Page 19 of Sleep With Us

“We need to find a weak-willed guard, someone easily manipulated who has access to the rest of the club,” Reynard said, going over the plan we’d agreed on.

“Right. Yes.” If my brain hadn’t turned to Jell-O, I’d have known where to find such a guard. “Erm. The stage?” I pointed one way, then the other. “There’s security there.”

“Alright, let’s go there.” He grasped my shoulder and peered into my eyes. “We must move fast, Sebastien may already know we’ve left the room.”

“Uh-huh. Fast. Yup.”

“Adam?” Black lashes swept closed, then opened again, presenting mesmerizing eyes. “Are you alright?”

“No. Yes. No. Uh-huh. Fine.” Except for the overpowering urge to drag him back into that room and make him order me around some more. Maybe try out some of those restraints? Have him say my name to chastise me.

A giggling pair of demons stumbled out of a nearby room and headed toward us. Reynard scooped me to one side and propped me against the wall. He waited until they’d passed, and then his firm hand cradled my chin, tilting it up. He examined my face. His smile faded. “I was under the impression you were immune to my talent, but it seems I was mistaken. My apologies, Adam. It will wear off.”

“No, no it’s good, it’s fine, I just . . .” I just really needed to drop to my knees and suck Vampire Daddy. Right here. Right now. If he told me to, I’d do it in a heartbeat. This was . . . new, and kinda weird. But good weird. Like feeding Zee was good weird.

“We’re here for Zodiac, remember?”

Zodiac. Yes. I needed to snap out of it and focus. “Alright—I’m all right. Let’s go.”

We hurried from the warren and back up the stairs, following the sound of thumping music, through corridors and up more steps, then emerged into the main stage room and dance floor. Colored lights flickered and swept across the crowd, but the chance of anyone paying us any attention was slim. Most people watched the male demon dancing naked on stage.

“There.” Reynard had spotted a security guard. Like a shark scenting blood, he carved through the crowd. “Good evening.” The guard—a gargoyle—turned his head and fixed his gaze on Reynard’s. “We are the most important people in this club tonight. You will escort us to Sebastien’s suite. Anyone who attempts to stop us, you will deal with.”

“Yes,” the gargoyle said, his face slack.

“Good. Lead on.”

The big gargoyle trudged forward, cutting through the middle of the room in a not-so-subtle stomp toward the side door. Reynard followed in his wake, and I tagged along behind, glancing around to make sure nobody was paying us any attention. Thankfully, the dancing, naked demon had everyone under his thrall. So far, so good. Now we just needed to get inside Sebastien’s room and find the contracts. If we’d timed it right, Sebastien would already have left, looking for us. He’d never suspect we’d be inside his suite.

The gargoyle plodded through the door, into the narrow stairwell, then up to the landing outside Sebastien’s room, where the keen-eyed demon guard waited.

“Let us through,” Reynard said.

The guard straightened. “Not happening, sucker.”

“Deal with him,” Reynard told the gargoyle. It happened so fast, the guard didn’t have much time to react before he found himself picked up by the neck and slammed into the wall behind him. “Open the door.” The gargoyle leaned into Sebastien’s suite door and popped it from its lock.

Seeing Reynard’s power in action was impressive, but also unsettling. He could walk into any locked room, anywhere, if he chose the right weak-willed person to manipulate. And I doubted he’d used his powers for good his whole life.

I followed him inside Sebastien’s suite. What did I know about Reynard, really?

Sebastien’s sickly sweet cologne choked the air. The smoky glass partitioned off the bedroom area, but Sebastien wasn’t here or we’d have heard him already.

“Where does he keep the contracts?” Reynard asked, after telling the gargoyle to guard the door.

Sebastien had gestured at the back wall with all the cupboards when we’d been discussing contracts, so they had to be there, somewhere. “Check there.”

We tore open the drawers and cupboards, looking for anything substantial that might hold important documents.

“Here.” Reynard flicked open the lid on a black box file, and removed multiple documents. Lost Ones preferred printed documents. They were easier to authenticate that way. Digital files were too easy to hack, delete or alter.

He turned, and spread the contracts out on the glass coffee table. There had to be fifty documents, at least. But I could clearly see that each contract proclaimed its contents to be the property of Sebastien.

We just needed Zee’s.

“What the flying fuck is this?” Zee growled from behind us. Oh no.

I straightened, stomach dropping, and turned toward the bedroom area to see Zee, wrapped in a silky blue gown with blue feather trim.