Page 47 of Nicolette

“Soda, lemonade, tea, water, the normal stuff. We run the eatery part of this bar like a real restaurant since we have normal folks from the pride as well as the MC members,” Onion Ring explained.

“Makes sense. I’ll take a soda of any kind that isn’t diet, please,” I requested.

He smiled and nodded before heading back downstairs. Onion Ring was a sweet kid. It made me wonder if this was the right life for him. Why couldn’t he go back and finish culinary school? There was nothing saying a shifter couldn’t cook. In fact, I felt like it would be even better since other shifters would love to have someone understand how much and often they needed to eat. Personal chef all the way.

He came back a few minutes later and set down my drink but didn’t stay to chat, just gave a small wave and was off. Returning to my book with my delicious onion rings to munch on, I lost track of time.

“What do you mean the shipment is going to be short three crates?” Nine roared, followed by silence leading me to believe he was on the phone. “I don’t care what your excuses are, Treazor, you told me two hundred, and that’s what I expect, not a hundred and fifty.”

Treazor… the ogre? I knew he was a weapons dealer, and I fought a few of his guys a couple of years back. The man had a slight obsession with me when I chewed his ass out for some bullshit that I couldn’t even remember. What I did remember was the massive green ogre apologizing for his mistake. Then he gave me five hundred dollars cash along with a business card and told me if I wanted to do this again to give him a call. Of course, LC took that money for himself, but it was the thought that counts, right?

“You listen to me, you flabby green glob of an ogre. I already paid you for the shipment,” Nine seethed into the phone. “What do you mean you don’t know why that’s a problem?”

This was going to get him nowhere.

Unable to listen to more, I got up and walked back into the office and over to where Nine was standing behind his desk, trying to pull his hair out. He caught sight of me but didn’t react other than to motion for me to turn around. I flipped him off and hopped to take a seat on his desk, hitting the speaker button so I could talk to the ogre.

“… uck you for thinking you can talk to me like that. You’re not the only person I do business with, Nine Lives. In fact, I can drop you like the steaming turd you are right down the toilet, you fucking prick,” Treazor fumed, then paused long enough for me to get a word in.

“Treazor?” I called, projecting my voice just to make sure he could hear me. “Is that you?”

Chapter 19

Nicolette

The line went quiet for a moment then the ogre recovered quickly enough.

“Who the hell is this? Why the fuck is a woman suddenly on the call?” Treazor demanded.

“You’d better watch your goddamn fucking mouth when you speak to me, frog,” I shot back. “Have you forgotten your last encounter with me, where I was disrespected by you? As I recall, it ended with me verbally spanking your ass like the worthless creature you are. Then you thanked me like a good little frog, paid me, and asked to do it again whenever I pleased.”

“Holy shit,” Treazor blurted. “Nicolette?”

“Did I tell you that you could call me by my name, frog?” I snapped.

“No, Benevolent Queen, you did not.”

“Much better,” I praised. “Now tell me, why is it that you can’t get the shipment already agreed upon?” I inquired, ignoring the looks I was getting from the others in the room. Nine’s hand gripped my thigh tightly as he stepped between my legs, pulling me against him, so I could feel how hard he was.

“You have to understand, my Benevolent Queen. I tried to get all the guns they asked for. I just got word that the manufacturer I get them from was attacked. The truth of it is, I’m lucky to have gotten this many to send right now. As for the rest, I’ll be able to get them after they’ve moved to the new secure location and resumed their operations. From what they tell me, there should only be a week’s delay on the missing fifty crates,” Treazor explained.

I looked at Nine with a questioning brow to see if that would work for him, and he nodded. “You have pleased your queen, frog. Tell me, are you still in chastity?”

“Yes, for five months now,” he answered.

“If you can add in an additional ten crates of anything that we’ve ordered to what’s coming tomorrow, I’ll allow you to indulge yourself for a full eight hours. Your choice of partner, top, bottom, or both since I’m feeling generous tonight.”

“Done,” he agreed, hardly needing a second to decide. The sound of a belt being removed and the hiss of a zipper told me he was going to take advantage of those eight hours starting now.

“Frog, do I need to make sure it’s only eight hours?” I asked when an idea struck me. “I can always call Hemera to make sure that your pathetic little cock gets put back in its cage.”

There was a slight hitch in his breath when he sucked in a gasp. That gasp wasn’t a breathy excited one either. Treazor once tried to get Hemera to sleep with him, and she almost ripped him to shreds. When a harpy says no, you don’t push the matter, they tend to get irrational.

“No,” he stated. “No, my Benevolent Queen, that won’t be necessary. I will happily follow the rules, but I’d be willing to contact you when my eight hours are over. Just so you know for certain I did as I was told.”

I thought about that but decided I didn’t want to be his mistress. While I didn’t mind moments like this or role-playing every so often, I wasn’t looking for that kind of situation in my life. Especially now since I might have six men I’m fated to be with for the rest of my life.

“I believe you’ve earned my trust on this one. Just know that I expect you to keep our personal interactions like this to yourself. If I find out some little froggy has been speaking out of turn, I will squash you under my heel,” I cautioned.