Cursed by Flame (Dragonborn Daughters #3) - Kimber White Page 0,2
said. “Jameson knows I’m coming. He wants something special with this one.”
Archer’s eyes flashed. Just a tiny bow of his head and I saw the flat, black disk in his ear.
Jameson, I wondered. Was he the boss tonight? The top third of the wall was framed with a tilted mirror. Of course they’d been watching me the whole time. I’d counted on it.
“Get along, little doggie,” Rye laughed. Lord, this guy could literally rip his arms off and beat him with them. Archer stepped aside, but I knew it had nothing to do with Rye’s taunting.
He let us pass, but Archer kept his eyes on me. His gaze seared through me. A wicked thought flashed through my mind. I saw myself dancing with him out there. His strong hands encircling my waist. He pressed my body against his and I felt the solid outline of his…
“This way,” Rye said. He took me down a dark, short hallway to another purple velvet curtain.
He pulled it back, and it took all my strength not to gasp at what I saw.
Spellheads. Three of them. They sat slumped on a bench along the far wall. Their hair stood on end as the stolen magic flowed through their veins. Wind. I felt it tickle at the ends of my own hair.
“Forget them,” Rye said. “I think we can find something even better for you. You like to play dirty, don’t you? You want something deep. Something ancient.”
He went to the bar in the corner of the room. Behind it, four round tanks were bolted to the wall and filled with a glittering liquid. One red, one blue, one black, one silver. Rye went for the black one.
It was a glamor at best. A parlor trick. Stolen magic didn’t look like that. It would only look like blood. Rye drew the black shiny liquid into a small syringe and beckoned me forward.
“This is mine,” he said. “You want a little taste of me? It’ll make you feel like you own the earth, Phaedra. Come on. I know you like it dirty.”
He reached for me. Grabbing my wrist, he flipped it and pressed down, exposing a large vein running the length of my arm. A glittering bead formed on the tip of the needle.
I held my breath. This was the hard part. I had to keep my own glamor in place. My cloak. No one but my family would be able to sense me for the fire mage I really was.
“It’ll only hurt for a second,” Rye laughed. He pressed the needle against my vein. I closed my eyes and waited for the prick.
Instead, the air in the room shifted. I heard a choking sound and Rye let go of my arm. I opened my eyes in time to see Archer, the bouncer wolf, throw him against the wall.
2
Archer
“Follow them!”
The command came through my earpiece. I was already on my way. From the moment the girl walked into the club, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
Sleek blonde hair so long it reached her waist even with it pulled into a high ponytail. An extension, probably. A good one. That ass. That body. The way she moved.
Rye spotted her a moment after I did.
I felt her heat from where I stood. Tracked her scent easily among the hundreds of others on the dancefloor.
“Money,” J.C. said in my ear. He was watching too. Always. He had a suite far above the dancefloor. I didn’t need eyes on him to know he sat in his giant, black leather chair surveying his kingdom.
“Big money,” he said. “Give the signal to Rye. Bring her in.”
I muted myself so J.C. couldn’t hear me growl. Rye pulled her close. Licked her. He let just enough magic out to whet her appetite. She was hungry all right.
When they came to me, I wanted to touch her. Wanted to pull her close and lick her myself.
“Easy, Archer,” J.C. said in my ear. “Nice and easy. Watch the door.”
She met my stare. She was even prettier up close. Pale blue eyes with long lashes that had to be faked. Had to be. And that getup. Barely more than a bathing suit. Her shorts rode up, exposing part of her ass. Those boots. That shiny, silver bikini top with the strings in the back. One touch. A flick of my fingers or Rye’s would lay her bare.
A vision flashed through my mind. I’d rip Rye’s arms off if he tried.
I went still as granite as Rye