Curves for Fighters

by Zoey Thames

  And they were taking her there.

  Her heart hadn’t stopped beating fast since they’d suggested it and she’d agreed. She couldn’t drink alcohol, that was a given. But she could dance…and she could gawk. She’d tell everyone her name was Francesca and she was from Madrid. Well, with her country-farm coloring, no one would believe that. Maybe Mikaela, a Swedish princess of a forgotten royal line…

  Brian walked on her right. She’d linked her arm through his, as they walked along the street toward the club. Dominic walked on her left, with her other arm linked through his. She almost felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, skipping down the yellow brick road. And that was weird. There was bound to be a lion shifter here tonight too. She couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face at the image.

  “That smile,” Dominic murmured, leaning close to her ear. The rich timber of his voice thrummed right through her, sending all her nerve endings into a tizzy of pleasure. “It lights up your face.”

  Brian leaned down to talk in her other ear and her knees grew weak at all the attention, here between these two powerful males. “He’s right,” Brian said, his rougher voice sending a thrilled shudder through her body. “You are the most beautiful thing in miles and miles.”

  She blushed furiously and laughed. “I didn’t know wolves were such sweet-talkers.”

  “One of many things I’m glad you now understand about us,” Brian replied.

  The club’s building sign was one of its better known marvels. It was fire caught in crystal tubes in the shape of each letter of the word Flare. The fire continuously circled through the tubes, shifting colors. The effect was striking. She’d brought clients here before, but only to drop them off at the entrance, and she’d always loved that sign.

  The bouncers let the three of them through the front entrance with deferential nods as soon as they spotted Brian and Dominic, then turned their scowls back to the long line of people hopeful about getting inside. She could feel the glares of those people, wondering who she was or who she knew that she’d made her way inside so easily. For once she let herself revel in that a little bit. Normally she’d be the one on the outside, and even though she wasn’t petty enough to be bitter about something like that—her mama had raised her right, after all—she couldn’t help but feel a little bit special tonight.

  The first thing she noticed when she entered the club and her eyes adjusted to the darkness was that Flare wasn’t as loud as other clubs usually were. Oh there was a driving dance beat going on and plenty of people tearing it up on the dance floor, but the decibel level was far lower than the usual pounding, deafening volume of the handful of other clubs she’d been inside. She figured it had to do with the more sensitive hearing of shifters. Then she gasped when she saw the winding floor that curved from the entrance toward the bar, branching out into various platforms. The floor she stood on was like a translucent road, with the same trapped fire as the sign outside. She watched as the snaking flames chased themselves along the walkways and over the bar as if they were alive. She wondered what fed that fire, but then decided the answer was likely to simply be “Magic.”

  Brian was watching her attentively. “You like?”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Like? This place kicks ass!”

  It was Dominic’s turn to laugh. “I love a woman who speaks her mind.”

  Brian ordered them drinks at the bar. He had a bourbon, Dominic went with vodka, and she had a strawberry-ginger lemonade, then they escorted her to a table on a small dais away from the dance floor but with a good view. The dais had that same swirling fire effect, this time it was blue fire twirling around and spiraling in on itself almost hypnotically.

  They watched the dancers and sipped their drinks, making small talk about New York and places she’d been. They were very good at keeping the conversation—and their attention—fixed on her. Many of the rich and famous she’d driven around the city were obsessed with themselves and that was just about all they talked of. But Brian and Dominic seemed genuinely interested in her…which of course was terribly embarrassing because she did not lead a very fascinating life.

  After a little while, she excused herself to visit the ladies room. As she walked toward the corridor past the bar, she couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder at the two men. A thrill of pure lust shot through her when she saw they were watching her go, their eyes intense, as if she were the only thing that mattered in the world. Even hotter was the promise in their blazing-hot gazes. A promise that, should she be hungry for it, they would take her and pleasure her for as long and as well as she might like, until she was utterly sated. And oh how she was starving.

