“A fight at a pizza shop? That’s a little above you, isn’t it?”
“I’d like if I was above you right now.”
“Rune?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t flirt. I’m drained of all energy and can’t keep up.”
He laughed loud and long, sweet and deep. “I’ll do the work for both of us, beautiful.”
I shook my head against my pillow. “You’re shameless.”
“Hell yes, I am.”
Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I grumbled, “I’ll see you in an hour, stud.”
I didn’t wait for him to answer. I merely tapped my bracelet to end the call.
* * *
The train to Dormi’s was more expensive than I wanted to spend for an event I didn’t even want to attend, but when the new most powerful man in the world requests your presence, you go. Quick. And hope you’re not late…because of the stupid ass person in front of you who hits ten different spots to stop at because they can’t remember where the fuck a particular bakery shop is.
I mean, what the hell? Ask someone!
But not me. I had no idea where it was. But surely someone knew.
“Excuse me?” I tapped Stupid Ass on the shoulder. “What’s the name of the bakery you’re looking for? Maybe you can call them to get their address.”
The woman glared, her sparkling golden hat practically blinding me. “If I knew that, then I would have called them. All I remember is it has a red and white canopy and is somewhere on the east side.”
I blinked and then sat back on my chair, blinking at my misfortune. “Yeah. No clue.”
Well, I tried to help.
I sighed and stared out the window. I was going to be late.
On the sixth destination she had typed in before me, lo and behold, she nailed it.
She was happy. I was not.
Those other four stops she had typed in still needed to go by before my destination went into effect. I pressed my forehead against the glass of my window and watched the clean and sparkling buildings go by in a blur. Pointy roofs. Flat roofs. Slanted roofs. New City had it all. Alaric and Rune worked well together to create the beauty of this place.
Sadly, this was turning into a pretty shitty day already. If I didn’t get a nap in before my shift, I would be cranky as hell, which would affect my tips. Customers didn’t like it when you yelled at them. Go figure.
I glanced at my bracelet. Five minutes to go.
At one minute, I was already standing at the train door, tapping my foot and waiting for it to open. My destination was finally queued up. When the door released, I ducked under it, ignoring the blare of the alarm. Unless it shut back down immediately, I wouldn’t be crushed. My feet flew down the stairs, and then I was jogging to the entrance of the pizza shop.
Rune grinned, leaning back against the front of the building. “In a hurry?”
“Shut up. Some woman couldn’t remember where the hell she was going, so it took me forever to get here.”
Rune opened the door to Dormi’s for me, murmuring absently, “I could have picked you up…”
“And I would have said no,” I grumbled, fixing my windblown black hair. I stepped inside and gazed at the interior of the pizza shop. Nothing had really changed since I’d last been here. It was like a vat of blue paint had been dumped from high above onto a white canvas, splatters of blue here and there, creating a chic and attractive environment. “Is everyone already here?”
“Yep. We all rode with Theron.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and prodded me toward the circular booth in the far back. He dipped his head and inhaled against my temple, purring, “Are you sure we can’t have a little fun after we eat?”
“I need to sleep after this. Otherwise, I won’t make it through my shift.”
He groaned against the flesh of my skin. “Too bad. I had great things in mind.”
I snickered and turned my face further into his touch, the blood in my veins spiking in desire. “Maybe after my shift?”
His heated breath spanned my cheek, as he grinned. “Sounds delicious.”
I pulled my head back from his. Then I blinked. We had already arrived at the table. We were standing directly in front of it, the occupants barely containing their laughter as they caught sight of the shock on my features. I shook my head, clearing the cobwebs of my Rune-induced sexual haze.
I waved, mumbling, “Hello. It’s me again.”
Theron was the only one not watching us, but he was the individual to flick a finger at the free space across from him. He stated casually, “Sit down. We haven’t ordered yet, Megan.”
