*Josh

I sighed as I watched the gap between buildings that L had said she'd come out of. The sheer number of women who walked by my car admiringly was distracting, and I was a little Hungry. That thought led me to thinking of L herself even more. I cared for her, and had since before I'd fed my first time. I'd heard that my uncle Thomas had worked out how to keep a doe without killing her, but aside from barely seeing her, I wasn't sure what else to do. The idea, alone, of feeding on her, caused me the sort of physical reaction that had gotten me in trouble the year I'd gone through kine public school, but that was far from new.

It was time for her to come out now, at least, meaning I could stop working myself up about seeing her. Thrilling.

L, Ella Simone, was a twenty-two year old college student who was talking about some sort of graduation and degree. She was more than five and a half feet tall with shoulder length brown hair. Her eyes were brown, and she had the kind of girl-next-door good looks that had made it natural for me to spend time with her. The, uh, size D bulges on her chest didn't detract from that.

And she liked to flaunt.

I smiled as I saw my friend move from the path, shading her sunglass-covered eyes from the bright summer sun. She was wearing a pale green camisole that exposed an interesting amount of cleavage, and hip hugging jeans.

I hopped from the car to wave, even as her scan of the lot stopped on my Ferrari. She considered it as she moved closer with a hand on her hip.

"Shut up," I ordered her happily. "Not a word."

"But, Josh," she protested, her eyes dancing, "I think you were driving this thing last time you picked me up. How tacky."

I had to smile at that. "Shit? Did I? Damn it, it's your fault for wanting to hang out on a Friday."

"You always drive this car on Friday?" she asked, sounding scandalized. "How could you drive it for more than a week?"

I laughed at that, watching as she pulled the door open, then gave me a flirting look and ducked into the machine.

"Mm," she noted, settling as I sat. "You're slippin' rich boy. Your pretty white car seems to be a pretty tan car...the dust around here isn't a great car color. At least your air works," she directed one of the vents toward her face. "I wouldn't want to be seen in this if the air didn't even work."

"Oh shut up," I retorted happily, buckling. "Are you hungry? Because I'm starving."

"Starving?" she asked, focusing on me.

I nodded, looking her over. "You're healthy, right? Wanna go back to my place?"

She guffawed at that.

I laughed wickedly, studying her face a moment.

"Let me see your eyes," she ordered.

"Huh?" I asked, blinking at her, then pulled the sunglasses down.

She considered me a moment, shifting how she sat.

"What?" I asked, focusing on the mirror...my eyes were normally gray. They looked a tad silver for that, though. Damn it! I focused, closing my eyes. It took me a moment to force the demonic nonsense back, then licked my lips and glanced at her.

"You hit on me within three minutes of seeing me after avoiding me for six months."

"I was not avoiding you," I protested at that, settling the sunglasses again as I started the engine. "And I was enjoying your cleavage all the way across the lot, so..."

She laughed wickedly at that, looking me over with interest. "You okay?"

"I'm sober, that counts, right?" I started the car down the drive.

"You're not even going to ask about me?" she demanded.

I blinked at that, pulling into traffic. "Sorry...I figured you'd ride me a few minutes first."

She rolled her eyes, then bit her lip as she shifted again.

"Stop that," I complained, pulling my eyes away from her chest again.

"You're doing it," she retorted. "Let's just go back to your place."

Tempting...tempting as hell.

I bit my lip, considering the girl from the corner of my eye again, but I had a feeling... We hit a red light, and I flicked the sunglasses down to see the silver irises again.

Okay, so I was actually starving? I wanted to taste of the stupid doe, always had, but if I started that she'd be addicted to me like all the other pretty toys...and in the end?

I started cursing.

"Mm?" L muttered, running her hand along my thigh.

Oh if only!

I hit the button for the windows as her hand explored my thigh. It wasn't the first time she'd been hit by my Hunger, and she was usually immune to the lower levels of it—so was her immunity slipping since I'd avoided her the last six months? Or was I really that Hungry?

