Netherworld: Drop Dead Sexy(42)

“Todd went out of the room. I was standing next to the bed, and I saw him sort of freeze after a couple of steps. He said nothing, just stood absolutely still.

Tristan mused, “The vampire must have captured him with glamour right away. What happened next, Brandilynn?”

“It was strange the way Todd froze and didn’t say a word. I thought he’d discovered a burglar, and I came to the doorway to see, to help him if he needed me. I reached this point and … and … it was cold, empty, like a void.”

“Definitely vampire glamour,” Dan muttered. “He immobilized your friend, and then he snared you.”

“I heard a whispering, like far away. Not really a voice, more like intent.” A trembling had seized me, remembering that cold nothingness I’d been imprisoned in.

“Your friend Spaulding might have done this deed himself, but he was ordered to.” Dan glared at Tristan. “We’re talking an older vampire with the kind of mind control that can hold two people at once, Tristan. Not only that, but he stalked Brandilynn and followed her here. This was planned, not opportunistic.”

Tristan looked scared and angry all at once. He asked me, “You’ve never dated vampires in your work, never been around them?”

I fought the curl of disdain that wanted to come out. I hated that I remained so bigoted despite having finally banged a vampire. Nevermind he wasn’t a vampire when I did him, but Tristan was still one of them. Time to stop being so darn high and mighty. “The company I work for doesn’t serve paras, but I go to parties with clients, parties with vampires and weres in attendance.”

“Did you recognize any of my people when you came to the hotel last night?”

“No, though I believe your sister and a couple of your staff have been present at some of the functions I’ve been to. I knew about the glamour thing, so I kept my eyes down when I was around your people.”

Dan paced back and forth, his brow heavy with concentration. “Then there were men who didn’t mind being seen with you publicly, who might not have minded others knowing they hired escorts. Can you think of anyone who fits that description, who might have been friendly on a personal basis with paras?”

“Snoot Lassington.” I felt a rush of excitement. Snoot had been mean enough to introduce me to the paras he knew, even though he was aware I felt uncomfortable around them.

“The personal trainer?” Tristan sounded excited too. “Several of my shifter staff go to him.

Dan stopped pacing, coming to rest in front of me. “Can you take us to his house?”





Uncertainly, I answered, “Yeah, I guess.”

“What’s wrong?” The weight of his hand on my shoulder comforted me a little.

I looked at the two men. “Snoot’s into BDSM. He’s geared more to sadism and likes to give more pain than I like to receive. I stopped seeing him after he ignored my safeword and got way too rough. Quite honestly, he freaked me out.”

Tristan stroked my hair. “He can’t hurt you now Brandilynn. He won’t see you if he’s home.”

It wasn’t the prospect of seeing Snoot that bothered me. I worried more about Dan, so new to my particular brand of sexual expression. I couldn’t imagine what he’d think after getting a look at the paraphernalia I’d enjoyed with Snoot before he got abusive.





Chapter Nine





I wasn’t surprised when, despite my best efforts to the contrary, I materialized us in Snoot’s playroom. After all, this room had made the biggest impression on me.

A padded sawhorse-type bench with restraints sat in the middle of the room. Shackles hung from chains attached to a wall. Whips, floggers and leather straps hung in the open closet, waiting to be wielded. Painted black walls sported rows of built-in shelves that held other implements of pain and bondage.

Dan’s face was comical in its shocked expression. “Holy shit. Sorry Brandilynn, I know you don’t care for the cursing but … wow.” Wide-eyed, he wandered the room.

“Yeah, Snoot’s into his toys. He wishes he had a big basement so he could have a whole dungeon setting.”

Tristan grinned like a kid in a candy store. “No chances of a basement with the low water table here. Nice setup though. Did you spend a lot of time in here?”

“While I was seeing him. It was fun until he used a taser on me.”

Dan looked horrified. “No kidding.”

I swallowed. Snoot had been beyond scary that night, ignoring my screamed safeword. I’d lost control over my bladder, and he’d lost a steady Thursday night playmate. “I dropped him as a client after that, and he was blacklisted from the agency, not to mention the local kink community. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it, Tristan.”