Again, sorry for the wait, but hey, we're here now! Enjoy!
*****
There was a time when a dream was a warning sign for Sam. His demon was a bitch when it came to dreams. He had more fantasies, more dreams than he was sure was healthy.
Having a lack of a sex life with a demon that fed off lust was hell.
It was Alina he was dreaming about now. He was dancing with her, body pressed against hers. They were in some night club, jazz playing as they softly swayed together.
She had her wonderful body molded to his, lips against his neck as she kissed at it, sucked on the flesh right where she had bit him. "My beautiful demon," She whispered. "Why do you run from me?"
Surrender loomed in Sam's mind. He was eager to say that he wasn't running, that he would happily come to her. "You marked me. You marked me and left me alone."
She pulled away slightly. Her blue eyes were darkened by lust, desire, twin sapphires boring into his soul. "I didn't want to scare you, my demon." She whispered, and she reached her hand up to stroke his face. "But I figured that if I took you to my home, you might not appreciate it."
"You bit me. Without my permission." He snapped. "Seriously. Who does that?"
Alina leaned her head in, as if she was scenting him. It seemed odd to do it, for a dream. He swallowed, and he looked down. "Someone, Sam, who knows what she wants, and is used to taking what she wants." She dragged her tongue, surprisingly enticing. It was rough, and it rippled across his skin, raising the hairs on his neck.
"What are you going to do, Alina? Take your money, I don't want it." Sam pulled away, though her grasp was strong on him, holding him in place. He squirmed.
"I will come for you, Sam." She whispered, and he knew it was a promise, not a threat. "I will come for you, and take what is mine. You will take my mark, become my consort, and you will be my bogatyr."
"Boga-what?" He frowned.
"All will be explained to you in time, Sam." She whispered, her hands sliding up to his shoulders. "But I am going to sink my fangs into you, and make you mine." Then she flashed her fangs, and he woke up.
It was cold in the basement of the Playground. It was horribly weird that Darren slept in the basement of the club. Sam found himself sprawled over the bedsheets, his breath heavy. He groaned softly as he ran a hand through his hair, brushing it out from his face.
The air conditioner kept the place cool, and his sweat felt icy across his body. "What the hell..." He slid out of bed, taking his time to take stock of the room. He was aching for her, feeling the desire course through him. He wanted to submit, to give himself over to her, but she just wanted too much. He walked from the room, grabbing his sweater as he walked into the hall.
Darren was waiting in the dimly lit corridor. The walls were painted a rich red color, which matched the tank top that the vampire was wearing. He looked right at Darren's eyes, and the confidence in the vampire prince's eyes really made Sam forget that the vampire was a full six inches shorter than him.
"Have a nice nap? Crashed pretty hard there. I could heard you turning and tossing there."
"God, I really hate vampire hearing." He murmured. "It was...unpleasant. I think I was sharing a dream with Alina."
"Sharing a dream?" Darren tilted his head to the side, thinking. "I've never heard of such a power, but it is interesting."
"She'll be coming for me." Sam said, his voice quiet. "I'm not sure, but I think she wants to make this bond between us stronger, to place a claim."
Darren reached a hand out, and touched his shoulder. "Hey, hey, Sam, I won't sell you out, my vamps will help you out."
"Would they?" Sam asked, his voice quiet. "I'm a stranger, Darren, and I'm not one of them."
"I can order them." Darren said, softly.
Sam paused for a moment, regarding Darren. He saw the look in Darren's eyes, one he had seen before in others. They weren't interested in protecting him, or being his friend. It was the power he offered, the promise of pleasure untold that an incubus could summon. Darren was his friend, sure, but he was also very interested in his blood and his sex.
"I won't have them giving themselves up for me." Sam said, his voice softer than he had intended. "If she shows up, we'll try to play it safe, but if worse comes to worse...I'll give myself to her." But he sure wasn't going to make that kitty happy about it.
~
Alina opened her eyes, bringing herself from the trance. The smell of burning candles filled the room, the vanilla scent wafting up to her nose. Candles were important in this ritual, though the vanilla scented ones were a concession to the fact that the candles that Hannigan bought were often dreadful. The man knew his stuff, but he didn't have a were's sense of smell.