Ooh, I was Hungry...

I caught her wrist, grinning wickedly at her as the light changed.

So...how best to deal with this? She'd agreed to go to my apartment...no. No. If I started feeding on her things would get complicated.

"Josh?" she asked, leaning closer to me.

I laughed wickedly, shoving her toward the passenger window. "Outside, huh?"

"We're going sixty miles an hour," she retorted, blinking a few times as she turned her head toward the window. "Oh."

"Oh," I agreed, wishing briefly that I'd picked an automatic. I didn't usually drive automatics, but sometimes...

"Um..." she muttered.

"You in control of yourself again?" I asked, glancing toward her briefly.

"For now, I think," she agreed dryly.

"So...we can get a hotel room."

She guffawed at that, punching me in the arm.

I snickered, relaxing again. When she was under my sway she'd always agreed with that one, when she wasn't, I got bruises. "I'm sorry."

"Why can't I live in the normal world?" she pouted at me, leaning her head against the back of her seat. "I want to close the window, but I'd end up all over you...and I figured this would happen at some point tonight, but already? How are you that hungry?"

"Uh...I've been partying," I noted, glancing sidelong at her. "I'm not Hungry enough to pounce someone, but I will be if we hang out too long."

She snorted at me, turning to look at me. "How the hell are we friends?"

I flashed her a grin.

She chuckled a bit, thinking. "It's already seven...and only seven, I might add. You wanna go feed?"

"I told you," I grinned wickedly at her. "We can go back to the manor..."

"I said you go feed," she retorted. "And not on me..." she thought about that a moment, then met his eyes. "Unless..."

Okay, this was ridiculous. She had to have lost her immunities.

"Let's...let's go to Secrets."

"What?" she demanded, focusing on me. "For one, I've never seen that club. For two, I have no way to affording getting in to that club. For three, what the hell would I wear if I could? Seriously, that's not the kind of place you can just get into on a whim."

"Mm, L?" I returned, glancing briefly down to my key ring. "What's my name?"

"Josh?" she asked dryly.

"No...my full name."

"Joshua Alexi Rossi?"

"The real one, not Rossi," I muttered dryly, turning my head to look at her.

She considered my face a moment, tilting her head. "Raith?"

I flashed her a grin that was more a flash of teeth.

"Are you talking about the rich thing?" she added. "Are you trying to say you can afford to get me in?"

"I'm saying that the bastard who tried to turn you away would die."

She blinked at me.

I shook my head slightly, looking her over. "You're right, though, that outfit won't do."

"We can hit my apartment," she noted. "I need to do something with my hair anyway."

"Maybe you missed it," I muttered, lowering the sunglasses so she could see my eyes. "I don't have time for you to do your hair and make-up. We stay alone in a room that long and we'll have a damn good time without needing to hit the club."

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "You're..."

That was the question of the hour, wasn't it? I wouldn't have admitted it to anyone else, but this was L, and she understood enough about the situation to...understand. "My grandfather might show up," I explained quietly. "Both of my moms told me to pack a bag and gave me a ton of cash. If he comes," I shrugged, "I get to find a hotel room."

She lowered her head, and I saw her sad expression again. She'd cried when I'd first told her about my family; how my birth mother couldn't claim me as her own without putting me on my grandfather's radar. My grandfather would kill me or somehow cause my death. My second mom, she was my mom's cousin, she'd claimed me. They'd both raised me, but I hadn't known about the bullshit of my birth until I was in high school.

I shook my head, turning into the department store's drive.

"Hey..." L muttered, sitting up.

"Hush," I retorted. "I want to go to the club, then party tonight. I want you to be safe with me, huh? This...I can't tell you no tonight," I met her eyes briefly as I pulled into the valet loop. "And if it comes to it, I won't. I need to go feed."

She looked down, nodding slightly.

"Chin up, we'll have fun," I muttered, touching her chin briefly.

L shivered slightly, blinking as she met my eyes.

