I tugged the shirt down, then assessed his clothing. “Did you sleep?” He looked like he’d been up for hours.

“I did.”

“You look quite . . . refreshed.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Is that your way of saying I look good?”

I rolled my eyes. “Remind me to never give you a mild compliment again.”

“I have a feeling you’ll do it anyway.”

I gave him the side-eye, not liking where this conversation was going first thing upon waking. So he knew I was attracted to him. Big deal. Half the vaginas on the planet were attracted to him. Apparently, I’d joined the club.

“Are we leaving then?” I began to push the covers off me and tried to remember where I’d put my dirty clothes.

As if sensing what I was searching for, he nodded toward the small table by the kitchen. “I washed your stuff.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You did? Seriously?”

“Don’t look so shocked. I use fae charms to do laundry. It’s quick and easy.”

And expensive. But he didn’t add that part.

“Okay, thanks.” I eyed my pile of clothes on the table. He’d even folded them. How domestic. “You must have a reliable hookup in the fae lands if you can get their charms for laundry.” The fairies were quite good at self-cleansing, and some had made a business out of bottling that type of magic up, but it wasn’t easy magic to capture, and not many fairies had the skill to do it.

“I have hookups everywhere.”

“I bet.” Of course, my mind went there given the double meaning. I could only imagine how many hookups the Fire Wolf had experienced. Given the display I’d seen at the Underbelly, he had plenty of females, and probably males too, panting after him. Present party included.

His lips twitched.

“Should I get dressed? I’m guessing you scryed again so we’re leaving?”

“Not yet.”

I frowned. “Do you need to rest more?”

“I’m nearly fully recharged, and since I was able to locate your sister yesterday, I’m hoping today won’t take as long, but that’s not why I haven’t scryed yet.” When I merely stared at him, he added, “We need to talk about what happened in the asylum.”

Oh. “I thought we already did.”

“Not enough.”

Shit on a stick. “What more is there to talk about?”

“You took down one of those warlocks.”

I squirmed. “Is that what you call it? To me it looked more like my magic failed and so did his. Perhaps we are simply defective supernaturals.”

The Fire Wolf’s irises flickered with flames. “You’re lying. Something happened between the two of you, and something you did caused it. What are you?”

I balked. “What am I? I’m a witch. What are you? I think that’s the more interesting question.”

“Hardly. And stop lying. You know what I’m asking but you’re pretending you’re ignorant.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Tala.” My name came out in a low vibrating growl, and damn it all to hell if my pussy didn’t just spasm. “I can scent your deception, among other things.” His voice dipped, turning slightly husky, and that infuriating smile tugged at his lips.

Double shit. Even though my cloaking spell was still in place, it didn’t veil my emotional scents. I made a move to get off the bed. “This is a waste of time. We should be going. My sister’s—”

His hand snagged my forearm, warmth penetrating my skin from his firm grip. “We’re not going anywhere until I know what’s going on.” He shifted closer and the mattress creased under his weight. He kept a hold of me, effectively keeping me on the bed. His thigh brushed mine, but he didn’t pull back. If anything, he leaned in more as his eyes glowed like rubies. “What are you?”

I pulled free of him, then crossed my arms. “I told you. I’m a witch.”

He sighed. “Tala, we can do this all day. Either tell me the truth or get out.”

My eyes widened. “What? You can’t fire me. I hired you and paid you. You have to find my sister.”

“You hired me? And what proof do you have of that?”

Alarm shot through me, and I swallowed the ball of worry that lodged in my throat. “Payment, for one. I can prove that I transferred money to you.”

He shrugged. “Not all of it. Only a quarter.”

“Yeah, but I’m going to get you another five thousand today. You can’t back out now, you took the job.”

“Again, who’s going to stop me if I do?”

My breath sputtered, as I realized he could do just that. ’Cause what was I going to do? Call the Supernatural Forces and demand that they arrest him? What proof did I have that I’d even hired him in the first place? A transaction from my bank account proved nothing other than I gave him money. For all the SF would know, they could think that I’d bought an abundance of pink-striped pajamas from him or lost in a poker game. And if I took him to the supernatural courts, again, what proof did I have?

None.

Gods, Tala. So stupid! I smacked myself on the forehead ’cause we didn’t have a contract or a fairy bargain binding us together. How could I have been so dumb to pay him that money without even the simplest form of proof about what that transaction was for? But I already knew the answer to that. I’d been desperate and not thinking straight.

The Fire Wolf grinned, the expression transforming his face. He was so smugly beautiful that my palm tingled with the urge to slap him.

“I bet you’re kicking yourself right now,” he taunted.

“Oh, stop gloating!” I bit out. “It’s not a good look on you.”

He chuckled. A true, deep chuckle that rumbled his chest until it turned into a full-blown laugh.

For a moment, I was stunned as the Fire Wolf howled in amusement. I’d never seen him look so . . . happy.

I continued to glare at him, but since that seemed to only amuse him further, I made myself take a deep breath and smooth my expression. “You’re being a fucker, you know that?”

His eyes widened, then danced in delight. “Did you just call me a fucker?”

“I did.”

“I never knew you had such colorful language.”

“You haven’t heard the half of it.”

He chortled again, and I wanted to punch him for wasting time and finding this funny, but he just stretched out on the mattress, as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

My gaze traveled down his long, hard body. The man was so achingly beautiful. Why? Why, why, why, why, why was I so attracted to him? It wasn’t fair especially since it seemed so one-sided.

The Fire Wolf lifted an eyebrow. “Now, as I was saying, what are you? I’m not scrying until I know.”

A tremble of fear ran through me. He really wasn’t going to let this go. “Why is it so important?”

“Because I’ve never seen an average supernatural take down a fully transformed warlock. You should have been dead in seconds once they started throwing spells and curses, but you weren’t. You held your own.”

“Maybe I got lucky.”

His gaze darkened. “I’m not buying it, so for the last time, what are you?”

Shit, this dude was not going to waver. He was like a freakin’ dog with a bone, and since I had no proof of our arrangement, he had me in a corner and he knew it. I leveled him with a heavy stare. “Fine, but you first. What are you?”

“That’s hardly relevant to the conversation.”

“Maybe not, but it’s only fair. If you tell me, I’ll tell you.”

“So you’re finally admitting that you’re more than a witch?”

“I never said that. I simply said that if I’m going to share, then you are too.”

“You seem to be forgetting that I’m not the one in the vulnerable position. I’m holding all of the cards.”

“Even so, that doesn’t mean I’m saying shit.”

The corner of his mouth tilted up, and mirth danced in his eyes. “So stubborn.”

“Perhaps. So, what do you say? You’ll tell me, and then I’ll tell you. Deal?”

“Are you trying to bargain?”

“No, I’m merely compromising. It’s what all sane, normal supernaturals do who don’t try to push their weight around and instead work to achieve a middle ground. It’s really quite a reasonable way to live and it’s good for business. You should try it sometime, like right now. What are you?”