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A laugh forced its way out of Mila’s tight throat. “That’s a big club.”

“That’s why we don’t have a flag yet, no one can agree,” Zander said with a chuckle. He pulled two glasses out and opened the first bottle. “Let’s see how the French do their water. Do you think it’ll taste like disdain?”

Mila took a glass and sipped the perfectly ordinary water from the pretty glass bottle. “I taste elegance with only a hint of contempt.”

Zander laughed. “Good one.”

As she finished the water, Zander refilled Babette’s water, then pulled out another bowl and filled it with a nut mix from a giant container.

“We can’t taste all these waters without a salty palate cleanser,” he explained, putting the overfull bowl between them. Then he looked at Babette with a little frown. Before Mila could ask if he wanted the dog to leave, he moved to the end of the counter and came back with a small bag of dog treats.

“I’d forgotten my buddy Titan left these the last time he was here!” Opening the bag, he offered Babette a treat. She sniffed it cautiously, then gently took it from his hand and ate it with delicate greed.

“Palate cleansers for all of us,” Zander declared with a wide grin and handed her the bag.

They ate and chatted, and Mila soon felt like she’d known Zander for years. The man was open, friendly, and loved talking. It turned out he was in a throuple with Rissa and another man named Anatoly. Mila was fascinated. Uncommon pairings were rare in Tea, and she wanted to know all about these three. Zander assured her it was a common arrangement among his friends.

Maybe if she could get a job and a home, she could eventually be one of those friends!

Chapter 5

Carter

It took two rounds of sex before Gio was exhausted enough to fall into the dreamless daytime sleep common among vampires. It was late afternoon so Carter didn’t have much time to get cleaned up and out of the house before the sun went down.

He used the downstairs bathroom shower and put on one of his nicest outfits. At least it was one that Gio had complimented a lot so he hoped it was nice enough to attract the landless nymph’s attention.

Once he’d made himself as presentable as possible, he debated about what vehicle to take. The truck would be practical, but the motorcycle was sexy. Who could possibly say no to him when he pulled up on the Aprilia RSV4?

Pulling on the custom leather motorcycle jacket Gio had made for him that resembled an old-fashioned racing style, Carter grabbed his helmet and keys for the bike. It wasn’t long before he was flying down the freeway heading downtown.

It was easy to find a spot to park the bike outside Joy. His heart was racing as he shut off the engine and heeled down thekickstand. The sun was low in the sky, but he had at least an hour before Gio would be able to leave the house and track him down. By then he was determined to have started laying the foundation for charming the nymph.

He might not be as worldly or poetic as Gio, but he was an alpha wolf and that meant he had an in-built magic that put people around him at ease. He was going to rely on it heavily today.

Swinging a long leg off the bike, he pulled the helmet off and looked up at the nondescript entrance to Joy. The place had a ton of wards on it. One of them kept pure humans from noticing it unless someone walked them inside. Even now, humans were walking past the establishment as if it was an empty storefront.

Walking in, he smelled cat shifter and human. It was difficult, but he kept from frowning in disappointment.

“Carter?” the cat shifter behind the counter called out. “I haven’t seen you since we opened this place.”

“Hi, Zan,” Carter said as if they were old friends. The first step to gaining Skyler’s attention would be making friends with the people protecting her. “Nice to see you again!”

Striding up to the counter, he took a seat next to the human. He didn’t smell shifter, vampire, or any other magic on her. That was unusual. Ignoring the curiosity of this human, he focused on Zan.

“It’s been a long time,” Zan said. “What would you like?”

“I’ll take whatever you recommend,” Carter answered, glancing over to see what the human was drinking. To his surprise, a small furry face peered back at him. “Is that a dog?”

The human giggled. “This is Babette.”

Carter was captured by her musical voice. Turning to face her, he took in the human woman. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a loose French braid. Curly tendrils had come loose and framed her adorable, round face. Bright blue eyes stared up athim, sparkling with good humor, and plump lips were turned up in a soft smile.

“Do I need Babette to introduce me to you?” he asked.

She laughed again and held out a hand. “I’m Mila and you’re Carter.”

“That’s right,” he said, taking her hand in his. Her skin was soft and warm. He felt a zap of awareness go through him, making him reluctant to let go even after an appropriate amount of time passed. His wolf rose up. His inner beast wanted him to put her hand to his mouth and taste her skin.