Free The Elfbitten Trilogy by Leila Bryce Sin

she nodded excitedly, leaning on the edge of the half-door that separated us. “I’d invite you in,” she nodded her head towards the tiny room, “if I wouldn’t get fired.”
    “Thanks,” I laughed, amazed I didn’t blush. One encounter with a vampire and I was a new elf.
    “You know,” she leaned towards me, her voice in a conspiratory whisper, “we could hide in the coats; my manager probably wouldn’t catch us.”
    “Oh wow,” I laughed lightly, “it’s tempting, but I’m kind of worn out.” She shrugged lightly.
    “Maybe next time.”
    “Yeah, maybe.”
    “You leaving already or do you need a shirt?” the pixie asked.
    “No, I was thinking of heading home.” I glanced back at the rest of the crowd. No one caught my eye though. It probably was time to go.
    “I’ll get your stuff.” She disappeared into the mass of clothing in some sort of chaotic organization, coming back out with my jacket and purse. I thanked her as I took them. I slipped the teal leather jacket on, securing the zipper and pulling it up so that only a line of cleavage showed. Part of my stomach was exposed in between the jacket and skirt, but the human cops wouldn’t give me a hard time about it.
    I made my way over to the booth I had seen Roxy’s feet hanging out of. She was lost in a mass of bodies crowding the benches and the table. I couldn’t tell you how many were in there or what they all were doing, but I spotted Roxy’s sandal and grabbed her toes, giving her foot a shake. Roxy’s head popped out from under someone’s arm. She grinned at me for a moment until she saw me dressed, purse in hand.
    “You’re leaving already?” she whined.
    “Already?” I shook my head in disbelief. “Yes, I’m leaving already .”
    “But,” she glanced awkwardly around her.
    “Don’t worry about it, you can stay.” I put up a hand to stop her arguing. “I’m fine, Rox, I promise. Have fun.” I gave her foot a squeeze and turned to go before she could argue further. I pushed my way through the crowd towards the front door; being fully clothed seemed to make it harder somehow. I pressed a kiss to Baven’s cheek as he held the door open for me and stepped out. To the east I could see the predawn gloom; sunrise was only a couple of hours away. Roxy had been my ride. Now I was all the more grateful for the flat soled boots as I headed down the sidewalk.
    Roxy had been right; I needed that night, I needed the heat, the lust of so many bodies. I needed the attention and to feel desired again. Although she hadn’t planned for it to happen, I needed closure between Cillian and me, no matter how petty the way I went about it had seemed. I felt better. I felt like a new woman. Maybe Roxy was right about one other thing. Maybe I needed to be on my own for awhile and learn to take what I need without giving more than I want to. Maybe I needed to come back to that club more often. Maybe I’d see that Hunter again and dance with him again. The mark on my shoulder throbbed at the thought of him and I smiled as I walked home.
     

 
    Chapter Two: Elfstruck
     
     
         It wasn’t the sunlight streaming through the curtains that woke me; it was the weight of the arm draped over my face, smothering me, that woke me. I pushed the arm away, squinting in the morning light – I had obviously forgotten to pull the drapes closed before falling asleep. I sat up too quickly, the throbbing pain in my head letting me know I had drunk entirely too much last night.
         “Thanks a lot, Roxy,” I grumbled, holding my head. I slipped out of bed, ignoring the clock that said it was the ungodly hour of two o’clock in the afternoon. How humans went around at this hour, I would never understand. Stumbling and cursing, I made my way to the curtains and pulled them closed, tugging a little harder than necessary. The room darkened sufficiently. I turned back towards the bed when it hit me – an arm had woken me, an arm that probably