Page 20 of Dancing for the Minotaur

“Just don't piss him off,” her boss ordered.

And before Terra could answer, he was already walking away.

So much for staying nearby. Well, there was nothing to do but get this over with.

She drew in a deep breath and approached the booth.

Orlov looked up as she came toward him. He was dressed as he always was—expensively and almost entirely in black. Tonight he wore a charcoal suit over a black silk shirt open at the throat. His hair was slicked straight back from his narrow face, gleaming under the low lights. The strange white streak at his right temple cut through the black like a slash of paint. Candy and Crystal called him “Skunk Man” behind his back but Terra had never thought the nickname was funny.

There was something cold about Viktor Orlov. Not simply in the way he looked– though his pale gray eyes were certainly chilly enough. It was more in the way he watched people, as though he were studying them and deciding how useful they might be and how exactly he could use them.

His mouth curved into a smile when he saw Terra.

“There she is–my Bunny.”

Terra lifted her chin and gave him a thin smile.

“Hello, Mr. Orlov.”

He frowned faintly.

“So formal.”

Terra kept her professional smile in place.

“Well, what would you like me to call you?”

“Viktor, of course,” he murmured.

Terra nodded.

“All right. Viktor.”

His smile returned–a predatory slice of white on his narrow face.

“That’s better, my Bunny.”

There was a drink sitting beside him, something clear over ice. Vodka, probably. Terra had never seen him order anything else.

He patted his thigh.

“Come sit with me, Bunny.”

“I'll dance for you,” Terra said, frowning. “But we're going to go over the rules first.”

Orlov's smile widened.

“Rules? Come on now–we don’t need rules.”

“Oh, yes we do,” Terra said firmly. “No touching between my legs, no fingers under my thong and no grabbing my ass unless I tell you it's okay.”

Orlov shook his head and made a tsking sound.

“My, my. My Bunny has become very strict.”

Terra felt her shoulders tighten.

“I'm not your Bunny.”