We went out and we had a lot of fun. Jules was working the room and I was skulking at the bar—his word, not mine. He was talking to a cute brunette. She was laughing at everything he said, so at least from where I was standing, he looked like he had a good shot. I was toying with the idea of heading home. I wasn’t particularly in the mood to find a girl to smile at that night. I was about to head over to tell him I was leaving when I saw him lean down and whisper something in her ear. His lips moved slowly and deliberately. I could see him breathing into her hair. Her eyebrows dipped down and her mouth dropped open ever so slightly. She gave him a sideways glance and he nodded. A big smile spread across her face. He leaned down again and that time, I watched him closely enough to read his lips saying, “That’s him over there.”

The brunette followed his gaze, and her mouth formed a small circle and then broke into a smile. Jules took her hand and they walked in my direction.

“You coming, or what?” he said, giving me the cockiest smile I’d seen in my life.

I didn’t answer. I just set my drink down and followed him.

The brunette’s name was Sandy. She was pretty and very, very sweet. She must have spent some time that day baking because she smelled like vanilla and frosting. She was three or four years older than us and worked as a receptionist at a local accounting firm. She was no shifter, and she was awfully sweet, but I tell you, Sandy was wild for a human.

“D’you guys play with each other or is all this for me?” she asked when we got back to her place.

“Uh . . .” was all I could get out. I could tell right away that I really, really liked Sandy. I liked her face and her body, and I liked the way she smelled, but mostly, I liked the way her mind worked.

“Nah,” said Jules, “we’re all yours.”