The stuff of her fantasies was sweetness and passion, a comfortable bed with someone that made her happy—it always had been. Now, though, there was a slow torture involved...she'd found herself another lover, then.

The valet opened her door, smiling as he offered her his hand, and I nodded at the second man, who'd opened my door. There was something bitter about my darker nature touching L, something unclean and impure about it...and knowing those little changes in her fantasies always left a sour taste in my mouth. I needed to stop touching her.

"Good evening, sir," he muttered, blinking at me a few times.

"Be a good man and keep her near the door," I muttered, pulling his hand briefly up to my lips as he reached for the keys.

The poor man tensed very slightly, but his eyes were glued to mine. I nodded my head briefly as I let him take the key and the bills, grinning as I moved quickly around the car to Ella's side.

"I'll...keep it...waiting," the guy muttered, looking slightly uncomfortable as he looked the lot over.

"What did you do?" L hissed at me as the second man pulled the store's door open for us.

"I didn't do anything," I retorted, sliding my glasses to the top of my head. "I don't want to be in here long."

"You want me to pick an outfit from here and go?" she demanded dryly.

"No, I'm picking the outfit from here," I retorted, looking around and spotting the women's clothing. "You're trying it on to make sure it fits, and then we're going to Secrets. We'll stay there until I've fed and you've gotten bored, then go find another party...and another party...and then it will be dawn and we can go watch sunrise before going back to my place for wild and wholly fulfilling sex...before you tell me you have to go, the butler orders you a cab, and I sleep until seven tomorrow...wanna do it again?"

She guffawed at that, smacking at me.

I flashed a wicked grin at her, looking around briefly. Her hand on my arm provided me with another opportunity to win her, but I fought the instinct as I pulled away from her touch. I wanted her, that was not a question, but I wanted her to be her, not my pet.

I shook my head, pushing the thoughts down hard. The other aspect of not loving L was the fact that if I did, and we were intimate, I'd never be able to touch her again.

Maybe I should do it, she'd be safe from me then.

"Here," I muttered, stopping in front of the rack of white dresses that had caught my attention. It was a slinky sort of material with a slinky sort of cut, the sort of thing that would wow any man who looked at her. "What size?"

"What?" she demanded in disbelief.

"Just tell me your size," I retorted, giving her a dark look.

She gave me a slightly sour look, then leaned forward and grabbed a dress herself. "I'll try it on," she informed me. "But no promises."

I flashed my teeth at her again, looking around until I spotted the shoes. "What size feet?"

"You don't ask a woman her sizes," she protested at me, her expression miffed. "Nines, but..."

I winked at her, indicating the changing rooms as I went.

She sighed, heading that way as I turned to the shoe area. It took me all of three minutes to find a suitable pair, flats that would be latched around her feet so she could run, then turned and headed for the changing section.

"L?" I muttered as I entered the back area. The assistant smiling her most charming smile as she moved up to me curiously.

"Hold on," my friend returned, and I listened as she shifted and the material moved. Her heartbeat changed very slightly, and I grinned as I waited. That either meant it looked good or it looked horrible.

The door to the changing room opened, and she stepped out with her lower lip between her teeth.

The dress hugged her curves, and she blinked at me a few times before smiling a little bit.

"Mm, you make me starving," I muttered, leaning forward to kiss her...and stopping myself forcefully as I shoved the shoes into her hands.

"These are cute," she noted, "but I can't afford..."

"Shut up," I retorted, yanking the tag off the dress.

She stared at me.

"Sir..." the assistant started to protest.

I waved her off, considering my friend as she slid into the shoes and considered them.

"So, this is a home run," I informed her, leaning over and grabbing the box. "Get your stuff and I'll pay."

"What?" she demanded, focusing on me intently.

I smiled at her, then turned with the assistant to head for the register.

"That was an...interesting purchase," the woman noted quietly.

"I decided I wanted to hit a club," I explained, passing her the tag and the box. "She would have taken all night to get ready and I'm not interested in that...so here we are."

She laughed a flirty laugh at that, scanning the items.

