He grunted. “I wouldn’t change.”
I stroked the coat’s skirt, trying to decide. There hadn’t been a chance to wear it before now, and I really wanted to. “Are you sure Terra won’t be offended or something?”
“I’m sure she’ll love it, and it looks great on you. Come on, I have to have time to clean up, too.”
That was persuasion enough. “Okay.”
Rush hour traffic had died down, allowing the falling snow to collect on top of the refreezing slush. End result: We barely made it to the tiger clan’s building. Small sports cars weren’t made for winter traveling.
Someone had salted the walk and wide drive that led to the garage section’s bay doors. Teague responded to Dane’s knock on the metal front door of the apartment side. “It’s laundry night. Hi, Discord. Nice coat.”
The tall, lean man with rusty black hair was a lion shifter, on loan to our clan as a bodyguard for Terra. “Hi, and thanks.”
“There’s room if you want me to pull your car in.”
“We should take one of the trucks,” Dane said, and I nodded.
“Yes, please.” After handing my keys over to Teague, I added, “Thanks.”
“Is Alanna up or downstairs?”
“Your sister’s in the laundry room.”
Dane looked at me. “I need to talk to her before I get ready.”
I hadn’t known the two were related. Teague chuckled. “What he really means is that he’s going to beg her to do his laundry.”
That made me laugh. “Can’t blame him. I hate doing it. Go ahead. I’ll visit with Terra until you’re ready.”
“Okay.” Dane loped down the first floor hallway, dodging basket-laden people.
Teague asked, “What are you dressed up for?”
“We have to check out a club for a missing person case.”
He twirled my key ring. “Which club?”
“Dreamland. Have you heard of it?”
“Nope. Terra and Logan are upstairs. I’ll get your car inside.”
“Okay, thanks.” I headed for the stairs, trading smiles and greetings with the clan members I passed on their way down. Fortunately, I didn’t see Danielle or her two cousins on my way up.
Terra answered my knock, her pale green eyes widening when she saw my coat. “Oh, wow, it’s gorgeous. Where did you find it?”
“A thrift store. I’m at loose ends until Dane’s ready to go. Is it okay if I hang out here?”
“Sure.” She hugged me before stepping back to allow me inside. “Hey, Logan, Discord’s here.”
We heard the muffled slam of a drawer before his bedroom door opened. He wore gray sweatpants, a red tee, and a welcoming smile. The smile faded as he had a good look at what I wore. Terra giggled. “She looks awesome, huh?”
Logan blinked. “Yes, she does.”
“She’s waiting for Soames, so came to visit.”
It may have been my imagination, but it looked as though Logan clenched his jaws. “Oh. Where are you two going?”
“May I try your coat on?” Terra asked at the same time.
“Sure.” I untied the belt and slipped it off. “We’re on a missing person case and need to check out a club.”
The teen squealed, shoving her arm into a sleeve.
He waved his hand at the kitchen while checking out my clingy dress. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Thanks, but no. We’re going to stop for dinner first.” I moved out of Terra’s way as she tied the belt, knowing what she’d do next. Something about full skirts caused an urge to twirl.
She did twirl, the coat belling out. “Oh, I love it.” she stopped and struck a pose. “How do I look?”
“Beautiful,” Logan said with a smile, finally leaving the doorway of his room. She purred, stroking a coat sleeve, and spun around again.
I decided to sit down. So did Logan. We both went for the recliner, halted, and he chuckled. “I promise the couch is more comfortable.”
“Okay.” I moved to the couch’s end and sat, crossing my ankles. Feeling flustered was an unwelcome bonus. The only other time I’d been in a dress around him had been when demons had wanted to sacrifice me to meld their realm to the regular world.
“Would you mind if I go show Alanna?” Terra proved she had a wicked “puppy eyes” expression.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Thanks, I’ll be right back.” She flung open the apartment door and hauled buns. Logan sighed before walking over to shut it.
