Tao, Illiana, and I weren’t only best friends who shared an apartment together, we also co-owned RYT’s—a café situated right in the heart of Lygon Street’s famed restaurant and club district. We had a prime position near the Blue Moon, and had been so busy lately that all of us had been working extra shifts. Not that I particularly minded; the more I worked, the less time I had to think about Mom. But it also meant I had less free time to spend with Lucian, who’d come to my rescue a couple of months ago and had quickly become my lover. He’d never be anything more than that, because—like Reapers—Aedh were unemotional creatures. Lucian might be a sexual being, but he didn’t want or need anything more. Which was okay by me. Having suffered the heartbreak of one broken romance, I wasn’t ready to step into another. Sex for the fun of it was all I wanted right now. And with Lucian, fun was always guaranteed.
Tao laughed, the warm sound jarring against the cold stillness of the house. "Can’t I call my best friend without her expecting something to be up?"
"Tao," I said, a touch impatiently as I slammed the front door shut and coded the alarm, "it’s your day off and it’s only ten thirty in the morning. So there has to be a problem if you’re already out of bed."
His warm brown eyes were twinkling, which meant the problem—if there was one—wasn’t major. "Hey, maybe I just never got into bed."
"Oh, you were in bed," I said wryly, "but whose is the million-dollar question. And if you say Candy, I will kill you."
"Then I won’t say Candy."
"Tao! She’s the best waitress we’ve got, and she’s not a wolf."
"So?"
"So you know humans take sex more seriously than wolves, and she’s just going to quit like all the others when she realizes that you’re never going to be anything more than casual."
"And if Candy herself doesn’t want or need anything more than casual?"
"How many times have you heard humans say that, and how many times has it actually been true?" I said impatiently. "Damn it, Tao, we have a hands-off policy for a reason."
The humor in his eyes faded at the testiness in my voice. "I know, and honestly, I didn’t seek this out. Quite the reverse."
"You should still know better."
He snorted. "Why? Because I’m a man? Why should it always fall on the male of the species when it comes to self-control?"
"It shouldn’t," I agreed. "But you’re the boss and you shouldn’t be fucking around with employees. Literally or figuratively."