  Ruth swallowed the lump in her throat, suppressed a shudder of delight, and quickly made her way into the back area, her body moving a little to the catchy rhythm as she tried to get a grip on her thoughts and emotions. She desperately wanted to dance with these two men. She intended to. She was going to enjoy—

  Someone bumped her hard. She grunted as she was shunted into the wall. Her shoulder hurt where she hit it against the panel. Frowning, she turned to see who had crashed into her. It was a man wearing low-slung cargo pants, a white tank top, with a beanie on his head and tons of tattoos and facial piercings. He was good-looking, but in a severe, hoodlum sort of way, thin but well-muscled…but his eyes were cold, predator eyes.

  “Excuse me,” she murmured and turned away. She didn’t want to mess with a guy like him and she certainly didn’t intend to let him ruin her perfect night.

  “No problem,” the guy called after her, and from the tone of his voice, she could hear the leer on his face, even if she couldn’t see it. She could also feel his gaze on her ass where her uniform trousers fit her well. “I like a woman with some junk in the trunk.”

  She felt heat on her cheeks, but it was entirely different from the kind of raw lust Brian and Dominic seemed able to stir in her at will. There was no way she would even acknowledge the guy’s unwelcome remark. In fact, she wished the music had drowned it out completely.

  Ruth took longer in the powder room than she needed to, mostly because she wanted Mr. Face-Piercings gone when she came out again, but also because Flare’s facilities were just as fancy and strangely unique as the rest of the club. There was plenty of light. It came from little hanging globes that seemed to put out warm, daylight quality illumination. The counters were some kind of stone, but the patterns on the surface subtly changed over time. The mirrors also seemed to hover in the air a full foot from the wall and could be angled with a gesture or even zoom in close for makeup touch-up.

  “Love the outfit,” a dark-haired Latino woman said from next to her as she fixed her eyeliner.

  At first Ruth suspected the woman was making fun of her. She’d been nervous and self-conscious about wearing her uniform into a place like this, with so many rich and beautiful people dressed in clothes that cost more than her car. But Dominic and Brian had put her at ease. Now all that nervousness came rushing back with interest.

  She managed a deep breath, glanced at the other woman, and decided on keeping things simple, like she’d been raised to do. When in doubt, go with what you know. That homily had always served her well. So she smiled and said, “Thank you.”

  The woman’s return smile touched her eyes and made her glow, giving off a kindness like heat from a radiator. “You stand out more than anyone else here. Even outshine the girls showing off all that skin. Your man like uniforms?” She winked.

  Ruth refused to blush. “I think he might.” She left it wide open which “he” she was referring too—not that she could’ve easily chosen. But she wouldn’t be shocked if one or both of them had some uniform fetish. Why else would those two gorgeous, successful hunks be so interested in a nobody like her who would never fit into those ultra-thin clothes the models wore on the runways?

  The woman touched her arm. “Good luck tonight, girl.” She leaned closer and whispered, “I’m a wolf. I can scent those two studs on you. I’
m jealous in a completely un-mean-girl way. I’m Carrie, by the way.”

  “Um…Ruth,” she practically squeaked. “Nice to meet you, Carrie.”

  “Same.” That endearing grin returned. “Now get out there and rock it! Make those hunks of yours drool!”

  Ruth left the powder room with a grin on her face, feeling more confident. In fact, feeling ready to rock it. But that confidence fled the instant she spotted Mr. Tattoos and Facial-Piercings. She almost turned around and fled back into the powder room when he locked eyes with her. But then she straightened her spine and kept walking. She would ignore him. Everything would be fine. Besides, she wasn’t going to spend tonight cowering in the ladies room because of this jerk. She was going to dazzle him with her new and shiny self-confidence.

  She boldly walked down the hallway leading back to the main area of the club. While she didn’t look his way, she was still careful not to seem intimidated by him. Even so, when she passed him by, he reached out and grabbed her arm. She gasped when he pulled her against him.

  “Hi there, pretty lady,” he growled. “Haven’t seen you here before.”

