Lover Enslaved: Thieves of Aurion, Book 1 (18 page)

“Only when it comes to that son of a bitch.”

The nut bread’s flavor suddenly resembled sawdust when she took in Jerrick’s stony expression. If he and Dash managed to iron out their troubles long enough to track down the Rhyann rune, it’d be a freaking miracle.

“Dash insists he never slept with Leena.” The other female’s name sat on her tongue like a rotten fish head, but she tried not to show her distaste. For one thing, it made her look worse than a jealous shrew. Plus, the woman
was
Jerrick’s ex. She didn’t want to say or do anything to offend him.

“He’s a liar.”

“True, but perhaps not about this.” She gestured with the hand holding the piece of toast and a sprinkle of bread crumbs landed in her lap. With a quick brush of her fingers, she swept them free. “Do you think there’s any chance you might have misread the situation?”

“They were buck naked in bed together. What do you think?”

She picked off a corner of the crust, not seeing any hope on the horizon. “Okay, if you can’t do this for Dash, will you do it for me?”

“I’m a thief. We’re not known for being very altruistic.”

“I’ll pay you…or something.”

One side of Jerrick’s mouth tugged upward. “The
something
part has me intrigued.”

She pinched her lips together. “I was going to offer my cleaning services. Gods, you males are all the same.”

Jerrick laughed. The sound was both delightful and unexpected. “I can see why he couldn’t keep his hands off you last night. You’re the perfect blend of sex and sass.”

Mara felt her cheeks start to burn. Rather than crawling beneath the table like she longed to do, she bit off a big chunk of the bread.

“Not to mention my brother’s always had a hard spot for pretty humans.”

It took a full thirty seconds for his words to register. When they did, she choked on a mouthful of toast.

“
Brother
?” she sputtered, gaping at him.

Chapter Thirteen

Dash paced in front of the door connecting his and Mara’s room. If he kept at it, the rug wouldn’t have any nap left. “This is stupid.
I
don’t have anything to apologize for. She wasn’t the one suffering all night with a killer case of blue balls.”

He halted, reaching for the door’s lock pad.
Pansy ass.
Growling, he yanked his hand away and shoved it deep in his trouser pocket before stalking towards the bed. Midway across the room, he executed an about-face and stormed back to the door. Before he could temper the urge, he punched the green button.

The door instantly slid open and he grunted in surprise. She must not have armed her side of the door. “And here I suffered all night for no reason.” He stepped into Mara’s room. A sound similar to yowling Gorinna cats filled the air. Frowning, he glanced around.

No one occupied the bed—not that he’d expected it with the horrendous caterwauling damn near making his eardrums bleed. A person couldn’t sleep in the face of that torture.

Movement across the room caught his eye. Stepping past the bed, he spied Piper shaking her hips in front of the tall looking glass bolted to the dresser. She lifted her arms over her head and waggled her fingers as her screechy soprano accompanied the atrocity pounding through the room’s recessed speakers. Her yowl turned into a shriek when she spotted him in the looking glass.

She spun around and stamped her feet, coming damn near close to falling off the side of the dresser. “Are you trying to kill me of fright?”

“Don’t blame me. This music is gods-awful enough to kill anyone.”

Piper snapped her fingers. The yowling blessedly stopped. “You wouldn’t know fabulous music if it bit you in the behind.”

“Yeah, well, from the sound of that crap, something was getting bit in the behind. And not in a good way. What the bloody hell was that racket?”

The sprite slapped her hands on her hips and tipped her nose in the air. “It’s called frodelling. Perfect for grooving to.”

She couldn’t be serious. Shaking his head, he ambled to the bathroom and looked inside. The water shield hung limply to the side of the bathing cubicle, revealing an empty stall. Moisture still beaded its glass block tiles. He pushed from the doorframe. His gaze detoured again to the bed. It in no way resembled the sheet-tangled mess back in his room. The visible proof of Mara’s toss-free slumber really chapped his ass. He had half a mind to throw the pillows to the floor and stomp on the coverlet.

