I took a long sip of the chocolate milkshake in front of me. “Good.” Amazing. Spectacular. Mind-blowing. I was looking forward to both more cravings and more showers.

Rylan took me from behind, and being caught between the cold, slick tile and the heat of his body was delicious torment.

Eva smirked at me. “Why do I feel like ‘good’ isn’t an accurate description?”

“Smart-ass.”

She grinned, but then paused. “Have you talked to Mom?”

“No. I haven’t listened to any of the voicemails, and I haven’t called her. I don’t want the lecture. It’s a picture, and I’m not a public figure. Has it caused any problems for you?”

Eva snorted in a way her publicist would murder her for. “No. And it won’t. Things are different than they used to be. Oh, before I forget. I’m planning a session with Ben for a tattoo consultation since we never got to do it. Are you okay with that?”

“Yeah, of course. I hate that you have to ask.”

“I don’t. Even if we know something, it always feels better to know. If you were doing something with the guys and didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t worry, but I’d also feel weird if I didn’t know.”

She had a point.

“Though you would feel their shock through the bond.”

Eva grinned. “True.”

I tamped down the jealousy I had. Bonding sounded… incredible. Some day I would feel it too.

Her phone chimed, and she sighed. “Okay. I have to go. I’ll be out of town for a week, but you can call me. Try not to kill Mom while I’m gone, okay?”

“That’s not the plan.”

She laughed and stood, pulling me into a hug. Eva always smelled like familiar comfort. Roses and coffee. If there was anything I could count on, it was that we’d always be all right.

“Don’t work too hard.”

“Oh, I am going to,” she said with a grin. “The harder I work, the faster I can get back here to fulfill those cravings. Now you understand them.”

She waved and left the diner where we were eating. Her security peeled away with her, leaving Wes behind. I lifted my scent bracelet to my nose and chills ran across my skin. The blend of all of them had my hair standing on end.

It was getting later. Dinner with Eva was last minute before she left to go on location. By the time I’d woken up in Rylan’s bed, he was kissing me goodbye, and I hadn’t seen any of the other guys in what felt like forever.