  “Let go. I’m with someone.” She bared her teeth at him as if she were the wolf shifter instead of just some girl from Oklahoma who drove people around the city for a living. “Two someones, actually.”

  He laughed. “One of those then? Don’t worry. I got a buddy I can call if that’s the way you like it.”

  “You’re revolting.” She tried to push away from the jerk, doing her best to radiate a “don’t mess with me vibe.” He clearly wasn’t buying it because he kept his iron grip on her arm.

  “Where you going, pretty thing?” he said, drawing out the words. “What about we have a little dance? You like to dance, don’t you? What do you say you dance with revolting old Jimmy. I’m a great dancer. Very graceful.” His look was almost feral.

  “Look, you bastard, I’m here with some guys, and when I dance, it’s going to be with them. So get your filthy paws off me before I get angry.”

  That brought a smirk to his face. “Sounds scary.” He made a big deal about scanning around the hallway leading to the restrooms. “But I don’t see these guys of yours around. So they must’ve given up their claim.”

  His grip on her arm was like steel, and his eyes glowed amber. He had to be some type of shifter, but she had no idea what kind. The beat of the music seemed to drive into her head. She started to sweat and hated herself for sweating. His nostrils flared as if he could smell her fear. Damn him.

  “I’m going to give you one last chance to be a gentleman—”

  “I’ll pass,” he interrupted, leaning toward her neck, growling low in his throat. She tried to pull away again, but he was too strong. All she could do was stare at the tattoos and piercings on his neck and ears and try not to cry.

  Then she was yanked away, leaving her stomach behind as if she’s just careened down the slope of a roller coaster. Dominic was holding her protectively, angling his muscular body between her and her harasser. But the guy had bigger problems. Brian came out of nowhere and slammed him into the wall, pinning the man’s arm in some kind of judo hold with one hand, and with his other arm, pressing his forearm against the guy’s throat.

  “You okay, Ruth?” Brian asked. She marveled at how calm his voice sounded. It was at complete odds with the extreme ready-to-attack tension in his body and stance.

  “He just grabbed me,” she replied, hating how shaky her voice came out. The guy pinned to the wall started to grin, and she understood that he was actually pleased he had rattled her.

  Dominic shook his head. His expression was absolutely no-nonsense and yet full of mock regret. “Unauthorized touching. I think you’re going to have to be taught a serious lesson for that one, Jimmy.”

  Jimmy snorted a laugh, although it sounded a little choked when Brian clamped down with his arm. “The bitch came on to me. But if you wolves want to tangle, I’m more than happy. One at a time though. Fair’s fair.”

  “Like you were fair to her when you were harassing her out here,” Dominic snarled.

  Brian glanced at Dominic, then at her. His look lingered on her, as if he were assessing if she was hurt or how upset Jimmy had made her. She lifted her chin and tried to look tough as nails. A slow smile spread across Brian’s face and he nodded. Then he turned back to Jimmy, and his voice dropped low and dangerous. “Her name is Ruth, not ‘bitch.’ You will be respectful. She’s with us. So I suggest you get the hell out of this club before I throw down a challenge.”

  Jimmy sneered. “I’m not leaving. You take your human whore and go. You want to throw down, I’m your cougar.”

  Brian released him and stepped back. By now there were plenty of members of the club’s security headed in the direction of the hall to the restrooms, even as a crowd gathered to see what was going on. The security men looked absolutely huge. All of them over six feet. Many of them very hairy. She wondered if they were bear shifters or, as she suspected, wooly mammoth shifters.

  “Well, then,” Brian said. “I’ll gladly take you up on your offer. Standard rules?”

  “Only if standard rules means no rules, you cocky sonuvabitch.”

  “I thought cats had better breeding,” Dominic said. His strong arms were still around her. His muscles were rigid. She felt as though she was protected in a steel cage…and right now, she loved it. “But I guess you’re a genetic throwback.”

