“Two spots lower on the totem. A Sent One by the name of Zacharel.”

“You’re not in trouble, are you?”

“No,” he said. “Why? What would you do if I was?”

“Go with you and throw my pimp-hand around. No one punishes my man but me.”

My man.

She’d just verbally claimed him. Grinning, he picked her up and swung her around. “Thank you. The thought is enough.”

She laughed, and he laughed, and it was a carefree moment forever branded in his heart.

When he set her down, she said, “Oh, and here’s another warning. I plan to invite the girls into your suite.”

He liked the other girls, respected them, even, but didn’t relish spending his time with them. However, they were dear to Elin, and he wouldn’t keep her from them; so, for her, he would learn to deal. “Very well.”

“Wait. I’m not sure you understand. They’re going to touch everything and drink everything in your wet bar, and you won’t be able to lecture them or punish them.”

“I understand.”

Rising on her tiptoes, she placed a soft, sweet kiss on his chin. “Don’t worry. I won’t let them inside your room. That’s just for you. And sometimes me.”

There at the end, her voice had taken on a fierceness he’d never heard from her. He liked it and what it implied. If necessary, she would fight for her place in his life.

She would fight for him.

“Only you and me,” he agreed.

* * *

ELIN WORKED LIKE a madwoman, determined to get everything done before Thane returned. She also worked her friends to the bone, including Adrian. No longer did she feel quite so bad about forcing people to do her bidding.

This was for Thane. Anything goes.

But the berserker bailed the moment all the furniture was in place. Chanel, Octavia and Savy bailed soon after that, muttering about “bridezilla without the bride.” As if! Elin was the sweetest person on earth, thank you.

Just not in the skies.

Now it was just a matter of putting the vases, bowls and jewels in their appropriate places. Had to be perfect.

Throughout the day, Thane kept her informed of his whereabouts, sending private whispers through her mind. Every time, she stopped whatever she was doing and grinned.

Bellorie dubbed it “sickening.”

So far, Thane had visited with his leader, Zacharel, and talked with Lucien. Now, he was with a group of Sent Ones, including Bjorn and Xerxes, out hunting the demon prince.

“I’m thinking about having portraits commissioned,” she said as she filled one of the crystal bowls with eight rubies the size of her fist. Should she add a few sapphires for effect? Or maybe string beads of ebony from the side?

“Excellent idea,” Bellorie said, settling atop the new bed in the room formerly known as Bang and Bail Central. “You should totally dress up as the queen of the castle and hang portraits of yourself in every room of the club, proving you outshine every woman but, of course, me.”

“Of course.” And it wasn’t a terrible idea, actually. A bold declaration that Thane was taken, and biatches better beware. Not that Elin wanted to be that girl. If she couldn’t trust Thane, she didn’t need to be with him. But still. Letting her portrait-gaze follow every female in the bar appealed greatly. “For right now, I should probably concentrate on portraits of Thane, Bjorn and Xerxes.”

“Sure, sure,” Bellorie said with a nod. “But there’s one little problem. They’d never sit still for more than a few minutes.”

Thane might, if Elin asked nicely. The man seemed so eager to please her. In fact, she’d never been so pampered, and she loved it. But she wanted him to feel pampered, too.

“I’ll have to find a painter good enough to work from a few glances.”

Bellorie thought for a moment. “Well, I have a friend, Anya the Great and Terrible, aka the minor goddess of Anarchy. She’s getting hitched to that scarred dude Lucien. Remember him? Anyhoodles, all you have to do is tell her exactly who—whom?—you want painted, and she can have something created within the hour. I don’t know how she does it, and I won’t ask.”

“How much would she charge?”

“Usually she likes souls, but since you’re my bestie, I’m sure she’d give you a discount. Shall I call her?”

I’m her bestie? Elin grinned so wide her cheeks hurt. “Yes, please.”

Bellorie drew her cell from her pocket and dialed the number. Elin listened to the one-sided conversation with interest.

“Your talents are needed....Yeah, yeah, long time no speaky....Listen, Thane has a girlfriend now....I know, weird, right....Yeah, the paintings, like you did for the Lords of the Underworld....Perfection....Sure, sure, but I want my girl Bonka to have a few as queen as the castle....Okay, I’ll find out.” She put her hand over the mouthpiece and said to Elin, “In payment, she wants to be bartender and karaoke host tonight.”

That was all? “Done!” Thane wouldn’t mind. Surely he wouldn’t. Free labor. And what harm could one female do?

Bellorie removed her hand and said, “It’s on like Donkey Kong.”

The call ended after a high-pitched “woo-hoo.”

Clapping, Elin jumped up and down. “This is going to be so beyond amazing! When did she think she could have everything ready?”

“Five minutes.”

What! “How?” It should be impossible, even for an immortal.

“Don’t ask, remember? She always makes you regret it. Also...don’t pull the happiness trigger just yet.” Bellorie nibbled on her bottom lip. “Whatever she shows you, you have to love it. Gush, compliment her excessively, whatever it takes. Really lay it on thick. Never seen anything so magnificent, blah, blah, blah. Otherwise, she will make you a member of her portrait-of-the-month club and send you a new one every four weeks—and you will want to gouge out your own eyes, then scrub your brain with bleach to erase the memory.”

Unfazed, Elin said, “This Anya sounds just like my mother. Trust me, we’ll get along just fine.”

Bellorie cringed. “I’m suddenly thinking this was a huge mistake. If she hurts you, Thane will go butcher block on her. If Thane goes butcher block on her, Lucien will declare war against the Sent Ones. If Lucien declares war against the Sent Ones, Bjorn and Xerxes will slaughter the Lords of the Underworld to protect their boy. The world will bleed. Oh, look. Cookies!” She skipped to the tray of food in the corner of the room.