Page 7 of Deck the Skulls

“Wait, don’t go yet!” Zan said, tightening his hold on Anatoly. If he hadn’t been holding him, Anatoly would’ve rushed at Rissa and blocked her from getting into the car.

She gazed at him warily. “What?”

Before he could answer, a cop car rolled up, flashing their lights. A voice blared out, “Larrissa Jones, step away from the car. Turn around and put your hands over your head.”

“Fuck!” she cursed, then glared at him and Zan. “This is your guys’ fault!”

He could easily deal with whatever the police wanted. In a way, their arrival was perfect. He could make her problem go away and appear the hero.

Anatoly grinned at her. “Stay here. I’ll take care of this.”

“Only kill him if you absolutely have to,” Zan whispered as Anatoly pulled out of the shifter's embrace.

“Of course,” Anatoly said, then strode toward the cop car, speaking loudly. “Officer, I’m so relieved you’ve arrived!”

Chapter 3

Zan

Zan moved his big body between Rissa and the officer. Unlike Anatoly, a bullet could kill him, but it would need to be a perfect shot. Rissa was still fully human and could easily die from a single round.

“Careful!” Rissa hissed as she turned her back to the cop car and put her hands on her head. “I’m getting arrested, but you could probably avoid it if you leave.”

Zan chuckled. “You don’t need to do anything; Anatoly will take care of it. You won’t be getting arrested.”

Dropping her arms, she turned back to face him and raised an eyebrow. “How? Is he a cop or something?”

The thought of Anatoly as a police officer made Zan bark out a laugh. “Not at all. He’s just really, um, persuasive.”

Rissa’s eyes narrowed. “Are you guys part of a syndicate or something? I’ll kill anyone who tries to traffic me.”

All Zan’s humor fled. “We aren’t part of anything like that. I promise we’d kill anyone who tried to hurt you.”

When her expression turned wary, he realized he needed to dial down the intensity. “I only mean that we wouldn’t want anyone to suffer that fate.”

“Sure,” she agreed but didn’t look reassured.

His sense of smell was finally returning, and he could catch hints of her delectable scent. He wanted to lay her out and lick every part of her. It was going to be hard to be around her without being able to touch her.

“I’m sorry about the scene earlier,” he said, trying his best to look cute. “I was only joking.”

“Anatoly said you guys have an open relationship,” she said. “Is that true, or is he trying to get lucky behind your back?”

“It’s true in a way,” he agreed. “We have a semi-permeable relationship. Only the perfect person gets let in.”

Her mouth was frowning, but her eyes looked interested. “And you think I’m that perfect person?”

“Maybe,” he said, working on keeping his dick from betraying his needs. “Let's get to know each other and see if there’s anything there. We could take you out on a few dates.”

For a moment she looked entranced, but then shook her head. “I don’t have time to date.”

“Why?” he asked.

She huffed out an aggravated sound. “I lost my job today and spent my last twenty on a drink with Anatoly. If I’m not arrested, then I need to start looking for another job before rent is due.”

“I can fix that,” Zan said with relief. “You can work for me.”

Her suspicious look was back. “Doing what?”