Page 26 of Brushed By Moonlight

“Who won?” Bene asked, indicating the roadster.

Roux looked at me just as eagerly.

I chuckled. “It’s a tie. You all win today.”

Bene groaned. “Just like fourth grade.”

“Fifth,” I sighed as he and Roux elbowed each other, rushing to get to the Jaguar first.

They took turns sitting in the driver’s seat. Bene took selfies. Roux didn’t actually makevroom, vroomsounds when he got behind the steering wheel, but he didn’t look far off. Marius and Henrik showed a little more restraint, but I could see the happy sparkles in their eyes.

I would definitely be dangling the classic-car carrot in front of them on their next workday.

Too bad that was a whole week away. I worked alone for the next few days, painting, plastering, and plugging leaks.

Madame Picard arrived an hour before lunch each day and stayed until dinner, churning out meal after delicious meal. I’d finally found extra help in the form of Claudette, a young woman who’d recently returned to Auberre. Her departure and return had both come under mysterious circumstances, making her the hush-hush talk of the town. Then again, having more than your ears pierced could fuel the rumor mill in Auberre — and rumor had it that Claudette’s nose and ears weren’t the only parts of her body that had been pierced.Quel scandale!

She wore her hair short and stylishly messy, along with extra-short shorts and tank tops that revealed enough tattoos for a crew of pirates. What she lacked in feminine curves, she made up for in heavy chains and sheer attitude.

I would have preferred not to throw such a young, nubile, flirty thing into the shark tank of my clients. But there wasn’t anyone else, and Claudette was old enough to make her own decisions. Or so I hoped.

As expected, she was an instant hit with the guys, who would have stretched breakfast out into brunch if it weren’t for Roux’s insistence on discipline.

Thanks to him, they trudged off at eight a.m. to keep busy with their thing. Training, they called it, though it was unclear what they were training for.

I cared less and less, though, because the sight was pretty…er, impressive.

“One…two…three…” Claudette tapped her finger on the window, admiring Bene’s six-pack — or, as the French so aptly put it,tablette de chocolat.

The obstacle course had doubled in size, and they raced around it, leaping, hopping, and climbing like Olympic athletes. They even made crawling look good.

After a round or two of the course, they would disappear into the woods for who knew what. Every once in a while, an earsplitting roar or yowl would explode and trees shook.

“Better not to ask,” Madame Picard sighed as I stared out the window.

Claudette didn’t seem concerned. She was human but had spent her years away from Auberre hanging with a supernatural crowd in Paris — thewrongsupernatural crowd, according to Madame Picard. So, shifters and vampires didn’t faze her.

Roux and Bene raced each other over the next circuit, and the winner — Roux, by an inch — raised an arm in triumph.

Madame Picard sighed dreamily. She, Claudette, and I didn’t have a lot in common, but we were united in our mutual appreciation fortablette de chocolat.

Eventually, the men would move on to a few rounds of weights. Very big, very heavy weights. It was mesmerizing.

“My favorite part,” Claudette breathed.

I left the kitchen, detouring unnecessarily through the dining room to grab one more peek before hurrying on to my latest task — tracing a leak in the east wing.

The next time I peeked outside, I stopped to stare. A lion leaped over the tires in a single bound, landing as agilely as — well, a cat — then bounding toward the next obstacle. Sunlight dappled over his golden pelt, and his tail flicked playfully. Pure Bene — different packaging, samejoie de vivre.

The striped tiger went around the course with his teeth clenched, exuding intensity and sheer power. His coat shimmered as he sailed gracefully over the length of the crawling pit, and he landed soundlessly.

Marius was nowhere to be seen — but maybe that was a good thing. The man was overwhelming in human form. As a dragon, he would be downright terrifying.

Henrik leaned against the shaded barn wall, looking bored.

A split second after I located him, he turned directly toward me. I jumped back from the window, making the curtains sway, then cursed myself. Not a good look.

My heart pounded for a long time afterward. It was one thing to know that your houseguests were shifters. Quite another to see them prowling around as beasts.