by Lauren Dawes
Bryn’s gaze skimmed down the human male, checking him for any visible weapons. ‘You carrying?’ she asked him.
The guy’s eyes jerked to Bryn and he shook his head mechanically.
‘Where are you and your boys heading?’
‘Level Three.’
Bryn looked over her shoulder, seeing that his friends were already being swallowed up by the dim stairway. Catching the eye of her head of security, she cocked a brow at him. Touching the button clipped to the front of his shirt, Mason’s gravel voice filled her ear.
‘Buck’s night.’
‘They clean?’ she replied, holding his gaze across the room. They were speaking on a channel reserved just for them.
‘Yeah.’
‘How’s capacity?’
‘Not even half.’
Bryn looked back at the male Mav had stopped. Her girl had a sixth sense when it came to human’s thoughts and feelings. She’d obviously picked up on something in his head. ‘Sorry, Level Three is full. You’ll have to wait down here for your buddies.’
‘Bullshit,’ he replied, spitting the word at her.
Bryn arched a brow at him and Mav took a step closer to her, shielding Bryn’s body with hers. That was Mav though: the perfect soldier.
Bryn looked pointedly at Mav then back at the male. ‘You want to try that again?’ Bryn asked, her hand perching on her hip. Her feminine voice was a stark contrast to the chill of menace rolling off her body. It was this feature that was often enough to stop men like this in their tracks.
The human’s cognac eyes shifted from Bryn to Mav, taking in the firm muscles of her girl’s arms and the breadth of her shoulders. Eventually, his own shoulders slumped in defeat.
‘Yeah, alright.’
Bryn and Maverick watched him shuffle into the bar and park it on a stool. Bryn turned back to the other Valkyrie.
‘You alright?’ She nodded. ‘Need a break?’ She shook her head. Bryn sighed. ‘Alright.’ Turning back around, she walked back toward the bar and took up her post once more.
Mist, Bryn’s lieutenant, was behind the thing restocking the shelves with Skyy and Johnny Walker Blue. Mist’s sleek blonde bob rode her jawline, swaying ever so slightly as she moved from the shelves to the bar top.
Bryn picked up her glass, the ice cubes knocking together as she brought the little slice of heaven to her lips and took a sip. The vodka slid down her throat, burning slightly. Feeling the stab of a new headache assaulting the front of her skull, Bryn cradled her head in her hands and massaged her temples.
She hadn’t been sleeping. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d gotten a full night’s sleep. She’d tried to remember what time she’d made it to bed the previous night. Two a.m.? Three? Who the fuck knew. All she knew was running a human business was harder than the whole Choosers of the Slain gig they’d all had to endure before the Fall.
Now, she had to deal with employees, taxes, employee taxes, suppliers, distributers, maintenance, living costs...it made her want to go back into Odin’s service for half a second, but then she remembered why she’d left in the first place.
‘I’m going to go upstairs,’ Bryn announced, picking up her glass and heading toward the stairs.
‘How’s things, Boss?’ Mason asked as she walked past. Mason was shorter than her by a good few inches. His hair was cut short—a no-nonsense type cut. His hazel eyes were slightly too small for his face, but they were always watchful. He’d saved her ass on a number of occasions.
‘Good, Mason. How’s Sophie?’ Sophie was his German shepherd. Her head of security was too focused on his career for anything more in his life. Except for that dog. He loved that dog.
His face lit up at the mention of her. ‘She’s good. Real good.’
Bryn nodded and made her way up to the next level. The deep, thrumming beats of the nightclub reverberated down to the marrow in Bryn’s bones, her headache taking on a life of its own. Nodding to the bouncers at the door, she continued on until she hit the gentleman’s club.
Level Three was every man’s fantasy come to life. All tastes were catered for with only one rule in place: don’t touch the girls. Bryn scanned the crowds spotting the six bouncers she had littered around the room in addition to the two at the door.
The walls were painted blood-red, the floors carpeted in the same color. The bar was shiny and black, manned by one barman and a stack of girls wearing next to nothing, carrying trays balanced on their palms. The stage jutted out from the wall opposite the bar, a ‘T’ shape that thrust out into a crowd of dark-wood tables and black leather booths.
