Page 11 of Fanged Temptation

“And it took me all evening to bring Sky to a glorious climax. Priorities, Maxine.” Jordan redirected my finger with her own, looking rather put out that she was expected to file papers in the first place.

“Unbelievable,” I mumbled, then turned my glare on Hunter when she snickered behind Jordan. “And you – don’t you have some poor secretary to terrorize? I know you’ve been shoveling your paperwork onto Claire instead of doing it yourself.Does nobody respect the filing system?!”

Hunter shrugged nonchalantly and I bristled, reaching around Jordan to whack her with my file.Slackers, both of them.

“Actually, I’m off duty as of right now.” Hunter preened, dodging my attack and leaning against the coffee stand. “Addison and I are heading out on vacation.”

“Ah, so you’re terrorizing her instead.”

“Something like that.” Hunter chuckled, waving over the barista who popped a fresh pot of coffee on the counter. “We’re meant to be heading upstate, but Addison wants to make a stop in San Francisco.”

My smile faltered for a fraction of a second. “San Francisco huh? Why – What’s in San Francisco?”

Hunter rolled her shoulders, but her expression softened. “Something about wanting to see the Bay again. She’s been all nostalgic lately. Which, honestly, works out, because I…” She trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck.

Jordan raised an eyebrow. “You…?”

“I’m –” Hunter hesitated, then sighed. “I’m thinking of… proposing.”

The words hung in the air for a moment before I yelped out loud, no doubt startling every poor sod in a three-block radius. “Hunter! That’s amazing!”

“Yes, yes. Shut up,” Hunter grumbled, suddenly very enamored with the steaming coffee pot, though her flushed cheeks betrayed her embarrassment.

“You’re nervous,” I twittered, my grin turning sly.

“Of course I’m nervous!” she shot back, setting down the sloshing pot and throwing her hands up. “This is Addison we’re talking about. She deserves… I don’t know, perfection. And what if she says no?”

Jordan snorted. “Addison’s been dropping hints about this for a while now, hasn’t she? If she says no, I’ll eat my hat.”

“You don’t wear hats.” Hunter glared at the both of us, simultaneously pouring herself a coffee and damn near draining it over her shoes in the process.

Jordan flicked up a brow, red lips stretched in a wide grin. “You’re spilling a little there, Hunter.”

“So help me, I will pour this over your head.”

The banter continued between them and I did my best to ignore the icy knot that had formed in my stomach at the mention of San Francisco. But despite my best efforts, a flicker of memory resurfaced – a sprawling estate, the fog rolling in from the Bay, and the weight of expectations that had suffocated me until I could take no more of it.

Until I packed my bags at the tender age of nineteen and left San Francisco behind.

I left Leah behind too. With no warning, and no farewell. My goal had been radio silence, it was the only way to keep her safe. But now she was here and the past had tagged along with her. It showed up in brief flashes of memory, in strange men in bowler hats watching me from the street…

Speaking of – “By the way, Jordan, I heard something strange earlier. Apparently, a Leyore noble was found babbling about an encounter with a ‘man in a hat.’ Know anything about that?”

Jordan wrinkled her nose, tilting her head while she contemplated. “No – that’s rather odd but I’ll look into it. Things have been pretty peaceful lately, we’re about due for another crisis of sorts.”

Hunter, happy that the heat was now off her back, rolled her eyes, mumbling into her coffee cup, “You , peaceful is supposed to be the norm, Jordan. Bloodthirsty cousins, evil mafias, and man-eating elves are not inevitable.”

“They are in this city.”

Hunter’s phone buzzed suddenly, cutting the conversation short. She glanced at the screen, her expression snapping from placid to tense in an instant.

“I’ve got to take this,” she muttered, stepping away with a curt nod to Jordan and me.

I watched her retreat, my curiosity piqued.

“I’ll… be right back.” I patted Jordan’s shoulder, already moving to follow at Hunter’s heels.

Hunter rarely looked that serious unless something was wrong. And when something was wrong, it usually meant trouble for all of us.

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