Kiss of the Vampire(43)

She jerked her arm away and faced him. “What do you mean, what was it about? He put his mangy paws on me.”

“It’s not the first time you’ve had unwelcome attention from a drunk, Nix.” His mouth thinned. “It’s just like before,” he murmured as if to himself. “We’re together and you’re losing control.”

“I am not losing control,” she said even as her eyes burned hotter and her head felt like it was going to explode. She hadn’t felt this close to the edge in a long time. “This has nothing to do with you.” She wasn’t so sure of that anymore, but it helped saying it out loud. Sort of. She drew in a breath and held it for a ten count. It didn’t help much. She needed to push the demon back, and fast. “See if Finn is here. I’ll be right back.” Without waiting for his response, she sprinted to the ladies’ room.

The smell of urine in the hallway was abominably strong. The worn carpet wore stains like badges of honor. Stains she was quite sure were more than just urine. Nix grimaced and pushed open the door to the ladies’ room, giving a sigh of relief to find it vacant. Locking the door, she leaned against it, eyes closed. She drew in a slow breath through her nose, held it for a few seconds and then exhaled through her mouth. Repeat. And again.

There wasn’t time to do much of anything, especially not standing in a less-than-sanitary ladies’ room in the back of a strip joint. But she had to do something. Adjusting her purse strap so that it rode across her chest, she lifted her arms above her head and then brought them down in front of her on another long exhale. A slow sideways lunge while waving her hands in the classic cloud movement focused her thoughts. She repeated it to the other side, keeping her attention on her breathing and the technical aspects of tai chi. After a couple of minutes she felt much more in control. Her horn buds receded, her eyes and stomach no longer churned with fire.

She walked to the sink and peered at her image in the water-splashed mirror. Everything was back to normal. Now to go back out and face Tobias and his pheromones.

Was he right? Was it his presence that eroded her emotions, allowing the demon to peek out? Could it be that simple, that heartbreaking?

No! She wouldn’t believe it. But even if it were true, he’d at least owed it to her to talk about it instead of just disappearing the way he had. “It’s not working out,” he’d said, and then nothing. For five years.

And he wondered why she got all stirred up around him.

“Knock it off,” she demanded. She’d just restored her control, the last thing she wanted to do was let the past damage that calm.

She pulled open the door and rejoined Tobias who was still at the end of the bar. “What did you find out?” she asked him.

“Finn was here earlier. Bartender said he talked to another demon for about five minutes and then left.” Tobias’s gaze drifted to the exotic dancer on stage, a different woman from the one who’d been there when they’d first come in.

Nix looked that way, too, in time to see the woman bend over and shake her booty to the catcalls and whistles of the audience. Then she straightened and hooked one arm around the pole, going into a few deep knee bends. As she straightened on the last one, her fingers went to the front clasp of her flimsy bra. She teased the male patrons a couple of seconds, then stripped off the bra and let it fall to the floor.

“Okay, I’ve seen way too many boobs today,” Nix stated.

“I don’t think I have.” Tobias’s eyes flicked to her then right back to the stripper.

“That sounds like something Dante would say.” When Tobias’s only response was a brief twitch of his lips, she held out her hand. “Fine. Give me the keys. You can stay here as long as you like. Enjoy yourself.”

His head swiveled at that. His eyes were appalled. “You’re not driving the Porsche.”

“Hey!” She frowned. “I’m not a bad driver.”

“Yes, you are,” he said as he turned and walked the length of the bar. Nix noticed he made sure to stay between her and the werewolf who stared at her with a mixture of humor, disdain, and anger.

Nix stared right back at him, daring him to get off his stool. She didn’t need her gun or the dagger to take care of him.

He started to get up, but at a look from Tobias he settled back onto his chair. He glared at Nix and then turned his back on her, muttering into his beer.

She shoved open the door and strode out into the fading sunlight of early evening. “God, I always feel so icky when I come out of one of these places. Why in the hell Evnissyen finds it necessary to frequent these places is beyond me.”