I stopped beside him. Together, we watched the TV show’s host pace across a set made to look like a cozy living room while he somberly explained how, in just a few minutes, he would reveal Sara’s infant son’s paternity test results, determining once and for all whether her husband or her husband’s best friend—cue audience gasp—was the real father.
Twiggy sat three inches from the screen, enraptured by the talk-show host.
Groaning, I slapped my hand against my forehead. “Why do I have a faery roommate?”
Ezra laughed. Looping an arm around my waist, he drew me into the bedroom and pushed the door shut with his foot. An instant later, his hot mouth was against mine, and I plastered myself against him without thought, hands stroking down his damp chest.
And there went my towel. Damn it, Aaron had been right.
Ezra slid his hands down my sides, over my hips, then back up to my waist. He pulled me close and his mouth brushed over my ear.
“Someday, do you think?” he murmured.
“Huh?”
He chuckled, the husky sound diving straight to my core, then stepped back from me with a final caressing touch. “I’m going to be late.”
“You’re already late. And someday, what?”
“Nothing.”
“What?” I growled, annoyed.
His eyes sparked with mirth but he didn’t reply as he opened the closet and slid a pair of jeans out.
I forgot my annoyance at the sight of his clothes hanging in my closet. Why did his belongings mixed with mine stoke that fire in my belly even hotter? I wanted to drag him back into bed and have my way with him for a few hours before releasing him to Aaron.
But that would ruin a lot of careful planning, so I banked my desire for later.
As Ezra dressed, I glanced at the stack of his combat gear peeking out from the top shelf of my closet. Short, black leather cords hung from beneath them—the ties of Eterran’s bracer. Ezra had begun wearing the bracer on jobs, keeping it hidden under his long, metal-studded gloves.
In the months since he and Eterran had separated, Ezra’s enhanced strength had faded from “impossibly strong” to “impressively strong” and was holding steady there. His reflexes weren’t blindingly fast anymore, but they continued to be above average.
That spark of demonic essence would live on in him, maybe for the rest of his life.
Oblivious to the direction of my thoughts, Ezra swept over for a goodbye kiss that left me weak in the knees, then hurried into the hallway. I listened for the door.
The moment it banged shut, I dove for my closet, dug into the very back, and pulled out a dress bag from the darkest corner. Little did he know I wasn’t spending the next several hours lounging around eating cereal and fighting Twiggy for the TV remote. And if I didn’t hurry, I’d be late too.
Fifty-three minutes later, I came flying out of the bathroom, awkwardly clasping a small seashell pendant around my neck—a spontaneous gift from Ezra after the whale-watching tour we’d gone on last month.
“Twiggy,” I called, “have you seen my purse?”
The faery barely glanced up as I rushed into the living room and peered over the sofa. Shit. Where had I left it?
A shimmer of orange and green danced in my head, then a scaled silver body swept over to me. My purse hung from Hoshi’s small paws, fuchsia eyes bright.
“Ah! Perfect. Thank you, Hoshi.” I hitched my purse over my shoulder and gave her head an affectionate rub. “Keep Twiggy calm while I’m away.”
Her tail flicked, a sunny swirl of yellow telling me she was amused.
Grinning, I sped up the stairs, and a minute later, I was standing on the front sidewalk, catching my breath but ready to go—and looking damn good. My vibrant cobalt dress featured a plunging halter neckline offset with a playful tiered skirt that fluttered around my knees. My hair, still slightly damp, was piled up on my head, and I’d spent a painstaking fifteen minutes on my makeup. A pair of dangly earrings and strappy white sandals finished my outfit.
Ezra wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes off me, and I was already itching for him to slowly peel off my dress when we got back to my place tonight.
You’d think, after four months, my libido would’ve calmed down a bit, but nope. I mean, how could it? The man was ripped, tireless, and deliciously eager to make up for lost time.
I indulged in two minutes of inappropriate reminiscing before a dark blue Dodge Challenger pulled up at the curb.
The passenger door flew open and Sin leaped out, arms already reaching for a hug.
I grabbed her, squeezed the air from her lungs, then stepped back to take in her outfit. Her little black number with a strappy back was sexy as hell, her dark makeup enhancing the sultry look. Her hair color of choice this month was a deep, shimmering violet that made her skin look like porcelain.
“Hot,” I announced. “You told her that, right, Justin?”
My brother leaned across the center console. “Repeatedly.”
“Good.”
Sin laughed, a faint flush in her cheeks. “I actually wore this dress for our three-month anniversary dinner, so I’ve been complimented about twenty times.”
I almost teased her about celebrating a three-month dating anniversary, but she was glowing with happiness and I just couldn’t do it. They were such a ridiculously cute couple that I’d hardly teased them at all.
Sin flipped the passenger seat up so I could climb into the back. She got back in, and then we were off, the Challenger’s V8 engine rumbling aggressively.
“Does Ezra suspect anything?” she asked, her voice high with excitement.
“He doesn’t have a clue,” I confirmed gleefully. “Do you have the decorations?”
“In the trunk.” She clapped her hands in determination. “The pub won’t be recognizable when we’re done with it.”
“Perfect.”
As Justin turned onto Powell Street, heading into Gastown, she twisted to look back at me. “Did Justin