“What are you looking for?”

He swung around and met Piper’s puzzled frown. “Mara. Where the hell is she?”

“Dunno. She was long gone before I got up.”

His gut clenched at the idea of Mara alone and clueless in an environment teeming with characters who’d gladly give her a taste of Tul’dea’s seedy side. Swearing beneath his breath, he rushed from the room.

Once outside, he skulked the busy streets, his thoughts centering on one thing only—getting his hands on Mara’s rear end and spanking it until she promised not to run off unescorted again. That line of thinking got his blood pumping for more than one reason. Pushing aside the tempting visual of his hand splayed around the sweet curve of her butt cheek, he peeked inside an opened shop door. The sweet, clinging perfume of roses tickled his nose. Just inside the doorway, a shelf filled with feminine toiletries marked the source of the flowery aroma.

No female in existence could walk by a girly shop without stopping inside. It was some sort of law amongst their species. Maybe he’d be lucky, and the shopkeeper had seen Mara recently. If he were really lucky, Mara might actually be inside, looking over the trove of goodies. Mentally crossing his fingers, he walked into the shop.

Several females huddled in pairs, sniffing appreciatively at the pretty packages adorning the lace-strewn shelves. None of them resembled his infuriating
Sher ’tian
. Swiveling on his heel, he ambled to the rear of the shop, where a human female hunkered over a large book spread open across the payment desk.

“
L’argo te.
”

The female’s head lifted at his greeting and her oversized eyeglasses slid down the bridge of her nose. She pushed them back in place, blinking at him behind their magnifying lenses. She returned the traditional greeting before setting her micro-computing pen aside. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m looking for a female human who might have been browsing your shop earlier this morning. Her hair is blonde, close to the same shade as yours, only a bit longer. About here,” he said, marking the area just above his biceps.

The shopkeeper took a step back, her eyes widening behind the glasses. “Dash?”

He blinked.
Oh shit.
This was what he got for running out of the hotel half-cocked and without so much as his measly hat to provide obscurity. Of course, the last place he’d expected to run into someone from his past was a girly toiletry shop.

While he returned the stare of the petite female in front of him, Dash realized he faced another problem. He had no clue of the woman’s identity. Which didn’t speak well if he’d entertained her in bed.
Good gods, I know I haven’t slept with so many females I can’t remember their faces.

“Fancy meeting you here.” He mentally blotted the sweat beading on his forehead. “How’ve you been?”

Her glasses slipped down again and she peered at him over their cobalt blue frame. “It’s
me
, you pea brain. Avily…Avily Donahoe.”

It was his turn to give her a disbelieving look. “I don’t think so. Avily is a kid.”

“Sure—fifteen years ago. When you last saw me, you bonehead.” She stepped out from behind the payment desk and sidled up to him until she stood close enough he could easily count the freckles scattered on her fair skin.

Yes, the pert little nose and sparkling green eyes were the same. Could this really be Leena’s baby sister? The same pipsqueak kid who’d trailed after him and Jerrick like a lost pup? “Hell, kid, you’ve gone and grown up on me.”

“Well duh, you moron.”

Laughing, he grabbed her waist and swung her into a fierce hug.

“Dash, I have
customers
.”

Her indignant hiss only made him laugh harder and squeeze tighter. Avily gasped for breath and he gave her a quick kiss atop the crown of her shiny hair before planting her on her feet. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself. It’s just incredible seeing you after all these years.”

Avily peered up at him, worry shrouding her expression. “What are you doing back here? You know there’s a price on your head, right?”

He nodded and the scowl slipped back in place.

“Then I
really
don’t get what you’re doing here.” She tapped one silk-slippered foot. “I don’t remember you being such a dumb ass. What happened?”

“A woman.” He gestured towards her feet. “Running late for work this morning?”

She stopped her toe tapping. “For your information, these are part of my summer stock. They’re damn comfy too. Now tell me about this woman who’s turned you into a total dumb ass.”

