FUR FOR ALL, Book 5 in FIXED by Christine Warren Page B

so busy thinking about sex, he’ll probably forget about being king of the mountain for a few hours.”
    Corinne laughed out loud. “Oh, yeah. That’s all Reggie needs. For Misha to have an ever harder time keeping his hands off her.”
    “I can always add some valerian. He won’t know whether he’s coming or snoring.”
    Her offer met with a brief silence, then an explosion of laughter from every party in the room. Even Reggie appeared to be smiling just a bit. “Um, thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”
    Tess thought about the results of feeding Rafe some damiana and shuddered.
    After last night, she’d have to be insane to try and up that man’s libido. Not unless she wanted to make it impossible for herself to walk for a week. “Right, then. That’s totally understandable.”

She grabbed the boiling kettle, half filled the teapot, then made up the rest of the liquid volume with the boiled herb mixture from the sauce pan. A second 85

    Christine Warren
    teapot got a basket filled with pure Darjeeling and a few bits of lemon peel and the rest of the water from the kettle. Carrying both pots over to the table in the back corner of the shop normally reserved for tasting, she plunked them down and crossed her arms over her chest.
    “So,” she said, leveling a glance at Missy. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re really here for and how much of what happened last night you shared with your friends?”
    She watched as the other woman weighed her options carefully and seemed to choose ignorance as a tactic. “What makes you think we’re not here for tea?” Tess sat down at the table and poured herself a cup of Darjeeling. “You mean aside from the fact that you all are giving off so much nervous energy it’s like being trapped in a room with twenty thousand hamsters on speed? Call it a hunch.”
    Missy paused for a moment before pulling out a chair and joining Tess for tea. “That’s a hell of a hunch. You get those often?”
    “Not as often as you’re apparently going to try and avoid answering any of my questions.”
    Corinne flipped an empty teacup over and nudged it toward Tess to be filled. “It’s not so much a matter of ignoring your questions as easing into the answers.”
    “Is that what you call it?” Tess lifted the other pot and poured a cup of the herb and tea mixture. She handed it to Danice. “I was just going to call it annoying. I mean, my first reaction is naturally to tell you to mind your own business, but since I think that’s probably kind of rude, and I also think I might genuinely like you all with a slightly better acquaintance, I figure rude might not be my best strategy.”
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    Fixed 5: Fur For All
    Missy sighed. “Don’t be mad, Tess. I really didn’t tell them all that much about last night. I just mentioned that you and Rafe seemed to have a…connection of sorts. That’s all.”
    Tess raised her eyebrows. “And for that you all came down to the East Village in the middle of a work day in the rain? What makes this thing you seem to think Rafe and I have that important?”
    “It’s Rafe,” Corinne announced. “He’s been driving us crazy, so we’ve been keeping an eye on him.”
    “Well, it’s Rafe and the fact that we really like you,” Missy added.
    “And the fact that Rafe seems to really like you.” Danice grinned over her teacup. “Or so I hear.”
    Regina nodded. “And then there’s the fact that whatever you had to talk to Rafe about affects the council as a whole, which means it affects our husbands.”
    “But really, it all boils down to the curse.” Ava dropped that bombshell with her usual aplomb, then sat back in her chair and crossed her long legs. She saw her friends glaring at her and raised one elegantly arched eyebrow. “Well, it does.”
    Tess shook her head and looked at each of the women. “Okay, in order. One, why is Rafe driving you crazy? Two, it’s not really anyone’s business how much he likes me. Three, I know nothing