a little girl playing dress-up for the first time.
Too adorable for words. An unfamiliar ache bloomed in his chest. Did Adrian feel something similar?
He scowled. Perhaps there was such a thing as too ferocious. Because just then, Thane would have ripped the male’s face off—with his bare hands.
Who had given her such expensive pieces? An admirer? Merrick?
He stalked in front of Adrian, blocking his view. “You will take Savy and Chanel to my suite to help the Harpy dress and find her way out,” Thane snapped. Be calm. He’s done nothing wrong. “But first tell me about the human’s jewels.”
In a heartbeat of time, Adrian’s expression changed from soft and amused to cold and hard. He found Thane’s way of life deplorable, had never made a secret of it, and didn’t like that the girl was on his radar.
Well, Thane didn’t want her on Adrian’s radar. The berserker possessed unnatural strength and had to be careful with everyone he encountered. From him, even immortals had trouble surviving something as simple as a pat on the back.
“The jewels,” Thane prompted. If he mentioned Merrick...
“Bellorie and Savy made a bet with the human,” Adrian said. “If she could get more than ten dollars from a trio of Fae, she would win their tips for the evening. In only an hour, she got far more.”
She’d won a bet against two fierce competitors? Pride joined the ache in his chest, baffling him.
Pride? Why pride?
“She’s wearing three months’ worth of tips,” he pointed out.
Adrian lifted his wide shoulders in a shrug. “Patrons were extremely generous tonight.”
Why? Were males already trying to win the human’s favors?
The ache intensified.
Adrian walked away.
“The girls are in the opposite direction,” Thane informed him.
“I know. I must speak with Xerxes first.”
“About?”
Adrian stopped, sighed. “He told me to inform him of any inappropriate advances made toward the human.”
Thane’s blood flashed ice-cold in less than a second. “Inappropriate advances were made?”
“In a sense. She was grabbed.”
His budding rage fed off the ache, both growing exponentially. “Where? How?”
Adrian told him of the three Fae regulars who’d clasped her arm and sniffed her, then pushed her away.
It was something the other barmaids endured every day. Something he had always overlooked and the girls had handled. Just then, he wanted to commit murder. “You will toss the trio over the edge of the cloud the next time they enter the bar.”
Surprise darkened Adrian’s navy eyes. “You risk war with their families.”
“I have more stakes.”
“I don’t think—”
“This isn’t a negotiation, Adrian. You have your orders.”
The berserker gave a stiff nod.
No other employee would have dared to speak out of turn—or to delay the completion of his orders—but Adrian had more liberties than most, and they both knew it.
After Thane and his boys had physically recovered from the worst horrors of their imprisonment, they’d returned to the demon dungeon and freed the other prisoners trapped inside. Adrian had been among them, captured soon after his family had cut him off.
Thane stalked around the corner and came up behind the human. Her gaze met his in the glass, and she gasped, spinning to face him. She was prettier than he remembered. Prettier than a few hours ago, even. How was that possible?
From her silky fall of dark hair, perfect for fisting, to her wide, gray eyes that held a mixture of awe and fear, to the Cupid’s-bow lips he would have given anything to have wrapped around his shaft, to the freckles dotting her skin.
How did she draw him in a way no one else ever had?
Differing shades of pink infused her cheeks, each one lovely, utterly captivating.
Would she look this way after climax?
He bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. Calm. Control.
“What’s your name?” he barked more harshly than he’d intended.
Panic flared in eyes that seemed to shadow with a thicker waft of smoke before she stared down at her feet, blocking her emotions. Her fear and panic actually doused his desire.
“I’m Elin.”
E-lynn. Lovely. Delicate. Fitting. “And your last name,” he said, consciously using a much gentler tone.
She shifted several inches away. “Uh, well, it’s Vale.”
Why the hesitation? Because she didn’t want him to do any digging, find her family, and send her away?
An excellent idea. Finally the madness would stop.
Except, fury was like gasoline being poured over him, and dread was the match. Put her in the line of danger? No. Here, he could protect her. Here, he could watch over her the way she had watched over him at the Phoenix camp.
He owed her. Yes, that was the reason he sought to protect her, when he’d never done the same for another.
“Why did you help me?” he asked. “How did you help me?”
She blinked, seemingly surprised at his questions. “You were trapped, like me, and I didn’t like it. I thought we could save each other.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I stole Frost from Kendra.”
“Frost?”
“A new medication that combats the effects of poison like hers.”
He would have a supply of Frost delivered by the end of the day. “How did you manage to steal it?”
“I snuck into Kendra’s tent while she was sleeping. And just so you know, it was a one-time thing. I won’t steal anything from you, promise!”
Was that what her unease was about? “I’m not worried.”
“Oh. Okay.” Her shoulders sagged with relief.
“You have nothing to fear from me. I’m grateful to you, Elin,” he said. “What you did for me...”
Her jaw dropped. “Uh, no sweat. Really. We’re even.”
He wished she
