The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) Read online

  “Hey what’s up…WOW! Holy shit, you look fantastic!” She then stuck her fingers in her mouth and wolf whistled for the second time today. I rolled my eyes and turned round to show her the part that I was having a problem with and she started tugging like a woman possessed at the cord. I nearly lost balance a couple of times so she motioned for me to grab the desk for support. If I had known it was going to be like a mission to get me secure in this thing then I would have just opted for a bra! Once she had finished strapping me in, she stood back and said.

  “Voila!”

  “I’d say thanks if you hadn’t have broken most of my ribs already.” I gave her a cheeky grin before going to look in the mirror. Thankfully I had the foresight to put on my black trousers before Libby had come to my rescue so she didn’t have to see my naked behind. This however made me look like some kind of dominatrix!

  “Go get ‘em tiger!” Libby said before leaving me to continue getting ready for my big night. I frowned as I heard her making cat meows as she made her way downstairs. I took one last look at myself as I reached for my black and grey striped top that I was planning on wearing for work. I gulped as the corset under it had made my curves all that more…well curvy! It had forced my body into a perfect figure of eight, making my assets seem all that more accessible. I tied my hair up into its damp twist and added a touch of mascara to my dark blue eyes that were already starting to show their doubts about tonight. Would I really go through with this?

  “Yes…Yes I would!” I said out load as I grabbed my bag and made for the door.

  Club Afterlife was buzzing with its usual Friday night energy as the band was playing their first set and the early signs of drunken Goths were starting to show. I had been working behind the bar for about an hour and already I was regretting not just changing into my sexy lingerie at the end of the night. The thong at least, because in my opinion these were only meant to be worn when there was a very high chance that they would be taken off again soon, like ten, twenty minutes tops!

  I must have looked like I had piles because I couldn’t stop fidgeting with my behind. It was even more embarrassing when Mike even asked me if I was alright. Why I didn’t just nod that I was fine I don’t know but for some reason I had lost all normal functions and thought that saying ‘Bug bite’ then motioning to my arse was a far better explanation! One word…Idiot!

  I had to suppress the urge to smack myself on the head. Thankfully it didn’t take him long after that to act like I had scabies and forget the question he’d asked. Unfortunately it didn’t take me long to forget my shame and start fidgeting with the thong again. All I could think about was how thankful I was to be working tonight downstairs and out of the eye line of my watchful boyfriend. I had looked up a few times to see a figure standing there but considering that they could see much more of down here than we could up there, I could never be quite sure if it was him or one of his guards.

  For a short time RJ and the gang had taken my mind off my unusual circumstances and for the first time tonight I forgot about my arse! Jack displayed the same boyish charm that had you smiling at just the sight of him when coming to order drinks from the bar. When I helped him take them to our usual table he asked me to join them. I told them I would after my shift and didn’t think Draven would mind me having one with my friends before going upstairs to join him. Plus it would give me a chance to get some liquid courage down me before my time to do the dirty.

  It was then that I saw something that couldn’t have really been there. I was walking back to the bar when I saw someone staring at me in the crowd. His tall strong body stood out from the mass of jumping Goths. The band was playing their last song which was the one everyone knew. ‘Stunned in to thunder’ was the name of the song and it turned out to be quite fitting as now there I was stunned into the very core of where my feet wouldn’t move from. The lights flashed in and out of darkness for effect and every time they came back up, my eyes would blink to find him still there staring at me, with intense eyes burrowing into mine. It felt like I was standing there naked, with nothing to protect me from his luring smile. One fang exposed from deadly lips and he winked one serious eye at me, which struck me as more of a warning than anything that a wink generally implies.

  “Lucius!” The name escaped in a whisper but as soon as I said it, the lights went off and when they illuminated the club once more before the song ended, he was gone. I shook my head and whispered “Couldn’t be,” as I walked behind the bar to finish my shift. The image of Lucius standing there in a long, black jacket that reached the floor and hair sleeked back, enhancing the hard features of his face, stayed with me until I heard my time was up.

