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I pulled out my phone and showed him the photo I’d taken of the ring hanging loosely around my thumb.
He covered his face, laughing. “You’d need to wear that on a chain around your neck!”
“That’s what I did!” I laughed with him. “But Gunnar is actually a lot of fun and a great guy. The whole bad-boy moniker is a myth.”
Kevin gave me a warm and genuine grin. “There is no way this is a fake marriage. You can’t make this shit up. And you talk about him like you really do care for him.”
“I do. And just Dr. Shen watch. We’ll still be together after he leaves.”
“Hopefully by then, Sofiya and I will be engaged.” His eyes were somewhere else, like he was mentally picturing his supermodel girlfriend.
“Wouldn’t you want to marry her quickly so they couldn’t try to set you up again?”
“That might be a good idea. Except Sofiya would want something grand; she’d have to plan fast.”
“I can’t wait to see Dr. Shen’s face when he finds out.”
“Oh, he’s going to be pissed.”
We both laughed, our shared determination to escape The White Claws’ endangered species breeding program uniting us for the moment.
The door smashed open, and I gasped. Then I calmed when I saw that it was only Gunnar.
“Gunnar, you’re here. This is—”
He wasn’t listening. “She’s mine,” he growled.
He didn’t give Kevin time to say anything, dropping his glamour and lunging for him.
Before I could even shout out a warning, a giant white and grey cat burst out of Kevin as he sprang to evade Gunnar. Kang landed on his feet deftly and hissed. Gunnar charged him again, flinging a chair out of the way and knocking over a table.
Kevin batted him away, claws retracted. He was still only in defense mode despite Gunnar’s attack.
“Gunnar, stop it.” I reached for him, stupidly getting between two fighting monsters with nothing to protect me but mittens.
I immediately got tossed aside. My back thudded against the wall, and I gasped. Then Eamon was there, steadying me.
Gunnar had not stopped. If anything, me telling him to stop had only worked him into a more furious frenzy. He swung at the snow leopard, chasing it around the room. Kevin, having had enough, unsheathed his claws.
“Eamon, do something to stop them! Kevin isn’t here to take me away; he’s here to convince me not to take the offer. He’s got a girlfriend already.”
“Yeah, I heard.” Eamon approached the brawling pair but stopped when he realized he could only hold one at a time.
“I’ll help,” Tansy said. She mumbled something and made a motion as if she was throwing a net.
The giant snow leopard froze in place, as if tangled so tightly in the magical net that he couldn’t move. Eamon leaped on Gunnar. And when two arms proved insufficient to stop the gargoyle, smokey appendages shot out from the demon’s body to help.
Eamon managed to hold onto Gunnar, but Gunnar didn’t calm down. Kevin, on the other hand, had changed back to his human form and was now naked, his clothes having been torn from his body when he first shifted. I averted my gaze. He looked composed, so Tansy released him.
“I’m sorry, Kevin. Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine. Us snow leopards are quick. This is a normal reaction. He thought I was trying to steal his mate” He fished a new set of just-as-fashionable clothing out of his bag. “I’d planned for the unexpected shift.”
“Thank you for being so understanding. Good luck with Sofiya.”
“Thank you.”
Then he was gone, and I was facing a still very angry Gunnar who was being held back by Tansy’s magical bonds.
