“Do you want to learn?”
“I’d love to!”
“Then Canada it is. Try to get some sleep. I’ll be back here at nine, which gives you seven hours of sleep.” Dre grinned broadly. Sammy groaned.
“I didn’t even realize it was that late. Being with you makes time fly.”
Dre bowed. “My pleasure.”
He leaned in for one last kiss. After their lips disconnected, he opened time and space again. “Dress in something warm. We can get you snow gear in Canada once we’re there.”
Chapter Six
Sammy was humming softly while he arranged the assortment of cookies and muffins that he got every day from the small bakery around the corner in glass jars and under the antique cheese domes made from Murano glass he had found at a flea market in Helena. He had them in various forms, sizes and colors and they looked nice on the battered wood of the counter he had secured when an old bar at the other end of town had been taken down. It was Monday and he was in a splendid mood, even though the muscles in his thighs and calves still protested every time he tried to move too fast. As it had turned out, skiing was a strenuous sport, and the human body had muscle tissue everywhere, even on the shins. The tinkling of the chimes announced some early customers. Sammy groaned inwardly when he saw Declan and Troy sauntering into the shop, immaculately dressed in tailored suits with their Thermos cups at the ready.
“Why can’t you guys make your own coffee?”
“Good morning to you, too, Sammy. And you know why. It needs your magic touch to make it perfect.” Declan grinned, showing all his pearly white, a little-too-sharp teeth.
“Good morning, Declan, Troy. You’re just too lazy to learn.” Sammy grumbled without real conviction while he took their cups. “Are you going out of town?”
Declan made a face. “Yeah. Business trip. Hopefully we’ll be back for the book club meeting on Wednesday.”
“Mmm-hmm-m.” Sammy started making Troy’s café latte, using the button that would produce an extra-strong espresso. He reached for the bottle with fresh milk—he had a case delivered to the shop three times a week from one of the local organic farmers—when Troy’s voice cut through his happy thoughts.
“So, a little bird told us you were abducted to serve as a sacrifice during a demon summoning last week.”
Sammy groaned. “Wasn’t it anoldbird, rather than a little one?”
Declan and Troy both held up their hands in a defensive gesture. “Your words, buddy, not ours.”
“Cowards.” Sammy grinned.
“Yeah, whatever. Now, who do we have to kill?” Troy sounded way too enthusiastic about the prospect of eviscerating somebody. Sammy blamed it on the early hour and the fact they had to go on a trip. Werewolves were by definition territorial creatures, and the small town of Beaconville was Troy and Declan’s home. Leaving it, if only temporary, didn’t sit well with their wolves.
Sammy poured the espresso into the Thermos before he started foaming the milk. The loud hissing of the steam pipe gave him some time to think about his answer. While he mixed the espresso with the milk, carefully creating a thick layer of foam, just like Troy liked it, he started to speak.
“If you know about the abduction, you also know about who saved me and that I have no clue who took me. What are you really here for, besides my delicious coffee?”
The two huge alphas had the decency to blush when Sammy turned around to set Troy’s Thermos down before he took Declan’s.
“Mavis and Maribell wanted us to talk to you. And just for the record, I’m not sure if they wanted us to explain to you the finer points and dangers of gay sex with a paranormal or to talk you out of it.” Declan grinned a bit sheepishly.
“Why would you want to explain the finer points of sex to me? I never mentioned to Mavis I was attracted to Dre.”
“But you are. And you’ve already been on a date with him.” Troy shook his head as if Sammy were a child who had tried to hide something from the parents.
“How do you know that?”
The two werewolves touched their noses. Declan sounded matter-of-factly. “You reek of demon pheromones. Somebody’s been all over you.Andyou haven’t lost that little smile on your lips even once since we came in here.”
Sammy lifted his arm and sniffed. All he could smell was the faint lemon scent of his soap. “I showered.”
“So you don’t deny it.” Troy had smugness written all over his face. Sammy sighed.
“No, I don’t deny it. In fact, Dre came shortly after Mavis had left and he asked me on a date. On Friday, we had dinner in Rome and visited Ostia Antica. On Saturday, he took me skiing in Canada, and yesterday we had a picnic in Machu Picchu. Dre is so nice to me, and we have a lot in common.”
The two alphas looked at each other. Troy sighed dramatically. “Guess we’re too late for the ‘keep your hands off demons’ speech. Sounds like Sammy’s mysterious suitor is pulling out all the stops.”
