Fever Fae - Meg Xuemei X Page 0,47

never wear the sexy warrior corset with a few strips of studded trim they called a skirt, or the red long gown with a waist cincher, or the horrifically tacky gypsy garb of riot colors—the top had exaggerated shoulder bang and coin trim, the very mini-skirt started below the waistline and I wasn’t kidding, and the yellow headband might make me look a dumb pirate.

“But Indira is wearing a vest and pants.”

“Indira is a seasoned barmaid,” he said. “She’s earned the right to wear whatever she pleases.”

“But—”

“Is this your habit—bitch about everything?”

I looked at him with a shocked expression. “No, I don’t bitch about anything! I’m not a difficult person. I’m just—I want to make sure this isn’t a punishment.”

“Why did you think it was a punishment, Evelina?” he asked curiously.

And my stomach did a stupid flap at how my name rolled off his tongue—it was nearly a purr.

“Well, you thought I lied to you,” I said defensively.

“You did.” His voice turned hard.

So, this was a punishment, then.

“You aren’t going to fire me, right?” I asked, looking as friendly and meek as I could. “If you went to such trouble putting me in this monkey suit.”

“I won’t if you make it up to me.”

I narrowed my eyes. “For what? I didn’t do anything…wrong, not really. I only lied to protect my family.”

“You didn’t finish the dance yesterday.”

“I’m not going to do it again!” I exploded. “It wasn’t my fault. You kicked me out unfairly for some mean chick who called herself whatever queen. And don’t tell me that you’re also a king, or I’ll start calling myself the Queen of Scotland.” I pulled my teeth back in a jealous half-snarl. “I bet you entertained her well yesterday.”

He laughed. “I thought you enjoyed it when you danced like that. You’re a natural, a wild wind. But I didn’t call you here to talk about your sparkling personality or hurricane temper. I called you here to sign the contract.”

His laughter was darkly sensual, like a wet dream. Heat twirled from my belly and went all the way down. I tried not to squeeze my thighs. He’d see it.

Rydstrom pulled out a load of paper from a drawer and laid them out on the desk in front of me. “It is magically binding,” he said. “And there’s only one rule for you to work in my club.”

My heart pounded. That one rule might be lethal and bad for me in every sense. But I’d come so far and overcome many obstacles. I wouldn’t flip him the finger and walk out unless I had absolutely no choice.

I licked my lip. “What is it?”

“No flirting with anyone except me.”

I sat back in the chair, stunned. “And if I do?”

“I kill them,” he said flatly, yet his sapphire eyes glittered with vicious heat.

- -

Chapter 16

Before I could reply, an explosion blasted in the club.

“Stay here,” Rydstrom ordered, already rising from his chair. He strode to the balcony door, pulled it open, and stepped out.

I followed him gingerly into the balcony. It was spacious, but instead of standing by his side, I remained behind him, peeking down and using him as a shield.

A plume of purple smoke and fire erupted from the center of the dance floor. Patrons fled the hall in all directions, shoving each other to get out of harm’s way. The dancing girls hurried through the backstage. A bouncer directed them to safety.

A second later, the smoke thinned, revealing a girl who looked like my age or slightly younger encaged inside a dark purple orb. Frantically, she slammed into the wall of the orb, trying to break out. Tears streamed down her pretty face and fear darkened her hazel eyes.

I couldn’t tell if she was a human or not, even though her ears were a bit more pointed than round. And some asshole must have cut the other half of her hair short just to see the shape of her ear.

I didn’t care what her race was. No one should be treated and attacked like that.

“Help her!” I called, then turned, about to bolt downstairs to release that girl.

An arm grabbed my waist, pulling me against Rydstrom’s side. “You stay with me, Evelina,” he said, his powerful voice daring me to disobey him.

Yet I struggled. “We must help her,” I cried. “They’re going to hurt her.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he growled.

A dozen armed males emerged from the dispersed smoke and stalked toward the trapped girl. Three of them had white hair sprinkled with