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It was decadent She didn’t kno else to describe it Somehow, a vast expanse of concrete baseed opulence and open debauchery The floors had been covered in hardwood, which still gleamed despite years of feet and who knehat else on it A h Lily wasn’t certain she wanted to knoas dispensed into the heavy crystal goblets that hung suspended above the bartenders’ heads and that they continually plucked to fill hatever was hidden behind the wall of people obscuring the counter fro with the rise and fall of the ht And Lily was pretty sure she caught a glimpse of a dance floor at the far end of the roo, unknown, in the hborhood full of hu for just such a place

The walls were covered in silken fabric, shiht of hundreds of candles They were everywhere, flickering in sconces, dancing on the tall, glass-topped tables scattered rando what should have been a dark, dank place seelow Concrete pillars had been encased in wood, in ed h Lily found herself stunned by the place, it was the crowd that she couldn’t look away froht they looked like beautiful mortals, some dressed impeccably, others in jeans But to look for more than a few ht that had nothing to do with the candles, and each h, to snarl, revealed a pair of shining fangs Many wore clothing that bared their marks, and some seemed to have incorporated more tattoo work, as the bouncer had, to showcase and enhance the signs of their bloodlines They raceful, and the collective sound of their voices was as hout the roohtly and gave her a quick yank when he caught her gaping, wide-eyed, at two incredible-lookinga pretty blonde who also had a ribbon at her throat One was behind her, one in front, and both had their teeth in her neck The blonde, however, didn’t seem to mind Her eyes were closed, her face contorted with pleasure, and her skirt had been hiked up to accommodate--

"If you don’t want to be invited to join therowled in her ear Lily could only s hard and nod She h she couldn’t seem to catch her breath She’d had a taste of what that wo how it could be, iainst the wall…

She stuht of another couple locked in a similarly erotic embrace It didn’t seem to bother anyone; a featched, casually interested, while nored There were no boundaries here, Lily realized, or at least not the same ones that applied in ht, her skin too sensitive And her palm, clutched in Ty’s hand, went slick with sweat and heat Her entire life had been about control and, to a certain extent, denial To be thrust into a place where it seeed, even celebrated, to have neither was

The air smelled like incense and wax, and Lily wondered whether she’d ever be able to s swamped by lust

Then Ty’s breath was feathering her ear, sending hot little shivers over her skin, and she knew she wouldn’t

"There," he said "I can see Anura, in the white, dancing If she asks you anything, don’t answer--let ed here I’m just not sure how much"

It struck Lily that Ty didn’t see, he seemed more tense She looked past him, into the crowd, and ili with an abandon Lily had only ever dreaerously close

"Well, well," et his teeth into you, beautiful? I think it’s tirowled She was fairly certain that the night had just gone completely to hell

Chapter TEN

DAMIEN TREMAINE LEANED casually against the building not a block fro sea of hu since he had been one of them; he really had no s he had done, people he had known, places he had seen, but the memory of what it had truly e of his own ood" vampire society, would alear a mark that kept that from him But he had worked for many of them and had picked up quite a few of their attitudes, particularly about the limited uses for mortals And why not? The House of Shadoas its own sort of aristocracy, Daood life, if not an easy one And fortunately for the Shades like him who had built formidable reputations of their own, there was no possibility that they would be driven out or disappear

The highbloods, vicious, weak-otten how to exist without them

The cell phone in his pocket vibrated, and Da he wanted to deal with, but it had to be taken care of Hell had no fury like an unhappy customer

"Tremaine"

The voice on the other end of the line was so cold Da fro you for? Because despite the fact that I’otten why"