Page 41 of Demon: Monsterverse
TWENTY-TWO
BRIDGET
I stood back,staring at my uniform in the mirror. Even though I was stocked up on everything I could need—within limits—I couldn’t rid myself of the dress hanging over the end of my bed.
I’d been skulking, but I had no chance to get over my wounds. There was no time to pause. Work started soon.
A light knock had me at the door within seconds.
“It fits perfectly,” Issa said. I tugged the hem of the skirt down, and the thin biker shorts hardly grazed below my ass cheeks. I knew it was because every time we walked, the skirt fluttered and hinted at the skin there. “Didn’t the wax leave you feeling good?”
My face warmed. She’d helped me wax everything. I’d never been so bare, and it felt different, but I kind of liked it.
“Yeah, I didn’t realize what I’d been missing out on going hairless.”
She chuckled. I stepped out of the room and shut it behind me. The hall held stairs smack dab in the middle of the path and led through the backstage.
“You don’t look so good. You need to have some essence.”
“No,” I practically shouted. Issa lifted an eyebrow.
After finding out about the special properties in monster spunk ... I understood I would need to drink some, but I wanted to wait until the last moment before I gave in. It was just, every time I thought about it, this throb overtook my chest.
Stupid of me since Tenebrous wanted me dead, but my body missed him. The pain in my heart? I didn’t even want to think what that meant.
I licked my lips.
“I’ll wait to have essence,” I said in a calmer tone.
“If you’re scared of creating a bond, that only happens when receiving it directly from the source.” What was weird was thinking that every human here downed monster cum. “Andonlywith each other.”
“It’s not that—” I cleared my throat. “I’m just not ready.”
I hadn’t talked to her about how long I’d been on this side, or about Tene, but she looked at me like she knew I hid something. I sucked on my lip as we descended and strode through the back. Multiple women were adorned with feathers, and they all looked at themselves in their mirrors. Issa leaned close so I could hear her over their chatter.
“Whenever you’re ready I can take you to the nearest watering hole. They have my favorite dragon-flavored alcoholic drink, and they mix essence into it.”
Dragon flavored? They came in different flavors?!
“Why can’t we just drink it here.”
Her nose wrinkled. “We can only afford the basic swill here that some low power monsters sell to Nikita.”
I forced a smile.
“Let’s do it.”
“It’s also a good place to scope singles out.” I got the gist of what she meant in her smile. “There’s this minotaur I’ve had my eye on.” She shivered, eyes fluttering.
I laughed and followed her as she guided me through the floor and behind the counter. There weren’t many patrons yet, but the show hadn’t begun.
A shrill alarm rang. The vibrating, violent dings of a bell assaulted my ears. Patrons leaked out of one of the side doors.
Issa grabbed my shoulder and forced me down so the oversized bar blocked us.
“What’s going on?”
“That means there’s a violent uncontrollable nearby.”
