Read Cursing Athena (Order Of Seven) for Free Online

behavior. It didn’t matter that he’d acted as a buffer between her and her boss, that he’d kept her from performing on the velvet chair, or that he’d freed her from the violent and lecherous hands of Alexei Karpos. Nope. When it came down to it, fretting over Mr. No Name was simply a waste of her time. What she needed to do was focus on her job and her ultimate goal: paying off James’ debt.
    Criminy. Wasn’t that what she’d been doing with Mr. No Thank You Leave Me Alone? Focusing on her job, making the customer happy? She’d brought him his bottle of tequila; she’d tried to be friendly, make small talk. Hell…after he’d forked over the two grand she’d even offered to work the chair for him. Despite her inexperience, despite her fear, she’d warmed to the handsome stranger and was completely baffled by his hot and cold reaction to her.
    She was tempted to blame the entire debacle on her hideous alien outfit, but common sense told her it was more likely her interpersonal skills that were in desperate need of an overhaul. Her experience with James had left her floundering when it came to men.
    The bitter pangs of rejection curdled within her stomach, and she fought back tears of shame. How could she have so clearly misread the handsome stranger? She’d been positive he was attracted to her, so it had come as a huge shock when he’d asked her to leave. And what was with the growling? The guy’s rumbling sounded like something straight out of Wild Kingdom.
    Get it together, Danika! She knew better than to open up to anyone and cursed herself for softening toward him. The past year with James had shown her just how heartless people could be, and she was worn, tired, and refused to be a doormat to anyone ever again. Slamming her empty tray onto the bar, she glanced over toward the nameless jerk who’d rejected her and frowned. If Mr. No Name wanted to be alone, then that was fine by her.
    “Heads up, Danika!”
    Mason, the club’s flamboyant bartender hurried toward her, a worried expression crossing his handsome features. Purposely ignoring the scores of thirsty patrons, he sashayed across the floor like he owned the place. Openly gay and obscenely beautiful, he sported a tall, lean body; a head full of thick, wavy brown hair; green eyes and a spectacular sense of style. He’d offered to accompany Danika to the mall on more than one occasion for a wardrobe makeover, but she’d always had to turn him down. Stylish clothing like Mason wore cost big money, and she’d maxed out her credit cards long ago trying to pay off James’ debt.
    Dead-beat bastard! Her ex had left her in debt and out-of-style to boot.
    Clearly frazzled, Mason squeezed her shoulder and gestured toward the opposite end of the bar with his other hand. “Honey Girl, your ex is here and is stirring up all kinds of trouble. What did you ever see in him anyway?” He craned his head toward the male in question and shook his head, clearly unimpressed with James’ faded blue button down and worn jeans. “I don’t know. I suppose he’s handsome in a rugged, lumberjack sort of way. But the boy definitely needs some work done. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of manscaping. Dude is hairier than Sasquatch.”
    Danika couldn’t hold back and laughed. Mason was sweet, funny and always knew how to make her smile.
    Her smile was short-lived, though, her lips pulling down into a tight, thin line as she eyed James sitting at the end of the bar. He was very obviously drunk and making a huge scene.
    “Oh, God!” She held her hand to her forehead and heaved a large sigh. “What the hell is he doing here? And here I thought my night couldn’t get any worse. He’s going to get me fired!”
    Mason treated her to a grim-faced nod. “Girlfriend, you better find a way to get him gone before Tony sees him.” After giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze, he hurried back behind the bar to fill the never-ending barrage of drink orders.
    The mental