A Werewolf, A Vampire, and A Fae Walk Into A Bar (Book 1 of The Last Witch Series) novel Chapter 36

I close my eyes as I pull my breast out to nurse Rain and am startled when my front door opens and a large white wolf walks in. "Jesus, Zev, you scared the living daylights out of--" I lose track of my thoughts when he transforms from beast to man and stands before me naked. I've already seen the goods, but I'm sitting and he's standing and he's on full display at eye level. Forgive me, but it's really hard to not stare. Holy hell, do all paranormals come packing, or just my three?

"Not all of us, no," Zev says in a deep voice, his green eyes twinkling flirtatiously. I blush three shades of red when I realize I spoke out loud. I must be more exhausted than I thought. "But if it bothers you, I'll clothe myself."

"It's not that..." I start to say, but then I stop. Of course he needs to put clothes on. I can't just hang out with him naked. Pull yourself together, Bernie.

"What's that?" Zev asks, turning toward me as he walks to the guest bedroom, his ass cheeks like perfectly sculpted boulders that I have to resist the urge to stand up and touch.

"Get dressed," I finally say when my brain starts to work again.

He chuckles as he disappears into the room, as if he knows what I'm thinking. Undoubtedly I'm not hard to read at the moment.

When he returns, he's only wearing jeans. Which I guess helps a bit. But those chiseled abs are just as distracting as everything else. "Did you lose all your shirts?" I ask, bundling Rain into a burrito and walking over to the living room crib to let her sleep.

Zev grins. "I'm not a big fan of excess clothing."

"Right." My throat feels suddenly dry, so I head to the kitchen for a glass of water, then go back to the couch to sit down.

Zev joins me and without asking permission, pulls my legs over his lap, forcing me to recline against the sofa. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you what you need," he says, which brings to mind all manner of tempting ideas, none of which involve my feet.

“Is that part of the pledge potion?” I ask. I have no idea how this thing works, so while my question is a bit cheeky it might also be spot on.

“In a way,” he answers. “We’re committed to respecting your wishes, as a mother and a woman. But, pledge or no pledge, I understand what you’ve been through and the care you need. And deserve.”

He begins massaging my legs. As he works his way up my calf and toward my thigh I give in completely, moaning as his strong hands relieve the tension in my body.

"You've pushed yourself too hard too soon," he reprimands, his voice as much of a caress as his hands. "Rune's potions will help, but you still need your rest."

"I didn't exactly schedule this craziness to come into my life right now.” I lose my words for a moment when his fingers dig into a particularly painful spot on my foot.

“By the way,” I say, switching gears to a much more pressing topic. “Do you know anything about the Order of the Star?"

I haven't had a chance to ask Darius about his involvement, and since the Sexies have a mysterious shared past, I figure Zev might be able to answer some of my questions.

He frowns, his lips tightening. "Why do you want to know?"

"Okay, sounds like you do know something. Explain.”"

"Others will have more information than I do. The Order has a torrid history amongst my race. It was an organization of witches who used their magic to attack my kind, targeting our pups and killing our mates in order to weaken our packs."

"Tell her the whole story," a new voice demands. Darius has appeared out of practically nowhere, and now stands before us, glowering. "The witches organized in order to protect themselves from persecution. From being hunted."

Zev stops rubbing my feet, much to my great sadness, and stands to face Darius, bristling at the interruption. "We weren't the only ones, nor the first, to hunt the witches," he growls.

Rain--disturbed by the men raising their voices--wakes up from her nap screaming, and I scowl at the two of them. "You've already had this fight, and now you've woken the baby. Shame on you both."

I sound like an old school marm, but I don't care. A sleeping infant is not to be messed with.

Zev's demeanor changes in an instant, turning from combative to repentant. He shuffles over, tail between his legs, to change Rain's diaper and try to get her back to sleep. I use the moment to confront Darius.