  “What did you say?” I asked in a rude way, as I could have sworn I heard it being said in the same voice that has started haunting my dreams.

  “I just said times up, you know, time to go enjoy life?” Mike had a confused look which was quickly turning to concern.

  “Oh, yeah…life. Sorry I guess I’m just tired.”

  “That Reed been working you too hard?” He smiled at me like I was some lost girl he had just found at the mall.

  “Yeah, but that’s nothing new,” I replied before ordering a drink from him. I grabbed my bag from the back and found my drink ready and waiting for me to take over to my friends’ table. As soon as I sat down I felt better. I could quietly listen to everyone’s stories about their week at college and RJ was never short of distracting conversation. She talked about what everyone was doing for Christmas vacation and how she wished that she had a family abroad to go to visit.

  “So how about you Kaz, you going back to England for Chrimbo?”

  “Umm, I don’t quite know yet,” I said half heartedly, which she took for something other than nerves.

  “Oh I get it, now you’re with the God Draven, you don’t want to lose sight of that fab bod of his! Hey, not that I blame you, if that was me I wouldn’t let him out of my sight for a second.” At this point Jack punched her on the arm and gave her an evil look, and for such a sweet guy, he really did dish out the dirties like a pro!

  “Sorry Kaz, my sister is a little slow when it comes to stopping the nonsense from sweeping from that swallow little head of hers…It’s all the holes!”

  “Hey! What’d I say?” I laughed while rolling my eyes and downing my drink.

  “Its fine, but I better go. Oh before I do, are you guys all coming here tomorrow night?”

  “Hell yes, you did say that there was a hot surfer dude coming right?”

  “I didn’t say hot!” I said feeling the heat reach my cheeks, which made Jack smile at me.

  “Yeah but that’s how I know he’s hot, because when I asked you on Monday, you couldn’t say yes when Sophia was around.”

  “So from that, you got Hot?” I laughed as Chaz rolled his eyes at the rest of the group, making Lanie do her usual giggling fit.

  “NO but when you went the colour of my favourite jello then alarm bells rang.” She said letting her pink hair cover half of her smug face.

  “Whatever!” I said lamely.

  “Alright, we will see you tomorrow, go and tell wonder boy we all say hi.” I couldn’t stay angry at RJ, not when she made me smile so much. RJ and me had been an unlikely pair from the beginning but after everything I had been through in my past, she was a perfect friend. She drew attention to herself like bees to pollen and it kept me in the shadows where I was very happy to be.

  When first moving here, she quickly became my ticket to a new life. My first friend who had welcomed me into her group, despite our differences. She knew there was something under the surface of my past and didn’t buy my reasons for moving here for one second but she never asked and for that I was more than thankful for. Every now and again I would catch her looking at my covered scars and I could almost hear the question playing out in her mind but again she never asked. And for RJ (Gossip queen extraordinaire) this was like torture.

  This is how I knew she loved me. It was he
r never faltering ability to keep her mouth shut when it mattered the most. I suppose that is why I forgave all her little digs about Draven, not that there were many. But still it must have been hard, to see some new girl access the only thing that was completely out of bounds for this small town. Afterlife was like a drug and when the Dravens were around, that drug turned into full blown obsession to fuel their new fix!

  After saying my goodbyes, I made my way to the back staircase. Draven had told me that he liked to see me come up the front main staircase but I felt too exposed doing that, so I slipped past the crowd of drunken rockers to the door near the stage. This door had always been kind of hidden and it was only when I first went up to the VIP that I even knew it existed.

  The two men that filled the doorway took only a slight look at me before they opened the door granting me access. I had used this door so many times you would have thought by now that I would at least get a smile, or some small indication that they recognised me. But no, I would always receive the same odd cold stare from the both of them. This is what made me shiver as I climbed the stairs.

