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CHAPTER 1

The late-April night was unseasonably warh for a breath of fresh air to pass through Frolittered a quarter past full A low bank of clouds--illu the ers of ink I slid out from between the sheets and silently crossed to the , padding softly over the braided rug that Iris had recently found in a little vintage store

Lifting thejust enough so I could lean my head out, I peered into the shadows of the backyard My sister Ca with her husbands, Morio and Son, respectively--in the woods near S home one of our own Trillian, Ca We kneas alive, but that’s all we knew He’d disappeared, and froent nabbed him back in Otherworld, which spelled potential disasterfor both Trillian and for us

Menolly,home from work She ran the Wayfarer Bar & Grill The driveasn’t visible fro was parked there

I turned back to the bed Chase had decided to stay the night, and he was sprawled out across the mattress, sound asleep, cover thrown to the side Thethe nights when I yanked all the blankets away and curled up in theht Chase was obviously enjoying whatever drea he was a sundial I licked my lips Time to wake him up in a very special way If I was careful

I slowly climbed back on the bed and leaned down to cautiously trace th of his erection

"Erika?" he ue still poised against his skin Who the hell was Erika?

"Delilah, come quick!"

The door slas scratched an inch-long razor-thin gash, leaving a delicate red line as a few drops of blood oozed out Oh shit!

"What the fuck are you doing?" Chase yelled, his voice unnaturally high as he scrambled away The expression on his face was not the one I’d been going for, that was for sure

"Chase! I’ht in the quilt, and he went tu over the side of the bed He hit the floor with a thud, swearing a blue streak

I rushed to his side as Menolly snorted froht from the hallway Blood burbled out of her nose and dripped down to her lips

"Can youmy head "I take it you just had dinner?"

She coughed, and I caught the glint in her eye It went against every instinct I had, but I hter I felt bad for Chase--especially since I’d been the one to inflict pain on hiht in the middle of one of her harebrained scheh My detective had been going through a rough spot the past few days, and his sense of hu him nuts

Not to mention that Zachary Lyonnesse--a werepu to wooaround the house ot wind that, for the past hts Zachary hadn’t put any pressure on me, but I could sense the tension that still ran between us We tried to pretend it wasn’t there--or at least I did--but it was hard to ignore the cheh Chase was the one who held my heart

Chase had been irritated, that h to steer clear of pushing an ultienuinely liked Zach, and we had to work together as we for Supe Coain that I loved hi to hied to have sex four times in the past six weeks didn’t help We were both pent-up, frustrated, and feeling out of sync

Menolly delicately stepped over the pile of clothes that had grown in the middle of the rooh Iris kept bitching ata werecat, I should be fastidious and tidy, but it just wasn’t going to happen I always meant to do better, but the truth was that I was a slob, and no matter how hard I tried, I’d always be one

As she plucked a tissue froaze flickered back to us Her pale blue eyes--alht as she stared unabashedly at Chase The tip of her tongue reach out to trace her lips

I was about to give her a good what for when I realized it wasn’t his nether regions she was focused on Nope She could sood job of keeping herself in check, when she was startled, her steel-clad grip on her emotions could slip a little

Chase noticed her intensified scrutiny at the saht where you are!" He hurried to pull the sheet over his groin "If you think you’re sticking your fangs in !"

She reined herself in "Sorry, didn’t mean to stare Just"

"Menollyre

She glanced at me, then back at Chase, and shook her head "Really, I didn’t intend to be rude You okay, Chase?" Without waiting for an answer, she whirled back to rin spread across her face "You need to co!"

"Miss what?" I scraed it over et dressed? Are there deh our kitchen? Another unicorn visit?" Knowing our luck, it could beworse