“Soames is working out okay?” he asked while walking back to sit down.
“Great. We get along way better than Nick and I did.”
“Good, glad to hear it.” His tone didn’t match the words.
“Yeah. Um,” I groped for something else to say. “Hey, I get the keys to my house tomorrow.”
“Congratulations. When do you plan to move?”
“Maybe next weekend? I guess it’ll depend on the weather.”
“Right.” The silence that followed did not feel comfy.
Crap, we’d never had trouble talking to each other before. My stomach fluttered again, and not pleasantly. My issue was simple: I’d made an ass out of myself before and after he’d admitted to being attracted to me. It also wasn’t fair he looked better every time I saw him. Logan even made sweatpants look sexy.
I sighed before I could stop it.
“Is something wrong?”
“No. I mean, not really. Kind of?” The hem of my dress became really interesting. I began fiddling with it. “Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like we’ve entered Awkwardville city limits since we, uh, talked about going out.”
“Oh. Well, we haven’t talked much since. We’ve both been pretty busy.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s okay if you’ve changed your mind.”
I quit picking at my dress to look at him. “No, I haven’t. Have you?”
“No, but... You and Soames seem to be getting along really well. I know he thinks highly of you.” Logan glanced at the door.
I laughed. “Nice to know, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t ‘like’ like me. He hit on someone today and has her number. I like him, but not in a dating way.”
“So...”
“So we’re still on. I mean, unless you change your mind.”
His shoulders relaxed. I hadn’t noticed he was tense. “I won’t.”
“Great.” And there we were, out of conversation again. Damn it. “Um, I was kind of thinking.”
“About what?” Logan asked when a few seconds passed.
I took a deep breath. “About us dating. It’s not that I don’t ever want a serious relationship, but...”
He raised his hands to stop me. “I know. We’re going to, what’s the phrase? Play it by ear?”
Instant relief, because we were on the same page. “Yes, that.”
“Sounds good to me. I haven’t dated a human before. Actually, I haven’t had time to date at all since the Melding. I’m going to be rusty.”
“That’s okay.” Better than okay, because it meant no recent ex-girlfriends to worry about. Just Danielle and her crush or whatever. An idea struck. “Hey, can Terra spare you?”
Logan grinned. “She’d be happy to get rid of me for a little bit. According to her, I’ve been looming too much.”
“Then how about a practice run?”
“Practice run,” he repeated, and I nodded.
“Yeah. Come with us tonight. It won’t be a date because we’re on a case and Dane will be there, but we’ll be hanging out. You know, together.”
He rose from the recliner before I finished talking. “Love to.”
The smile on my face felt goofy as all get out. Terra burst in as his bedroom door shut. “I’m back. Alanna loves it, and I let her try it on. That was okay, right?” Before I could respond, she rushed along. “It’s too big on her. I wish I could find one like it.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for another one,” I promised. “If it’s ok
ay, I’m going to borrow Logan tonight.”
The teen grinned. “All night?”
“Terra!” Logan shouted from his bedroom, and she snickered.
Club wear for men who bought clothing for work instead of play consisted of jeans and non-tees. Both men wore black jeans and boots—ropers. Dane wore a dark red, short-sleeved shirt, while Logan’s was a long-sleeved button up in forest green.
On our way downstairs, I wondered if he’d chosen his shirt to match my dress, or because he knew how great he looked in green. I didn’t ask. It’s sometimes nice to have things like that to ponder.
Just my luck that Danielle appeared at the foot of the stairs as we reached the last flight. She was around Logan’s age, with the sharp-boned face of a super model, and dark hair and eyes. Her long legs were bared, thanks to an itty bitty pair of black shorts, and so was most of the rest of her, since her only other item of clothing was a bright purple sports bra. Danielle was lean and toned, and I felt out of shape looking at her.
She noted my hand around Logan’s forearm, our clothing, and a frown appeared on her face. “Where are you going?”
