“When he needs more information and is willing to play along to get it. We were expecting Adler alone, but she showed up with Rufus and his coterie.”
“And Rufus is…?”
“The master vampire for the Spokane Night Court. A bastard who made a point to ask after you when he arrived. Takoma didn’t take it well.”
“Did Takoma let him live? Why is Rufus in your territory? I thought he wasn’t allowed out of Spokane.”
“Adler went through government channels to bring him over. We don’t need a news story right now.” Alyona shoved the garment bag into Spencer’s chest, and he had to grab for it so it wouldn’t drop. “Let’s get upstairs so you can get dressed, and we can leave.”
She wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and Spencer had experience in trying and failing to escape Nadine’s fashion clutches over the years. Something told him Alyona would be the same. With a sigh, he jerked his head in the direction of the elevator. “This way.”
He led her to his condo, not needing to formally invite her in as if she were the undead, but the threshold wrapped around the condo flared at her presence. Spencer wondered if she’d come up here and realized she wouldn’t be able to get in before heading back down to the lobby.
Once inside, he didn’t bother with hospitality. Alyona was a human servant with no magic. The only thing he risked by harming her was Takoma’s rage, and Spencer had no desire to ever experience that.
Fatima followed him into the bedroom and watched him lay the garment bag on the bed. He unzipped it to reveal an outfit that would’ve been a better choice for summer rather than the trailing edges of a Pacific Northwest winter.
The clothes were designer, and while the black jeans looked a size too small but probably weren’t, the sheer button-down shirt with its silk collar and cuffs was better suited for a club than whatever sort of meeting he’d been drafted into for tonight. The outfit screamed arm candy, not equal, but he supposed that’s what a human servant was in the ranks of a Night Court.
Spencer dragged a hand down his face before he started to undress. He didn’t have time for a shower, but at least he hadn’t been traipsing around outside today. Unsurprisingly, the clothes fit but were tight enough that they left nothing to the imagination. If he was going to play arm candy, Alyona couldn’t have picked a better outfit. He knew from long experience with Nadine that none of his shoes would match the look, but that problem was solved when Alyona knocked loudly on his bedroom door.
“It’s unlocked,” Spencer called out.
Alyona bustled inside, shopping bag hanging from her fingers. She eyed him critically before nodding to herself. “Good. They fit. I have your shoes. Put them on so we can leave.”
“Why arm candy?”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Why not?”
“There are plenty of human servants who act as bodyguards. You could’ve dressed me as one of those, especially if they all know I’m a mage. The vampire from the forest would’ve reported back about that.”
“What makes you think I picked out the clothes?”
“Oh.”
Spencer was not going to find the thought of Takoma wanting to put him on displayhot. He wasn’t.
His cock twitched in the tight jeans, clearly not receiving the message.
“My master left strict instructions on how to attend to you before he woke up.” She smirked at him, clearly amused by the uncomfortable flush Spencer couldn’t quite stop from heating his cheeks. “I am not one to shirk my duties.”
“Sure,” Spencer said plaintively. “Just give me the shoes.”
He put them on under Alyona’s watchful gaze and Fatima’s judging one.
The shoes in question were what a designer thought combat boots should be, not the actual sort he’d worn in the Mage Corps. They were so new Spencer thought he could hear the leather creak, adorned with metal buckles that were more decorative than useful. He straightened and would’ve reached for his wool coat, except Alyona made a displeased clicking sound with her tongue. “You aren’t wearing that.”
“What do you want me to wear? It’s freezing outside.”
Alyona stepped close so she could reach up and undo the top three buttons of his shirt. “There is a coat waiting for you in the car outside.”
“I can drive myself.”
“You are appearing tonight as a favored human servant of the master vampire who rules the Seattle Night Court. You do not drive yourself; you are chauffeured.”
“You want me to act useless?” Spencer asked dubiously.
She smiled thinly at him as she scrutinized his hair. “I want you to actowned.”