  Once inside the VIP I felt the warmth hit me like walking off a plane into a hot country. Every eye focused on me for a split second before returning to their strange companions. It had taken me a while to get used to the unusual characters that the VIP had to offer but now I knew they were all Demons and Angels, well let’s just say, it didn’t make it any easier, more enlightening but no way easier.

  As I walked round the tables, not being able to help the Marilyn Monroe swagger I had going on, thanks to the steel bones in my corset, I noticed Rue, the blind waitress, give me a nod as a hello. It was only when I saw her palms turned slightly outwards did I realise how she spotted me. She had tattoos of eyes on her hands that did her seeing for her. I thought this was so cool when I found out, plus she had always been really nice to me, even when some of the others had looked down at me for being human.

  I winked my own hello back at her and walked round the front to the top table. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of Draven in his black suit. Everything was black, his shirt, tie and waistcoat. He was simply breathtaking, like some modern day dark knight.

  He was looking very serious until his eyes met mine. The harsh glint he was portraying quickly left them and was replaced by a warm glow of fiery purple. He quickly stood and was around the front of the table in micro seconds, making his body turn into a black blur. When his arms pulled my body into his, I let out a gasp at the surprise with him getting to me so fast. It was kind of dating superman in that way, and instead of the cape and spandex, I got wings and a Armani suit! His hands tightened around my waist and his eyes searched out my lips.

  “I missed you, it was cruel to make me wait!” His voice was deep and it rumbled out like a passionate man that had been starved of the touch he craved. I had no time to reply as his kiss drew me in like a spellbound race. His lips covered mine with perfect precision and expert timing, making my toes want to curl up like the witch in the Wizard of Oz. Of course the effect was similar to a house landing on me when he kissed me like that!

  As you’ve already gathered, Draven had no problems displaying affection towards me in front his council, hell the whole VIP for that matter, but on the other hand I still couldn’t help my burning cheeks from near exploding. When he finished tasting me, I looked down with embarrassment, which made him chuckle before raising my face back to his eye line. He smoothed his thumb across the blushed skin and smiled to himself.

  “Mmm keep blushing like that and I will stand here kissing you all night my girl.” This comment didn’t help with the way my cheeks were melting like lava rocks but again he found this amusing and laughed to himself as he pulled me behind him to his table. As always his council all stood for his approach and he sat me before taking his place next to me. There I was greeted by all except Aurora. No surprises there! She looked as dazzling as ever, in her peacock coloured dress and hair glittering like the morning sun. Boy I hated her!

  Sophia grabbed my arms and looked me up and down before giving me a cheeky wink. I had already seen her once today at college and told her my plans about tonight. This had made her clap her hands together in the middle of class, making everyone stop and stare like we were two morons that found the French revolution exciting. Reed had to swallow his tongue before committing the cardinal sin and asking Sophia to explain herself. If there was one thing you didn’t do in this town and that was to piss off a Draven!

  I had my regular bottle of Corona waiting for me and when I felt Draven’s hand start to feel up my leg I couldn’t help but start necking it.

  “Whoa, easy there, rough night?” Draven teased as he knew full well that my night was completely uneventful. Ever since dating Draven my customers had all been super nice to me. I would even hear Jerry on the phone relaying my night back to Drave if anyone had caused me any trouble. I thought that this was sweet but a little OTT. I never said that I knew about these little check-ups but I did find it funny whenever he asked me about my night.

  “Just thirsty I guess” I said biting my lip at the bad lying I was doing.

  “If I didn’t know better I would say you look nervous my Keira.” His velvet voice tested me, causing me to shrug my shoulders so that I didn’t have to continue my lying. I sat quietly while the conversation continued on about how there was going to be some new guests coming to stay at the club. I put this down to the fact that the Dravens had stayed here much longer than usual and how normally they would have moved on to their next destination.