She slid from the bed, and put out each of the candles that surrounded the California king bed. Once that was done, she walked out to the living room of her penthouse. Hannigan was sitting there, head tilted inquisitively. "Miss Petrov?"
"A success. As it turns out, in a meditative state, I can...reach out, for lack of a better term, and touch his mind, at least while he sleeps." She noted he frowned slightly. "You disapprove."
"I have never seen a shape shifter before you with your abilities, Miss Petrov. However, might there be better uses than this...boy?"
Alina swallowed. She didn't want to share her plans, even with Hannigan. Not yet, at least. The truth of it was that hers was the largest ambush of tigers outside of Asia that she knew of. She had only encountered two males in the past twenty years. Both of them were incredibly aggressive, and had tried to take her tigers away from her. Males staked out territory, claimed it, and often died trying to expand it.
The wolves created familial units, and the big cats were so often solitary hunters. It left the tigers in an odd situation.
"All will come for the benefit of the ambush, Hannigan, have no doubt of that. I require half a dozen tigers."
"Of course, Miss Petrov, but for what?"
"I need to know Darren's base of operations. We are going to take a male tonight, and we will do it by force if need be."
~
It was eight in the evening before her contacts came through. The Playground. What a silly name, Alina thought as she rode in the back of her town car. Of course, vampires were always an odd sort.
Eve had been handpicked for the assignment. She was eager to return to her queen's good graces, and Alina knew it that much.
She and the five other tigers were dressed in leather jackets, jeans, and assorted concealed weapons. Vampires were tough, but they weren't invincible. All they needed was enough slugs put into them, and their slow beating hearts would eventually give out.
Hannigan slowed the car to the front of the building, where he noted. "Club's not open yet."
"No, it won't until ten." Eve noted, her voice much more confident than it had been when Alina had been threatening to crush her chest. She had a sheath draped across her lap, with a short sword inside it. "I looked it up on my phone."
"Good work," Alina encouraged. "Let me be clear, girls." She said, speaking into the ear piece she had, so the girls in the second car would hear. "I am here for a mate. The vampires are cowards. Strike quickly if violence is warranted. We don't want to start a war, but our target is an incubus, not a vampire. He isn't even a local. Darren's people hold no loyalty to Sam Taylor. We want to play on that."
"And when we have him?" A voice she recognized as Katrina spoke up in her earpiece.
Alina smiled. She had her own plans. "Follow my lead."
They got out of the car, and approached the front door of the club. "Eve, check the door."
Eve filed ahead, holding the sheath in one hand as she advanced, ready to draw it in a moment. She checked the handle on the door. "Locked." She reported, and she looked back to Alina. With a quick, encouraging nod, the tigress jammed her shoulder against the door, and it flew open quickly.
"Excellent," Alina drew her own weapon, a cavalry saber that had seen quite the usage, and walked right in. Alina had gone for a fierce, intimidating look, decked in leather from the neck down. She wore a form-fitting biker's jacket, zipped down to show her cleavage, and leather pants that hugged her frame. Boots went up to her knees. The jacket was red, but everything from the waist down was black with red piping.
"Oh, hello," She called. "Anyone home?" Her tigers filed in behind her, all drawing their own blades. Katrina, a short woman with dark hair, drew a sawed-off shotgun instead.
There was a long moment where silence hung in the club. It was a converted warehouse, with a high ceiling and catwalks with lights and speakers strapped to them. Alina's vision, which took a second to adjust to the dimly lit club, slowly revealed that they were vampires standing on the railing. They held no weapons, but the incredible speed and durability of a vampire could prove a challenge even for the tigers.
"Hello, kitty," Darren's voice came from the other side of the club. Darren stood over by the bar, sipping a glass of amber liquid lazily. "What brings you here, all geared for war?"
"You know what it is." Alina hissed. She stalked towards Darren, her body practically humming with power. She wanted to strike at him, rip out his spine. "I'm here for Sam Taylor."
