I’ll be that. I am not experienced, but I am fairly educated, I take pride in being smart, and my father made it clear if he ever caught wind of one of his sons not treating a woman right, we would be skinned alive, castrated, disowned, and tossed into a vat of acid. I’m sure we’ll, through extended mutual exploration, discover what we enjoy. And anyway, women aren’t cookie cutter creatures. Men aren’t, either. Every woman likes and dislikes different things. The key, according to my father, is that a good man takes the time to discover what those things are. A good woman does the same.”
“Was your father born a lycanthrope?” My father had made a point of teaching all of my brothers—and me—one and done was probably how our love life would work out, but the careful use of condoms and the abstinence from all forms of oral sex might allow us to sleep around before settling down.
I had enough problems finding a single man who could handle my face with grace.
“Yep, but he was more promiscuous than normal. He was careful about using condoms, and he kept his adventures to pre-shift lycanthropes until he met my mother, who wasn’t infected. She wanted a lion, so she caught one. I haven’t figured out why she picked my father, but I’m grateful for her excellent taste in men. My father considers me the reject of the family, as I’ve opted against following in his footsteps and making use of condoms to get in extra practice with many women. That said, I always carry condoms with me, just in case.”
I snickered and led the way to the front door, unlocking it and debating if I was ready for someone other than my family to see inside. Considering my virus really wanted me to get to the stripping part of the evening activities, I’d be an idiot to stand on the doorstep debating my options. “My dad tried condoms once with my mother. They destroyed the condoms. Tore them to ribbons, apparently. Condom manufacturers did not anticipate lycanthrope endurance when making their products. The condoms did not prevent the ninth litter from making an appearance. Apparently, my complications were enough that my parents looked into, rather unsuccessfully, methods of limiting the number of kittens until I was a little better off.”
I unlocked the door, opened it, and gave a cursory glance to make sure all was as I’d left it before gesturing for Sebastian to come inside. My shoes went into the pile near the door, and I hung my purse on the coat rack. “Make yourself at home, but try not to think too poorly of me for living far below my means. My day job can afford this, so I cater to my family’s expectations.”
Sebastian followed my lead, took off his shoes, and removed his suit jacket, hanging it up on the rack. The jacket had hidden a shirt that clung to his chest.
According to his chest, someone worked out to keep up with the bounty hunters he handled. In my case, would soon manhandle. “Are you hiding muscles underneath that thin cloth, Mr. Mane?”
“I absolutely am. Lions look at gym equipment and develop muscles. To add to this, I actually go to the gym because I need to use brute force during sketchy situations at work. When I found out I’d be handling you, I started going to the gym daily, as I expect to need to use a lot of brute force in the field, especially should I successfully complete my plans for this evening. A lion’s strength is a factor in my father’s education for us to be gentle. As a result, none of my brothers have ever broken a condom accidentally. However, it’s a rite of passage for them to break them intentionally to show their new mates how much they were holding back on their quest to be courting gentlemen rather than sex-crazed animals.”
“Why do I have a feeling meeting your family is going to be equally chaotic to the shitshow you got to watch tonight? Honestly, I’m disappointed I didn’t get to watch them fight you. But I guess my father gave you a good demonstration of how my brothers treat people who are mean to me. Flinching counts as being meant to me.”
“Yes, I was rather amused and slightly alarmed over how your father managed to goad the entire lot of them into attacking him. Also, I’m now convinced I know where