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There’s a knock at the door. Not the front door, but the bathroom door. I go still and Kim yelps in my arms, sliding behind me.
“Someone’s in our house,” she whimpers.
I unsheathe my claws, ready to destroy. “I will protect you. Do not fear.”
The knock comes again, utterly jaunty, and then the door opens. “Hey,” Bethiah calls. “I let myself in. Hope that’s not a problem.”
Kim’s hand clenches tight around my tail. “What is she doing here?”
An excellent question. “What are you doing here?” I call, turning off the spray of the shower.
“I thought I’d check in after last night. What fun, eh?” She comes around the opaque shower barrier and then pokes her head around to grin at both of us. Her gaze slides to my cock, and then to my face. “And might I just add a hearty congratulations to Kim for acquiring herself such a well-built husband?”
“Last night?” Kim asks in a sweet voice, and her hand clenches tighter on my tail.
I fear this is the end for me.
47
KIM
I’m furious as I watch Nassakth turn the water off in the shower. He can’t look me in the eye. Of course he can’t. He’s been caught red-handed. For some reason, we have a bounty hunter in our bathroom, and she has more information than I do about what the hell is going on, and it makes me so angry I could spit.
How am I supposed to trust my praxiian mate when he won’t trust me?
“Get out of our private quarters, female,” Nassakth says to Bethiah.
“You sound mad. Silly me, I thought you’d want an update.” Bethiah gives us a pouty look. “You are paying me a small fortune to—”
“Female,” Nassakth warns again.
“—take care of your little problem,” she continues blithely on as she shuts the bathroom door behind her, leaving me alone with Nassakth.
“I loathe that creature,” he growls under his breath.
I say nothing. I’m too irked to side with him, even against the annoying Bethiah. I sidestep and wrap myself in a towel, brushing off his attempts to dry my hair with his towel. We’re still soapy, which means that the moment Bethiah leaves, I have to jump back into the shower, but until then, I want to talk to her. Maybe she’ll tell me what’s going on.
Since it’s obvious Nassakth won’t.
I’m bubbling over with hurt as I head toward the living area. I can hear Bethiah rustling around in our kitchen, no doubt helping herself to our food. That bounty hunter’s never met a boundary she didn’t want to step all over, I suspect.
Sure enough, she’s in the kitchen, eating one of the meat pockets I made for Nassakth. “This is pretty good,” she says, holding one up. “You ever thought about opening up a restaurant of human foods? I bet it would make some serious credits.” She pauses for a moment. “Once you paid for the proper amount of protection, that is.” She takes another large bite and hops up on the counter, sitting casually.
I clutch my towel to my chest, scowling at her. “First of all, that food isn’t yours. I made it for Nassakth. And second—”
Bethiah tilts her head. “He ate this? Really?” She shrugs. “I thought his kind were pure carnivores, but you know him better than me.” She takes another hearty bite. “You got anything to wash this down?”
I’m starting to think I don’t know him better than her. Does he not like my cooking, either? I narrow my eyes in his direction as he saunters into the room, all wet fur and a towel at his hips that doesn’t seem big enough to protect everything. Bethiah watches him with far too much interest as she eats, and now I don’t know who I’m angrier at.
I cross my arms. “Someone tell me what’s going on.”
“It is not important—” Nassakth begins.
“What part?” Bethiah asks, swinging her legs and smacking her heels against the cabinets as she eats. “The part about our bounty hunter buddy or the part where I’m going to have to ask for a raise?”
“Bounty hunter?” I gasp.
“Raise?” Nassakth bellows behind me. “For what?”
Bethiah smirks and hops down off the counter. She points at the two of us. “Why don’t you two hash this out while I make my own drink? I suspect how our friend answers determines how I should answer.” She tilts her head, indicating Nassakth, and then moves to our beverage dispenser, pushing buttons and sticking her mouth under the spout like an absolutely mannerless jerk.
I know she’s doing it to get under my skin and the sad thing is that it’s completely and totally working. I grit my teeth at her, determined not to get distracted, and turn to Nassakth. “What’s this about a bounty hunter?”
“It is—”
I stop him, putting my hand up. “If you say it is ‘nothing’ I’m going to walk out this door and never come back, so help me…”