  Draven explained that I might be seeing a few new faces soon as now that they were staying, his leaders were going to have to come to him to conduct their business. The business being the controlling of the rest of America’s supernatural. See, the way this worked was all down to the Angels and Demons that Draven put in charge of the different states. He was after all just one man (so to speak) and he couldn’t deal with every supernatural on the planet. So the world was drawn up into sections, which were all governed by district members of his council. A bit like police and politics.

  I tried to follow the conversation but I shifted, uncomfortable in my seat thanks to my squeezed rib cage that felt like it was sucking the air from my lungs. I twisted the bottle of Spanish beer round in my gloved hands and focused on the bubbling movement it was creating when Draven banged his fist down on the table in anger.

  “NO, that is not good enough! I am their master and they will do as I order, there is no negotiating on this! For too many years they have lived in the shadow of the unknown and I will no longer stand for it. If they doubt the truth then let them stand before me and speak it but I will NOT succumb to their wishes just because they forget how to Fuc…”

  “Dom!” Sophia shouted at her brother, preventing him from saying the F word and this calmed him slightly. He was standing while making this speech and the entire room had been silenced by it.

  “It will be handled brother.” Vincent said in a cool, controlled voice and I doubted there was another alive that knew how to calm his brother’s temper like he did. The very sound of his voice had Draven sitting once more.

  “I have no doubt about that brother!” He said harshly and I noticed Aurora’s eyes flicker with a burning passion at the sight of Draven’s outburst, the sight made me feel sick in the pit of my stomach. Draven grabbed his claw shaped shot glass with his anger still in full flame beneath the flexed muscle and emptied it of its glossy liquid. This seemed to help with his rage and when he opened his eyes again they turned to me.

  “Forgive me, I hope I didn’t scare you.”

  “No, its fine,” I lied. Of course I was scared of Draven when he was in a rage. I would have to be an idiot not to be! He knew I was lying but smiled at the effort I made all the same. He leaned into me and held my head with his big hands so that he could kiss me lightly on the top of my head. I felt my pulse race at just being closer to him and my bottom half felt the fire his touch created.
I wanted him so badly I was close to exploding but the way the conversation continued I knew it would be a while yet. I almost felt like telling him that my body was fully accessible again and I was waiting for him to take full advantage of it right now but that would ruin my plan.

  I decided to make the first move and after three drinks and an hour of debating Demon politics I got up from the table.

  “I think I’ll go to bed.” I whispered and he was about to stand when I stopped him by laying my hand on his shoulder.

  “It’s alright, I will see you when you’ve finished.” He nodded and took my hand, raising it to his lips to kiss it goodbye. Sophia got up as well and stated that she too was tired and would walk me back to Draven’s room. On the way I asked her how I would know if Draven was coming back to the room before he saw me. I wanted to be prepared.

  “I will get a message to him to knock before he comes in, that way you can get into position before he sees you.”

  “That will never work, can you imagine Draven knocking to get into his own room?” She laughed at the thought and admitted that no, she couldn’t.

  After a cheeky grin and a mischievous wink she was gone, leaving me to enter Draven’s bed chamber alone. As usual, there was a drink waiting for me and after I downed the first glass of rosé wine, I poured myself another. I let my bag slide to the floor before my clothes followed. I slipped each layer off as I let the wine slip down my throat to help with my nerves. Soon I had a pile around my feet and nothing covering my skin apart from my corseted bodice, stockings and thong with garter belt that were covering next to nothing. The set that was promiscuously called temptress was starting to work its magic by making me feel sexier than I ever had in my life!

  I went into the bathroom with my bag to add the extra touches to the look I was trying to achieve. I let my hair down and ran my fingers through the still damp waves, creating volume. It hung down my back like a mane, curly around my curvy figure and moving with every heavy breath I took. I tried to control my shaking hands as I fished around in my bag for my black silk gloves that for once weren’t fingerless.