Ripper (Hunter #1)(44)

Now my head shot up in surprise because I didn’t like the sound of that. “Why? I thought it was going to be easy with the engraved invitation.”

“That invitation is for Liv and her boyfriend,” Gray explained. “I’ll be playing the role of Scott this evening, at least until we get through the door. You can’t get in on the invite so we have to go a different route. I know Dev Quinn and if there’s one thing he likes in his clubs, it’s beautiful women in beautiful clothes. He might be married, but he’s not blind. A gorgeous girl can walk into Ether with absolutely no wait time. Liv’s working up a charm that will make the bouncers believe you’re a witch.”

I would go along with the charm, but there was one thing I wasn’t sure about. I cringed at the thought. “Am I going to have to wear heels?”





Chapter Eight





“Stop being such a baby,” Liv whispered in my ear as she smiled at a handsome werewolf who walked by. She gave me a little nudge as if to say “smile.”

Though there was a party going on all around me, I didn’t feel like smiling. Ether was stunning, but my mind was preoccupied with my feet. “They hurt.”

“They’re gorgeous and they’re only three-inch heels,” Liv shot back. “They’re practically flats. I’m wearing four-and-a-half-inch heels and you don’t hear me complaining. What did you expect me to do? Those Converse of yours don’t go with a little black dress.”

I shifted, trying to get used to my size seven-and-a-half red torture devices and got my first look around Ether. I stood at the bar, waiting for Gray to get back from dropping off our coats. Liv had worked some serious magic on me, and I wasn’t only talking about the charm I wore like an anklet. I looked damn good in a tight black dress with a plunging neckline. Liv had insisted I didn’t need a bra and my breasts were firm and the skin creamy against the black fabric. She’d forced my hair into curlers, and the dark brown locks flowed down my back in waves. I’d complained bitterly at the half hour she played around with makeup, but I couldn’t argue with the results. The hair and makeup gave me the illusion of being feminine and soft. It had been worth it to watch Gray’s mouth drop when I walked into the room. I would never do it on a regular basis, but it might be fun to dress up every now and then.

And it had totally gotten me into the club. I hadn’t even waited in line.

“What do you know about the guy who owns this place?” I asked, curious about Gray’s nemesis.

Liv sighed. “I haven’t actually met him, but I saw him at Open House. He’s the dad of the little fertility god. He’s a big fertility god.”

“So I take it he’s hot?” An unattractive fertility god would likely be ineffective.

“Oh, Kels.” She stopped and sighed, a blush making her cheeks pink. “He is the definition of hot. If you google the word ‘hot’ you get summer temperatures in Texas and a big picture of Devinshea Quinn. He’s sex on two legs. I couldn’t take my eyes off the man.”

It was good to know she could still act like a teen at a boy band concert. “Gray thinks he’s a criminal.”

Liv humphed and frowned. “I don’t think so. I can’t imagine that. He certainly doesn’t need the money. The man bought us a new gym—not gave a donation—just wrote us a check. He owns a bunch of clubs and has some corporation in the human world. He’s an actual faery prince. His mother is the Seelie queen.”

I wasn’t convinced. Gray seemed adamant about the “faery prince” being a bad guy. Liv’s crush wasn’t exactly a good reason to overlook a Texas Ranger’s experience and instincts. The club was something, though. It was hopping. It seemed like everyone in the supernatural world was spending their Saturday night here. The dance floor was full of life and the whole club was filled with a pulsating beat. It was unlike any place I’d ever been in. I spent my time in rundown bars where the goal was to get drunk as fast as possible. This was a place to meet friends and have fun.

“Hey, don’t look, but that guy is checking you out,” Liv said with a little grin.

She is stunning so I was sure she was the one being checked out. I looked across the trendy bar area and over at the edge of the dance floor where a brown-haired man stood. He was dressed in slacks and a dark silk shirt, and he was definitely looking at me, though I didn’t get a sexual vibe off him. He seemed more curious than anything else. His head cocked to the side and his eyes narrowed, but the dude was checking out my face and not my boobs.

He took a deep whiff of the air around him. He was a wolf, no doubt about it. His eyes closed and stopped for a moment, as though he needed all his faculties to assess that smell. They snapped back open and even across the distance, I could see they had darkened, taking on a more wolf-like characteristic. He stared directly my way and then made a beeline for me.

“Oh, Gray is gonna be pissed,” Liv said. “It looks like you have more than one suitor tonight.”

I kind of thought about running because that was one determined man. He pushed his way through the crowd.

Liv didn’t seem to sense the predatory nature of the man. “He’s cute and all, but I think Gray’s hotter. He looks too much like you. You would look like brother and sister. But it’ll do Gray good to know he isn’t the only interested party.”