Silver(17)

“I was staying patient, no thanks to you so-called friends of mine.” He gestured to Kelsey. “Yet this human… woman stepped in and did what had to be done.”

“I don’t think she necessarily had to be punched,” Sever said. But his mouth twitched and his sparkling eyes hid a smile.

Kelsey sighed. “She was going to strike me, so I struck first. Plus, I don’t like people who touch things that don’t belong to them.”

All eyes turned to her at her strange warning.

“Oh?” Adrien asked, sitting up a little. “And who do I belong to?”

She felt a flush burn over her cheeks. She certainly hadn’t meant to imply she had any kind of ownership over him. “Yourself,” she said simply.

“I see,” Adrien said, leaning back with hands behind his head. “Agreed. Still, I think we’ve just found something we very much need at this club.”

“What?” Kelsey asked.

“A bouncer,” he said, glancing at Robbie.

Robbie let out a long breath. “I suppose so. Kelsey, what do you think? Generally, I’d prefer they got a verbal warning and a polite escort out, though.”

Kelsey thought about it. She liked the idea of being powerful, of paying Adrien back in the way he’d helped her. Keeping people from bothering him.

Though he was strong and powerful and masculine, he was at somewhat of a disadvantage in this situation, with women who didn’t have self-control.

Still, she’d never seen men inspire that kind of lust before.

She looked him over, and a little shiver went up her back. Yes, she could sort of understand how women felt. If she allowed herself, if she didn’t have more practical things to think about, she could definitely be attracted.

But right now she had to focus on keeping the apartment and finding a new place to land where she’d be safe on her own.

“Sure,” she said. “I can be gentle. Start with warnings.”

Robbie nodded. “You’re hired, then.”

Kelsey felt a warm feeling go through her at the words. The best words in the world. And she earned this job, hadn’t just been handed it by an agency.

She glanced at Adrien, who was looking over at her with a thoughtful expression, awaiting her response.

“Awesome,” she said, rubbing her hands together. “So when do I start?”

“Immediately,” Robbie said. “In fact, if you come to the office, I’ll have you sign a few things, and you can supervise the next appointment this evening. We’re having a whole group come in.”

Kelsey thought about working here in the club, watching out to make sure people stayed in line and followed the rules, and couldn’t help the wide grin spreading over her face.

How had she ever gotten so lucky?





Seven





At the end of the day, Adrien found himself in front of the windows that looked out on the city, enjoying a drink as usual.

It had been weird earlier, having an appointment with Kelsey in the room, watching out for them from the corner, keeping her eyes on all proceedings.

He sort of liked having her around, even though the idea of him needing her for protection was ludicrous.

A human protecting a dragon? He’d never thought he’d see it in his lifetime. Either lifetime.

He sipped the scotch and checked the watch on his wrist. He wanted to talk to Kelsey before she went back to her room for the night, and last he’d seen her, she was in the office, talking to Citrine and Robbie about the schedule the next day.

It was interesting how quickly they had all adapted to having another person around. After acclimating to Robbie, it was probably that much easier.

He took another sip and then set down the scotch, deciding to go wandering in search of the woman who might be his mate.

He wasn’t sure, but the way she’d come to his rescue like an angry Valkyrie had only added to his suspicions. She was the opposite of the other human women he’d been exposed to. Well, not that all of them were bad, but he supposed after a few bad experiences, he’d sort of written off the rest.

Combined with the way he’d been raised to feel that humans were beneath him, it meant he hadn’t really tried that hard to get to know them and undo his own prejudices.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit pants (he’d long ago shed the jacket and tie and rolled up the cuffs of his dress shirt, as he always did after a shift) and opened the double doors to look down the hallway toward Citrine’s office.

He was surprised to see her in the hallway, plugging in a vacuum, presumably to clean.

He strode up to her, waving to get her attention, and when she looked up, he saw tired satisfaction in her eyes.

So much different from the fear and desperation he’d seen the night before.