Taste Me by Tamara Hogan

species. “So, this is what all the secrecy is about.”
    Jack raised his eyebrows in question.
    “The rooms at SebSec that I can’t badge into. The servers and files I can’t access.” She looked away from him for a moment. “I thought you didn’t trust me.”
    “I trust you implicitly. But Lukas and the Council were a little more challenging to convince, and it wasn’t my secret to share.” Jack rose and sat in the chair Sasha had just vacated. He looked her in the eye. “I’m so glad you backed away from that firewall when you did.”
    “Yeah, well, it was close,” she muttered, “and we both know that at one time I probably wouldn’t have.” They both sat in silence, let it wrap them comfortably. “Wow,” Bailey finally said.
    “Yeah, it’s a lot to think about,” Jack agreed. “There are aspects of their world that I’m still trying to learn about, to absorb. But tonight, all that has to be put aside. Scarlett’s safety is the priority.”
    “What is Lukas so uptight about?”
    “Lukas has a genetic anomaly which forces him to taste and smell emotions as he absorbs them. He’s battered by stimuli 24/7, and a lot of it isn’t pretty.”
    “Kind of like emotional synesthesia?” she asked, referring to the sensory integration disorder which enabled some humans to see numbers in color, smell music, and taste scents.
    “Yeah. He doesn’t talk about it, but the bottles of antacids scattered around the office speak for themselves. And yes, before you ask, he and Scarlett have a history. He’ll be struggling tonight.”
    Bailey pursed her lips. “So, let me get this straight. Basically, the Underworld Council is coming to an orgy.” She started giggling as she tried to imagine some of humanity’s historic rulers doing the same, but stopped as a horrible thought struck. “Is Dick Cheney a vampire?”
    Jack blinked. “Not that I know of.”
    Bailey took the mouse from Jack and clicked on the “Species” link. “What do I need to be on the lookout for? Cliffs Notes version, please.”
    “The werewolves tend to be vocal, physical, and exuberant, and will probably shed clothes as the night goes on. The vamps might flash some fang, but most of them aren’t about to strip off in public. The valkyries have been officially reminded that they can’t fight in the building. The sirens shouldn’t be a problem, unless they band together and start singing along with Scarlett. Jesus, I hadn’t thought about that one,” he muttered, grabbing his mini-comp and tapping a note. “But in terms of crowd control, the incubi and succubi will pose the biggest challenge. They’re the most vulnerable due to their susceptibility to siren song, but they emit pheromones which loosen everybody’s inhibitions.”
    “No meds?”
    “So far, the pheromone meds only work for humans.”
    And only three humans in history knew of their existence in the first place. Damn it, Jack had allowed himself to be used as a lab rat.
    Jack clicked deeper into the website, explaining what he knew about the species. Bailey took mental notes on the areas where she needed to spend more time, do more research. And as the facts and factoids scrolled by, she learned Earth’s unvarnished history: how the Underworld Council’s guiding hand had been poised behind countless thrones, influencing events to their benefit, and about how many of humanity’s accomplishments weren’t actually humanity’s at all.
    But it was the small facts that mesmerized her: that vampires’ mythological aversion to the sun was simply because they were allergic to the sun’s UV rays; that incubi drew energy from the aurora borealis, and that pictures of the aurora were prominently displayed in most incubi homes—rather, Bailey thought, like some Christian homes featured pictures of Jesus or Mary, or of that old guy praying over a loaf of bread; that sirens had an affinity for water and waves, and a lot of them kept tabs on America’s big surf breaks,