She slipped her phone into her dress pocket and approached the group. For the first time, her smile seemed forced, belied by the wariness in her gaze. “Welcome to Darkly Romantic. Are you looking for anything in particular?”
The men turned their attention to her, and there was no mistaking the nature of the smiles that sprouted on their lips or of the gleams that entered their eyes. Fire ignited in Nyte’s chest, its low, roiling, restless flames blazing a scorching path through his body. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
“I think I am now,” said the dark-haired man wearing a vest with a checkered shirt beneath.
“You got any underwear with bats or broomsticks or that kinda shit on it?” the red hoodie man asked.
“You asking if she has any in the store or if she’s wearing it right now?”
They all burst into laughter.
Ember’s smile disappeared. “We have some lingerie, but nothing like what you mentioned.” She gestured toward the back of the store. “You can find them on the racks back there. We also have a men’s section to the right.”
“Mind showing us the lingerie, and which you’d recommend?” asked the blond man.
“My recommendation would depend on who you’re buying for.”
“Just…in general.”
Her gaze flicked to Nyte’s before she nodded. “This way.”
She led them toward the back, and the men followed. With his eyes narrowed, Nyte stalked after them.
When she reached the lingerie section, she selected a black lace negligee and held it up for them. It had a bra-like top with flowing sheer fabric spilling from it like a robe. “This is a customer favorite. It’s elegant and sensual.”
A man with curly brown hair stroked his chin as he grinned at her. “Mind putting it on and modeling it for us?”
Nyte’s claws bit into his palms, and the pain only intensified the blaze inside him.
Ember returned the lingerie to the rack calmly. “I’m not going to do that.”
“Oh, come on.” The man in the vest moved closer to Ember, fingering the lacey negligee as he stared at her. “How are we gonna know if we like it until we see it in action?”
“We have a fitting room. You’re more than welcome to try it on so you can show your friends.”
All the men laughed.
Curly Hair slapped his friend wearing the vest on the back. “How about it? You gonna model your junk for us?”
“Fuck no!”
The blond man chuckled and stepped up behind Ember, lightly running the backs of his fingers down her arm. “You got a curvy body and some big tits. I wanna see what it looks like on you.”
Nyte bared his fangs.
The man had touched her. He’d touched Ember, Nyte’s little witch.
Rage nearly compelled him to snuff out all the light within the shop and descend upon these disgusting mortal men, to reveal himself as a nocturnus in all his glory, fearsomeness, and ferocity. To gut and disembowel them.
But what would that mean for Ember? What would that mean for her shop? She’d said herself that beings like Nyteweren’t supposed to exist in her world, and he didn’t want to bring outside scrutiny upon her and her business.
Ember jerked away from the man with a scowl. Her eyes were hard, but Nyte detected a tremor in her voice when she said, “I need you all to leave right now, before I call the cops.”
Nyte tasted something deeply troubling from her—fear.
The dark-haired man laughed. “You don’t need to be such a bitch. Nothing wrong with some flirting.”
The blond man lowered his head, petting her hair as he whispered in her ear. “I’ve always had a thing for goth chicks.”