  Jimmy’s lip curled to show teeth. “I’ll try not to beat down your boyfriend so hard you can’t fuck him later tonight, Dominic.” He shrugged. “But I make no promises.” He sauntered out into the main area of the bar yelling, “Ladies and germs, there’s gonna be a little fight for your entertainment. Move some of these damn chairs so we can have a ring. Watch me teach a wolf to beg.”

  Brian eyed Jimmy as he did his wrestling match taunt routine, a look of both contempt and amusement on his face. Ruth gently disengaged from Dominic and touched Brian’s arm. “You don’t have to fight him over me. We can just leave.”

  “You haven’t even had the chance to dance with us.” Brian shook his head and settled his big hands on her shoulders. Even through her uniform, she could feel the heat of his skin. It made her want to curl up in his lap and keep warm. It also made her want to do other, far more naughty things in his lap. “Ruth, this guy is a bully. I’ve wanted him out of this club for months. He’s always causing problems.”

  “I don’t want you hurt on my account. I don’t want you fighting for me.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, I’m touched, but I don’t need to be some prize to be won.”

  Dominic cupped her elbow and spoke in a low tone next to her ear. “We both understand that completely, Ruth. We do. But this isn’t like dustups between humans. We’re shifters. This is a shifter place. Now that we’ve made a claim on you, and he’s challenged it, that challenge has to be met. Or all the humans here, women, men, straight or gay or bi, will have problems. This is bigger than us now.”

  “Don’t worry,” Brian said, looking her straight in the eye. “I don’t intend to lose.”

  Dominic punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Not like earlier tonight, eh?”

  “You’re never going to let that go. How many times do I have to say it? I was distracted by a beautiful, curvy woman in uniform. My secret weakness.”

  She couldn’t help but smile, even as her cheeks heated. She did love the back and forth banter between these two men, and as scared as she was that someone would get hurt—which wasn’t at all what she wanted—she found herself touched that they would defend her. She wasn’t one of those women who enjoyed men fighting over her like rams battling it out for a mate. Still, there was much here that she wasn’t aware of—shifter etiquette, as Brian had mentioned—so she figured she should do as her momma always advised: “Hold her tongue and open her eyes and ears.”

  By the time Brian made it out into the main part of the club, the music had been stopped and a space had been cl
eared in the center of the dance floor. It was ringed with people and those huge security men. In a human club, the security would’ve thrown them all out for fighting. But apparently in a shifter club like Flare, this was part of the ambiance. She was simultaneously repulsed…and intrigued. Her mind might not enjoy the violence on an intellectual level, but her body, well, it flushed with heat, and she felt pulses of lust throbbing through her at the raw energy in the crowd, crackling throughout the room, and at the knowledge that Brian was going to defend her honor in the most primitive, no-nonsense way possible. Part of her was deeply touched. Actually, part of her wanted to go down on her knees, take his cock in her mouth, and show him exactly how much she appreciated it.

  The DJ was doing the announcing. He called out Jimmy’s name and there were some scattered cheers and catcalls as he stripped off his jacket and shirt and strode bare-chested into the space cleared for the fighting. Then the DJ called for Brian. Brian also stripped out of his suit jacket, tie, and dress shirt, handing them all to Dominic. Meanwhile, the crowd went wild with cheers and shouts of encouragement. He seemed to ignore all of it though, merely casting an intense glance at Dominic and then to her, his expression deadly serious. Ruth and Dominic were led by two burly security guys to the side of the area cleared for fighting and given the best place to stand and watch. Her heart started to beat very quickly, and her mouth went dry. She had never been so close to something like this and the hair on her arms was standing up from all the gathered energy.

  Dominic put his arms around her and drew her close. There was a protective element to the embrace, but she also felt his cock stirring in his trousers as she pressed her curves against him. She pretended not to notice, but that made her feel a little better.

  “Don’t worry, Ruth,” he said in her ear, low enough that only she could hear him. “Brian will be okay. He’s a great fighter. Very powerful.”

  “Yeah, but what about the other guy?”

  He laughed. “Don’t worry about him either. He’s a cougar shifter. He can heal injuries far faster than a human. And nobody’s going to die here tonight, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”