“Out,” Dane said, already halfway down the last flight. He paused to look up at us. “Are we taking your truck?”
“No, we’ll go in my car,” Logan replied, and I felt the attention of everyone in earshot coming to bear on us at the sound of his voice. Behind Danielle, Teague crossed his arms and leaned back against the outer door. I wasn’t sure who he was watching, her or us, as Logan led me down the steps.
“Can I drive?” Dane bounced down to the ground floor.
“Have I ever let you drive my car?”
My partner smiled. “Nope, but I intend to keep asking.”
Apparently tired of being ignored, Danielle spoke. “Your place is with our Queen.”
By then, we’d gone far enough that I could see at least three other people in the hallway, trying to pretend they weren’t loitering.
“I’m off duty tonight.” Logan smiled at her. “Our Queen is sick of me hovering around now that she’s come into her own.”
Danielle, her frown deeper, moved back to let us off the final step. I was her next target. “Your coat is a mockery of what we are.”
“Terra loves it.” Point for me, but I knew she’d score one of her own, sooner or later. It looked like it’d be later, as she sniffed and began climbing the stairs. Relieved she was leaving, I said, “I thought you drove a truck.”
Dane opened the door to the garage. “You’re not the only one who has a massive love affair with a car.”
“Oh?”
“Took him three years to hunt down all the parts and restore it.”
“What is it?”
Logan pointed a finger at Dane when he began to answer. “She’ll see it in a minute.”
I nodded at Teague, who smiled, before we entered the garage. Dane trotted to the far corner, and as we followed, I realized there was a door back there.
“He named it.”
“I couldn’t think of a cool enough name, or my car would have one too.”
“Logan called yours ‘Baby’ while he was working on it. He talks to the cars he likes.”
“That’s enough, Soames.” Logan’s cheeks had acquired a touch of pink.
I giggled. “I think that’s cute.”
Dane opened the door, reaching in to flick on the lights. “This is our personal garage.”
Having wondered where they kept all their vehicles, I went through to find a line of about half a dozen trucks. We walked down to the far end, where a car sat under a gray cover. I let go of Logan’s arm. “Mystery car is mysterious.”
The two men took up positions on either side of the car’s hood, preparing to remove the cover. Logan smiled. “Do you want to take a guess?”
“Hello, psychic here. Unveil and surprise before one of you thinks too loud.”
“Sure.” They bent and flipped the cover over the hood, which was painted a deep, super glossy dark green. Away from direct lighting, the car would look black.
“I think lime green was a stock color for a ’69 Challenger , not this green.”
“This green is my favorite color.” Logan and Dane finished pulling the cover off. “I didn’t go straight stock on everything.”
“Wanna race for pink slips?”
He laughed. “Your car’s too new for me.”
“Yeah, I see that. Bet I get better gas mileage.”
Logan came around to open the passenger door for me, while Dane put the cover away on some shelves built into the side wall. “You do, but I have more horsepower.”
“Them’s fighting words, dude. Now we have to race.”
My partner snorted. “You’ll lose.”
Probably, but I was having fun teasing Logan, and pretended outrage. “I’m sorry, have you not been riding with me the past few weeks?”
“He has nitrous.”
“That’s cheating.”
They both laughed, and we climbed in.
FOUR
We rolled into Dreamland’s parking lot about eight-thirty, after having stopped to enjoy a steak dinner. The outside of the club wasn’t much to look at, just a square shape painted tan, with a covered entrance. There was a short line of people waiting to get in, and to my surprise, a couple of large bouncers guarding the door.
“Someone has an over-inflated ego,” I said when we cruised by the entrance in search of a parking spot. “Wonder if we’re cool enough to get in?”
“Guess we’ll find out.”
Dane leaned forward. “I am, but I don’t know about you two.”
I tried to shoo him back. “Ha, ha. You’re so funny.”