While I put the code in for my card, L moved almost nervously from the back area with her clothing in hand. She didn't look fully comfortable, and the uncertainty made my Hunger almost roar through me.

...steady. I had to be steady.

The woman passed me a bag with the empty shoe box in it, and I held that open to my friend.

"Okay, let me get the security tag," the assistant muttered, taking the little implement from by the register and turning to mess with the back of the dress.

"I don't know," L said quietly, setting her stuff inside the bag. She was studying my eyes uncertainly.

"I took the tag off, there's no returning it now," I muttered happily. "You look wonderful," I reassured her as we started for the exit, waving thanks to the cashier. I glanced to L's breasts again.

"I swear you're worse than any other man I deal with," she informed me, meeting my eyes pointedly.

I grinned at her again, then looked around. "I need to stop once more, for ribbon, and you need a clutch."

"If it's white," she said happily, "I'll disown you."

I had to laugh at that, meeting her eyes again.

"Um..." the valet who'd handled my car stopped on his way to the front. "That was fast," he looked L over appreciatively, then met my eyes again.

I smiled my charming smile at him, amused at watching him become uncomfortable. I had no taste for males, but my power was just as happy to consider any kine food.

"Your car is..." he turned without taking my ticket, moving...to my car. It was parked just up the drive.

I winked at the second valet who was giving me a skeptical look...until L moved into his line of sight. His focus moved to her more enjoyable features, and I ran my hand down her back and onto her rear. She tensed slightly at the touch, and I was glad the dress didn't allow for that to be skin-on-skin contact. How in the world I would get through the night without taking her if I couldn't go five minutes without touching her?

The valet I'd influenced moved to hold the door open for my friend, then moved around to hold my door open as well. He was mostly avoiding my eyes, considering my body. I hesitated long enough that he looked at me again, grinning wickedly as I offered him his tip. I had given him one before and that wasn't necessary, but not tipping them on pick-up was rude. I licked my lips slightly as I pulled his hand up and pressed the side of his finger to my mouth briefly, and slid into the car as a long shiver ran through him.

"You're an ass," L whispered happily to me as I started moving. The valet was standing where I left him as I navigated through the lot, and I didn't look back as I pulled into traffic.

"I'm not so sure about this dress," she muttered, running her fingers along the hem.

"Ella?" I said seriously. "We're getting onto the belt and opening the windows would be horrible. Do me a super huge favor and just...stop...doing anything?"

She snorted at that.

"I haven't been controlling my hunger," I noted, glancing briefly to meet her eyes. "I've spent the last six months cavorting like a rich playboy, and my darker urges aren't understanding why I don't park and ravish you here and now. I didn't realize how hard it would be today, or I would have gorged myself last night, okay?"

She nodded slightly, looking down.

"What do you want to do? Once I've fed?"

"It's too hot to do much," she noted, folding her hands in her lap. "Maybe go to one of those patio restaurants? We could eat somewhere nice, and then decide what we're up for."

I nodded at that, liking the idea.

But first, a quick stop for a clutch and ribbon...I could fix her hair, drive myself nuts by her sheer presence, and feed.

I watched her hands trace the hem of the skirt again, wondering if she realized she was doing it, then forced myself to focus on the road. It wouldn't do to crash. 'No, Officer, I'm not drunk, I was just imagining what would happen if I seduced my friend.'

I forced the wicked smile from my face, changing gears.


*L

Secrets was the sort of club that you saw in spy movies. It was the whispered background thing that everyone knew about and no one thought it was real. It had come up in school at one point, and Josh had laughed delightedly before leaning over and whispering in my ear that he'd take me if I put on a school-girl uniform.

He'd told me about it when we'd hung out, too. After I'd turned eighteen he'd happily informed me that I could go with him whenever I said the words.

I watched the casinos as we drove on the far side of the strip, almost admiring the bright lights and wondering wryly if traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard was moving at all.

