“Not much,” she said. “We’re supposed to meet Daniel and Adam at the pie shop for dinner at seven.”
“Oh great, we’ll join you,” J.D. interjected. “Gabriel and Temperance will be there for sure anyway. Have you had pie before, Thoralf?”
“I confess, I have not,” the dragon shifter said.
“I need to close up here,” Anna Victoria said. “But do you mind waiting a couple of minutes? I’ll have to call Damon, too, and have him meet us there.”
“Sounds good. I’m gonna go change and meet you outside.” She didn’t mind J.D. and Anna Victoria joining them at all; in truth, it would be good to have more people around as a buffer. Whether she wanted them as a buffer between her and Adam or her and Daniel, she couldn’t quite say.
Now that the initial exercise high was wearing off, her thoughts strayed back to Daniel and what had happened in the bathroom yesterday. Her body still tingled at the memory of that orgasm and Daniel’s mouth on her.
Fuck, he was fantastic at oral sex. Her eyes had nearly rolled to the back of her head when she came. Her knees went weak thinking of what actual sex would be like with him. Not that she would even get the chance to know.
Sex between them would just complicate things. It was already hard to stop her stomach from flip-flopping or her heartbeat from going a mile a minute when he was around, doing and saying things that made her hope for things she had no right to. Besides, it wasn’t like this was a permanent arrangement.
Ignoring the pang in her chest, she finished cleaning up and headed outside. J.D. and Thoralf were helping close up, so she lent them a hand as well. Finally, they were done, and Anna Victoria locked up the studio. “We’ll meet you Rosie’s.”
Soon, they were pulling up to the rear parking lot of Rosie’s Bakery and Cafe. “You’re in the back,” the cheery proprietress said as soon as she and Thoralf entered. “I set up a table for you in the back, through the kitchen.” She pointed at the door behind the counter. “Daniel told me you guys were eating here, and I didn’t want anyone bothering you. Those damned media people are always sniffing around here, plus, I know even regular folks would be gawking at you guys, too.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” she said.
She chuckled. “Please it’s just Rosie. Go on, Anna Victoria and J.D. are already in there.”
Following her directions, they made a beeline to the display counter filled with pies and entered through the door behind it. To her surprise, it immediately led straight into the kitchen where a young woman was laying out a tray of pies on the table.
“… baby, that looks so good.” It was Gabriel Russel, leaning over the counter, a hand reaching out.
“Gabriel!” she admonished, slapping his hand away. “They’re still hot. You need to let them settle first.”
“But I’m hungry now.”
“You’re always—oh, hello.” The woman’s face lit up when her light hazel eyes met hers.
Gabriel turned around. “Oh, hey, Sarah,” he greeted. “You must be Thoralf,” he nodded to the dragon shifter. “Daniel already told us you’d be here. This is my mate and fiancée, Temperance,” he said, gesturing to the woman behind the table full of cooling pies.
“Hello,” she said shyly. “Nice to meet you, Sarah. Thoralf.”
Sarah did a double take, her eyes widening as they were drawn to the right side of Temperance's face. It was covered in scars, most likely from a burn. She recovered quickly though, and the other woman didn’t seem fazed. “Nice to meet you too, Temperance.” She took in a whiff. “Oh my God, that smells amazing. What pies are those?”
“I’m experimenting with some new flavors,” she said. “These are honey lemon chiffon, chocolate ganache with almond crust, and salted caramel with mixed nuts.”
“I want all of them, now,” Gabriel demanded.
“Of course you do,” she giggled.
“Hey, Sarah! Thoralf!” J.D. called. She and Anna Victoria were already seated at a table set up in the far corner. “Over here.”
“Go ahead, and we’ll serve these when they’re done cooling,” Temperance said, then turned to Gabriel. “Don’t eat all of them, okay?”
They walked over to the corner, where two tables and several stools had been set up. “It’s a tight squeeze, but we’ll all fit.” J.D. looked slyly at Thoralf and patted the empty seat next to her. “Come on, don’t be shy. I don’t bite … hard.”
Thoralf looked flummoxed and swallowed. “Um, I must confess, I’m not hungry yet. I must also check in with my ki—boss. I will see you at Daniel’s home later tonight. If you ladies will excuse me.” Turning on his heel, he headed out through the back door.
“Aaaaand shut down. Guess no Swedish sausage for me.” J.D. pouted and planted her chin in her hands. “Did I come on too strong, do you think?”
“Why, J.D., I didn’t even know you were open to dating,” Anna Victoria said.
“Pffft.” She blew a stray strand of hair from her forehead. “If you come at me looking like that, I don’t need dinner. I got my meal right there.” She waved her hand dramatically toward the door. “Do you guys even have eyes? Did you see all that?” Fanning herself, she let out a breath. “Man, what I wouldn’t do to get horizontal under that. Maybe it’s been too long since I got any action.”
“Whatever you’re looking for, you need to put yourself out there,” Anna Victoria said. “The perfect guy isn’t just going to land in your lap, you know.”
“A hot guy with a foreign accent and biceps like boulders is exactly what I was looking for. Does Thoralf have a girlfriend?” J.D. asked Sarah. “Or a mate?”
“I don’t think he’s engaged,” she answered, remembering what Gabriel called his fiancé. “But I don’t know much about him, really. He just, uh, flew in two nights ago.”
“No, I mean, a mate,” J.D. said. “Then maybe I’d understand
