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“Ya ruined our security. Now I have to send Ben the bill. Next time, just identify yerself like a normal, civilized visitor. We’re not heathens, ya know.”

“I insist you produce him right now.”

I patted the air in front of me to console her. It may have also looked as if I was pushing against her concerns. Both were true.

“Didn’t ya hear what I said, woman? No one kidnapped yer man. None of my people would ever hurt Ben. We didn’t even hurt the wicked fairy when he was doing Ben’s job and treating us all like shit. That’s not how we handle things.”

Had Ben seriously not told his wife where he was or what had happened? I shook my head and rolled my eyes at the irony. If I had remembered he had a wife, I would have asked him about her last night.

A half-dressed Rasmus appeared behind me. “Good morning,” he whispered in my ear. “What is Ben’s wife doing here?”

Rasmus had lived with them briefly when he first returned in his new human form, so it was no surprise to me that the guardian knew her on sight. I’m sure the powerful woman would have been a challenge to forget, even if Orlin had tried to make sure Rasmus forgot everyone.

I chuckled at the strangeness of her randomly showing up and destroying our wards. I smirked at Rasmus. “She’s come to rescue Ben from our evil clutches.”

“It was a serious question. Why is she here?” Rasmus asked again while totaling ignoring my teasing.

A grinning Henry chuckled at our conversation and walked away. “Breakfast will be served in the dining room at eight-thirty. Please give me the actual number I will be feeding when you can. I’ll prepare for ten.”

“Thanks, Henry,” I called after him. Then I turned to the guardian beside me. “What time is it now?”

Rasmus shrugged in answer. Neither of us wore a watch because neither of us cared about time, especially this morning. That was the beauty of a sex hangover. All I wanted was to go back to bed with him and forget it was morning at all.

As if reading my thoughts, and he probably was, Rasmus grinned at me and plucked at the shirt I’d stolen from him. Hisfingers tugging on the material gave me all kinds of ideas about taking it off and rubbing my naked body against his.

I blew out a shaky breath and smiled through my lust. “Will ya fetch my sandals for me? I left them in the sitting room the last time I wore them. I’ll keep our guest company until ya get back.”

Rasmus smiled at me for calling Ben’s wife a guest and quickly left to do as I asked.

When we were alone, Ben’s witch wife turned to me. She wasn’t glaring any longer, but she still looked worried. “What happened to Benjamin?”

I sighed before explaining. “Ben said someone ripped the charmed necklace ya made for him off his neck. He turned into his beast shortly afterward and wasn’t able to change back. He sent several of us a text asking for help.”

His wife closed her eyes and swore in a language I didn’t recognize. When she opened her eyes again, she looked even more worried. “Can he speak as beast?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding to back up my words.

“That is a relief,” she said with genuine emotion as she patted her chest. “If his beast is back, why did he not call me instead of you? I was worried sick when he didn’t come home last night.”

I shrugged and made a face. “I don’t know why, but I can tell ya Ben can’t use his phone right now because of his claws. If he’d asked me to call ya, though, I would have let ya know. Ya could have stayed here last night.”

She looked around. “Where is here?”

I looked around. It still felt strange to claim it. “This is my home. My friends and I bought this place together.”

“It is large.” Her direct turquoise gaze turned to drill into me. “Why is an ancient bird man bringing you your shoes? Did you enslave him?”

“No,” I said, trying my best not to laugh. “Rasmus is my...”

I stopped talking to look for the right word. I was too old to call him my boyfriend. We weren’t engaged or married. The guardian was just here on vacation, and I was his human hookup woman. Normal human terms didn’t fit our arrangement.

Labeling our relationship was impossible, so I asked her a question instead. “How did ya know what Rasmus was?”

The woman made a disgusted sound in her throat. “I felt his power when Ben dragged him into our home. That one reeks of ancient magic. When I was a child, his kind visited my mother’s family. They do not think like we do. If our village got set on fire, his people would have handed matches to the arsonists before they ever picked up a pail of water to help us save our homes. I can’t believe you’re sleeping with him.”

“Me neither,” I said with great honesty. “But I will say that Rasmus isn’t quite that bad. He’s picked up a pail of water for me now and again. That’s mostly why I let him stay.”

The Caribbean witch understood guardians even if she didn’t have a name for what they were. But I would not be the one to enlighten her with nomenclature. The fewer people who knew what Rasmus truly was—the better off we all were.