We pulled off the freeway, and I noted with vague amusement that Josh was ignoring me. I didn't mind, it meant he was controlling himself. It was just amusing to see his eyes stop and pan back the other direction as we waited for the light.

It didn't take us long after that to turn into a dark street. It looked deserted, the kind of street you don't walk alone at night—or at night at all, even with friends.

...but then again, I was with a vampire.

I grinned slightly at that idea as we pulled into a parking garage that was sparsely lit. It seemed incongruous to the surroundings that the bottom two floors were full.

After we'd parked, he looked to me again, then smiled slightly. It was the look he gave me when he knew I wasn't happy about something, and tended to mean he was going to make it right again.

"Is this safe?" I asked quietly, wrapping my arms around myself as I moved to his side.

"Of course it is; what would hurt you?" he protested, wrapping an arm around me. "You're with me, and we both know I'm Buffy on steroids."

I had to snicker at that, relaxing into him a bit. He'd told me before that Vegas was mostly for vampires, and specifically for the White Court. He hadn't told me what else there really was, though. Something about idiot wizards and haphazard witches. He'd happily informed me that mythology was based in truth, and I had no idea beyond that.

White Court vampires were bad enough.

We moved through the darkened street as cars flowed by on the main road, and I looked back behind us to see if there was anyone.

He turned us before I could finish my scan, and I half tripped as he caught me and blinked at me. There were steps leading down, three of them, to a simple metal door. In the top left corner was an engraving, one word in fine calligraphy. Secrets.

I looked up to Josh.

"It's not nearly so intimidating as that," he reassured me quietly, pulling out a key ring. It only took him a second to unlock it, and I blinked at the curtain that was hanging just enough inside that a person could stand. He leaned to my ear. "Trust me," he whispered. "Don't say anything."

I nodded, allowing him to prod me forward. The passageway was short, just long enough for maybe three people to stand in front of a man in a suit. He was brawny, his hair cropped short...and large. He looked me over wordlessly, then nodded his head to Josh and stepped aside, pulling a second metal door aside with him.

I barely caught a second word engraved in that door, using the same calligraphy. Shh.

I allowed him to steer me through the door without bothering to speak...not that he'd have heard me through the sudden rush of deafening music.

A cry came up from the crowd as a low growl came from his throat, and I blinked around an empty entryway. It was maybe four feet wide and probably twelve across. There were benches set around the area, and water features on the ends. The walls were lined with white velveteen drapes, and the floor was patterned with white and deep blue tiles. On either end of the entryway, there were stairs up, and the drapes hung around the openings like they were windows.

I blinked as he led me toward the one on the right, smiling down at me.

The music was...industrial techno? It had some definite techno tones, but seemed somehow...darker.

"I'll put you on my tab," Josh muttered in my ear as we moved nearer the steps. I could see a railed-path from the entrance, and people were packed around it. The crowd seemed to writhe to the beat, and there was something unwholesome about what little I could see.

Women started screaming as we stepped to the edge of the stairs, and Josh's second low growl made me shiver as the air went cold around us. It was a primal sound, implying need as stabs of pleasure shot toward my groin from his hand on my waist.

Even as we took our next step the music changed. A hard and demanding beat rocked the room and I saw women writhing with it, their backs arching as they closed their eyes, dropping their heads back.

"This is my song," Josh informed me with a wicked sort of pride.

I met his eyes, blinking as I saw how silver they were becoming.

We moved down the path as that music—his song? He had a song? Was it one he'd picked for them to play? I wasn't sure what to make of it, but the women...and a few men, seemed to be enjoying it far too much. He led me easily from the walk to a bar that seemed to flow along one wall. The shelving was white, and the bottles of alcohol kept on the shelves were lit with a white light—it seemed pristine, somehow, and a blue strip of light ran across the top of it. Fountains flowed down some of the shelves, carefully contained and beautiful. I could feel the dampness of the air after the hot desert dryness outside.

The bartenders, all shirtless young men, had bodies that had been sculpted for modeling. They were wearing flowing white pants with the same blue stripe down the hems, and were, to the man, hot.

