Music and excited chatter greeted them as soon as they stepped foot into the living room. On one side of the room, three gigantic men stood, taking pulls from their beer bottles and shooting the breeze, and on the other side were three women, two of whom were chatting excitedly amongst themselves. The other woman looked as if she would prefer to be standing with the men. One of the women was heavily pregnant and she was the one who was happily showing the other two her engagement ring.
“Let me introduce you to everyone,” Ramon said.
“Okay, great.”
He took her over to meet the men first. “Okay, so you just met Gray. Firstly, the mammoth of a man is Flint.”
Saffy scented the air then frowned. Was he a… No, she must have been mistaken. He couldn’t have been. The last she’d heard, that species was extinct.
“Ted you might remember from your sister’s party the other night,” Ramon said. Nash dipped his chin in greeting. “And that’s Ice.”
“I’m the handsome one of the bunch,” Ice said with a grin that managed to be both boyish and downright dirty at the same time. A blush stole over her cheeks and she fought the urge to fan them. Fortunately, Ramon didn’t notice it.
“Everyone, this is my mate, Saffy.”
After they had all said hello, and Saffy and Ramon had talked to them for a little while, he took her arm and guided her over to the women.
“This is my mate,” he said to them all. “Saffy, this is Kit, Aria, and Maya.”
“Hi,” Saffy greeted them warmly.
The pregnant woman rushed forward and grabbed her arm. “Cole told me you’re a lion shifter, is that right?”
Saffy nodded, grinning at the look of awe on Maya’s face. “I sure am.”
“Wow,” Aria said. “Are you as big as a real lion?”
“Um, probably bigger.”
“Wow,” she and Maya said in unison.
“Oh, congratulations on the engagement,” Saffy said. “And on the baby.”
“Thanks!”
Saffy turned to the other woman. “Kit, right?”
She nodded. “Good to meet you.”
“You too. Ramon says you’re the only woman on the team.”
Kit grinned. “Someone’s got to keep all those big macho dudes in check.”
Saffy laughed. “I don’t doubt you could do it, either. Ramon says you’re a panther shifter, right?” She frowned. “I don’t get it.Kit?”
The tall, muscular woman rolled her eyes. “That was the guys’ idea of a joke when I joined the team. It’s short forkitty kat.” Another eye roll. “Sometimes with those boys, you’ve just got to pick your battles. I was exasperated at first, but now, it’s kinda grown on me.”
“Well, I’m glad someone’s around to keep them in line.” She glanced across the room where the guys were laughing and shoving each other around. “Though it seems like that job might be akin to herding cats.”
Kit snorted with laughter. “You got that right.”
“Wow. Oh! Where are my manners? Let me get you a drink!” Maya said. “Sorry, I haven’t been drinking you know, since the pregnancy so of course, I forget that other people don’t have my restriction. Sorry,” she said again. “I’m a terrible host.”
Saffy shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Um, we’ve got beer, wine, or you can have a cocktail,” she said.
“Oh, a cocktail sounds great,” Saffy said before she noticed Aria and Kit vigorously shaking their heads. Too late.
