. Musky and alluring. Nearly as intoxicating as the blackberry drink Lily made me.

He leaned in, eyes boring into mine before his lips brushed my ear. “Can I buy you a drink?”

Yes. Yes, you can.

I nodded, and I could feel my cheeks heat up at the charming smile he gave me. We walked over to the bar, out of the booming music. I gazed at him, observing his form out of the bumping pit of undulating bodies. He was long and lean, but that didn’t discount the muscles bunched under his jacket.

My skin felt hot to the touch, enthralled. I ached for another touch. Desperation coiling in my chest, unlike anything I’d felt before. He summoned the bartender, brushing styled black hair out of his eyes.

Lily strode over to him, concocting two drinks by the time I took a seat on the stool next to him. My body buzzed with excitement, my pulse hammering against my throat. She gave me a smile and a wink as she handed me a new blackberry cocktail and him a tumbler of something strong with a saffron yellow hue.

But his eyes were more golden than his drink. He took a sip, and turned to me, his tall frame leaning against the bar. He held out his hand, “I’m Orion. And who did I have the pleasure of dancing with?”

Jesus Christ. His voice was as smooth as his appearance. As enthralling as the cologne he wore.

I cleared my throat, hesitantly and rather awkwardly shaking his hand. “Adira,” I answered.

“Adira,” he murmured, tasting my name on his tongue. He smiled again, those dimples softening his intimidatingly strong features. “What brings you here tonight? You don’t seem like someone who would frequent these sorts of places.”

I sipped my drink, feeling oddly at ease. But I blamed that on the alcohol. “What gave me away?”

“I would’ve noticed you before.”

My eyes dipped down. “Because of my scars?” I chuckled humorlessly, mainly trying to cover the shame I felt. “Yeah, I know they’re disgusting.”

“Disgusting?” Orion asked, his tone surprisingly soft.

My eyes tilted back up to him, my voice getting caught in my throat as he reached forward, boldly cupping my face. I was frozen, shocked to the core. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

“Who told you that?” His thumb glided against the deep scar on the side of my cheek. The largest one on my face. The roped, thick silver skin forever branded me from the accident.

I didn’t answer. Saying it out loud would hurt too much.

“What brings you to my club, Adira?” he asked with a tone that demanded an answer.

“Your club?”

He only smiled knowingly, his hand on my jaw loosening enough so I could pull away.

My cheeks were on fire. Even my boyfriend wouldn’t touch my scars like that. I wasn’t used to the attention. I took another drink, swallowing down the potent cocktail. “I’ve had a really rough day.”

Orion arched a handsome brow, pulling the stool beside him out to take a seat next to me. He faced me, legs parted comfortably, completely at ease. The exact opposite of how I felt. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

I gulped, rubbing the back of my neck. “Why would you care? There are a hundred other women here that would love your attention.”

“But they don’t have my attention,” Orion said. “You do.”

I sighed, my stiff shoulders slouching. Something about Orion made me comfortable. He shouldn’t. A smile that told me he knew more than me and a gaze that felt downright predatory, but it only made him sexier.

“I lost my job today,” I stated.

He tilted his head to the side, never once separating his gaze from mine.

“They told me my face scared away clients.”

“So they’re the ones that told you that you were disgusting,” he wondered out loud, sipping his drink.

“No, that was my boyfriend.”

A smirk pulled at the side of Orion’s lips around the glass. “He sounds like an asshole.”

I shrugged, feeling numb. “An asshole cheating on me with my best friend.” I made a throaty noise, tipping back the rest of my drink. “After I got fired, I went home. Wanting to drink an entire bottle of wine and cry about it. Figure out what the fuck I was going to do. I wanted comfort. And instead, I heard my boyfriend of five years getting real comfortable with my childhood best friend.”

“Rough night sounds like an understatement,” he replied, combing my dark hair back behind my ear with his long fingertips.

I helplessly tilted my head to the side as his fingers gently stroked down my throat. Tingles fluttered across my skin.

“Do you want to get back at them?” Orion asked, false nonchalance almost hiding the violence promised in his tone. Hairs stood up on the back of my neck, desiring more of it.

I thirsted for it.

Desire I ached to have him feed. A dormant lust pooled in my belly, moistening the fabric between my legs. A shudder crawled up my spine and back down again.

“What do you propose?” I murmured, eyelids fluttering as his fingers caressed my collarbone, heating my flesh the way I imagined his lips would. His eyes flared with excitement.

“Come upstairs with me, Adira.” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand. “End this night on a good note with me.”

I wanted it. My stomach drew in and I could feel when my eyes darkened with lust. I pressed my body against his, not caring about how desperate I came across. My hands gripped his belt, bringing us even closer together.

God, the smell of his cologne lit the fire even hotter. I drew my nose up the column of his neck, inhaling how drunk he made me feel. It wasn’t the alcohol either. This was different.

It was him.

Orion blurred my vision. A purely primal desire snaked its way inside of me as one of his arms curled around my waist. “Lead the way.”

I don’t remember going upstairs.

The next thing I remember is the sensation of silk sheets against my back. Soft light from the bedside lamp. My hands slid up his shirt and ripped it open. A golden torso and the imprint of his heavy cock in his slacks.

I had no control over myself. I was so hungry. A desperate ache throbbed between my legs. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had sex. I always felt too damaged to be wanted.

But Orion made me feel wanted.

I gave myself over as he pulled my dress zipper down, revealing everything. His tongue traced a path across my chest, sucking and teasing pebbling nipples. I remember crying out with every touch of his fingers.

My eyes rolled back as I let him have his way with my body. Claiming every inch of me. His mouth explored me, all my puckered scars. Deacon never touched me the way Orion was. Orion’s tongue met the apex of my thighs, delving inside of me. I screamed, thrashing and moaning helplessly. Damn near sobbing as he brought me to a mind-bending climax.

I grabbed a handful of his hair, seeking his mouth. Hunting his lips. Needing a kiss.

One of his hands pressed over my mouth. “You don’t get my mouth,” he growled, eyes flashing dangerously.

His cock teased my core and I cried out. I don’t know when he had time to find a condom, but he did, pushing his way inside of me. My body clenched around him and he groaned, vocally enjoying this as much as I was. Maybe even more.

The room spun with every pulse of his hips, spearing me deeper and deeper. I reached up to grab him again, needing him to go faster.

Darkness dotted the edges of my vision. It was too much. Everything felt too much. My back arched and I screamed, but he wasn’t done with me yet.

Another moan forced its way out of me, sending me into another delirious high. He pinned my hands down on the bed, hovering over me. His eyes ate me up hungrily as if taking inventory of my skin.

I let him take all of me, feeling the world tremble. Everything he wanted. He slammed into me over and over again, his abs clenching when he finally finished, gasping and pulsing inside of me.

I felt too weak to move. My body felt heavy. My throat felt too tight to say anything.

When he noticed me staring, his eyes narrowed. Slowly, he removed himself, covering me with the blanket at the foot of the bed. He pulled his pants on, the button down over his shoulders before he turned back around.

He didn’t say anything, only observed my face. I blinked slowly and he gripped my face gently, rocking it from side to side with an expression I could only describe as perplexed. My breathing deepened and soon enough I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.

Slumber enveloped me.