“I texted,” I said, my arms folded, the words coming out as a growl. My shoulders were bunched, and I’m sure I was scowling, but I couldn’t help it.

“I got it,” Trick said, shaking his phone at me.

“Did something happen to your fingers so you couldn’t text back? Were you trapped under something large and heavy? Out of range? Kidnapped by pirates?” Even before Trick’s eyebrows shot up I knew I was being a dick, but I couldn’t seem to stop.

“Phone died.” As if to illustrate his point, Trick walked over and plugged it into his charger.

“Did Lou’s phone also die?” I scowled at her. The bruising under her eyes was a deep purple.

“I didn’t know his text didn’t send,” Lou said, hanging up her jacket. “And besides, how were we supposed to know when dinner was? You didn’t tell us a specific time.”

It was a perfectly reasonable response. If it had been on paper, I would have torn it into bits and eaten it. “It’s Thursday. You’re both home by half past six on Thursdays. It’s almost eight.” There was a rush of relief now that they were home, now that I could see they were safe. But they’d given the wolf too much time to pace and now I was a wreck of frustration, worry, and jangled nerves.

And Lou looks half dead on her feet, he growled at me, which only raised my hackles more.

“We can’t conform to a schedule if we don’t know there’s a schedule.” Lou stopped about an inch from me.

My blood pressure spiked, the anger melding with the scent and heat of her to drive me mad. “I’ve made dinner every night since last week. What would be different about today?” The words came out a low-level growl.

“No one asked you to do that!” Lou threw her hands out. “Just like we didn’t ask you to polish the furniture or scrub the toilet or mow the lawn!”

“All of those things needed to be done!” There was no low-level now, just straight-up growling. I leaned in to her space and she leaned right back at me, her eyes flashing. Why was that so sexy? What was wrong with me? I had to stop my hands from reaching for her, from grabbing her hips and tucking her into me—to make sure that she was really safe. My hands shook, so I stuffed them under my arms.

“I, for one, am not complaining,” Trick said, opening the metal cage in the living room that he’d built for Dammit. Once the bird was old enough, he’d roam the house, but for now it wasn’t safe. “Do not screw this up, Lou. I like having dinner made for me.” Trick paused. Sniffed. “Be still my heart, did you make mac and cheese?”

My shoulders dropped a little. “Yes.”

“The baked kind? With the crumbs on top?” Trick wasn’t waiting for an answer, but was already walking into the kitchen.