In-Between Work and Play (The Jocelyn Frost Series Book 1) (18 page)

Horse-drawn
stagecoach rides may seem like an exciting form of transportation while touring
a historic city, but sharing one with a small group of horny strangers wasn’t
that much fun. 

Even sandwiched
between Dex and Finley, I had to put up with two leering dark elves that tried
to convince me I should ditch the demigods and party with them.  There was also
a minotaur who was playing with himself one moment; and looking like he wanted
to turn us into his evening meal the next.  Not to mention, the four satyrs
with mouths that would put some rap artists to shame.

The stagecoach
trotted up a cobblestone, curved driveway and passed through a colossal gate.
Since the windows were too small, it wasn’t until I was standing in front of
the Amber Primrose that I could actually get a good view of it. 

I half-expected
the place to be about the same size as Dex’s Victorian.  What I found was a
massive, Beaux-Arts-style building that stretched an entire city block. 

Several workers
busied themselves by shoveling the dusting of snow off the walkways, while
others spread salt behind them.

A
light-blue-skinned woman, wearing nothing more than a navy-blue corset and a
ruby pendant, approached our group.

It took me a
moment, but I realized she was a Jotun.  Having never seen an ice giant in
person, I was a little worried she would give us a hard time.  My heart sunk. 
How many women subjected themselves to working in a place like this?  I knew I
shouldn’t have been judgmental, but as the reality of where we were began sinking
in, the injustice of their situation gnawed at my conscience.

Dex must have
sensed a change in me because he squeezed my hand.

The satyrs
continued ahead of us down a path that wrapped around the building.  The
minotaur took a different path in the opposite direction.  As for the dark
elves, they stayed in the stagecoach.  Once the driver finished handing us our
bags from the luggage compartment, the stagecoach clip-clopped around the
driveway and faded out of sight.

The black
haired, seven-foot something Jotun approached us. “Welcome to the Amber
Primrose. Do you have a reservation?”

 “Yes, we do,”
Finley answered.

“Wonderful. 
Follow me, please.”  She spoke with a forced smile.  I grimaced after she
swiveled on her heels.  Hey, no one ever said ice giants were anything but
cold.

We followed her
up a path toward the centrally located entrance.  A gilded, two-story door was
flanked by two blonde demigoddess guards in full Viking armor.  They wore
matching ruby pendants that appeared to be the same design as the Jotun’s. I
thought that was a little odd.  Maybe it was part of the uniform?

I felt my cheeks
pale under the scrutiny of the Viking women.  Did they know we were demigods? 
Or did they possess powers like the Enforcers?  My gaze settled on their pointy
spears.  Either way, my grip tightened on Dex’s hand. I guessed that a place
like this needed top-notch security.  Who could have been better bouncers for a
daughter of Freya than the Valkyries? 

My brain
reverted to one of my coping mechanisms.  I took stock of what I knew. 
Valkyries were pretty popular in certain myths.  They were female warriors who
rode on the backs of flying horses into battle in order to collect the souls of
the dead.  They weren’t necessarily daughters of Freya.  Some were mortal
princesses. 

Holy Helheim, is
that why I was so attracted to Dex?  He always seemed to know so much more than
I did, and best of all, was willing to help me to understand things from
multiple perspectives. Wow, he was like one of my coping mechanisms in a hot,
sexy package. 

The door swung
open by itself.  Our escort motioned for us to enter the building. “Please
proceed to the check-in desk.”

We muttered our
thanks.  The pops from several fireplaces warming the lobby radiated warmth in
our direction.   Inside, we were greeted by gorgeous, white marble flooring and
a high, arched, glittering, mosaic-tiled ceiling. 

I gasped upon
seeing a full-grown red alder tree in the center of the room.  Within its
branches perched various breeds of tabby cats.  More were visible lounging on
the furniture or cuddled together in front of one of the fireplaces.  A group
of black cats with white spots on their chests played with the tassels that
hung off the drapes.  I could have sworn they were the size of my mother’s German
shepherd.

 “Familiars and
cat sidhe,” Dex whispered in my ear.  He must have noticed that I was staring
at them.  “I guess most of the customers leave them in the lobby so they can
have some privacy.”

“That makes
sense.  I wouldn’t want your flock of ibis watching us if we ever…” My cheeks
burned at the thought.  I really should have learned to keep my mouth shut. 

“Take things to
the next level?”  Dex’s blush matched mine.

“Exactly.” I
really found it cute that he was just as bashful about sex as me.  I just hoped
that it wasn’t all an act.

“No worries.
I’ll make them bunk with Finley.”  We both laughed at the thought.

Finley, who was
already halfway across the lobby, turned back toward us.  “Are you two coming?
Or are you just going to stand there, laughing like hyenas?”

“Someone has an
itch that needs to get scratched,” Dex muttered under his breath. 

“Ugh, I can’t think
about him like that!  Or the poor woman who volunteers to do the scratching.”

“I heard that!” 
Finley shook his head “This is the last time I do you any favors, Frost.”

“Said the man
who poured honey in my hair this morning!” I pursed my lips.  I still needed to
find a proper way of thanking the twins for that one.  Out of the corner of my
eye, I noticed a beautiful, long-haired, ginger tabby jumping off her chair. 
She sashayed her tail back and forth while pitter-pattering across the marble
floor in my direction.  I almost didn’t pay her any attention until she darted
between my feet.

“Meow!”  She
moved in figure eights, keeping me in my place.  “Meow!”

Dex stopped
again when I couldn’t keep up.  “Looks like you made a new friend.”