The group of men that had come through before were loitering near the bar—waiting for the entertainment to start for the evening. Bryn deposited her empty glass onto a nearby table on her way to the end of the stage.
She climbed the few stairs and pushed past the crushed velvet curtain. The absence of the bouncer assigned to keep an eye on the backstage area struck Bryn first.
‘Cherry, where’s Winta?’ she asked. Winta was a demi-god. Nobody knew who his father was. He was UNK and MIA from his life. His mother was human—a school teacher who’d had a one-night stand twenty years ago resulting in Winta. It happened more often than not, especially since the Fall.
Cherry turned her green eyes to Bryn. ‘He’s not here.’ She was softly spoken and one of the only females who wasn’t a goddess working there.
Bryn cursed and pulled the small phone from her pocket. Scrolling through her contacts, she found Winta’s number, punched the call button and got ready to rip the bastard a new asshole for not turning up for work.
The damn thing rang out. Bryn tried the number again, but got the same ring-out-to-voicemail routine. Spinning around she caught the eye of one of her other guys.
Adrian was a light elf, his pale green eyes and blond hair highlighting his heritage. They were slight of build, but still had preternatural strength on their side. There were only light elves left now. The dark elves—the Mares—had been wiped out under Odin’s command.
‘What’s up?’
‘Winta hasn’t shown up for his shift. You got any friends who can fill in tonight?’
Adrian palmed his phone. ‘Yeah, I know someone.’
‘You trust him?’
Adrian nodded. ‘With my life.’
‘Good. Get him here, but tell him he’ll have to go ask for me at the back door. He can’t fade into the building.’
Adrian nodded and made with the dialling, Bryn waiting to get the guy’s details. After a few yeps and yeahs, Adrian hung up.
‘He’s coming.’
‘What’s his name?’
‘Korvain,’ he replied. Adrian glanced up as Nine Inch Nails ‘Closer’ went stereo. ‘Looks like Kara’s up.’ Bryn watched as Adrian took up his position, mirroring the stance of the other bouncers around him; arms locked across broad chests, legs shoulder-width apart. Men flocked to the stage area, planting their asses into the booths surrounding it.
Kara stepped out onto the stage. She was dressed in a red corset reminiscent of their uniform in Odin’s army of Blonde and Buxom. The men were already foaming at the mouth, and she’d only just started to grind and gyrate to the heavy beat.
Kara’s breasts were large and perky, swaying gently with the rhythm of her dancing. The men stood at attention, waving bills no smaller than twenties in her direction.
Satisfied everything was running smoothly, Bryn went down to the nightclub on the level below, pausing to talk to her bouncers for a moment before stepping into the darkened room. Where Level Three was red, Raven was as black as the feathers of the bird it was named after.
The crowds of beautiful people parted before her, throwing furtive glances over their shoulders. She ignored them. Just like she always did. She noticed one male approaching her. No doubt he was being egged on by his buddies who were sitting at one of the banquet tables that lined the walls looking on, slapping each other on the back in congratulations.
She stopped and turned toward him. The male was shorter than her, but then again most men were. His hair looked black. She blamed the lighting. He had a swagger that said he knew how good-looking he was. He was good-looking, but she wasn’t interested. When he was within arm’s reach of her, he ran the back of his fingers down her bare arm.
Bryn’s teeth snapped shut, trapping the growl. The human smiled a million-dollar smile and stepped into the line of her body. Tilting his head up to her ear, he said, ‘How are you doing, beautiful?’
‘I was good until some asshole invaded my personal space and touched me without permission.’ She made her voice sugary sweet.
He stepped back with a puzzled expression on his face.
‘That means you, asshole,’ she snarled. ‘Back the fuck up.’
His brown eyes went wide, but he did as he was ordered, scurrying back to his buddies with his tail between his legs. With the shake of her head, Bryn proceeded in the direction of the bar. She was breaking in a new bartender tonight.
