Read Club Nexus (Ivy Granger, Psychic Detective) for Free Online Page A

“Nair in shampoo bottles?  Sticking firecrackers up a frog’s butt?”
    Oops.  I felt heat rise to my face, wishing again for that
second drink.  I swear sometimes my mouth has a mind of its own.  Thankfully,
Puck smiled and laughed like what I’d said was meant to be funny.
    “Nothing that bad,” he said.  “Just kid stuff.  Plus, that
was the old Puck.  I’m a reformed sinner.”
    “What made you change your ways?” I asked.
    Crap, it sounded like I was flirting, but I was actually
curious.  In my experience, guys didn’t change much, even when they wanted you
to think they would.  How many times had I heard, “I’ll stop cheating, I
promise” from one of my exes?  But maybe when a guy lived for centuries there
was room for change—maybe being the operative word.
    “Everything changed after Oberon left court,” he said, face
darkening.  His gaze seemed to turn inward for a moment until he shook his head
and shrugged.  “But that’s ancient history.”
    I had heard of Oberon, the king of the Seelie court,
and how the king and queens of Faerie had disappeared from their courts
hundreds of years ago, but I didn’t have time to consider Puck’s comment.  A
new song started and Ivy gave me an encouraging thumbs-up sign from over Puck’s
shoulder.  I rolled my eyes and looked around for Forneus.  Not that I really
cared what he was doing or anything.  I was just curious, that’s all.
    “Oh, wow, Jinx loves this song,” she said.  “Don’t you
Jinx?”
    I nodded wondering what Ivy was playing at, since I’d never
heard music like this in my entire life.  Puck scraped a hand through his fly
away curls and flashed a smile from beneath long lashes.
    “Care to dance?” he asked.
    The faerie held out his hand and I hesitated.  I’d wanted to
dance, but Puck wasn’t really my type.  I looked around, trying to think of an
excuse to put him off, when my eyes fell on Forneus.  He hadn’t gone far and
was now watching me and Puck with a frown marring his lips.  On impulse, I
grabbed Puck’s hand and slid from the barstool.
    “I’d love to,” I said.  “Ivy, you’ll be okay here?”
    I dropped my crossbow onto the barstool I’d just vacated,
since I didn’t plan to shoot anyone on the dance floor.  I might as well leave
Ivy with the extra arsenal, just in case.
    “I’ll be fine,” she said, waving me off.  “Go, have fun.”
    I pulled Puck toward the dance floor, letting my hips sway
as I sashayed away from the bar and Forneus, just in case the demon was still
watching.  I glanced over my shoulder to smile at Puck and could have sworn his
face held the sly, hungry look of a fox in a henhouse.  But strobe lights
flashed on and off and the look was gone as if I’d imagined it.  I probably
had.  Obsessing over Forneus was making me crazy.
    Even preoccupied with demon watching, I couldn’t help but
notice that Puck was a popular guy.  Male and female faeries flirted as we
waded through their intricate dances and more than one vamp whispered something
about ice.  Maybe Puck worked here tending bar or waiting tables?  If so, he
was obviously off duty and gave each vamp the brush off, mentioning something
about pleasure before business.  It didn’t take him long to get down to his
idea of pleasure on the dance floor.
    “So, Jinx,” Puck said, pressing close.  “Is that your True
Name?”
    He stroked the inside of my palm in slow circles with his
thumb and I dropped his hand to adjust my dress—without much success.  It was
like trying to toss away a booger tissue; the damn thing just wouldn’t let go.
    Puck mashed himself between my hips, swaying to the music
and pulling me along with him.  He cupped my ass with sweaty hands and pulled
me close enough to know he was interested in more than dancing.  I figured we
were giving Forneus quite the show, which had been my intent, but now that we
were on the dance floor, I felt the urge to flee.
    I couldn’t quite put