“You’re welcome.” He turned away and studied the newspaper until the bagel was toasted. “Did you sleep well?”
“I think so. I don’t remember dreaming or anything.”
“That’s good.” He’d have enough nightmares for both of them. He was surprised he hadn’t woken her. “I’m not planning on going into the office today. How about you?”
“Hold it. Stop with the casual small talk.” She pointed her knife at him. “Why aren’t you on that plane going back to Russia with Alexei?”
“Because the SBLE decided I should stay here.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“They don’t know about...us, do they?”
“I should imagine they’ll work it out fairly quickly when you don’t start going insane on your birthday.”
“Oh, damn. I’d forgotten about that. Maybe I could pretend to go nuts?”
“And lose the job you love so much?” Ignoring her impression of sticking her fingers down her throat, he stuck another bagel in the toaster. “And remember, they won’t necessarily know
“But won’t everyone wonder why you’re still here?”
“The last I heard, everyone was hoping I’d stay because I’m the only partner you’ve ever worked with that you respect.”
She stuck out her tongue at him. He handed her another bagel.
“So you’re planning on staying, then?”
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’t
“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. “
“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?”
He inclined his head a frigid inch.
“For as long as I can think of them.”
“Fine. Do you have any other questions for me?”
“I sure do, buster, don’t think I’m that easy. Why didn’t you mention that your grandmother is the queen of the Fae?”
“She’s one of the queens. There are several warring factions in Otherworld.”
“I know that, but I asked around the office yesterday, and she’s considered the most powerful one at the moment.”
“I didn’t mention it, because it never came up.”
“Bullshit. You didn’t mention it, because you hate being associated with anything from Otherworld.”
“Maybe that, as well.” He was willing to concede the point if it kept her from inquiring further. “And as I told you before, the more I talk about my Otherworld connections, the more likely they are to become aware of me.”
“Because you’ve been trying to hide out here and pass as human.”
“Obviously not very successfully.”
“You were doing pretty well, until I dragged you back there.”
“Trust me, I’d love to blame you, but Rossa already knew I was here and was keeping an eye on me. It was just a matter of time before my grandmother found a way to try and force me back there.”
“Why does she want you back?”
“Because I performed certain tasks for her and the Fae.”
“Magical ones?”
“Usually.”
“But what good is a shape-shifting swan?”
“You’d be surprised.” She’d be horrified, but he definitely wasn’t going to get into that. He stood up and held out his mug. “I’m getting more coffee. Do you want some?”
“No thanks.” She handed him her empty mug. “Stick it in the sink. I’ll use it later.”
With an inward shudder, he put her mug in the dishwasher and refilled his own. “You’re still a bit low on food. Do you want to go to the supermarket?”
She stretched her arms over her head and yawned until her jaw cracked. “I suppose I should.”
His cell phone went off, and a second later he heard hers ring too. She wandered into the bedroom to get it as he answered his.
“Mr. Feehan.”
“Vadim. We have a situation here. Can you liaise with Ella and meet her at San Francisco General? There’s a man there I want you both to see.”
