Seized: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Thrice Cursed Mage Book 4) by J.A. Cipriano Read Free Book Online

they had any bulletproof ones, and in my line of work, that beat out fashion.
    Aside from not having to pay for any of it, the best part was having showered and shaved. I don’t want to go into it much, but as the hot water had pelted my back, I’d felt a strange sense of relief I couldn’t quite understand. I’d been dirty for so long, it’d become almost a state of being, but now I was thankfully, mercifully clean.
    Since I’d passed on the mani-pedi, I was sitting in a quaint little speakeasy-style bar inside Le Château de Tissu Extraordinaire. I wasn’t quite sure why the bar was in here, but hey, when in Rome, right? Besides, it wasn’t like I had anything better to do while everyone else was getting all dolled up. Sure, there was a job I needed to pull off, but somehow, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be rushing Vitaly into anything. The man had spent twenty minutes comparing suit fabric that looked exactly the same to me.
    I glanced up from my old fashioned and smiled at the busty blonde standing behind the bar. She was dressed like Marilyn Monroe in Some like it Hot, but I was pretty sure Marilyn had never had a body as nice as this girl’s, but then again, I didn’t think many women did.
    “It’s great that there’s a bar in here,” I said, leaning back on my barstool and gesturing toward the entrance. Beyond that threshold was nothing but lace, dresses, and makeup. I shivered.
    The bartender gave me a thousand-watt smile. “Some of our patrons prefer to let their,” she paused as if searching for the right word, “companions shop while they explore other activities.” She leaned forward on the bar, revealing a ridiculous amount of cleavage and pursed her ruby red lips. “Are there other activities you wish to explore?”
    My heart started racing as I stared at her. As much as I hated to admit it, I let a couple possibilities play through my mind. I wasn’t quite sure what she was suggesting exactly, but I knew I wasn’t exactly catnip to the ladies. Besides, I had a girlfriend. At least, I was pretty sure I did, and even if I didn’t, I was starting to get the feeling Jenna might not take kindly to seeing me flirt with other ladies.
    I pushed those thoughts aside and took another sip of my drink. It was just this side of perfect. The alcohol served to clear my head as a more reasonable explanation popped into my head. I was the only person in a bar that obviously catered to very rich people. Most patrons in here would likely be lecherous old men letting their women shop. Her flirtation likely had more to do with getting a generous tip out of said men. Well, I wasn’t playing that game.
    “Another drink would be great,” I said, popping the brandied cherry into my mouth and chewing. It was one of the best cherries I’d ever had. Then again, it was the only one I could remember eating, so there was that.
    “Pity,” she said, pulling away from the bar and moving to make my drink. Watching her do it was just as amazing as it had been the first time since she was so precise about the whole thing. I’d never actually seen someone slowly muddle a sugar cube soaked in bitters like they were supposed to do before, but she did it.
    Still, while her explanation for the bar made sense to some degree, it still seemed a bit off. True, the place wasn’t very big, barely enough room for six or so people at the bar, but how often could it possibly be used? However, I wasn’t about to argue with their business plan. Not when I was sitting here taking advantage of it.
    I finished my drink and pushed it across the bar, and as I did so, Marilyn came walking toward me. “Trade?” she asked, grabbing my glass and swapping it for a full one.
    “Sounds like a plan,” I said, taking a sip of the cocktail. It was almost better than the first one, and as the whiskey hit my tongue, a lazy grin spread across my face. “You sure know what you’re doing back there.”
    “Well, you know,” she said,