‘Dex, how are you doing?’
The human looked up from pouring a drink and smiled. He had dark hair that flopped into eyes the color of melted toffee. He had more piercings than she’d ever seen before, but he came with good references and from what she’d seen so far, he worked hard.
‘S’all good, Boss,’ he grinned, flashing straight, white teeth.
She nodded. ‘Good. Give me a yell if you need anything.’
She turned toward the door when Mason’s voice crackled to life in her ear. ‘There’s someone down here asking for you.’
‘Who is it?’
There was silence before he said, ‘Korvain.’
‘I’m coming down. Show him into my office.’
Bryn walked back down the stairs until she hit the first level again. Turning left, she pushed open a door that opened up into a long hallway. Directly in front was the door leading out into the back alley. She turned and made her way down the hall. On her left was the unisex change room, on her right was her office. Mason was standing guard outside her office, his massive arms criss-crossing his chest.
‘Says he was asked to come by.’
‘He was.’ She put a hand on his arm to move him out of the way. But he didn’t. She looked at him, her hand squeezing his arm gently. ‘I’ll be fine.’
‘He looks like an axe murderer,’ he muttered. ‘A Calvin-Klein-looking motherfucker, but still an axe murderer.’ He didn’t budge until Bryn patted his arm.
Mason’s chest heaved up and down, but he moved. Stepping past one of the only humans she actually liked, Bryn opened up her office door and stopped dead when all the air came rushing out of her lungs.
Korvain was sitting on the edge of her desk, his black eyes glittering in the overhead lights. Although he was sitting down, she could tell he was taller than her by more than just a few inches. His skull-trimmed hair was black, matching his eyes and the dark slashes of his eyebrows.
He was bigger than any other male she had ever seen. His arms were as big as her thighs, crossed tightly across a stomach so well defined the muscles of his abdominals threw their own shadows from under the material of his shirt.
Her eyes took in the breadth of his shoulders, the size of his chest. Bryn swayed suddenly, her hand shooting out to catch the door jamb to keep her balance. Gods, the scent of the male was intoxicating. She had a sudden vision of having his body on hers, pressing into her. She gasped to hide the groan that wanted to push its way free from her throat.
She watched as his eyes seemed to grow darker, his luscious mouth parting in the most seductive way. Bryn shook her head and cleared her throat.
‘Korvain?’
After a long, hot, lingering look, he nodded.
Her eyes slid shut as another flash of them touching intimately assaulted her. Letting out a breath, she pinned him with a look that usually sent most men into hiding. ‘Mind getting your ass off my desk?’ she snapped, stalking past him to sit in her huge leather chair.
With a cocky grin on his lips, he pushed himself off the edge of her desk and parked it in the chair opposite her. His eyes raked over her upper body like he was thinking about her naked. ‘Adrian says I can trust you with my girls up on Level Three.’
‘How can you know for sure?’ he replied, his voice washing through her, tightening the muscles in her lower body. The cadence of his voice was mesmerising, and she got another flash of him whispering erotic things into her ear while his naked chest pressed against hers.
She let out an exasperated breath. ‘I trust Adrian. He trusts you. That’s enough for me. Besides,’ she leaned in closer, ‘if you fuck around with them, I’ll fuck around with you. You know who I am, what I’m capable of.’
She sat back and watched in frustration as his lips curled into an amused smile. Fucker.
* * *
Korvain drank in the sight of Bryn. She hadn’t been afraid of him when she’d walked into the room. She’d been aroused by his presence. Now she was threatening him with death. The Valkyrie was braver than he thought she’d be. And he had to admit it was such a fucking turn on.
Her blonde hair was restrained behind her, a braid trailing over one shoulder. His fingers curled wanting to know the softness of it, the silkiness, as he ran it through his fingers. The darker part of him wanted to know whether he could use all that hair during sex, to control her, to dominate her.
Her eyes were mesmerizing and completely unique to Valkyries—two separate rings of color that somehow swirled together. The first was denim. It hugged her pupil, lapping her iris until the outer ring of sky-blue started to take over.
