I held my breath as the Fire Wolf’s hand came down on top of the fairy’s. I half expected him to pull her palm onto his crotch, so when he pushed her hand away, a bolt of relief jolted through me.

She pouted prettily and tried again, but when his eyes flashed red—flames licking his irises—her hand whipped back and she skittered across the floor so fast she resembled a scurrying beetle.

The Fire Wolf returned to his drink, the flames in his eyes dimming. I had no idea what color they were naturally, but seriously, what the fuck was that?

“Did you see that?” Prisha asked.

“Yeah. What on earth? Werewolves eyes glow gold, not red, or flamey, or whatever the hell that was.”

“Exactly.”

“Hey!” I called to the bartender over the music. “You have a minute?”

He gave me a grumpy side-eye, but after serving two dudes at the other end of the bar, he made his way toward us. “You actually going to order something?”

“Nope, still working off that hundred. But I do have a question about that guy.” I subtly pointed toward the Fire Wolf.

“What about him?”

“What species is he?”

He smirked and leaned a forearm on the bar top, then said in a low, conspiratorial tone, “If you don’t know the answer to that, then this place isn’t for you. You two should get outta here while you’re still breathing.”

“Thanks, Dad, but I think we’re good.” When I continued to stare at him, not moving from my stool, the bartender’s beady eyes crinkled in the corners. I assumed that was his version of a smile. I smiled sweetly back. “Yep, not going anywhere. So . . . what is he?”

He straightened, one hand still hidden under the bar top. “Info isn’t free here.”

“Never assumed it was.” I reached into my pocket and extracted a fifty-dollar bill, loathing to part with it, but aware that the info could be useful. “What does this buy?”

He snatched the bill and slipped it into his pocket. “The Fire Wolf’s not an average werewolf.”

I rolled my eyes. “No shit, so what is he?”

That beady gleam in the bartender’s eyes returned. “Let’s just say his mother’s genetics had a big impact on him.” He turned his back and ambled away. A foot-long dagger concealed in his hand under the bar top flashed into view.

“That’s it?” I called after him.

He didn’t even pause, but I knew he’d heard me over the pulsating music.

“Looks like he preferred my hundred-dollar bill to your measly fifty,” Prisha said with a wink.

I grumbled. “Whatever. I guess it doesn’t matter what the Fire Wolf is. All that matters is that he finds my sister. Come on.”

I hopped off my stool, Prisha right behind me. A huge group of supernaturals were on the dance floor, swaying and gyrating in groups of two, threes, and fours.

A few times, we were rubbed up against or pushed into groups, but we quickly fought our way off the dance floor and continued to the Fire Wolf’s booth.

I stopped when we reached the five-foot radius of dead zone that surrounded him. His booth was the only one that didn’t have other supernaturals pushed up against the seats and table.

So far, the only supernaturals who’d dared enter the area had been the server who the Fire Wolf had signaled, and the fairy who’d dropped to her knees offering a blowjob.

Considering I wasn’t into fellatio with strangers, and I didn’t come bearing beverages, I simply stood and crossed my arms, waiting for the Fire Wolf to see me. Lame? Yeah, talk about feeling like an idiot.

I knew I could have stepped into the dead zone and walked right up to him, but invading the guy’s personal space probably wasn’t the wisest way to make introductions.

His drink was nearly gone when the tall vamp waitress brushed past me as if I wasn’t even there. She set a new drink on the table.

“Thanks, Val.” Now that his injuries were healed, and he wasn’t wheezing or spitting blood, his voice sounded deep, smooth even.

She gave him a sultry smile. “Anytime, sugar.” Her hip bumped into Prisha when she sidled past us, her meaning clear when she gave my friend another seductive stare.

The Fire Wolf took his second drink, and I couldn’t help my gaze straying to his mouth. His lips looked firm and well-shaped. When they closed around the glass rim, I wondered what those lips would feel like on other places.

Wow. Really? Is that where my mind just went?

I smacked myself internally and tried to view him more objectively. My gaze trailed over his body, or what I could see of it from his seated position in the booth.

His chest was broad, his abs flat and probably chiseled. Muscled thighs strained against his worn jeans. The guy looked like he spent every day in the gym. Not an ounce of fat on him.

Okay, not really being objective, Tala . . .

Still, my eyes seemed to have a mind of their own as I greedily soaked in his appearance. It didn’t help that he had a hard edge to him—square jaw, deep-set eyes, straight nose. He was a damned work of art. No wonder half the vaginas in this place were clenching for him. Mine was beginning to do the same.

“Smack me, please,” I hissed under my breath to Prisha.

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and reminded myself that the Fire Wolf’s bodily glory wasn’t why I was here. What did it matter, that instead of a sorry-looking and bruised reject, he was actually as beautiful as an angel? A dark angel. Yeah, the gods would never willingly give his kind of beauty to a pure version.

Sex appeal aside, I knew I needed to ignore my libido and play this right. Since the Fire Wolf obviously didn’t like people in his personal space, I continued to wait, but damn, if standing there like a fawning groupie wasn’t the most embarrassing moment of my life, I didn’t know what was.

I was about to say to hell with the dead zone and just walk up to the guy, when he quirked an eyebrow at me.

“You need something?”

Of course, my knee-jerk reaction was to respond, Your honor, may I please approach the bench? But I kept my quip to myself and leveled him with an unblinking stare. “I hear you’re the best hunter for hire.”

“Is that right?”

“That’s what I hear.” I took an impatient breath, and an image of Star Tattoo Guy flashed through my mind again. His hands. His meaty arms. My sister’s fear. Before I could stop myself, I blurted, “And I’d like to hire you.”

He eyed me, and in the dim bar lights, I realized he had amber-colored eyes. The fire in them earlier was gone, but I had a feeling those eyes could ignite at any second. A tingle of unease flashed coldly through me despite the hot room. Hunter was the perfect word for him.

The Fire Wolf took another sip of his drink. “Who said I’m open for hire?”

Ah, okay. I hadn’t expected that. “So you’re not a hired hunter?”

He didn’t reply, and his attention drifted over my head, to the gyrating bodies behind me.

“I’ll pay you. Obviously. Generously even,” I added.

He took another sip, his gaze now coasting toward the DJ. A new techno song had started along with a magical display. Ghostly images roped around the DJ’s equipment, the fluorescent forms of writhing bodies and phantom orgies a perfect imitation of the real-life supernaturals around us.

I could be wrong, but even more people seemed to be having sex on the dance floor as the night wore on.

“Have you ever seen anything like that?”

For a moment, I didn’t realize the question was directed at me. I glanced at the dance floor again. “Are you referring to the magical display or the dancers?”

“Both.”

I shrugged. “Magic, yeah, but I can’t say orgies and public displays of penetration are the norm in the clubs I frequent, but it’s not like I don’t know what sex is.”

His lips twitched for the merest second, so quickly that I wondered if I’d imagined it. He raised his glass to his mouth, his face completely devoid of expression.