Watched as her French
manicured hand darted out, snatched her friend’s shot of whiskey
and downed it with the panache of a hard core imbiber.
Rolf’s eyes narrowed. When she turned away
the second- polite for a biker, or a wolf- request for company,
Rolf started to think something was up. This wasn’t a place chicks
came just to hang out and girl talk.
He stood up, crossed the distance to that
side of the bar, and sat down next to her. She looked up at him and
he sensed a flare of- something, quickly suppressed. He leaned in,
inhaling her scent, and frowned. Nostrils flared, inhaling…
nothing. Almost as if-
“ Can I get you a drink, big guy?” she
asked.
Rolf blinked, taken aback. He leaned his arm
on the bar, nodded at her fizzy pink thingy. He hadn’t even known
they owned those types of glasses.
“ What you drinking, pretty
bit?”
She took another dainty sip, swished the
straw around in the liquid, and pushed it towards him.
“ I said something pink and fruity,”
she replied. “This is what the bartender gave me.”
Rolf took a sip, winced. It tasted like
syrup and clear soda with a splash of vodka huddled in the
corner.
“ Lancelot,” Rolf called, a demand in
his voice. “What is this shit?”
The burly, bearded bartender grunted, swung
a towel over his shoulder. “She said get something girly. That’s
fucking girly. The customer is always fucking right.”
“ Man, you don’t believe that shit. Fix
a real drink. We don’t fleece the paying customers.”
Lance paused. “She’s paying herself?”
The bartender looked around the room as if
he were wondering why one of the wolves hadn’t stepped up already.
In a dark corner the clank of a cue against ball covered muted
conversation, pitched so even wolf ears had to strain to hear.
Brunette spoke up, eyes wide. “We don’t,
like, have dates or anything.”
“ Well,” Rolf said, “here first time
customers always get their drinks on the house.”
The blonde chick snorted. “Is that first
time female customers, or do the hombres get the same special?”
“ Well, cowgirl, seein’ as we like to
encourage pretty faces to come in here, that would be a girl's only
discount.”
Rolf turned his attention back to Brunette.
Her eyes were busy scanning the room, and trying to be discreet
about it. He was a bit- disturbed- he didn’t have her full
attention.
“ What’s your name?”
“ Andr- Andrea.” She jerked her
attention back to him. “Nice to meet you. And thanks for the free
drink, but I think we have to go.”
She drew a few bills out of her purse and
put them on the counter, standing up. Rolf placed a hand on her
shoulder, lightly.
“ Stay awhile,” he said.
She made a tiny, aborted movement, then
stilled. “Sorry, another time.”
The women turned, walking towards the
entrance when it opened and the two shit heads he’d been waiting
for walked in. Forgetting about the women, Rolf caught their eyes
and jerked his head towards the side door that led to an office.
Time for a chat.
CHAPTER
2
Andraste cursed.
What shitty timing. She realized the stupid prey act she’d been
putting on was either slipping, or having the opposite effect she
wanted on the man. Unsettling how interest warmed his pale
eyes, his body language reflecting someone who was settling in for a
night of hard flirting -
or something more. She wondered how his eyes would
look if he knew who she was.
Odd, really. Having
recognized him as soon as she and Cora entered the bar, Andraste
had expected to feel- anger. Disgust. Something. But her wolf was
quiet, almost… waiting.
The width of his
shoulders blocked her line of sight as he leaned in towards her,
his large hand resting on the bar belonged to a man used to
crushing skulls. She knew from his file that he liked to restore
old bikes, but his nails were trimmed and filed neatly, clean
underneath.
She wished she
could drop
Roni Loren
Ember Casey, Renna Peak
Angela Misri
A. C. Hadfield
Laura Levine
Alison Umminger
Grant Fieldgrove
Harriet Castor
Anna Lowe
Brandon Sanderson