"Mm, Joshy," one muttered, moving to lean across the bar as he considered me. "Please tell me you share."

Josh laughed his wicked laugh, more showing his teeth than smiling. He tossed a card on the counter and the guy looked him over thoughtfully as he took it.

His attention moved back to me as he turned toward the touch-screen that ran his register. "What do you want, beauty?" the guy asked me, meeting my eyes.

"A White Russian," I decided, sliding onto a stool.

"Keep my lady happy but don't poach," Josh ordered the man as he took his card back. The song flowed into something else.

"I can't poach, I'm kine," the guy retorted, grinning wickedly at him. "I'm not even addicted."

"Yet," Josh returned, his tone amused. "Want to change that?"

The guy's hands came up in surrender as he stepped back and looked away.

"L, this is Brian. He'll treat you right, huh?"

Brian nodded his consent.

"I'm going up," Josh added, turning to indicate a set of stairs that wound around three or four stories of balconies.

There was water everywhere. Mostly, the building was dark. The lights were simply to decorate the strip of wall between floors. There was also lush vegetation growing in fake-rock settings along the walls. The back of the club was hidden from view by a slightly raised platform that was surrounded by more vegetation...and an imitation lake with a gazebo. The approaches to it were winding paths of stone set into the water—there was also a screen of water surrounding it. They were small strings of liquid spaced every six inches...or maybe every foot, it was hard to tell from this distance. The people inside the area seemed to be...

I felt my cheeks flush as I realized that the area was carpeted by pillows...and everyone in that area was writhing together in groups or pairs.

Brian laughed wickedly. "First time in Secrets?" he muttered.

I turned back to him, realizing he'd pushed a small glass to me. I stirred the brown liquid with the straw, nodding as I looked down.

"Shh," he whispered, pressing a finger to his lips as his eyes sparkled. He moved, though, heading toward another customer...who he also flirted with.

I took a few good swallows of my drink, appreciating the flavors, then turned to look again—avoiding looking at the sex pavilion.

Some of the dancers weren't dancing.

I blinked as I watched a few of them, jerking my attention away in embarrassment to look at the first layer of the balconies. The stairs wrapped around them double-helix style, and I clearly saw someone straightening with a straw to his nose, pulling it away and wiping at it as the woman with him bounced forward to lean down as well. I looked toward the next layer of stairs and realized that I couldn't make out much. All I really saw was handcuffs hanging from the ceiling.

What the hell?

Okay...Secrets really meant sex and drugs. Good to know.

I shook my head a bit as I took another drink, focusing on the top layer or two. I couldn't tell properly, because the angle...and the fact that there was another water-screen there.

I shook my head, turning back to the bar and noting that Brian was watching me with a decadent sort of smirk.

"Mm," an unfamiliar male voice purred from just behind me. A hand reached up to touch my hair, which Josh had wound white ribbon through. "Your colors catch my attention."

I turned, alarmed, blinking at a tall man with dark hair and gray eyes. He looked similar enough to be Josh's brother.

"My name," he added, moving to lean against the bar next to me, "is Andon Raith."

Oh shit.

I offered him a smile, trying to remain relaxed.

He looked me over, his tongue moving over his teeth. "You arrived with my cousin, yes?" he added easily. "Poor Joshua never did understand that real ladies should be attended." He slid onto the stool, tapping his card as Brian came over.

"Mm, give the lady anything she needs on me," he suggested, offering the card.

"No need, Mr. Raith," the bartender slid the card back with only his fingertips. "Mr. Rossi has already taken care of her."

Andon blinked languidly at him, then smiled back at me. "Quaint. What is your name, darling?"

"L," I supplied, feeling my pulse start to flutter.

"I'm delighted to meet you," he muttered, taking my hand. His touch was a thrill of pleasure through my body. He leaned forward as the throb settled to a warm beat between my thighs...and kissed my fingers.

Oh...don't!

