“I know. He and I were having a private meeting.” I paused, then I got to why I had let this happen in the first place. “Ezra, I am the Queen Shifter. Most of the Mysticals around me are men. I will be having private discussions with multiple men of my faction, as is my right and duty.” I waved a hand at the floor below me behind the bar. “And behavior like you just showed will get us caught.”
I stared him in the eye when he stopped dead in his tracks. “I will not bow down to you. I will not ask permission to do my duty for my people. I will not give you a detailed list of the individuals I’m meeting with daily because, mainly, that fluctuates and changes minutely, and honestly, it’s none of your damn business.” I shook my head softly. “Furthermore, you cannot react like this every time I have a man in my tent.”
He stood frozen for about a half-minute, and I could see the wheels turning inside his head, then his gaze raked down my frame slowly, not sexually, but analyzing me. Then he turned on his heel and jerked the flap to my bedroom back, ducking his head inside and glancing immediately to right…where I kept my weapons on top of a dresser. He stared for a few beats before he dropped the flap to turn to me, arms crossed. “You knew I’d react this way.”
I nodded once. No point in lying. “Of course I did, especially after how possessive you were last night about John before you even knew for sure we were married.”
His jaw clenched. “Was he a test?”
I shook my head. “No. I really had a meeting with him.”
His wide, supple lips pursed, his eyebrows snapping together. “Swear to me you’ve never had a sexual relationship with him.”
I blinked then sighed heavily. I knew he was watching me for any visible deception. “I swear I’ve never had a sexual relationship with him. If you would like, I’ll make you a list of all my previous partners, if you’ll do the same for me.”
He blinked this time, and he held up his finger to lift his cell from his pocket, pressing numbers then placing it to his ear. He was quiet a moment, then someone must have answered because he stated, “Release him. He’s free to move about camp.” He snapped his phone shut and placed it in his pocket.
My jaw clenched fiercely, and I stated through gritted teeth, “Did you hurt him?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “His jaw and eye will heal quickly enough.” He ignored the fact I was spitting mad that he had taken a Shifter in this camp without informing me and continued stating, “It could be an issue if you want a list of all my bed partners.”
A rough, humorless chuckle escaped. “Christ, you’re unbelievable.”
His head tilted as he placed his hands in his pant pockets. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.” His lips quirked when my scowl only intensified. “I would like that list, and I’ll provide you with one of all the names of the women I can remember.”
I threw my hands up and turned to pour a cup of coffee for myself, grabbing a new cup. “Fine, and I’ll somehow endeavor to remember all of the names…you can actually remember.”
“I take my coffee black,” Ezra stated directly behind me, his hands suddenly on my hips — I hadn’t even felt the brush of a breeze as he used his speed to move across the room so quickly — startling me so bad I almost dropped my cup. He bent, using his chin to brush back my hair, and placed a gentle kiss at my throat where his fangs had been earlier. He didn’t apologize, not that I expected him to, but I was kind of learning that his actions spoke for him, which if I was honest with myself, was more commendable than most people with their false request for forgiveness. As I poured the cups, he squeezed my hips, kissing my neck once more — how many times had he held his fangs there? — and murmured quietly, “Just so you know, in the future, I’m a hell of an ass in the mornings, like you are in the evenings, so you may want to give me a heads up if you think I’ll react badly to something in the early hours.”
He stepped back, putting the proper space between us as I turned and placed the cups on the bar. I bent, peering into the mini-fridge, trying to find the cream I had put back in there only an hour ago. “I’m still upset at you for taking a Shifter without my consent.”
He chuckled quietly. “I somehow doubt you would have consented to me harming him.”
I finally spotted the cream and grabbed it, straightening to pour some into my cup. “So that’s how this works between you and me in the future? You don’t tell me if you don’t think it’ll work out to your benefit?”
He sipped his coffee, leaning toward me on the bar, and sadly, I did notice how his biceps and pecs bulged under his t-shirt. “This situation was completely different than normal business matters and you know it.” When I only stared at him, he stated, “All right, I won’t jump to conclusions in the future and hurt a Shifter without speaking to you first.” A pause. “Unless I find him in your bed.” A sip of his coffee as he shrugged one shoulder. “That man will be dead, no questions asked.”
Unbidden, a chuckle escaped, and I shook my head. “Un-freaking-believable.”