His eyes drifted languidly down to her neck, studying the distinct golden tattoo beneath her ear. Next they swept down to the hollow of her collarbones and then to her chest. She had nice breasts, but hid them behind a crew neck tee as if she was trying to take away some of her femininity by covering herself up.
His body had responded to the wave of gardenia her body had given off. The scent lingered in the air, sticking to the back of Korvain’s tongue. He wondered idly how she would respond to him taking her right here, right now on the desk.
Bryn sucked in a sharp breath. Korvain smiled.
She wanted him. There was no doubt about that.
‘Have you ever done work like this before?’ she asked, clearing her throat again. When he didn’t answer, she went on, ‘My usual guy didn’t show up. I can’t afford to leave my girls unprotected.’ Her cheeks suffused with color, and he realized she rambled when she was nervous. He found that...endearing.
‘I can do the job. Don’t worry about that,’ he replied. Her eyes lingered a little longer than necessary on his mouth.
Bryn seemed to study him for a long minute before she nodded, her braid bouncing on her shoulders like it had a life of its own. ‘I’ll show you upstairs then.’
Korvain followed her up the stairs, passing by two bouncers at each set of doors. The males tensed when they saw him, their hands reaching for the butts of their weapons under their arms. He smiled at them innocuously before walking on.
When they finally reached their destination, Bryn parted a red velvet curtain and stepped into the room. Korvain’s eyes made a sweep of the huge space, landing on each bouncer for a second, assessing him. When he spotted Adrian, he lifted his chin in acknowledgment.
‘I’m going to put you out here so you get a feel for the place,’ Bryn said, pressing a button attached to the collar of her tee. ‘Fallon, I need you out the back with the girls.’
A male fell out of formation at the back of the room and came toward them. Korvain could smell he wasn’t human as he passed them by.
‘Take Fallon’s position by the emergency exit,’ Bryn said. ‘Keep the men from touching my girls and from getting too trashed. I don’t allow drugs on my turf. You see any, confiscate them then report it to me.’ She pulled an earpiece, a mic and receiver from her back pocket and handed them to him. ‘Don’t be afraid to throw any of them
out if they’re getting out of hand. I run a high-class establishment here. I won’t stand for any shit.’
Korvain nodded and put the tech in place.
‘You’re on frequency three up here.’ She told him. ‘Questions? No? Good. See me at the end of the night for the money I owe you.’
Bryn stalked away, straightening her t-shirt and tossing the silken length of her braid over one shoulder. Korvain inhaled, tasting her scent, trapping it in his nose.
Putting his back to the wall, he scanned the crowd. Humans mingled with the gods, rubbing shoulders with them, sharing drinks with them. The dancer on the stage was wrapped in a PVC piece—one Korvain assumed was a nurse’s outfit. It hugged and exaggerated every one of her curves, flattering or not. She tottered on her heels, eye-fucking the crowd as she bore down on the pole at the end of the ‘T’ stage.
He watched the males with their money flapping in front of their faces, watched the other bouncers position themselves more advantageously around the room. Topless waitresses walked backwards and forwards from a shiny black bar on the opposite wall to the stage, their hands filled with loaded trays, their garters stuffed with green.
‘Hey, my brother,’ Adrian’s voice came over the earpiece in his ear. Korvain glanced over at his boy.
‘Hey.’
‘If you do good tonight, she might ask you back.’
Korvain snorted. ‘I don’t need the work, my brother. I’m just doing you a favor.’
His eyes made another sweep, landing on a woman who was walking toward him. Her hips looked like they were well-oiled and moving independently of the rest of her body.
She stood before him, smiling and batting her fake lashes. Now that she was closer, Korvain could see she had the dual-ringed eyes of a Valkyrie.
‘Hi,’ she purred, draping herself across his shoulders. He bit back the threatening growl when her fingertips walked up his chest and his throat until the backs of her fingers caressed his chin and jaw. He caught her hand before she could reach up and touch any more of his face, pressing his thumb into the nerve on the inside of her wrist until she winced.