Logan chose a spot in the corner of the lot farthest from the entrance. “Sorry, we’re going to have to walk.”
“I’ll live, but it may be too much for Dane. He’s such a fragile flower.”
My partner rolled his eyes. “You’re being sillier than usual.”
“Jitters. I haven’t been to a club in over a year, and not to many before then anyway. Here I am, dressed to the nines, with two handsome men, and we’re sitting in a gorgeous set of wheels.” I pulled my licenses and a twenty from my purse. “Did you install an alarm on it?”
“Oh, yeah.” Logan cut the engine.
“Good. Will you hold this for me?” I handed over my stuff, before shoving my purse under my seat. It took him a few seconds to realize I didn’t mean just for the moment, but when he did, Logan tucked my licenses and money into his wallet. “Dane, you have Rico’s photo, right?”
“In my wallet,” he assured me.
Logan exited, leaving Dane to crawl out of the back seat on his own. A moment later, he appeared out of the evening gloom to open my door. The snow had stopped again, so I left the hood of my coat down.
Doors shut and locked and the alarm set, we walked across the lot. We had to pass the door to go to the end of the line, but as we neared the door, one of the bouncers stepped forward. “Tiger lady. Come on in.”
“I knew this coat was a wise purchase,” I whispered to Logan. “My friends too?”
The bouncer, about seven feet tall and some type of supe I’d never seen before, surveyed them for a second before nodding. “Your friends, too, Tiger Lady.”
“Thank you.” We passed between the bouncers, the second one turning to open the door for us. The room we entered was silent, and painted white. Everything was white: Walls, floor, ceiling, the back of the door we’d come through, the counter, and even the cash register sitting on it.
An elf sat behind the counter. She was a white blonde with the palest skin I’d ever seen, dressed as a sexy angel. White feathered wings stuck up above her head. Her eyes were pale pink. Albino elf. Neat.
Once at the counter, I saw the discreet sign that informed us the cover charge was five dollars. That was amusing, after the whole “You shall not pass unless you’re cool enough” charade outside. Logan and Dane began pulling out their wallets, but the
elf spoke. “There’s no charge for you or your companions, Miss Jones. Be welcome, and enjoy your evening.”
“How do you know who I am?”
She inclined her head. “Prince Thorandryll owns this establishment.”
“Seriously?” She nodded, and I wondered if he’d passed my photo around the old sidhe so all his people would know what I looked like.
“Yes, Miss Jones. Your refreshments are complimentary as well.”
Huh. Partying on Thorandryll’s dime did have a certain allure, but we were there for a reason. I glanced at Dane, who stepped forward and held up the photo of Rico. “Have you seen this man recently?”
She looked at the photo. “Yes. He’s been in several times since we opened. I believe he was here last night.”
Woohoo, we were getting somewhere. “Did you see him leave alone, or with someone?”
The elf shook her head. “I’m afraid not. This is the entrance.”
I hadn’t seen another door outside. “Where’s the exit?”
“You’ll find it when you’re ready to leave. My apologies, but there are new arrivals incoming.” She gestured to a door at the right of her post. “Please enjoy your evening.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Had the door been there before? I couldn’t remember as we moved toward it. At least we’d confirmed Rico was a regular.
“Welcome, Miss Jones,” an elf said the second I walked through the door. This one was a guy, dressed in clinging black pants, highly polished riding boots, and a white poet’s shirt. His hair didn’t match the romance cover outfit, being dark blue. The room we were in was little more than a rectangular box, with doors at each end. It was also painted white, but the overhead lighting picked out glints of green, blue, pink, and gold on the walls, floor, and counter the new elf stood behind. It was like standing inside a giant opal.
“May I take your coats?”
Fancy. I untied the belt of mine as the guys shrugged off their jackets. The elf took them, not offering a number or anything. “Um, don’t we need a ticket or something?”
Frost & Bothered (Discord Jones Book 4) Page 3
