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Corey made a big show of turning to look at him with a smug smile. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Vince went quiet, brain clearly churning as he tried to think of something while everyone waited in tense silence. “I… We could, uh…”

“Pickleball,” Crossbody declared. All eyes swivelled to him, including Vince’s. “Vince’s uncle plays.” He shot the ghoul a glance that told him he had this. “I’m sure we could easily rent out the courts for an afternoon with his help. He knows the”—he waved a hand vaguely—“pickleball people.”

After a second, Vince grinned and shifted closer to the fae, smoothing a hand over his lower back. “Great idea, babe.”

“Pickleball?” Dan asked in disbelief from the couch. “Isn’t that what old people play? I don’t want to play fucking pickleball.”

“It’s pickleball or slide deck presentations, bro,” Vince gritted out through his toothy smile as we all waited for Corey’s reaction. “So shut up.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Kit helpfully contributed from the ceiling. “Are the pickles the balls or the rackets, or just, like, a nice after-game snack, or…?”

“I don’t think pickles are actually involved,” Heidi said, but she didn’t sound totally certain about that.

“They’re not,” Vince confirmed.

After a pause, we heard Kit huff in amusement from above. “Humans are so weird.”

“Well.” Corey looked and sounded pleased. “It seems the pickleball suggestion is stirring up some vigour in the room, which is very promising. Wonderful idea, Crossbody. That’s settled, then. And you and Vince are fine to get things in motion, yes?”

There was a moment of silence as Crossbody and Vince shared a quick look. “Well,” the fae began carefully, “I’m not sure we—”

“Lovely!” Corey spoke over him as he turned to leave the room. “I’ll let Holt know. The pickleball people can liaise with Larkin over the court rental fees and so on, so make sure you pass on his details. Kisses, everyone!” he added just before pushing open the doors and sweeping out of the room, leaving behind the faint scent of his patchouli-heavy perfume.

The room went quiet for a moment before Crossbody cleared his throat. “Sorry, everyone,” he said, voice a tangled mix of awkward and haughty. “I just thought—”

“You’ve saved us all from having to do presentations.” Vince rushed to his defence, shooting everyone a look that told them not to even consider being pissed at Crossbody lest they incur Vince’s wrath. “It’s a great idea, babe. And pickleball is fine. We played with my uncle and his girlfriend once,” he explained to the rest of us. “It’s just a racket game. And I’m sure we can convince Holt to take us all out for drinks afterward. Or even a meal. He’ll probably have the least fun playing, so he’ll be motivated to get drunk after.”

“That’s true.” Gabe nodded. “Plus, I think it’ll be fun! I mean, if we’re not doing the orgy, that is. Is the orgy definitely off the table, or…?”

“It’s off the table,” Crossbody said curtly, tugging Vince closer.

“Oh. Okay. Then yeah, pickleball sounds great!” Gabe smiled wide.

Biff smiled faintly beside him, running an affectionate hand over the incubus’s hair. “You’re cute, angel.”

As Gabe’s demonic, glowing white eyes turned to his gargoyle boyfriend, I caught a whiff of his familiar pheromones. They were familiar only because I’d worked with him for so long, not because they’d ever been directed toward me. They reminded me of spices—cardamom, nutmeg, rosemary, a hint of chilli pepper. Sharp with a punch of heat.

The beautiful incubus from the other night was more like rich dark chocolate and sweet cinnamon. Warm, indulgent, almost forbidden for a canid like me. Completely and utterly addictive.

I wanted more.

And now that I knew where he worked, there was no way I’d be able to stay away from him.

Chapter 16

The Guy

Brian

My palms were sweating as I got out of my car and closed the door behind me, nervously eyeing the front office of the Elfknot Motel.

It was dark, so the pink neon VACANCIES sign was casting a hazy glow over the pavement in front of the office door, which had an OPEN sign shining in its small window.

I paused and closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths as I clutched the handle of a plastic bag tight in my sweaty hand.

Just don’t be weird. And for the love of god, remember to fucking TALK.