Page 14 of Sin and Salvation

He just wasn’t…them.

You’re being stupid again, Venus.I bit my lower lip, holding his gaze before I spread my legs wide in front of him.It doesn’t matter if they get you wet, as long as you make money.

The demon put out his cigar, blowing a smoke ring into the face of the demon next to him. “I’ll give you a hundred to take the thong off, cutie.” He held up a crisp hundred dollar bill.

My stomach rolled. I could make so much… but I wasn’t quite comfortable with removing the bottoms. That would feel a little too exposed for me.

I glanced up nervously. Tyri and Kylaea both wore their glittering sequin thongs. Maybe it was a house rule.

“I don’t think so,” I said, forcing my voice into a purr as I rolled my hips again.

He arched a brow, and pulled another bill from the interior of his leather jacket. “Two hundred.”

I smiled, pretending to play hard to get, and turned to the demon next to him.

I almost choked on my own spit as I recognized the brilliant green eyes of the hellhound, the Sergeant at Arms. He grinned at me lazily, holding up a stack of cash. “Done ignoring me, sugar?”

I recovered quicker than I would’ve thought possible, tossing my hair back and running my hands over my body. Suddenly the beat of the music was no longer in the background; my entire body twined sinuously to it, the club around me gone.

There was nothing under these lights but me and Aeron.

He slid his bills on stage, giving me the most charming crooked grin. “You look gorgeous. I knew I picked the right lingerie for you.”

“Thanks for the gift.” I arched my back, and the way his eyes trailed over me made my nipples harden painfully. To my horror, I realized I was actually getting turned on from this.

Oh, no. No crushes on your employers. It never turns out well.

Not that I’d ever had a crush on Maxime. But it seemed like a hell of a time to get involved with my new bosses.

“But don’t expect extras because of it,” I added archly.

The demon next to him cleared his throat. “Three hundred. No house rules against it, sweetheart.”

By the Devil, how could I hate pet names likecutieandsweetheart, when Aeron calling mesugarmade me melt?

To my surprise, the hellhound said nothing, although his smile had grown a little fixed when the demon spoke. There was an ivory flash against his plush lower lip… an incisor.

Was he on the verge of shifting?

“I don’t care if it’s not in the house rules. It’s inmyrules.” I raised my chin, a moment before I ran my hand over my ass, giving the demon on the other side his money’s worth.

He grumbled below his breath, but he didn’t dare say anything else. Not with the club’s Sergeant at Arms sitting right next to him.

Still, he put a smaller bill up on the stage, clearly unwilling to relinquish his seat. The air between him and Aeron seemed to hum with an unspoken tension.

I wondered who this guy was, and why the hell he thought it was a good idea to antagonize the hellhound.

But as I gave him my attention again, unwilling to lose the cash, he reached up, his rough fingers brushing against my ass. He pinched it hard, and I sucked in a breath.

But he laid a hundred on the growing stack.

Irritation made my cheeks burn. I hoped my makeup was heavy enough to hide it as I turned to face him and tell him to fuck off.

Aeron had him by the arm. He was speaking quietly, but the gruff, groping demon had gone ghostly pale.

“Yes, sir,” he said, and slid off his chair. He refused to make eye contact as he disappeared into the club, and I stared at Aeron, my mouth hanging open.

“For the Devil’s sake, did you threaten to kill him?” I asked.