I let out a soft moan as the pleasure shot through me, yanking my hand away and pressing it to my chest as I stared at the man. I'd had more than enough of that with Josh, who had never done it to subvert me—Josh had done it to prove a point and to tease me.

"Mm," he purred an amused sound at my reaction. "Joshua may know how to treat you right yet. Please, Miss L, it troubles me to see you sitting here alone. Dance with me?"

I was swept from the bar before I could respond, blinking as Brian took the remnants of my cup and set it down on the lower portion of the bar—and covered it with some sort of white thing.

I raised my eyes to Andon's, gauging his mood. His eyes hadn't changed color at all, at least.

He physically moved me with his body as we joined the crowd, closing his eyes as the music became louder. It didn't take as long as I expected to find an out, at least. Girls had joined us and started grinding against him. After only a few moments of that, his grip on me loosened and he leaned down to kiss the girl on his right. She started making noises and grinding more into him until he removed his hand entirely from my left to rest it on her hip.

I took advantage of the moment and slid away, heading back for the bar.

"You got away from him quick enough," Brian noted happily, lifting a glass from behind the bar. There was a white sleeve around it, made of the same material as the napkins. It was, however, somehow sealed to the wet edges around the bottom. "See this?" he said, tugging at it...which made it rip. "You saw me put this on, huh? No one's tampered with your drink."

I tore the sheet away...and downed the rest of the drink. I didn't like Andon for some reason, and didn't want him to know anything about me.

Brian laughed, considering my face. "Andon's alright, huh? Might even be more fun than Joshy."

"I'm only here while Josh feeds," I retorted, sliding the empty glass at him. "Another, please."

"Sure. Joshy tips better than most...and is nicer to me," he studied my face as he mixed the alcohol. "You know him, huh? He's not serious, right? He tells me 'yet' and asks me if I want to change it all the time."

"He knows it bothers you," I noted with a smile. "He's messing with your head."

That made the guy look mildly relieved as he nodded and passed me the cup.

"Thanks," I tilted my head at him. "I suppose that's why you call him Joshy?"

He laughed at that, his teeth flashing white as his eyes sparkled. He pressed his finger to his lips in a gesture that seemed...he probably did it all the time. His eyes flicked past me briefly. "He's realizing that you're not with him. If you're serious about avoiding him, you should melt into the crowd. Joshy has never brought a woman in and left her before."

"We're friends," I admitted with a slight smile. "He doesn't want to hurt me."

"They all say that, honey," he advised as he looked to my cleavage again. "He'll be your friend until the moment your orgasm kills you."

I made a slight face at him, taking the drink and turning to walk away. I moved along the edge of the lake by the sex pavilion, trying not to watch and failing a bit. It was...sick and fascinating at the same time.

Behind the pavilion was a lounge area in the same whites and blues as the entryway. There were white drapes hanging around the area, sectioning off portions, and waiters running around between them with food.

My stomach rumbled.

Unfortunately, Josh had left me at the bar—he could have set me in one of those cubicles, but he'd left me at the bar.

I shook my head, mildly amused to note a group of men sitting along the edge of the restaurant and watching inside that sex pavilion avidly.

Well, no point in drooling on their food, they might misunderstand.

I sighed, turning back toward the club and wondering why I didn't smell smoke. That was uncommon in a place like this—a place for show. Ah well, I wasn't going to complain. It was a nice change.

I'd seen everything on the main floor, so I moved for the stairs. I was glad I did, too, because as I looked around the dance floor, I realized that Andon—at least I hoped it was Andon and not Josh—had moved up to the bar. Brian leaned forward, his happy smile flashing as he shook his head. He shrugged after a moment, indicating the dancers with a sweep of his arm, and Andon turned to look around as well.

I felt the urge to run, but he was a predator. Instead, I maintained my pace, blinking as I realized something. The shoes were both flats and strapped to my feet; I could run in them if I had to. Had he meant to do that? The dress wasn't something to run in, but the shoes...

I looked into the area of the first floor as I climbed by it. People were coming down around me, but other than occasionally brushing against me they weren't reacting to my presence—and there was more than cocaine in that dark area.