I did as instructed—because it was an order. He really wasn’t in a pleasant mood. Rune hadn’t been joking. I scooted along the large, blue booth, allowing Rune to sit next to me at the end. The rest of the booth was packed.
Rune went through the introductions even though none were needed. He started across from us first. “You know Theron. Cassander. Alaric. Wolfe. Finn. Mina. And, of course, Poppy who you saw last night.”
I nodded my head to all of them. “Thank you for inviting me.” Not really.
Poppy snorted. “As if we had a choice.” A quick glare at Theron. “He’s anal about food and eating together.”
Mina interjected, “I’m not sure if you should put anal and food together in the same sentence, Poppy. It doesn’t quite sound right.”
Theron wasn’t paying attention to anyone at the table, but he still nodded.
I leaned forward to peer around Poppy. “Hey, Mina. I hear you’re officially with Mr. Baker now.”
Mina blinked. “Call him Finn. And, since you’re here with us, call them all by their first names. I quickly learned they don’t like it when you use the term mister. Apparently, it offends them if you’re part of the group.” She picked up a napkin from the middle of the table and wiped at a small smudge in front of her.
I snickered as she cleaned. “You’re still as proper as ever.”
Her cheeks instantly flushed, and she peeked up at me from under her eyelashes—a damn vixen goddess. Like she was revealing earth shattering news, she whispered quietly, “Not really.”
I quickly put a fist in front of my mouth and coughed over a chuckle. “So you’re having fun?”
She leaned toward me, pushing Poppy against my side. “The best time ever.”
I held up my hand to her, stating softly, “Get you some, girl.”
Mina stared at my hand a moment, then quickly high-fived me with a soft touch. Her resulting grin was magnificent. Who would have thought? The stuffy weapons leader must have a wild side to keep a smile like that on his woman.
I glanced at Finn with new eyes, gauging his mien.
It was still as cold as ever.
Rune slid his arm around the top of the booth, over my shoulders, and pulled me closer. He whispered against my ear, “Don’t get any ideas.”
I snickered and turned my attention to him. “Absolutely not. I just never would have guessed.”
The warm flesh of the tip of his nose slid over the shell of my ear, and he asked conversationally, “Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. Hopefully, the food is better than their service.” I quickly kissed his cheek so he knew I wasn’t ignoring his flirtation, and then peered out of our booth. “Where is the waiter?”
“Waitress. It’s a girl covering this section,” Theron clarified, his eyes shifting over the workers. “But it looks like she’s still in the back.”
Mina cleared her throat and started scrubbing at the spot again. “It looked like the same girl who delivered the pizza that one time.”
Theron nodded once. “I believe it is.”
CHAPTER TEN
With extreme casualness, Mina asked, “So is this your new hotspot for pizza?”
“I’ve been a little busy, Mina.” Theron ran his fingers through his hair. “Pizza hasn’t really been on my mind. It’s my first time here.”
Mina’s sigh
was so profound her ample chest heaved. Her smile returned, and she stopped cleaning. “I liked the pizza too. And I’m famished.”
“There she is,” Theron muttered, tipping his head to a young woman stepping out of the backroom. He rested further against the booth and then turned his attention to us. With a snap of his fingers, he barked, “Pick out what you want. Don’t make her wait.”
We stared. At him. Startled at his abrupt, harsh order.
He bared his teeth on his bronze face. “Do I have to tell you all twice?”
“Nope,” Mina chirped swiftly, grabbing a menu from the middle of the table with a shaking hand. “I’ll be ready when she comes over.”
I followed suit and grabbed a menu.
Rune and I shared the menu, our heads tipped together while everyone else gradually grabbed at menus, doing as told. My back stiffened at the prices. It was ridiculous. The pizza had to be made of gold for these price tags.
I muttered, “I may just get a salad.”
Rune pressed his mouth against my ear, whispering, “Theron’s paying.”
My gaze blasted right to the most expensive items. Fuck salads.
I pointed at one of the meatlover’s pizzas. “Want to share a medium? I can’t eat all that.”
