Chapter 2 THE PREDATOR

Dominic's POV

"Why are we here?" Adrian, my assistant asked from the driver's seat.

I didn't answer. No, I couldn't answer. I'd been restless for weeks, and nothing satisfied me anymore. Not the deals I closed, not the women I had fucked that week...

I didn't even know why I had come to this club.

"Sir, this isn't your usual..."

"Just park the car, Adrian.

He knew better than to push. He had been with me for twenty years, and he'd learned when to stay quiet.

When I stepped out of the car, my senses sharpened immediately, I could hear their heartbeats, the smell of perfume mixed with sweat and sex, and I could also feel the energy of bodies moving inside.

The crowd parted as I entered. They always did and humans couldn't explain it. I'm no human, I'm an alien from another planet. The only one of my kind that took the human body.

I scanned the room with disinterest. There were half-naked dancers on platforms, and couples grinding against each other in dark corners,

I wonder what I was expecting when I had come here.

I was about to leave when I saw her.

She stood near the bar, carrying a tray of empty glasses. She has dark hair pulled to the back, and a black dress that hugged curves she probably didn't even know she had. But it wasn't just about her appearance,

It was everything else.

Her scent. It was clean, pure, untouched, also different from every other person in this room. And something else. Something in her blood that called to me specifically.

Mine.

I heard in my head and my cock hardened instantly. My hands clenched into fists and every instinct I had screamed at me to cross that room, throw her over my shoulder, and take her into a room.

I wanted to see the body behind that clothes, kiss and worship every corner of it.

"Sir?" Adrian's voice cut me through

"We should go."

"No." My voice came out rougher than intended.

"We're staying."

I couldn't look away from her. She was weaving through the crowd, dodging hands that reached for her, and keeping her professional smile fixed even though I could see the exhaustion weighing her down.

Then some asshole grabbed her wrist. I was moving before I consciously decided to.

The drunk idiot pulled her close, his hand already sliding down her back.

"Come sit with me, baby. I'll pay double whatever they're paying you."

She tried to pull away.

"Sir, I'm just a server..."

His grip tightened. His hand dropped lower, grabbing her ass.

I saw red and my hand clamped around his wrist before he could blink. I applied just enough pressure to make bones creak.

"Let her go!" I said hardly and the man looked up at me, and whatever he saw in my eyes made him go pale. He released her immediately, stumbling backward.

"I... I didn't... sorry, man, I didn't know she was yours..."

"She is now. Leave."

He practically ran.

I turned to her and up close, she was even more devastating. Her lips were parted as she tried to catch her breath. I could see the pulse hammering in her neck, smell the adrenaline mixed with something else.

It was arousal! She was scared, but she was also turned on. Perfect!

"Thank you," she whispered.

Her voice was soft and It did things to me that no voice should be able to do. It made my cock throb in my trousers.

"What's your name?"

"Ava."

Ava. Ava mine; I should rename her.

I wanted to touch her. Wanted to trace that pulse in her neck with my tongue, taste her skin and hear her moan my name. But I forced myself to stay still.

"Go back to work, Ava. We'll talk later."

She hesitated, like she wanted to say something else. Then she nodded and hurried away. I watched her go, my body still humming with need.

Adrian appeared at my elbow.

"That was subtle."

"I don't do subtle."

"Clearly."

Marco, the floor manager, scurried over

"Mr. Hayes! Welcome, welcome. We're honored to have you here. Please, our best VIP section..."

"The girl," I interrupted.

"Ava. I want her serving my table tonight. No one else touches her or talks to her. Understood?"

Marco's eyes widened.

"Sir, she's just a server. Not one of our... entertainers. If you're looking for company..."

"I know exactly what she is." My tone could have frozen fire.

"Make. It. Happen."

"Of course, Mr. Hayes. Right away."

He practically sprinted across the room while Adrian and I settled into the corner booth. It was the best view in the club where we could watch everyone else from high up.

"You're making a scene," Adrian said quietly. "This isn't like you."

"I don't care."

"The Council won't..."

"Fuck the Council." I didn't even look at him. My eyes were locked on Ava as Marco spoke to her across the room.

She glanced at me. Even from here, I could see her nervousness. But there was curiosity and interest too

She felt it. The pull between us and she didn't understand it yet, but she felt it.

Adrian went quiet, he knew better than to push when I was like this. I watched Marco gesture emphatically and Ava nodded slowly, her eyes darting back to me every few seconds. Then she straightened her shoulders and headed toward our table.

Brave girl.

She approached me, but I could see her hands trembling slightly as she set down the napkins.

"Good evening, Mr. Hayes. Can I get you something to drink?" I heard her say but that made me think of bedroom sounds.

"Whiskey."

"Of course." She wrote it down, avoiding eye contact.

"And for your guest?"

"Same," Adrian said.

She nodded and turned to leave, but I stopped her with a single word.

"Ava."

She froze, then slowly looked at me.

"How long have you worked here?"

"Six months."

"Do you enjoy it?"

The question caught her off guard and i saw the lie form in her eyes before she spoke it.

"It's... fine. The money's good."

"Mmm." I studied her openly. She shifted under my gaze, uncomfortable but not running.

"You look tired."

"It's a long shift."

"When does it end?"

"Two AM."

Three hours? Oh, I could wait three hours.

"Go get our drinks, Ava. And don't worry about any other tables tonight. You're mine until closing."

Her breath hitched, and the double meaning wasn't lost on her.

"I... yes, sir."

She hurried away, and I watched the sway of her hips, I also qatched every man in the vicinity track her movement. It made my jaw clenched. They really needed to know she was mine.

"You're going to claim her," Adrian said, It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

"You can't. You know the rules. Humans are..."

"I don't care about the rules." I finally looked at him.

"I want her, and I'm going to have her."

Adrian sighed. "At least be smart about it. Find out what she needs and make it transactional.

You don't have to bond with her."

Too late for that, but I didn't say it out loud.

Ava returned with our drinks and set them down carefully. She was trying so hard to be professional.

"Will there be anything else?"

"Not right now."

She left again, and I spent the next hour watching her. At some point, her shoulders slumped. Her face fell. She pressed her hand to her mouth like she was holding back tears.

Something was wrong, and I wanted to know what.

I flagged down Marco.

"What do you know about Ava?"

He looked surprised. "

Not much, sir. She's a good worker. She's ever late, plus she ever causes problems. Why?"

"How about her personal life, her family.... Why does she work here?

Marco hesitated, then leaned in to say something

"Word is her mother's sick in the hospital. Cancer, I think. The bills are crushing her ,she...she's been picking up every extra shift she can get."

Everything now clicked into place. She needed money desperately, and I had more money than I could spend in ten lifetimes.

I'd offer her what she needed. In exchange, I'd take what I wanted.

It'll be one night. That's all I'd ask for, one night to satisfy this consuming need and to get her out of my system.

Even as I thought it, I knew it was a lie. One night would never be enough. But that should do for a start.

"Adrian, go get her. Bring her to private room three."

"Sir..."

"Now."

He stood reluctantly and disappeared into the crowd while I headed to the private room, my heart pounding in a way it hadn't in decades, and maybe centuries.

I'd offer her fifty thousand dollars. More than enough to solve her immediate problem, and all she had to do was give me one night.

If she was smart, she'd say yes.

And if she said no... well, I'd just have to be more persuasive. The door opened and Ava stepped inside, looking terrified and brave all at once. Her eyes met mine, and I saw the exact moment she realized that this was what I wanted.

I smiled slowly.

"Close the door, Ava. We need to talk.”