Chapter One
Azara
“Bored.” I shoved the merman off my lap, his brilliant azure hair spilling across his muscled bare shoulders. Sprawled across the white leather couch, his cloudy eyes attempted to focus on me as a pout puckered his lips. The guy was so full of balax demon venom, he couldn’t see straight.
The pounding bass shook the floor of the VIP area, but I barely noticed the writhing bodies on the dance floor or the scantily clad servers toting trays filled with an assortment of beverages and delicacies from the supernatural and human worlds alike. Not bad for a night club in the Underworld. No, my mind was set on a different sort of delicacy—I scanned the nearby couches for my next victim.
A shock of dark hair blotted out my view. “Tsk, tsk, cuz, you know the rules: no eating the clientele.” My cousin ticked his head at the barely conscious merman. “Why don’t you finish off your snack?”
“It’s no fun when they want it, Thax. Half the thrill is the chase.” Who knew getting your soul-sucked was an aphrodisiac for some? This merman had begged for it. But it was the stopping part that was tricky.
The dark lord peered over the glass ledge beside the table, down into the mass of dancing bodies. “Perhaps I can ask Rizan to procure you a donor with acting skills? A little hunting game around the club, maybe?”
“No.” I rose to my feet, abandoning the elite table my cousin had acquired for the evening. “I’m going to dance.”
“Have fun.” Thax waggled his fingers at me. “But not too much. Explaining away the death of a war lord or upper level demon isn’t as easy as the commoners.”
“Right. Whatever.” I spun away, tugging down the hem of my sequined mini skirt. Winding through the smattering of VIPs in my sky-high stilettos, I found the staircase down to the first floor. Rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty of the Underworld wasn’t really my thing. I’d met three of the six war lords of the realm earlier this evening and found them sorely lacking. My cousin was less than subtle in his intentions. He thought mating me off to one of them would increase his power. Idiot. One day I’d sit on his throne or maybe even our grandfather’s.
A low whistle called my attention to a pair of approaching males. The light-haired one, ran his tongue over his bottom lip and bit down. He extended his hand as he approached, a twinkle in his deep maroon eyes. “Gorgeous, where did you come from?”
“Heaven, of course.” I tipped my head to the VIP balcony overhead. Thax loomed over the bannister, watching my every move.
The guy’s mouth snapped shut, and his eyes hit the floor. “My apologies, my lady. I didn’t realize who you were.” He and his friend scampered away so fast an unexpected chuckle slipped through my lips.
Since I’d taken up residence with my cousin, most assumed I was his mistress—or war lady? He said it was to keep me safe, but I knew he wanted me on a short leash. Only a handful of his most trusted confidants knew my true identity. The other war lords of the realm he tried to pawn me off to believed I was a distant relative. Apparently, incest wasn’t a big problem in the Underworld. Especially not among the demon elite.
Most of the time, I didn’t care. I had zero intentions of mating with any of these brutes. With my she-demon in charge, I felt nothing. Nothing but hunger.
I swept past a group of males eyeing me, the scent of lust wafting around their sleek designer suits. Hades was the nightclub in the Underworld, only upper demons allowed, none of the beastly riffraff.
Hunger clawed at my throat as I passed the sea of twirling bodies. I swallowed hard to moisten my mouth and tamp down on the cravings. I’d inhaled at least half of that merman’s soul less than an hour ago. I shouldn’t have been this hungry.
With each soul I took, I needed more. The heady sensations were addicting, the power after a feeding like none other. Most of all, it took it all away. For a few minutes, I felt nothing, wanted nothing, was content with the void that permanently resided in my chest.
Liar. I shoved down the annoying voice in my head. The voice that occasionally made itself known and interrupted my fun.
Across the dancefloor, my eyes locked on a towering male. Ebony hair and a thick barrel chest with tattoos racing down his muscled arms.
Yummy.
I stalked toward him, my she-demon urging me forward. Just a little taste, Azara. Thax will never know. She was a ravenous little bitch. I shoved my way past entangled bodies, swaying and twirling to the feverish beats. My hips picked up the rhythm as I sauntered closer.
The male’s eyes chased to mine, and I locked him in my gaze. Gotcha. He reached out for me as I approached, a sexy smile splitting his lips. “Well, hello there, beautiful.”
I grabbed his chin and drew his face closer. “No talking. Only dancing.”
“If that’s what you want, baby.”
“And don’t call me baby.”
He pressed his lips together and nodded.
I backed into him, rubbing my back against his front and let the music take control. I’d play with this one for a bit, first. There was something familiar about him, something I couldn’t place but was there nonetheless.
I squeezed my lids shut, and a pair of silver eyes danced across my vision. A flash of emotion streaked through my chest. I sucked in a lungful of stale air, the pang so acute it stole my breath.
The male’s big arms came around my waist, and my eyes snapped open, dispelling the image that haunted my thoughts. I leaned against him and met with something hard. Already? We’d barely gotten started. I took a step forward and whirled around. Someone was getting too friendly, too fast. I wanted his soul, I didn’t care for the rest.
He beckoned me closer, crooking a long finger in my direction. I continued to dance and ignored his request, my eyes on the DJ. This guy was good—really good. He put some of the famous human DJs to shame. I spun around to the intoxicating beats, and a hand wrapped around my bicep. The guy jerked me back, forcing me against his arousal once again. A low groan vibrated in his throat.
Spinning around, I pierced him with my steeliest glare. “It’s not going to happen, buddy. So get your friend down there under control or I’m out.”
“Is that so?” His pupils thinned into tiny slits, and a ring of gold lined his irises. “Do you have any idea who I am?”
I popped my hands on my hips and glanced up at the towering demon. “Oh please, impress me.”
“I am Drayax Thornholt, warlord of the third realm.”
Oh great, another one of the dark demon douches my cousin was trying to pawn me off on. “That’s great and all, but that still doesn’t mean you can use my butt as a scratching post for your carnal urges.”
“You are a female meant to please me. Why wouldn’t you want to serve a dark lord in the ultimate gift of passion?”
Was this guy nuts? I wasn’t serving anyone anything. I was wrong earlier…whatever I’d found familiar in this man was a mistake. “Listen, Drayax, do you have any idea who my grandfather—”
Thax jumped between us and snaked his arm around my waist. “Hold your tongue,” he hissed in my ear, then turned to the horny warlord. “Ah, Drayax. I was looking for you earlier. I see you’ve met Azara.”