“Make it a large, and it sounds good. I can eat all that.” His lips curved, and his eyes twinkled with merriment. “I’m a big boy. I need lots of food. And lots of other things.”
My shoulders shook in amusement. “I’m sure you do.”
Wolfe groaned across the space. He turned his head to their dangerous ‘leader’ and grumbled, “Is that shit, like, contagious? Because there aren’t many of us left.”
“You should be so lucky,” Theron commented, his dark eyes on his menu. “If it happens to you, Wolfe, rejoice in it. It won’t happen twice.”
Wolfe glared at the side of his leader’s head. “I don’t have time for…,” he waved an irritated hand at Rune and me, “…that to happen.”
My brows snapped together. I set the menu down, our choice for dinner made. “What do you mean? You don’t have time for fun?”
Wolfe’s gaze traveled to Rune and then gradually back to me. “Yes. That’s what I meant.”
“You should make time for it.”
“It’s been a little hectic lately.”
I cocked my head, eyeing him. “Looking for Mr. Valentine?”
“Yes. He needs to be taken out.”
I nodded in agreement. “After that, though? Do you normally have fun when bad shit isn’t happening?”
Alaric cut in. “He knows how to have fun.” He patted his friend’s shoulder. “Wolfe just needs to get a little more sleep, is all. He’s been keeping late hours almost every night working on a code.”
Wolfe rubbed at his forehead, his eyes closing. “I’m almost done with it too. Maybe a few more days. Then all of our systems will be forever hack proof.”
“Damn.” I grinned and leaned against Rune’s side, the hardness of his body enticing. “That’ll be killer out there. That’s the next big money maker.”
He merely shrugged, humble and quiet. “It is needed.”
Poppy lowered her own menu, her tone timid. “I played that new puzzle game this morning. It’s wonderful.”
Wolfe’s expression instantly altered, softening in the wake of her attempt at civil conversation. “I’m glad you liked it. I took some of your suggestions into account and created it based on—”
“Hi, everyone. Welcome to Dormi’s.” The young woman with the high ponytail didn’t glance up, peering at her translucent mini-pad. “Do you know what you would like to eat and drink?”
And…she popped a bubble. Pink bubble gum popping while greeting us.
My lips trembled. This young lady hated her job. She wanted to get fired.
Rune started with our food order and drinks. And so on it went around the table.
Theron still stared at his menu, the last to order.
Quiet descended on our table. He didn’t speak.
Theron lifted his head and stared at her, waiting patiently for her to look up.
No one at our table broke the silence either. No one dared.
Not with the intensity in his eyes shining on the young woman.
She huffed a large breath, clearly aggravated. Her eyes snapped on him and her mouth opened with a surely snide comment. But she froze solid, and her jaw continued to hang open, her gaze running across each of his features. And…her gum fell out her mouth.
Theron didn’t look away from her as his right hand snapped out, palm up. With his bare flesh, he caught the piece of saliva coated pink gum in his hand. He cleared his throat pointedly when the poor dear only continued to stare at his face.
She blinked. “Um…”
Theron lowered his menu and grabbed a napkin from the middle of the table. He wadded the gum up in it and held it up to her. “I believe this is yours.”
A full flush bloomed on her cheeks, rising all the way to her hairline as she snagged it from his hand—careful not to touch him. “S-sorry.”
“That’s quite all right.” His lips curved up at the edges in a painfully handsome smile. Theron knew what he was doing too, dosing her with his charm. He rested back further on the booth, tipping his head just so, his dark eyes hitting the light shining in through the far windows, making them sparkle. “It happens more than you might imagine.”
Her mouth bobbed. Her gaze was caught on his. “I-is there anything you want to eat?”
“Oh, yes. But I’ll wait until it’s fully matured.”
She stared. And she didn’t get the implied meaning that was so obvious to everyone gawking at our table—and failing to hide it miserably. Her brows puckered, adorable on her features. “Excuse me?”
