LITMIR.BIZ

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nodded in wholehearted agreement.

      “Uh, don’t worry,” Elin said. Bay’s life hadn’t just been cut short. Bay’s life had been cut short because of her. Her! Because she’d surrendered to her feelings for him, dragging him into the crosshairs of the Phoenix.

      If he couldn’t live to the fullest, she wouldn’t live to the fullest, either. Fair was fair.

      And, yes, it was a self-inflicted punishment; a therapist could probably excavate a gold mine of neuroses out of her. But she’d made up her mind, and she was sticking to it.

      So, that wasn’t you panting after Thane and his massive hard-on?

      Whatever. A woman would have to be comatose to miss Thane and his hard-on.

      “Anyway, Thane doesn’t sleep with his staff,” Bellorie continued. “Don’t get me wrong. I could totally seduce him if I wanted. I’m that good. But I choose to dial down my sexual appeal while I’m here. FYI, that’s why you haven’t jumped me, Elin. You’re welcome.”

      Savy rolled her eyes. “You are beyond mistaken, Rocket.”

      Interesting nickname. “How dare you!” Bellorie stomped her foot. “Elin would totally jump me if I unleashed my full prowess!”

      The siren pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why do I even bother? I wasn’t talking about your sexual prowess, moron.”

      Instantly appeased, Bellorie waved her hand through the air. “Then you may continue.”

      “He does sleep with his staff,” Chanel tossed Elin’s way, “but only very rarely. And once the deed is done, the girl is gone. She never works here again. Never even comes back for an effing drink—because she’s forever barred from the effing premises.”

      Got it. Thane was a serial bang and bailer.

      According to her friends at college, it took a pretty hard-core personality to be a repeat offender. The shame of the broken hearts left behind and all that.

      After a while, Elin had developed an unhealthy dread of being used. Not because she didn’t think she could handle the emotional baggage, but because her mother would have found out—Renlay always found out—and would have gone hunting for vengeance.

      Renlay wouldn’t have been able to beat a second assault and battery charge.

      Yeah. Try being that girl. The one whose mother broke a girl’s nose for giving her precious daughter a case of the sniffles.

      Renlay might have lived among the humans, but she’d never been fully tamed.

      A vise squeezed at Elin’s heart. Her eyes misted over.

      When Elin had realized things with Baylor Vale were serious, she’d suggested marriage, despite how young they were. He loved her more than anything, he’d said, and happily whisked her off to Vegas. Three months later, he was dead and she was enslaved.

      Had she known what was coming, she would have avoided him.

      Oh, Bay. You’ll never know how sorry I am.

      “I don’t want Thane in that way,” Elin reiterated. Really. “And I won’t. Not ever.” Determination could defeat tsunami-like lust, right?

      Savy and Bellorie smiled at her, all sure-sure. Chanel shook her head and sighed, her disbelief obvious.

      Octavia gently chucked her under the chin. “Everyone in this room is nursing a serious lady boner for him.”

      Nice.

      The girl continued, “Night after night you’ll watch him enter the club, select his female for the evening, and charm her into his special bedroom. You’ll be charmed, too, petal, I guarantee it. You won’t care what he likes to do in there. Hint: chains are involved. You’ll start to crave an invitation you know you’ll never get.”

      Wait. “What does he do with chains?”

      Smiling, Chanel wagged her finger at her. “Gossiping is another thing Thane abhors. So, you’ll just have to find out for yourself. And you will. Some mornings, you’ll have to go in there to clean the room and the effing woman.”

      No way. Just no way. Love nest mop-up wasn’t what Elin had signed up for. It wouldn’t even look good on her résumé.

      “Okay, enough chitchat.” Bellorie anchored her hair into a bun at the crown of her head. “Let’s get our girl into a uniform. The club opens in a few hours, and I have a feeling she’s not even close to being prepared. No offense,” she said with a grin. “But you look about as ferocious as a newborn bunny.”

      “None taken.” Elin wasn’t prepared, and she couldn’t deny she was unaggressive and ready for a cuddle.

      “Questions? Comments?” Savy asked. “No? Good.”

      “Yes!” she rushed out. “I have questions.” But she would throw only the first thousand at them. The next thousand could wait.

      “No?” Savy said again. “Good. Tonight you’ll simply shadow us, learning how to take orders and how to deal with unruly customers. Of course, that means we get to keep all your tips. The money, the gold.” She sighed with dreamy pleasure. “And the jewels.”

      Gold? Jewels? Forget the questions. “Tell me more.”

      Bellorie pulled down the collar of her shirt, revealing a sapphire skull-and-crossbones pendant. “Last night, a bear-shifter gave me this little beauty just for adding honey to his beer.”

      Sweet juicy sparkles! How much would a handful of baubles like that go for? Enough to finance Elin’s bakery?

      “Oh, before we forget,” Bellorie said, clapping her hands. “At the end of your shift, you may bed the male of your choice, but you can’t bring him to this room. Patrons aren’t allowed back here and are killed on sight. You can leave with him, and go anywhere you wish. Just make sure you know how to get back. Since you aren’t immortal, we don’t want you to accidentally walk over the edge of a cloud.”

      Note to self: stay inside the building forever.

      “I’m not looking for a relationship,” she assured them, “so I won’t be leaving with anyone.”

      Octavia arched a brow. “Backtrack, petal. No one said anything about a relationship.”

      Good point.

      Chanel put her hands on her hips and studied Elin more intently. “If I know men, and I do, like, seriously effing well—good?—you’ll appeal to the protector types. You’re not a great beauty, but there’s something about you...a vulnerability, maybe. They’re going to want to save you.”

      She wasn’t offended by the “not a great beauty” comment. She’d come to grips with her plain-Jane status a long time ago and made up for it with one heck of a personality. Or so she liked to think. “I don’t need saving.”

      All four girls burst into laughter.

      “What?” she demanded, a little peeved. “I don’t.” Not anymore. Thane had already checked that off her Life Goals list.

      Savy shrugged her delicate shoulders. “If you have any problems, go to Adrian, the head of security. If you can’t reach him, go to Bjorn. He’s in charge of the club’s employees. If you can’t reach him, either, go to Xerxes. Whatever you do, don’t go to Thane. Especially now.” She glanced out the window and smiled proudly. “I have a feeling this isn’t the last dispute he’s going to end with major bloodshed.”

      Great! Now Elin was thinking about being staked again.

      Did I make a terrible mistake coming here? Should I have taken my chances out in the wild, a target for Ardeo and his men?

      Octavia’s flawless emerald eyes twinkled as she came to stand at Elin’s side. Smacking her on the butt, she said, “Come on, human. Let’s get you a uniform. And while

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