Page 233 of Sky’s Edge

And I was there for it.

Hurley shifted his compact bulk so he was easily accessible for pets from us both.

He got them.

“Or talk,” Tanyn added to our late-night menu. Then said, “First.”

I smiled at his indication that whatever we did, sex was going to follow.

I then asked, “Is there something we need to talk about?”

“Mac is circling Gayle like a lion protecting his meal. Has she talked to him about Selediel?”

I made a face. “I haven’t asked. She’s busy at work. And dealing with Mac circling her like a lion protecting his meal. Though, I figure she’d tell me if she had.”

And about that Mac and Gayle thing?

It was easy to see something else had been triggered in that male.

The fact that Gayle was immune to him was driving him crazy.

It was mega.

“Mm,” he hummed, and suddenly, I clicked into his mood.

Sex was great.

Sex with Tanyn was so far beyond great, it was indescribable.

But he was busy, and most of the day, even if we were in the same building, I didn’t see him.

And even though I’d given up most of my duties at Tempera to Lua, I was busy.

The citadel was back on track for renos, that was one thing I had to turn my mind to.

So Zyra and I were getting serious about the final stages of that, to the point I’d taken some floor plans that one of the contractors had drafted and we were furnishing and decorating the rooms with a purpose.

Topping that, with Laura’s help, I was pulling strings with some designers in the Edge to outfit not only Manny and Zyra for the engagement party, but since Aleksei and Laura had invited Uly and Estra to come (Nayden was already going to go, due to his captaining my security detail), and they’d accepted, I was also doing the same for Estra (Nayden and Uly were going to wear their dress uniforms), even if I hadn’t met her properly yet (only spoke to her over comms).

Barret, Camaryn and I had met, gone over their reports, and it was true. Berg Castle was overstaffed. They admitted it. They also admitted the reason for it was that Tatra had ordered it so, because she liked plenty of beings around to fawn all over her.

But we agreed to titration rather than elimination.

If someone quit and their role could be taken over by someone else, they would not be replaced.

In the meantime, I got approval from the castle finance department, as well as Tanyn, for raises and a certain amount of backpay, which didn’t cover it, but it was still hefty.

To say the staff had more spring in their steps and were a lot more friendly was an understatement.

In the meantime, Barret reminded me that Berg Castle hosted a big New Year’s Ball. It was a tradition, much like the Midnight Masque in the Fall.

Tatra had, of course, started planning for it, but those plans had stagnated after she left.

Necessarily, we resurrected them.

And this did not suck. I loved planning parties. One of my favorite parts of my job was the showings.

What sucked even less was watching Barret’s trepidation melt away the longer we talked about it.