My stomach rolled with nervousness, and I jerked my eyes away from the syringe someone held. I hadn't realized it before, but there was a second floor over the dining area, and it seemed to mainly consist of couches. They were sectioned off much like the lower area, but there were no curtains. Ah, a smoking section. That must have some damn good vent fans around it.

I shook my head, focusing on moving past the drug-floor. The second balcony seemed to be mainly a bondage festival, and I didn't let my mind focus too much on the various writhing bodies inside it. I could see several dark heads, but none of them had the little curl of hair that Josh's did.

So...that meant above.

I looked up to the watered-in areas, realizing that the stairs were against the back wall. I could hear a woman moaning and laughter. The music was quieter, too.

I bit my lip as I moved to the entryway for the first of the floors—it was indeed two. All I could see, though, was women. They were moving around in lingerie or topless, and I had to avert my eyes from one who had on only a skirt.

So, Josh would be up.

I followed the curve around to the next level, realizing that there was a balcony through a glass door at the end of the stairs. As I moved to stop at the top, I heard a man's vocal enjoyment and blinked since it was all sectioned off.

I couldn't help but wonder why, with so much sex all over the building, they'd bother putting up the white curtains. A dazed and tottering looking woman wandered toward me, her eyes distant...with white streaks in her hair.

I blinked at her as she turned and disappeared through an opening. I could hear a door close from behind it, and shook my head as I turned and headed onto the balcony.

...to see the city.

I smiled slightly as the hot air surrounded me, covering me like a blanket after the cold air conditioning inside.

I moved across the patio to the railing, looking down to the less attractive area nearby, and realizing that further out, after dark, the view would be stunning.

"What are you doing up here?" Josh asked in confusion as the door made the whoomping noise of shutting again. "You shouldn't be up here."

"Your dear cousin Andon took me to dance," I retorted, meeting his eyes. "And for some reason, I was left at the bar and not in the restaurant."

"You said we'd go eat after," he muttered, moving closer to me. "I figured you'd, you know, wait."

"I'm hungry," I retorted, pouting at him as I considered his unbuttoned jeans. "Are you done yet?"

"No," he snapped back, gesturing. "It'll take me a half hour or so more."

I sighed, nodding as I looked down again to the ground.

"What did Andon say?" he muttered, leaning against the railing next to me and crossing his arms again.

"Nothing, really. Just making conversation. He didn't let me tell him 'no' about dancing, though, and then three other chicks joined us."

Josh snorted, rolling his eyes and turning toward the view, leaning against his arms. "I can't stay out here with you, you know."

"Go, feed," I flicked a wrist back at the building, realizing that the air around him seemed cold. "I'll stay out here a few more minutes, then head downstairs again." I shook my half-full glass at him. "I'll need more by then."

He smiled slightly, studying me with his silvery eyes, then shook his head and started for the building.

"How did you know I was up here?" I called.

"I saw you," he shrugged. "The girl I'd been with can't take much, so I sent her back to rest and saw you come out."

The tottering girl with white hair?

I shook my head and nodded at him, looking back to the smog-covered city.

It wouldn't do me to forget that he was a predator—and like Brian said, he'd tell me I was his friend until my last orgasm killed me.

We needed to get out of this place—it was touted as a hot spot for Sin City, and while it had that in spades...it was also sort of sad. I sighed, pushing away from the railing and noting that Josh was escorting the dark-haired girl in the skirt to that top-most level.

So...I had a half hour. It was time to wander back down those stairs and get another drink. At least Brian was happy to talk to me. That had to be something.


A/N: Oh, I feel like I should mention that the first two chapters are a little...clunky. I had the idea for this story a few years ago, but couldn't manage to get past the start of chapter two. Eventually I realized the problem was that I was aiming to make it a full-length novel (90k words-style), and this was not that intense. I intend to eventually edit that beginning, but the story starts moving and grooving again after that-so give it a chance. 3