“I bet her
master will love that.”

“Maybe she’s
hungry?”  Dex shrugged.  He cast a glance over his shoulder at Finley, who was
already checking us in.  Along the back wall of the lobby stretched a long,
ornate, check-in counter. 

“What do you
think I should do?”  I knelt down.  Once I started to scratch behind her ears,
she flopped down and stared at me.

“Bring her to
the check-in desk.  Maybe they have something for her to eat.”  He held his
hand out. “I’ll take your bag.”

I handed it to
him. “Thank you.”  I turned my attention back toward the cat. “Can I pick you
up?”  Hey, she’s a familiar, right?   Those cats were smarter than most of my
senior class from high school.

The cat sat up
and nodded.  She actually looked like she was saying, “Sure, pick me up.  I
won’t shed too much on your coat.”

Here
goes nothing
, I thought as I
scooped the cat up into my arms, allowing her to sit on my left arm while
propping her chest up with my right.  I learned a long time ago, after being
clawed by Mr. Sour Puss, my grandmother’s Persian, never to actually hold a cat
in your hands.  It’s better to allow them to hold themselves in your arms so
they can escape if they feel uncomfortable. 

Two women peered
at us with friendly smiles plastered on their model-like faces.  They wore
matching, body-hugging, silver dresses with plunging V-necks that exposed
plenty of cleavage. 

Right off the
bat, I could tell that one of the women was a human version of a cat sidhe. 
Fine, short, licorice-colored fur covered every inch of her exposed skin.  Her onyx-black
hair hung pin straight past her shoulders.  An emerald green pendant glittered
on top of the white spot just below her throat.

The second
woman’s auburn hair was littered with twigs and alder leaves, while her skin
tone matched the same hues as the tree bark.  Her pendant was the same ruby-red
as the Valkyries. 

“Welcome to the
Amber Primrose, how many I help you?”  The nymph beamed a genuine smile at Dex
and me.

“Hi.” A bead of
perspiration dripped down the side of my face. “We’re checking in with him.”  I
pointed to Finley, who was unfolding several pages of printouts.  My eyes
widened due to the awkward way I worded my response.  Holy Helheim, it sounded
like we were involved in a threesome. “I mean,” I took a deep breath, “he made
our reservations.”  Ugh, face on fire!  Where is the nearest hole to jump into?

“Don’t worry,
miss,” she winked, “we don’t judge here.”

The cat sidhe
turned toward the nymph. “This is the entire party’s first time here.”

“Umm… excuse
me.” I waited until they were both looking at me. “Before we finish checking
in, I, umm, really need to make an appointment to talk with Caress Winters. 
Her brother, Marek, told me I should ask to speak to her when I arrived.”

They exchanged a
perplexed look.  The nymph was the first one to speak. “Normally, Mistress
Winters is busy running the establishment.  There are over five hundred guests
checked in at any given time, along with about two thousand employees…”

The ginger tabby
jumped onto the counter.  Her purring echoed off the nearby walls, drawing
everyone’s attention.

Finley reached
over, allowing the cat to sniff his fingers.  She proceeded to rub her nose and
teeth on his fingertips.  “What a lovely little pussy.  She looks a lot like my
Sheba from when I was a kid,” he mumbled.

Tears were
forming in the corners of the cat sidhe’s jade eyes. She looked like she was
about to burst into a fit of giggles.  “Excuse me.  I’m going to call for your
tour guide and the bellhop.” 

I needed to take
control of the situation.  If they told me that it wasn’t possible to speak to
Caress, then my entire trip would have been a waste.  “Is there any way you
could inform Mistress Winters that friends of her twin brother made a special
trip from the In-between into Erda just to speak to her?”

The nymph’s
ash-grey complexion paled as she watched Finley cuddling with the cat.

“I think the two
of you should get a room.” Dex grinned while wiggling his eyebrows.

“Hey, a good
pussy is hard to find.” Finley looked up from his cuddling. “Is she up for adoption? 
I know an entire flock of ibis she could claw—I mean—play with on a regular
basis.”

“Are you
serious?”  The nymph choked.

“I’m sure you’ll
find plenty of good pussies to play with before the night is through,” Dex
nervously laughed.

The cat turned her
gaze toward Dex and hissed.

“There you go,
love. Tell Uncle Dex he’s an ass.”  Finley bumped his forehead with the cat.

“Boys, let’s
stay on task.  Remember: we need to speak with Mistress Winters.”  I took a
deep breath before extending a feeling of tranquility toward everyone present. 
Perhaps if they felt more at ease, they might be willing to work with me.

The nymph sighed
as she turned back toward me.  “I suppose I could leave Mistress Winters a
message.  It will be up to her whether or not to seek you out.”

Dex placed a
hand on my shoulder. “That sounds fair enough.  We are willing to extend our
stay here until Sunday, if necessary.”

Her eyes drifted
back toward Finley and the cat.

The click of
heels echoed behind me.  I glanced over my shoulder to find a blonde
demigoddess wearing a gold version of the same dress the two women behind the
counter wore.  She, too, had on a ruby pendant.

“Good evening
and welcome to the Amber Primrose.” She extended her hand toward Dex. 

He kissed the
back of it. “Are you Mistress Winters?”

“Who me?” Her
voice sounded familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it. “No, I’m not the
Mistress Winters you’re looking for.  My name is Whisper, and I’ll be giving
you a tour of our facility while going over the rules.”

Whisper?  Why
did I know that name?

Another female
cat sidhe in a white dress appeared from around the corner with a luggage cart.