Without taking his eyes from her, he pointed to the menu. “I’ll take the Cobb salad, a small pepperoni, and coffee. Dark.”
Her eyes tore away from his to watch what she was typing on her mini-pad. She hesitated, and then mumbled, “I remember you. You gave me a stupid big tip.”
Theron leaned forward and clasped his hands on top of the table. “I remember you too.”
Her eyes darted up and narrowed momentarily. “You don’t need to tip that much. There is no added bonus for it.”
So…she wasn’t completely innocent in life.
His eyebrows raised just a smidge. “I would hope not.”
Her eyes narrowed more in obvious distrust, but she didn’t comment on the matter further. Instead, she grumbled, “Is this all on one ticket or separate tickets?”
“I’m paying,” he answered simply.
“Of course, you are.” She huffed and took a step back from the table, careful in her taunting with this man. “This is a big order, so it’ll take the cook a little while. I’ll bring your drinks back in a second, though.”
Theron nodded and sat back on the seat. “Thank you.”
Mina raised her hand in an act of bravery, the appendage only shaking slightly. “Wait a moment, miss. I was there the day you delivered the pizza too. I remember you said your birthday was coming up. Do I owe you a belated happy birthday?”
Surprise flittered over her features. “Not yet. Only two months away now.” And she smiled. It was breathtaking.
Theron didn’t even blink, his eyes pasted to her face.
She strolled away, her ponytail swinging.
No one said a word yet. ‘Cause Theron had raised an instant hand to stop a barrage of questions that would have been thrown at him, his eyes narrowing on a man who walked up to our waitress. He said a few words to her…then smacked her ass as he walked away.
Oh. Shit. Bad timing, mister. Bad timing.
Her back stiffened, and she sucked in a large lungful of air. Then she instantly brushed the back of her pants off as if she could remove his degrading act.
When she was done, she shook out her shoulders and went to the drink dispensary, staring down at her mini-pad to start filling our drinks.
Theron’s raised hand clenched into a fist and gradually lowered to the table as he tracked the man with his eyes. As soon as he disappeared into the back room, Theron slid from the booth. With gentle fingers, he unbuttoned his suit jacket and tossed it on Cassander’s lap for safe keeping. He was already rolling up his shirtsleeves while strolling casually through the tables—headed to the back room.
He disappeared from sight, the door shutting behind him. No click made.
The occupants at our table instantly looked at each other with wide eyes.
“What… What the hell just happened?” Alaric muttered, his eyes large on his face. “I’ve never seen him act like that before.”
I snorted. “He wants to fuck her.”
Wolfe immediately shook his head. “That was something else. He’s acting like he’s protecting a mate right now. But he’s already been mated. This doesn’t make sense.”
“Mated?” I questioned, my face scrunched. “What the hell is a mate?”
Rune interjected quickly, “I think the more immediate worry is if she’s legal. If she is, it’s just barely.”
“She’s seventeen,” Mina clarified. “She’ll be eighteen soon. He’s waiting to make his move.”
Poppy pointed at where he had been sitting. “That wasn’t making a move?”
All the men at the table promptly shook their heads.
“That was restraint. He was only making himself noticed,” Finn helpfully supplied.
Cassander turned his attention to where Theron had disappeared. “Think he’ll leave any evidence behind that we’ll have to clean up?”
My shoulders stiffened. I thought he went back there to beat the guy up, not off him.
Rune’s brows rose on his fine features, his words dry. “Not a chance. It’ll be clean. There won’t be anything left of that asshole.”
I blinked and stared at the table. Guess I was wrong.
Poppy bumped her shoulder against mine, catching my attention. She mentioned, “You get used to it. Everything this group does is extreme.”
I eyed her. Really eyed her. “Are you used to it?”
“I am now. It took a while.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “It isn’t easy. Even if you think you’re strong.”
Torment Page 7
