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Despite the casual nature of her question, he heard the serious intent behind it.

“I thought I’d made that quite clear.”

“Are you afraid I’ll go nuts if you don’t?”

He smiled down at his coffee. “No, I’m afraid I’ll go nuts. I don’t think I would function very well if I couldn’t be with you.”

She slammed her mug down on the countertop. “Morosov, don’tsaythings like that. You’re supposed to be running away from me, not offering yourself up for more punishment.”

“It’s just the way it is.”

“I don’t like it.” She bit into her bagel and crumbs flew everywhere. He resisted the urge to fetch a dustpan and brush and gather them up. Maybe it would be better to wait until she finished…

“I can’t change my nature, Ella.”

“As to that.” She swiveled on her seat so that she could face him. “What exactly are you? I know you’re a swan shifter and some kind of Fae royalty. Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?”

“Don’t you think that’s enough to be getting along with?” He darn well hoped so. He had no intention of telling her the rest unless he was in mortal peril. “I’m sure you have questions.”

She held out her coffee mug. “Fill this up first, and then we’ll talk.”

He studied her bunny pajamas and tatty white robe. “Don’t you want to get dressed first?”

“Why? We’re not going anywhere, are we?” She slid off the stool and headed for the couch.

Vadim waited until her back was turned and swiftly cleaned up the crumbs, put her plate in the sink and wiped off the surfaces. Picking up his own cup of coffee, he joined her on the couch. She’d kicked off her slippers. Her toenails were bright pink with orange sparkles. He wanted to kiss them…

He was in deep shit.

“So tell me about the shape-shifting first.”

He forced his gaze back up to her face. “One of my…grandfathers is the current swan king. I get the ability from him.”

“It’s not much use is it? What can a swan actually do? Peck someone to death?”

“They can do much more than that.”

“Yeah?” She tucked her feet up under her. “I hear they’re really good at ballet and telling fairy tales, as well.”

He took a long, slow breath and let it out through his nose. “Are you just going to mock, or are you actually interested in learning about the abilities you’ve acquired?”

“You have no sense of humor, Morosov.”

“I believe you have enough for both of us.” He stopped talking and just stared at her.

She sighed. “I suppose you can fly, right? That’s quite useful. Can I do that?” By mating with him, she’d acquired his Otherworld powers, and he’d stabilized her empath abilities. In fact, she’d come out of the deal really well. Maybe she should be more grateful.

“If you practice.”

“Do I have to shape-shift?” She leaned forward. “CanI shape-shift?”

“I’m not sure. With my other powers, I can just grow wings and fly. I should imagine you’d be able to do that too.”

“That’s kind of cool.” She picked up the cushion next to her. “And if you shed, I’ll never have to worry about stuffing my cushions again.”

He sipped his coffee. “How long are you going to keep this up?”

“The jokes?”