She lifted her hand, gripped his hair, twisted her body, and swept her heel-clad foot under his ankle. He clattered to the floor as she stood smirking over him. “Don’t try playing me, Ezra. I’m no pushover.”
He tucked his hands behind his head and grinned as his eyes skittered up her legs. The position meant he had a perfect view up her dress. “I don’t want to play you, baby. I want to play with you.”
She growled, fisted her hands, and flicked her gaze at us. “What are you looking at?”
“We’ll need a schedule on full moons,” Hudson muttered. “Your grounds are about to get very crowded with feral shifters trying to lay claim to their mates.”
Rebecca pointed at him. “Not. Happening.” Then she huffed at the smug shifter on the floor. “At least your room is at the other end of the hall from mine.”
He batted his long eyelashes at her.Oh shit.“Maggie kindly swapped my room around with the throuple couple. They appreciated the extra space.”
Rebecca sucked in a breath. “She did not.”
Ezra chuckled. “So if you even think of sneaking a man into your room, I will happily demonstrate just how serious I am.” Ezra glanced at me. “You have the means to dispose of the bodies, right?”
I raised my hands and took a step back, shaking my head. I refused to be roped into Rebecca’s drama. I couldn’t catch a damn break. At that thought, the wards clanged, making me flinch. There was only one human that would visit me unannounced.
The familiar engine rolled down the drive as Rebecca continued to argue with Ezra. The more incensed she got, the more relaxed he became.
“Were we like this?” I wondered.
“Worse,” Dave answered. “And there’s no past tense—you still are. You could consider rebranding with all the relationship drama going on.”
“You are part of said drama, so shut your mouth.”
He grinned.Oh boy. Dangerous Dave grinning was oddly terrifying. My world was only right when he wore one of his scowls.
The front door swung open and Robert, the town’s sheriff, swaggered inside and pulled up sharply at the sight of the arguing pair.
“If I can’t have visitors in my room, I’m going to have to opt for self-care, and we both know how loud I can get,” Rebecca snapped.
Robert tilted his head like he was trying to understand why bubble baths and face masks would cause Rebecca to be loud.She doesn’t mean that kind of self care, Sheriff.
Deciding to risk his life, Ezra grasped Rebecca’s calves, and in a move that showcased his superior strength and balance, rose to his feet, lifting her into the air with him. “Let me showyou why I am always the better option than self care, Becca.” Rebecca squealed as he took off up the stairs.
Robert swung a thumb over his shoulder. “Is that something we should intervene in?”
“No,” we all chorused from the parlor as Rebecca’s bedroom door slammed closed, cutting off her laughter.
He nodded just as Harry came zooming in through the front window. I raised a brow at my ghostly sidekick, who had been mysteriously absent lately. Not that he answered to me, but given I was the only person he’d found that could hear him, he tended to stick close.
I stood before Hudson got any bright ideas about carrying me off to our room. He quirked an eyebrow at me like he’d heard that thought. “Later,” I uttered, before turning my attention to Robert. I’d known the sheriff for a long time. At one point, he’d shown some romantic interest in me, and if The Principal hadn’t already stolen my heart, I might have entertained a relationship with the level-headed sheriff who took supernatural drama in his stride.
“How can I help you on this fine evening, Sheriff?” I asked. He stalked into the parlor and slid his ass into an armchair with a sigh. He looked weary. “Maggie, please bring some of Aunt Liz’s homemade lemonade and a plate of those freshly baked cookies.” Everything looked better with sugary goodness. I suspected Robert wasn’t taking care of himself as he juggled the interesting residents of White Castle.
Maggie emerged with my request and tilted her head at the sheriff as she stood behind him. “Is he okay?” she mouthed.
I shrugged. I didn’t think so, as Robert wasn’t fond of dramatics. She frowned, reached out slowly, and put a hand on his shoulder before giving it a quick squeeze. Robert jolted in his seat like he’d been electrocuted. Maggie was initiating touch? Was the world ending?
She snapped it away and ran off to the kitchen. Nope, all was restored.
“There’s some weird shit happening,” Robert started after he’d demolished three cookies and gulped a glass of lemonade. I refilled it from the pitcher.
“There’s always weird shit happening,” Dave pointed out.
“This is extra weird.”
“About that,” Harry said.
