Astraeya, our succubus client relations manager, appeared in the doorway again, and I found myself somewhat surprised not to see the young woman—Sonya—with her. I stepped out from the shade of the oak, and Astraeya's eyes found mine immediately, a slight smirk on her lips as I bounded through the trees. She met me partway, out of view of the cottage windows.

"Is she really as new as her file says?" I asked.

"Nice to see you too, Khell," Astraeya quipped, glancing back at the cottage over her shoulder with a puzzled smile. "And…yes, she is."

I nodded, bracing myself. "I'll tread lightly."

I was more patient and less inclined to follow mating urges than most of my kind and almost always assigned to the new ones. They spooked easily, and not all of them wanted to go through with their full requests. And those were the ones who booked me for a night, not nearly a week.

"Good. I like her, though," Astraeya said, her eyes narrowing at me, sizing me up. "She was very enthusiastic in her arousal gauges."

I'd seen the report. If the numbers were accurate, this human had the sexual appetite of an orc. But even so, they would be no guarantee of what she liked in person.

"I left her downstairs," Astraeya said.

I nodded and shrugged. "I'll find her." Even from outside the cottage, I could still catch a little tart whiff of her from the car.

"Khell…be careful with her," Astraeya said.

I frowned at the succubus. "I'm not Rezzik. I know not to scare the new ones."

Astraeya rolled her eyes. "I mean, yes, good, but… Look, if I'm right about her, you won't need to be careful for her sake. She's ready. She's practically orc bait. So just…"

Ah. I snorted and ground my jaw, my tusk pressing into my upper lip. "I've worked for MSA for eight years, Ast. I haven't mated a client yet. I won't start now."

Mating would be a death sentence for my work at the agency—work I actually enjoyed. Fucking was natural, fun, easy. The games some clients concocted were curious and not always to my own pleasure, but I could play the parts they needed. I had no interest in risking my place at MSA just for a more than usually agreeable human client.

Astraeya's lips pursed, and then she shrugged and turned on her heel, heading back toward the town car. "Fine. Fair enough. Have fun. Be nice."

I grunted and watched the succubus get into the car and depart from the cottage. I glanced at my watch. I had three minutes. There was a small storage shed at the back of the cottage that was secretly a locker room for us partners. I ducked inside, frowning as the top of my head nearly brushed the ceiling.