“But you’re a Warrior.”
He shrugged and ran his thumb over her ring. “I know the Dragon Kings will watch over things. It’s time for our life.”
“Whatever that is. Be it you stay immortal or not. We are together. That’s enough.”
There was no more talking as he kissed her and pushed her back on the bed.
Glasgow
Aisley parked the car and got out, the steady beat of the nightclub filling the streets. How she had missed the music so loud that it drowned out her thoughts.
She walked through the back door to find Dan’s surprised face. “Miss me?” she asked.
“More than you know,” he said, and huffed on his cigar. “How long you staying this time, lass?”
She shrugged and walked through the curtain of beads into the small room that served as a dressing room. Aisley didn’t even look in the mirror.
There had been a time she would have spent an hour sitting there making sure her hair and makeup were just right. But tonight she wasn’t there to work. She was there to get lost in the music.
“Damn, girl!” Pam said when she caught sight of Aisley. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again once your cousin found you. All that money and all.”
Aisley forced a smile. “Is my cage taken?”
Pam pointed up past the floor of crushed bodies moving to the music. “Stacy is up there now, but I can tell her to take a break.”
Aisley pulled out a wad of pound notes. “Tell her to take the night off.”
Pam whistled and then flicked the switch to lower the cage from the ceiling. Aisley impatiently waited. In the birdcage she could dance and let the music take away her worries without having to concern herself with anyone around her.
Once Stacy was out of the cage, Aisley stepped inside and held on as it was lifted back to the top. She closed her eyes, remembering a time when she had been hired to dress scantily and dance in the birdcage all night long.
That seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had happened since then. She wasn’t the same naïve girl who had walked the streets of Glasgow with stars in her eyes and dreams as big as the sky.
The song faded, quickly replaced with “Where Have You Been” by Rihanna. Aisley felt the music drift around her. It called to her soul, and to her surprise, it was her magic that answered.
Music had always been her refuge, the place she would go to for everything. Tonight she needed the hard beats, loud drums, and long guitar solos like she’d never needed them before.
Her world was destroyed. She was both thankful and fearful. The selmyr could still find her, but until they did, she was going to revel in the music that let her drift away from the hell she lived in.
A surge of magic filled her, taking her breath. She gave in to the seductive beat of the music and her magic and left the world behind as she began to move to the haunting strings of the song.
Phelan shut off his Ducati and pushed the kickstand down as he removed his helmet. He was thirsty and hungry, and he needed a woman.
He’d been in need of a female for several days, but oddly, he had yet to find one who appealed to him. Which was just … strange.
Phelan had never been too particular when it came to his women. Many had flirted with him the past few days, and they had even offered themselves. For the first time, he was the one to walk away before he had sex with them.
He swung his leg over the motorbike and stood. On the side of the street he was on were two pubs. Both looked lively enough.
Yet it was the nightclub across the street that kept drawing his gaze. He could feel magic. For several minutes, he simply stood there trying to determine where the magic was coming from.
That wasn’t the only weird thing. There were times he was sure it was drough magic, and others that it was mie.
“They’re probably both here,” he muttered to himself and crossed the street to the club.
He pushed through the front door and was instantly assaulted with blaring music, dimmed lights, and lasers. The feel of magic grew stronger inside the club, which intrigued him. After he paid the fee to enter, he walked through the thick throng of people to the even more crowded bar.
“What’ll you have?” shouted a cute bartender with ebony skin and a blouse unbuttoned so she showed ample cleavage.
“Whisky.”
She gave a wink and hurried away to get his order. Phelan slowly looked around the large club. He grinned as he spotted couples in corners—and some in the middle of the dance floor—kissing and grinding.
He turned to place both elbows on the bar when he noticed what looked like four human-size birdcages hanging over the dance floor. Inside each was a woman dancing.
All the women were beautiful, but it was the woman with long black hair, mini-skirt, and short shirt that ended after molding over her breasts who got his attention.