Page 36 of Sleep With Us

“Bigger is not better. Size is nothing without control.”

Zee’s lashes fluttered, his pupils widening. Reynard had touched a nerve, or . . . touched some part of him he’d liked. I waited for the comeback, but for the first time in forever, Zee didn’t have one.

Reynard had used his smooth, brain-candy voice. The one that could touch a person’s soul—and other parts of them. Mercy, it was getting hot in the back seat. “Driver, can we maybe have some air back here?” A blast of cold washed over us.

“The general’s new name is Fido?” I asked, hoping to clear the air a little, and distract them both before Zee demanded Reynard produce his set square to measure their dicks.

Zee shrugged. “We all picked new names. Except Sebastien, he kept his. Loved himself too much to change it.”

“Why did you choose Zodiac?” I asked.

“You can see the stars more clearly here than back home. The patterns are awesome.”

I grinned. “I like stars too. So does Reynard. We talked about the big spoon and little spoon. It’s so great how we have that in common.” Somehow, it was the wrong thing to say. Zee glared out the window again, tail twitching in the footwell, and Reynard chose that moment to check his phone. At least I was between them. If they’d been able to get to each other I wasn’t sure if they’d try and kiss or kill each other.

The car cruised into an industrial park. Trash fluttered in rusted fencing, and the nearby burned-out car had been perched on blocks. I spotted a hand-painted sign for Fido’s Lost Animal Shelter, and a big arrow pointing toward a single-storey warehouse with wraparound chain-link fencing.

Zee hopped out of the car. His wings popped back into the visible realm, and he gave himself an all-over shake. “My generous dimensions are not designed for itty-bitty cars.”

“Remember. Summon the driver when you’re ready,” Reynard said, as I climbed out.

“Alrighty, Your Highness.” Zee saluted and sauntered toward the shelter.

I lingered beside the car, holding the door open, with Reynard right there, waiting to leave. “Adam?”

The warehouse didn’t look any more imposing than the typical industrial-park units around it. But it was midday, and there was no traffic, and no sign of any people. If it was an animal shelter, shouldn’t there be yapping dogs?

“Would you prefer I stay?” Reynard asked.

“No.” I laughed off the strange feeling of unease. I had Zodiac. Nothing was going to go wrong here. I just hadn’t been this far from the hotel and its wards in six months. I felt vulnerable. “It’s fine. We’ll meet up later.”

“Are you sure?” Reynard shifted across the seat, moving closer. “The sunlight is an issue, but not insurmountable. I’m happy to assist.”

He meant that, and knowing he cared did settle my rattling nerves. “No, it’s fine, really. It just feels strange, being away from the hotel, that’s all. It’s nothing.” Zee was already halfway between me and the shelter. He clearly wasn’t worried, so I didn’t need to be.

I tossed Reynard a soft smile. “Thank you for helping with this. And I’m sorry I put you in a difficult position, with the uh . . . flowers.”

“He should be told, but I respect your wishes.”

Reynard was right, and I would tell Zee about his friend. Soon. I nodded, and raised my hand in a short wave. “I’ll see you later.”

“Indeed, Adam.”

I closed the door, thrust my hands into my pockets, and watched the car pull away, hiding Reynard behind its black privacy glass. Sunlight beat down, and heat rippled off the gritty asphalt that crunched under my shoes.

Zee waited outside the warehouse’s main door, under a sign that read: Fido’s Fillings & Flavors. A Pet in Every Pie.

I read it again, sure I must have misread it the first time. “Oh.”

“Are you going to freak out?”

Pets. In. Pies. I winced. “Maybe? Why didn’t you tell me?”

A mechanical thumping, sounding from inside the building, and the slight odor of baked pastries hung in the air.

“I would have, but you’d have still come, and worried all the way here. I can call Reynard’s driver back?” He dug into his tight trouser pocket and plucked out his phone. “This is a huge waste of time anyway.”

“No, we’re here now.” Fido—Copernicus—was our only possible loophole to void the contracts. I was doing this. For Zee. For every demon on the end of Sebastien’s leash. I didn’t have to like the general, or his business. I swallowed hard and nodded. “I’m not freaking out.”