Maybe it was.
I mean, the woman ran a kink club for otherworldly creatures, after all.
"Drex got me away from the vampires."
"Got that much. And then?"
"And then broke my enthrallment."
"That's... interesting."
"But they found us. They brought us back. I got away because—"
"Because it's daylight and your masters are a bit, say, allergic to it."
"Yeah. But Drex—"
"Is being held prisoner," Thysa said.
"Yes."
"Okay. So, how did you end up here? Did Drex send you in my direction, so I can send you toward the demons?"
"He sent me here. But not to get in touch with the demons. He wants me to get in touch with a man named..."
"Arick," a male voice cut in, making my stomach plummet for a moment, but Thysa didn't stiffen. No, she didn't even seem the least bit surprised by the sudden interruption.
Turning, I saw an extraordinarily tall man leaning in the doorway with a fit, swimmer's build, long black hair, green eyes, and tattoos that almost seemed like they were moving. But that had to be a trick of the light.
"Yes," I agreed, confused.
"This is Arick," Thysa explained, waving an absentminded hand at him.
"How did... why are..." I rambled, mind racing. I mean, sure, there was such a thing as happenstance.
"He has... ways," Thysa said, shrugging. "Arick is a warlock," she explained in the absentminded way only a woman used to many different kinds of supernatural creatures could.
Me, well, I felt my eyes widening and my mouth falling open.
"A warlock?" I asked, sounding like I was choking on my own saliva.
"Oh, so Drex didn't tell you about me?" Arick asked, moving inside with a sort of feline grace. The man practically floated. "Too busy with... other activities, surely," he added, giving me a wicked smirk.
"No. I mean, yes. He told me he'd gone to a friend to ask about my issue. He left out the whole, you know, warlock thing," I explained.
Suddenly, though, all my thoughts vanished as Arick moved in close, and I realized it hadn't been a trick of the light at all. His tattoos were actually moving. They were almost undulating for lack of a better way to phrase it.
There was something else about him too.
An electricity, if you will.
The air felt like it was sparking around him.
And you could just barely make out the sizzling sensation against your skin from being near him.
Plus, the man smelled good.
Like really good.
In fact...
"You smell like Drex," I heard myself mumble, confused.
A low, silky chuckle moved through him at that.
"I smell like whatever the woman I am near desires most," he admitted.
"Remember that one time you reeked of bologna and cheese roll-ups?" Thysa asked, grinning at the memory.
"That was an odd woman," Arick agreed.
"What does he smell like to you?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Money," Arick explained.
"Oh," I said on an exhale.
"But while we are on the topic of my old friend. I got the feeling that someone was looking for me. I had nothing better to do, so I came to investigate. Drex sent you to me?"
"He's being held prisoner by my... by my former master."
"Ah, yes. Lovely people. Nice shoes. Great taste in wine. An aversion to sunlight."
"Yes, them," I agreed.
"I have to say, I'm glad to know the tips I gave Drex worked for you. I wasn't completely certain. I actually was quite dubious about the account of a preacher's daughter from a hundred or so years ago. Yet here you are. Fascinating."
"Why does no one seem more concerned for Drex's wellbeing?" I asked, a little offended that these were people he considered friends, yet I was the one most worried about him.
"Perhaps because we're not the ones falling in love with him," Arick suggested.
"What? Love? No. It's not... it's..."
"That is the vibe I've been getting!" Thysa said, throwing an arm up in a Thank Goodness I figured It Out gesture. "Love. Of course it was love."
"It's not..."
"It seems futile to object to what is so evident," Arick cut me off. "But back to your question. Drex is immortal. The true kind of immortal. The kind the vampires can only dream about."
"Yes, but he can hurt," I snapped, getting a little tired of hearing that, even if I'd mostly heard it from Drex himself.
"Love, Drex has been around longer than you can imagine," Arick explained. "Trust me when I say he has felt all kinds of pain."
"But not because of me!"
"None of this is because of you," Thysa said, shaking her head. "I don't believe you twisted his arm into taking you with him."
"Well... no. But still. I want to help him."
"And I will assist you in that. But first, let's get you a meal. Then you can explain the details to me," Arick said, holding an arm out, waiting for me to fall into step with him.
I didn't want a meal.
I didn't want to explain anything.
I just wanted to get him out.
But I guess I would have to play along with whatever Arick, and then Drex's demon friends, wanted to do.
"Okay," I grumbled, moving to stand by him.
"Oh, Arick, are you losing your touch with the ladies?" Thysa teased. But then broke off on an almost orgasmic moan when Arick waved his fingers at her. "Oh, you tease," she snapped, giving him a devilish smirk.
"Some other time, perhaps," Arick said, then started moving through the club with me at his side. "Allow me," Arick offered as he led me over toward his slick black Porsche. But when I stepped back to allow him to open the door, he did so without actually using his hand. "I'm just showing off," he told me with a smile as I slid in.
He used his hand to actually close the door.
And to drive.
All the damn way back to his stupidly nice house. Where he forced his chef to make me a meal after demanding to know what my favorite food was.
It was only after I ate that he would even deem listening to me.
"Alright, come," he demanded, holding an arm out, waiting for me to follow him out across his lush lawn with its built-in pool, and what looked like a giant koi pond in the distance.
We were heading for a cabin partially shaded by a wisteria tree that made my heart hurt it was so beautiful.
I wasn't sure what I expected from the cabin, but I guess some of the mismatched craziness of his massive home.
But, no. It was a small space with a single green couch and a ton of bookshelves.
"Ah, yes, here," he said, grabbing a book off the shelf. "This is the one."
"The one what?" I asked, looking at the lilac-colored material book with dappled edges in his hand.
"This is your book."
"My book. Oh, the book about that other woman who broke her enthrallment?" I asked.
"No, love. This is your book. Drex made a deal with me. I help you. I get your story. So, where shall we begin?" he asked, dropping down on his couch, opening the notebook, clicking a pen open, then pausing to look at me.