“No more tubs for me." I jumped off the bed and pulled on a pair of Pack sweats. "They make me lose all sense."Curran sprawled on the bed with a big self-satisfied smile. "Want to know a secret?""Sure.""It's not the bathtub, baby."Well, aren't we smug. I picked up the corner of the lowest mattress and made a show of looking under it."What are you looking for?""A pea Your Majesty.""What?""You heard me."I jumped back as he lunged and his fingers missed me by an inch."Getting slow in your old age.""I thought you liked it slow."A flashback to last night mugged me and my mind executed a full stop.He laughed. "Ran out of snappy comebacks?""Hush. I'm trying to think of one.”

“Very well." He sat cross-legged on the floor of the cage. "You haven't run off so you want to talk. I will hear your explanation now.""Really, Your Majesty? So good of you to condescend. I'll try to use small words and go slow.""You're wasting my time. I know Jim betrayed me and you're covering for him. This is your chance to dazzle me wih your brillance or baffle me with your bullshit. You won't get another. When I get out, I won't be in the mood to listen.”

“Curran shrugged and pulled me back to him. 'You don't pick the family you're born into. You pick the one you make. I already chose my mate and glued her ass to the chair to make sure she knew it.”

“As he passed me, he leaned to Curran and handed him a paper fan folded from some sort of flyer.Curran looked at the fan. “What?”"An emergency precaution, Your Majesty. In case the lady faints.”Curran just stared at him.Raphael strode toward the Pit, turned, flexed a bit, and winked at me."Give me that,” I told Curran. “I need to fan myself.”"No, you don’t.”

“Curran scrutinized Mart’s face. “I can’t figure out if he wants to kill you or screw you.”“I’ll be glad to make the choice for him.”Curran looked back at me. “Why is it you always attract creeps?”“You tell me.” Ha! Walked right into that one, yes, he did.”

“Kate makes good sausage," Jim said.Six pairs of eyes stared at me. Thank you, Mr. Wonderful. Just what I needed."Oh yeah," Andrea snapped her fingers. "The links? The ones we had the beginning of the month? I didn't know you made those. I thought they were bought. They were so good." Her smile was positively cherubic. Of all the times not to be able to shoot laser beams out of my eyes..."What do you put into your sausage, Kate?" Raphael wanted to know, giving me a perfectly innocent look.Werejaguars with big mouths with a pinch of werehyena thrown in. "Venison and rabbit.""That sounds like some fine sausage," Doolittle said. "Will you share the recipe?""Sure.""I had no idea you were a sausage expert," Curran said with a completely straight face.Die, die, die, die...Even Derek cracked a smile. Raphael put his head down on the table and jerked a little."Is he choking?" Dali asked, wrinkling her forehead."No, he just needs a moment," Curran said. "Young bouda males. Easily excitable.”

“His Majesty needs a can-I girl anyway. And I'm not it.""A can-I girl?" Andrea frowned. I leaned back. "'Can I fetch your food, Your Majesty? Can I tell you how strong and mighty you are, Your Majesty? Can I pick your fleas, Your Majesty? Can I kiss your ass, Your Majesty? Can I..." It dawned on me that Raphael was sitting very still. Frozen, like a statue, his gaze fixed on the point above my head. "He's standing behind me, isn't he?" Andrea nodded slowly."Technically it should be 'may I'," Curran said, his voice deeper than I remembered. "Since you're asking for permission." Why me? "To answer your question, yes, you may kiss my ass. Normally I prefer maintain my personal space, but you're a Friend of the Pack and your services have proven useful once or twice. I strive to accommodate the wishes of persons friendly to my people. My only question is, would kissing my ass be obeisance, grooming, or foreplay?”