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My face flushed, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Neither do you.”
“I’ll see you at lunch time.” Amarok caught my hand and lifted it to his lips, so he could brush a kiss to the backs of my knuckles.
“You’ll see her at casino night, you mean,” Riley corrected him.
He frowned.
Her grin widened. “Ask some of the guys about it.”
With that, she towed me into the shop. I shrugged a shoulder in Amarok’s direction as we went, and he gave me a small smile before the door closed behind us.
“What’s casino night?” I asked, surprised to see that we were the first ladies in the shop.
“Oh, it’s a fun tradition we started after the last eclipse. We all dress up ridiculously and run a huge card game tournament with everyone. The unmated guys eat it up, and love that it means they get to interact with the unmated women more than usual. You’ll have everyone’s attention, I’m sure.”
Oh. “I think I’m still with Amarok.”
“You think?” She raised her eyebrows back at me.
“No, I am—we’re still together.” I stumbled over the words a bit. “I’m just trying to figure out the dynamic.”
“Relationships are weird here, but you’ll work through it.” She squeezed my hand. “And you’ll love Casino Night, I promise. The game we play is sort of the Evare version of poker, so you’ll be just as much at a disadvantage as the rest of us are. And the guysdon’tgo easy on us.”
“They’re probably competitive,” I thought aloud.
“Extremely. We made rules to stop fights from breaking out this time, at least. And hats of punishment.”
I snorted. “Hats of punishment?”
Her grin lingered. “You’ll see.”
I was looking forward to it.
We worked for an hour,and then Ezra finally came stumbling in, looking like she hadn’t slept a wink. There was a smile on her face though, and a gleam in her eyes I wasn’t sure I’d ever had in my own.
“Damn, you guys got back to it quick,” she remarked. “Didn’t enjoy the eclipse?”
My body warmed at the reminder.
“We enjoyed it, we just also enjoyed our sleep. Unlike you.” Riley winked at her.
Ezra laughed. “I slept. Ivaylo woke me up halfway through the night to go for a run, though.”
Riley wiggled her eyebrows. “A run?”
“Mmhm. Best run of my life.”
Riley snorted. “Every run is the best of your life.”
“So, so true.”
I frowned. “Why is running sexy?”
The women exchanged knowing looks, and Ezra explained. “The frenzy’s magic disappears when you seal the bond, but it doesn’t go away entirely. The guys keep it, in here.” She tapped on her sternum. “If you run from your mate, it sets off the magic again. Not to the same extent a mate run does, but enough to make their eyes glow gold and turn them into little more than sexy, sexy animals.”
My eyes widened. “Shit.”
“Yup. It’s hot, if you’re into that kind of thing. If you’re not, don’t run.” She studied me for a moment. “You’re still with Rok, right?”
