“Well, they’re going to have a real hard time finding it now,” Renee says with a wink directed at me.
She called several times while Bastian and I were laying claim to one another, and I didn’t want to make her wait any longer, so I rang her back as soon as I was conscious and told her everything—in minimal detail. She knows I’m his mate, and the center of his world now.
Just like he’s the center of mine.
“So, are y’all gonna get married or anything?” Drew asks and Renee tsks at him. “What? It’s a valid question! I love weddings.”
I chuckle as I look at Bastian. “I don’t know. What do you think?”
“A gathering of all the pink flesh in one area to ogle me,” he says with a grimace. “Delightful.”
“They’ll mostly be ogling Cait,” Renee quips. “The bride is the main event, after all.”
“I’ll have to relieve them of their eyes afterwards,” Bastian says.
Renee laughs. “You are the picture of psycho book boyfriend.”
“Hey, I’ll cut eyes out too,” Drew says with a dejected pout.
Renee squeezes his cheeks together. “No. You’re my wonderful golden retriever, and I never want you to change.”
“I’ll do you doggy style,” Drew tries to whisper, but his whisper is more like an indoor voice.
Renee murmurs something at him and I cover my snicker as I sort the incoming books into their treatment piles. Many of these are in good condition and can be sold as is, which means we can offer them at a much lower price than if we had to re-cover. With Bastian’smagic it’s simple, but still, it takes time, effort, and energy to make it possible. Energy he can never reclaim.
“So, what’s next for the dragon, the witch, and the demon cat?” Renee asks.
I pull out my phone and open the calendar app. “Looks like a three-day pre-Christmas event in Minneapolis, and we were invited to Sinful Signatures in February in Chicago. But Bastian is on hoard duty for the next six months, so I’m looking for an assistant.”
She grins overwide. “Sounds like so much fu—”
“You can’t go,” Bastian says. “There are still hunters looking for you.”
“There will always be some danger somewhere,” I say. “That’s what pepper spray and lightning fingers are for.”
“It feels unnecessarily reckless.”
“We’ll take Oscar,” I say and the catmerowsin confirmation from somewhere in the shop. “And the spell book. I’ll put protections on our hotel room and the booth at the convention center. The whole nine yards.”
He scowls. “What does this distance have to do with your safety?”
I set the books aside and grab his hands to stand up. He pulls me to my feet and I wrap my arms around his neck.
“Everything will be okay. The IBMA are watching me, too.”
He grumbles in displeasure. “I don’t trust them.”
“They seem interested in our safety, and they haven’t asked of anything from us.”
“Yet,” he grunts.
“They let us keep our friends and connected you with your brothers.”
He grunts again, but it sounds less forceful.
“I know it’s hard to trust them because of what you’ve been through. Let’s just reserve judgement, and watch out for ourselves.”
“My brilliant, trusting witch.” He pushes a curl behind my ear, dragging his claw down my neck as he does. “I will prepare contingencies.”
