Page 15 of Bearly Yours
“Yeah,” he said, the words hot on my neck.
“You sure? Cause you still haven’t let go, and you’re squeezing kinda tight,” I wheezed.
He released me suddenly and stepped away, not meeting my concerned gaze. “Thursday at six?” he asked.
I nodded. “I’ll be there. Are you planning on telling me why you’ve banned me from your house until now?”
He made a face. “I guess you’ll find out Thursday.”
“Unless you hide everything you’re nervous about in a closet?”
He sighed. “Unfortunately, they’re too big to be in a closet, or else they’re too numerous.”
“And I’ll get to see at least one of your hoards?”
He scowled. “Yes. Probably two of them. Although I warn you, they’re not all that interesting.”
I patted his shoulder. “With you, big guy, I seriously doubt that.”
Chapter 4
Emrie
We parted ways, and I made the twenty-minute drive to King Draven and Consort Mia’s Italian villa on the edge of town. It was gorgeous, and had an amazing location along the coast. Which made sense, as King Draven was the founding member of the town, so he’d had first pick of properties.
I hadn’t met Consort Mia, King Draven’s wife, yet—they’d gotten married just two weeks prior. I’d seen her around town, but our paths had never crossed in a meet-and-greet sort of way.
I rang the doorbell, and an elf with the most arresting aqua eyes answered the door. “May I help you?”
“I think I’m expected? My name is Emrie.”
The elf nodded and opened the door, letting me into the entry way. My eyes probably grew two sizes as I looked around and into the next room. It was lavish, with high-end fixtures, furniture, and dimensions, but it also managed to be homey. In my business, I could always tell a little bit about the personality of someone by what they chose for their home, and how they decorated it.
This one said the owner had money to burn, had a tendency toward elegance, but was also warm and had a very big soft side.
The manservant showed me to a sitting room, where he pointed toward a white couch and asked me to make myself comfortable while he retrieved Consort Mia and King Draven.
I sat down and tried not to fidget. Even though I was accustomed to catering to high-profile customers, I’d never actually done anything for a king before. I knew King Draven was a decent supernatural, so I imagined he wouldn’t be like, “off with her head” if I didn’t do the project the way he wanted, but I was still nervous.
Consort Mia came in first, nearly at a run, and I leaned back against the back of the couch in surprise. A big gargoyle, obviously her bodyguard, was right on her tail, although he was moving at a more sedate pace. Consort Mia saw me and made a beeline towards me, offering her hand with a bright smile. “I’m so glad I got to you first,” she said in greeting. “It’s so good to officially meet you!”
I shook her hand, blinking at the force of her personality. She was like a whirling dervish. Did she come off this way to others, or was it just me?
She threw herself into the seat next to me, smoothing down her hair and catching her breath from her run through the villa.
Meanwhile, her bodyguard had come in and put his back to a wall, folding his arms over his chest. He snorted at Consort Mia’s words. I couldn’t help but glance at him out of the corner of my eye in curiosity for a moment. He wasmassive.I wasn’t sure about his height, but I estimated it to be above six and a half feet, and he was built to the scale of a bear shifter, but slightly bigger. He had light-grey skin and short, dark hair. Personally, I didn’t think I’d feel afraid a day in my life if he were my bodyguard.
I blinked and refocused on Consort Mia, nodding at her. “Hi, I’m Emrie. It’s good to meet you, as well.”
Consort Mia was beautiful, with long, brown hair and copper eyes. Her smile was friendly and open. I’d heard through thegrapevine in town that she was an empath, so...she was probably figuring out what I was feeling right now.
Nervous. Uncomfortable.
“Please don’t be uncomfortable. That’s why I wanted to get to you first. My husband is all things awesome, but he can be a little bit intimidating when you first meet him.” She smiled, then frowned at the choking gargoyle leaning against the wall. “You know he is, Mesmer.”
“He’s the Vampire King. He’s exactly the right amount of intimidating.”
Mia wrinkled her nose. “Agree to disagree.” She turned back to me. “Anyway, I wanted to meet with you first while my kitty cat tries to stall Draven because I wanted to assure you that, if you choose to accept our contract, we will keep your name a secret, like you prefer, and we will be very nice, and not at all slashy or stabby.”
