Burning Dawn (Angels of the Dark #3)(58)
Author: Gena Showalter

Not that Elin had been eavesdropping…more than a little… Okay, a lot.

Through it all, the Sent One’s attention returned to her again and again. And he seemed to grow angrier by the second.

As if he had any reason to be angry with her!

She, however, had every right to be angry with him. He had men following her everywhere she went. And let’s not forget the “we can be friends” line he’d dished, and yet she, the lowly human-slash-disgusting-Phoenix, wasn’t worthy of staying in his precious sex room. Instead, he’d offered to put her up in what amounted to a prison cell. Stark and empty and devoid of any of the luxury he was only too happy to heap on his other lovers.

And yet…

He’d battled demons for her and taken care of her, feeding her some kind of healing liquid. Then he’d tenderly cleaned every drop of blood from her, so that she wouldn’t show her cray-cray side. He’d apologized for treating her cruelly, and she was certain he’d meant it. He’d invited her to stay in his home for the rest of her life.

Leaving him on that bed, without throwing herself into his arms, had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. But she wasn’t falling under his sexy-sexy-boom-boom enchantment a second time.

New life goals: resist Thane, make bank, open a shelter for immortal halfings, and hire a chef to feed them.

That way, people like her would always have somewhere to go.

“Elin,” Thane called, jolting her out of her thoughts.

Not good for the first goal. The sound of his voice still had the power to make her shiver.

She dragged her feet to his table. “What?”

The scarred man smiled at her before standing and leaving the club. Thane remained in his seat, peering at her; she thought she saw longing in the soulful depths of his ocean-blue eyes. Longing her body responded to, her ni**les puckering…her stomach quivering.

“You look beautiful,” he said, a husky edge to his tone, making her shiver all over again. “You always look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” What you need, Vale, is distance. “Is that all, boss man? Because I’m, like, superbusy.”

Not necessarily a lie. Pondering all things Thane was demanding work.

He frowned. “No. That’s not all.”

“Well, too bad,” she said, and the people at the table next to his gasped at her daring. Obviously, eavesdropping was the special du jour. “I’m taking off anyway.”

She turned away, but he latched on to her wrist, keeping her in place. The point of contact burned in the most delicious way, and she experienced her third shiver. Something had to be wrong with her.

“Are you cold?” he asked. “I can have a robe fetched.”

Why did he always want to give her a robe? “I’m fine.” Can’t let his concern screw with my emotions.

A pause, as if he searched for the right words to say. Then, “Has anyone given you any trouble?”

“Yes.” She glanced over her shoulder, saying, “I’m looking at him right now. Let go.”

Another gasp from the neighboring table.

A muscle twitched below Thane’s eye, but he released her wrist.

Why am I striking at him like this?

But then, she already knew the answer. The nicer he was to her, the harder it was to remain detached from him. She had to provoke his temper.

“I’m sorry, okay, but I’m gonna go now,” she said, and walked away. Her knees knocked all the way to the bar. One of her customers flagged her down, and she rushed over.

“Yes? May I help you?”

May I.

The words got stuck in her head, reminding her of the erotic game she and Thane had played in the elevator; she…freaking…shivered.

Rather than place a drink order, the female, a siren, said, “I heard Thane rescued you from a Phoenix camp.”

“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” Rescued was not the word Elin would use. Not anymore.

“Hmm” was the reply. Somehow, the brunette managed to put a wealth of disapproval in that one sound. “Well, I’m much prettier than you, so I should have no trouble getting him to rescue me from my orgasmless situation.”

The ensuing scratch of jealousy left a raw, angry wound in Elin’s chest.

Jealousy? No! She refused to feel it.

She killed a nasty reply. I’m better than this.

No, actually, she wasn’t better. She offered the girl a double-birded salute. Then, donning an expression she’d often seen on Bellorie, she said, “News flash. No one’s prettier than me.” And it felt good.

The girl hissed at her.

“You want a go at me?”

Before the girl could reply, two wolf-shifters jumped to their feet at the table to her left, chairs skidding backward as they growled obscenities at each other. Both males looked ready to fight each other to the death.

Get in line.

Adrian walked over and casually announced, “There’s a new house rule. Shed blood inside the building, and get staked immediately. Who wants to be first?”

The males glared at each other but eased back into their chairs.

The girl wilted in her seat, now unwilling to spar with Elin.

The Harpies at the table across from the shifters—well, well, Blondie had come back for more Thane-and-chains time—groaned with disappointment.

“What are we supposed to do for fun now?”

“Why can’t we shed blood? Huh, huh? Tell!”

Yeah. Why? Because… Oh, no. Had Thane put the rule in place for her?

He must have. There was no other explanation.

Beautiful warmth spread through Elin’s entire body.

Not going to fall under his enchantment, remember?

But she should definitely be nicer to him.

Maybe it was even time to baby-step again. He wasn’t a bad guy. He’d just made a bad choice. A really, really bad choice. One she’d said she’d forgiven him for. Am I all talk, or am I action, too?

Action. Definitely action.

Feeling lighter than she had since the start of her shift, she skipped to the bar to gather another round of drinks. She watched as Thane rose. She had a smile waiting just for him, but he never looked her way.

The sirens began to act upset over the “close call” with the shifters. He sauntered to their table and offered what might have been a few words of comfort. The girls thrilled at his attention.

Thane leaned down and kissed Prettier on the cheek.

Somehow, Elin managed to maintain a neutral expression. He was making out with someone right in front of her? Forget the baby steps. She’d give him one giant kick.