Cody sounds sincere, ridiculous as it is.
“Take advantage of me?” Simon chuckles, because that’s impossible.
Except the thought settles uncomfortably. He wasn’t always ancient and powerful. He was once human, young, and vulnerable. The shadow-gift can’t change everything.
“Will you get in trouble for this?” Simon asks, turning to a lighter question.
Cody grins. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Like I would worry,” Simon says, and waits until Cody sighs.
“Normally, Tobias would take me off the job for something like this.” Cody’s gaze dips to Simon’s lips, then his throat. “But these aren’t normal circumstances.”
“Normally?” Simon asks—feigning offense to mask his genuine jolt of wariness. “Do you often kiss your charges?”
Laughing, Cody straightens up. “I’ve never even been tempted. You’re a bad influence.”
That’s the right answer. Simon has been part of a pattern before, and it’s a trap. Not that this will last. It can’t last. But the thought of something new sparks, like his dormant magic awakening.
“You’re stuck with me another month,” Cody says, stepping back. “The job got extended. Tobias is working on identifying last night’s attacker.”
First joy—another brief month to uncover whateverthisis, stirring Simon’s cold blood. Then the ache of that old, invisible scar, as the logic unfolds.
Dima hasn’t yet texted Simon back. But if he extended the contract with Cody’s agency, he isn’t in seclusion. He’s just ignoring Simon specifically.
“You heard from Dima?” Simon asks, neutrally.
Cody frowns. “Tobias did.”
“Fucking typical.” Simon leans back in the armchair, deliberately setting aside that silly hurt. He doesn’t need to expose that foolishness to Cody. “So, another month for you to paw through my record collection. That’sfine with me.”
Nervousness crosses Cody’s face, quickly scowled away. He’s preoccupied with something completely separate from Simon’s sire issues. “There’s one problem. That includes the full moon, and I… I can’t control the shift during those nights.” Cody’s grin can’t paper over the obvious shame. “Tobias will come over to back me up, if that’s okay with you. We’ll need a room to lock me in for at least two nights.”
“Can’t control,” Simon repeats. Caution is welcome after the spark of unfamiliar emotions. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t have a pack to ground me.” Cody shrugs, helpless. “Sometimes I struggle not to shift when my emotions are high. Around the full moon, I can’t stop it at all. Sometimes I lose time. I haven’t hurt anyone,” he adds quickly, though without enthusiasm. “But I have to be careful.”
Simon regards him thoughtfully. Cody looks meeker and more restrained now than ever, when he’s confessing his dangerous lack of control.
“That first night, your claws came out. Last night, your jaw changed.” Simon tilts his head. “I thought that was just a normal werewolf thing.”
Cody winces. “No, that’s me having wolf management issues.”
How peculiar. Simon usually has an excellent sense of danger—and he hasn’t been scared of Cody since the first night. Cody’s confession doesn’t match his behavior.
But Simon isn’t stupid enough to dismiss the threat of a rabid werewolf, from that werewolf’s own mouth.
“Do you trust Tobias?” Simon asks.
Cody seems startled by the question. “Yes.”
“Then make the arrangements.” Simon rises to his feet, no longer feeling shaky. “There are a couple of rooms that might work as kennels.”
“Great. I’ll let him know.” Cody still looks hesitant. Like a puppy in an unfamiliar space. “What are your plans for the day? I mean, the night?”
Simon is tempted to drag Cody into another dance. Song after song, until they’re both exhausted, and Simon doesn’t have to think anymore. But thinking is unfortunately necessary, to process that dance, that kiss, that confession—oh, right. And the conspiracy against his undead life.
“I need to look up the names from Kimiko’s guest book,” Simon says. “It would go faster if you split the list with me.”
