“This doesn’t mean I like you,” I muttered out loud to no one but myself. But then I had that same skittering feeling down my spine again, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d heard me after all.
7
“Sign here.” Asmodeus pushed the clipboard across the desk and leaned back into his office chair. My eyes flicked across the paper. It was the end of what looked like a twenty-page contract. I flipped through it all, eyes blurring. A spot for my signature sat just beneath his, next to that sameInfernalsymbol etched onto the door.
“This seems a bit over the top,” I finally said, setting the clipboard onto the desk. “And I should probably read through all of it.”
“It’s a standard employment contract,” he replied, frowning. “Take your time, if you’d like. Unfortunately, that means you won’t be able to start tonight. I’ll have to put you on the roster for another day later in the week instead.”
I sighed and picked up the pen. “It’s fine.”
As I scribbled my name across the line, a strangezingwent through my body. Almost like someone had shot an electric charge into my arm. Wincing, I finished signing and tossed the pen onto the desk.
“What’s wrong?” Asmodeus asked with a smile.
“Nothing, I think I just got a shock.” I wrung my arm and pushed the clipboard toward him. “There. Happy now?”
“Delighted.” He stood and motioned for me to follow him into the hallway outside his office. That afternoon, he had fulfilled his promise and had taken me shopping. In the end, we’d argued about every little thing until he’d angrily bought me three outfits I was to wear when I danced at his club. I hated each and every one of them. They were little straps of black fabric that highlighted my curves, but one wrong move, and I’d have a serious case of wardrobe malfunction on my hands.
He led me through the hallway and into a side room where a half a dozen guys were clustered around a folding table. They fell silent as soon as we walked in, and it was all I could do not to gape at them.
They were all tall and well-muscled, donning tight tanks that did little to hide their chiseled chests and biceps. In fact, I had a feeling that was the point.
“These are your dancers?” I asked, my voice rising to a higher pitch with every word. No wonder he’d said he needed a different kind of dancer. He’d meant men! Very muscled, very tall, very gorgeous men.
The guys all glanced at each other and laughed. Asmodeus chuckled from beside me, and that dimpled smile made a rare appearance.
“These aren’t the dancers, Mia,” Asmodeus said. “They’re the club’s bouncers.”
“Oh.” My cheeks went hot. “That makes sense.”
The guy nearest to the door had long dark hair that curled around his ears and an elaborate tattoo that swirled across his massive left bicep. He waggled his eyebrows at me. “I could put on a show for you if you’d like.”
“Caim,” Asmodeus warned in a dangerous voice. “No flirting with Mia. She’s mygirlfriend, remember? Starting now, we need to remember this, even when no one else is around. Otherwise, we might forget when it counts.”
Ah, so these guys knew all about the fake girlfriend scheme. Good to know. So, that meant they were inside his trust circle. Probably a good thing. I didn’t know how well I could pretend on a day-to-day basis, on top of the events with his potential investors.
“Hi, Mia.” Caim flashed me a brilliant smile. “Welcome to the crazy house. Buckle in. Your life is about to get turned upside down.”
“Don’t scare her, Caim,” another one of the guys said. He had reddish hair with eyes I swore matched, even if that was impossible. People couldn’t have orange eyes, right?Must be contacts.His voice was harsh and rough, a contrast to both Caim and Asmodeus. “If we want to pull this off, we need her to stick around, not run off into the night screaming bloody murder.”
I raised my brows.
“This is Phenex,” Caim said, jerking his thumb toward the ginger. “He’s prone to exaggeration.”
Phenex rolled his eyes and gave Caim a brotherly punch on the arm. Immediately, they both started bickering.
Not for the first time, I wondered exactly what I’d signed up for. These guys seemed friendly enough, but they were intense as hell.
I cleared my throat and tried on a smile. “Nice to meet you guys. So, you know about the…” I glanced at Asmodeus.
“Girlfriend deal,” Caim finished for me, nodding. “‘Course we do. We came up with the plan together. In fact, it was Valac’s idea.”
I followed his gaze to the guy in the far corner, half-hidden in shadows. He had bleached white hair and pale skin that seemed to pull tight around his muscles. Something about him screamed danger, and every hair on the back of my neck stood on end. The whites of his eyes seemed to pierce my soul. Suddenly, the fangs of my memories threatened to pierce my mind. I shuddered.
Caim sighed and rolled his eyes. “Stop it, Valac.”
Confusion rippled through me, and my memories blinked away. “Stop what?”