Leave it to Avily to fixate on his personal humiliation. “Her name is Mara. We met under rather…unusual circumstances.” He cracked a wry grin. “And she’s an even bigger pain in my backside than you were all those years ago.”

Avily’s face lit with unabashed curiosity. “Ooo… I can’t wait to meet her.”

His head physically ached at the idea of Avily and Mara, possibly the two most exasperating females born to humankind, occupying the same room. “Not sure if you’ll have the opportunity. Soon as we pick up the rune, we’re out of here.”

“Rune?” Avily’s eyes doubled in size behind her glasses. “As in the Rhyann rune?”

Damn, did I say that part out loud?
Dash scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “Uh…I need you to keep this conversation under wraps.”

“Sure, no problem.”

He dropped his hand and gave her a measuring look.

A pinkish hue crept along Avily’s cheekbones. Her feistiness, something he remembered all too well, appeared on the brink of eruption. “Are you staring at me because you think I’m incapable of keeping a secret?”

He waited a beat before answering. “Of course not. I was just thinking how pretty you’ve become.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a scathing look. “You are so full of shit.”

Good gods, there’s no winning with females.
He issued a weary sigh. “Fine, I admit it. I was a little worried you might let my interest in the rune slip.”

“To who?” Avily darted a look towards the rear of the shop before throwing her arms out. “I’m not exactly hanging out with the old gang these days.”

“No?” He frowned, more than a little taken aback by the news. “Not even with Jerrick?”

An odd tension stiffened her shoulders. “I haven’t spoken to him in a while.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “How long is a while?”

Underneath Avily’s carefully erected façade of disinterest, he detected wariness. “Five years, give or take.” Her shrug was too casual to be taken seriously. She reached for a ruffled box behind her holding a stash of tissues. After plucking several free, she snatched her glasses from her nose and made a show of rubbing nonexistent smears from the lenses. “Kind of hard keeping in touch with him anyway. That brother of yours doesn’t stay in one place for long.”

The news staggered Dash. She and Jerrick had always been close. Sure, they’d had their moments of bickering and pointless squabbles. But
five years
without seeing each other? “Maybe you should try getting in touch with him while he’s in Tul’dea.”

The tissues fell from Avily’s fingers and floated to the top of her slippered feet. “He’s here?”

Nodding, Dash tilted his mouth in a grin. “And I’ll bet your reunion will go much smoother than the one he and I shared.”

She mumbled something beneath her breath. It sounded suspiciously like
fat chance
.

A customer approached the desk and Avily hurried behind it to compute the elderly woman’s purchases. Dash glanced at the large, oval luminar timepiece suspended over the women’s heads. Much as he’d enjoyed catching up with Avily, Mara was still out there—getting into who knows what kind of trouble. After promising Avily he’d return later, he darted out the door.

He spent close to an hour combing the streets for Mara. By the time he circled back around to the Crystal Lodge, his head was abuzz with every possible horrific situation she could get herself into. Not surprisingly, there were plenty. He rushed inside the hotel, fully intent on interviewing every single employee to see if they’d spoken to Mara and might know where she’d headed earlier.

The row of shops snagged his attention as he trekked towards the registration desk. He spied a flash of blonde curls through the nearest glass partition. Skidding to a stop, he gaped. Quick enough, his surprise morphed into outrage. While he’d been losing his mind, convinced her helpless, bound body was stuffed in the backseat of some menacing thug’s vehicle, she’d been
shopping
. True, he’d hoped earlier that might be what she was up to, but having it verified really chapped his ass.

Grinding his teeth, he stalked across the lobby. Inside the shop, he wove his way in the direction he’d last spotted Mara. He found her the next aisle over, salivating over a fancy computerized bread baker. Even while his fingers itched with the urge to wring her neck, he couldn’t help smiling at her delight over the machine. Her domestic side was showing. Why else would she ignore the crown jewel of the shop—the heavily guarded display of diamond-studded serving trays.