Chapter Two

Dakata

“Am I going to be able to drag you away from your computer tonight?” asked Christa, her musky scent coiling around Dakata annoyingly as she came to rest her expensively clad backside on the corner of his desk. “It’s Friday, which means that delicious, sweet boy I was telling you about will perform at Earth Space.”

He didn’t acknowledge her as he finished typing a response to the club owner of Dawn. The two acts they wanted to play weekends for the next six weeks had confirmed and agreed the figure proposed.

As he typed, he was aware his sister was annoyingly persistent and would badger him, just like she always did when he chose to work over the more decadent exploits expected of his kind. Demons had a reputation for playing hard, and Dakata was no different. He just preferred to put as much energy into his production company, too.

The artists he managed made him a lot of money and supported his family's lavish lifestyle. Something Christa often forgot when she wanted him to play and put work on the back burner.

With the zipping sound of the email sending, he closed the computer down to sit back in the enormous leather chair he’d had custom designed to fit his bulk. He met Christa’s arched look with one of his own. “You’re bored. What happened to your last plaything? She no longer holding your interest?”

She flipped the jet-black silky strands over her shoulder. “She’s so lame, only wanting to watch TV in the evening. Who wants that?” she said with scorn.

The dress in green silk clung to every sultry curve she had as she reached to fiddle with the crystals that were sitting in a large bowl. These always remained within easy reach of Dakata when he felt the urge to summon.

With skin as pale as milk, and eyes the color of the sky, she looked nothing like him as she pouted when he smacked her hand away.

“You know better than to touch those,” he growled. Swarthy skinned, his eyes were the same color as his hair, jet black, and right now they flashed a warning at Christa, who looked to place her hand back in the bowl.

Their hair coloring was the only thing they shared with their father. Dakata’s was collar length and gleamed under the lights as he rose, towering over his sister. “If leaving is the only way to get you to stop touching my things, then it worked.” In truth, he wasn’t opposed to going out when everything he needed to do was done.

She came and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm, giving him a charming smile that made him wary. “Goody, I can’t wait for you to hear the new wood nymph.”

He groaned and shook his head, confirming his suspicions she was up to something. They walked out into the silent passageway leading from his tower floor office. His staff had long since gone, as it was after nine pm.

In the elevator, she pouted at him. “Aren’t you going to take the bait? You disappoint me, Dak.”

Amused at her antics and willing to play for the time being, he arched a dark brow. “I give in. Wood nymph? Or do you mean a dryad? If the latter, then you must be mistaken, they keep with their own kind and love their tree hugging far too much for adventures past the forest.”

“You won’t care what he is when you hear him sing. You’ll love him, I promise.” Her sultry laugh drew attention as they exited the lift into the large plush foyer of the building.

“Love,” he sneered, “is for the foolish.” Dakata gave a curt nod to the doorman, who rushed to open it for them as he swept them out to the waiting car that sat at the curb. Owning the building came with the perk of not having anyone tell him what he could or couldn’t do. And parking in a restricted zone was one of them.

His driver remained on site twenty-four-seven, and when Dakata exited his office, unless he chose otherwise, it alerted the driver he was coming.

At the door of the huge black SUV, Dakata opened it for Christa to slide into the back seat before he followed her.

“Evening sir,” Miller’s head bobbed at Christa, “Miss, where to this evening?”

His long-term driver for over twenty years, Miller, was one of his most trusted members of staff.

“Earth Space,” Christa replied before Dakata, but Miller waited, his gaze on Dakata.

“Christa is correct, Earth Space, please.” With that, Miller eased effortlessly into the traffic, which was busy at this time of night in the middle of the city.

Soft music came from speakers. Dakata relaxed back against the leather, closing his eyes, and rubbed at his temples. He took a deep inhale, exhaling slowly, only to repeat drawing into his system the scent of frankincense, which coated the air and came through the air con, keeping the interior at an ambient temperature. Frankincense could switch off his chaotic nervous system, calming it.

Dakata liked all things in his environment controlled, and he had to prepare his inner demon for being in open spaces with too many humans and shifters assailing his senses all at once. A demon on a rampage, overstimulated, was not something the public wanted to see or experience. Dakata had to learn that lesson very young.

“If you had more sex to release all that pent up inner tension, you wouldn’t need to do this little ritual to go out in public,” Christa chided gently, keeping her voice low.

“I neither have the time nor the inclination to search for someone to release my ‘ pent up inner tension’ ,” he quoted back at her, letting none of his amusement escape at putting such a mundane label on what happened when his demon wanted sex.

She rolled her eyes at him, crossing her legs, her foot swinging continually as she held his stare. “Sex is good for you and your demon half.”

“That might be so,” he murmured as the car slowed and the sizeable crowd queuing outside the club caught his attention. “But my demon half is very picky,” he continued distractedly. The number of folks on the sidewalk meant the inside would be packed.

He contemplated telling Miller to drive on when Christa reached over to place a hand on his suit sleeve. “No, you are going in. We have VIP passes. You do not need to queue, and we can skip right to the front of the stage behind the barrier that keeps everyone back from the performers.” She didn’t beg, that was beneath her, but she did cajole.

She had ticked off all his complaints, leaving him looking like an asshole if he changed his mind now. Something he chose not to be with family. Everyone else, they could watch out.

He bit back the snarl and met Miller’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Stop, but don’t go far.”

“Sir,” he nodded, easing in front of the club.

People looked at them as they exited the car. At nearly seven feet tall, he towered over mostly everyone. Christa, in heels, barely reached his chest.

She took the hand he offered to assist her out of the car and then had to increase his stride when she managed to walk faster in five-inch heels than most men in flat shoes.

It was a talent.

Her hips swayed seductively, enticing those queuing to gawk. Part of the reason he liked to go out with her was men looked at her and avoided looking at him. Most people assumed they were a couple. This also suited him, and Christa, who was a lesbian and didn’t want men hitting on her.

As always, she was right. They were inside and seated right at the front with a bottle of expensive champagne sat in an ice bucket, away from the crowded area behind them.

The band currently on the stage weren’t too bad but were loud enough it made talking impossible. Therefore he heard none of what the manager of Earth Space was saying to Christa. He could easily have used his power to find out, but he didn’t care.

He took a sip of the sparkling wine, letting it sit on his tongue to enjoy the sweetness. He had a sweet tooth in all things, and he approved of his sister's wine selection.

He brooded over whether she would be right about the singer. The band on stage left some minutes later. When the owner of the club appeared with a microphone, smiling at the crowd, they grew unnaturally quiet behind Dakata. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled, and his demon half became alert and watchful.

“We are thrilled to announce that Silas is back tonight. Are you excited?”

The roar set off his demon, and Dakata visibly tensed to prevent him from revealing himself to the crowd.

They calmed quicker than Dakata expected when the owner stepped aside, and a man walked onto the stage.

Every fiber in Dakata’s body woke up. He inhaled, his head moving to capture the scent coming from the man wearing white baggy jeans and a white half fitted top that revealed an abundance of honey golden skin.

Dryad.

He smelled of the forest. Of earth. A rich tangy scent that lightened that of the crowd behind him. Leaves adorned his temples as rich chestnut hair parted in the middle, fell in soft waves to his shoulders.

“Hey,” he murmured, coming closer to the microphone.

Dakata held his breath with a sense of unexpected expectation, shifting forward in his seat without thinking. Their gazes met, and something sparked there in the warm brown eyes. Then his lips gently curved at the edges and his eyelids fluttered, breaking their connection when the first whispers of the song filled the quiet.