The harpy didn’t look placated. “Oh, so you decided to change your life without talking to him first? And he’s supposed to just go along with whatever you dictate? Fuck that. Just… fuck the fuck out of that. Nobody should treat their mate that way.”

Aryal might have a point, but her confrontational style left a lot to be desired.

“I think that’s enough for the moment,” Pia interjected, as she stood back from the doorway to gesture them inside. Flying was intense physical work. She knew from experience that Aryal would be starving. “Why don’t you both come inside and dry off? I’ll make some hot drinks and pull a snack together, and then we can talk.”

“That sounds good!” Niniane exclaimed. Her teeth were beginning to chatter. “D-doesn’t that sound good, Aryal?” Her gaze shifted away from the angry harpy to the hallway behind Pia, and a glimmer of real pleasure lightened her tense features. “Dragos, hi! Wow…did you get a dog?”

“No, I did not,” Dragos said. “We rescued it earlier this evening. Pia’s right. You can explain what’s going on after you come in and dry off.”

“Okay! Shall I use one of the guest bathrooms on the left?” With a leery sidelong look at Aryal, Niniane dashed up the stairs.

“Screw you, faerie,” Aryal muttered angrily. “I’m calling Tiago.”

When she pulled her cell phone out of her jeans pocket, Dragos executed one of those maneuvers that demonstrated how fast he really was. Reaching around Pia, he plucked the cell phone out of Aryal’s hand. “Go dry off,” he ordered. “Calm down.”

The harpy glared at him, looking as mad as a wet cat. “You’re not the boss of me anymore. Remember, you quit that job. Give me back my fucking phone.”

Smooth as a shark cruising in shallow water, Dragos glided past Pia. As he did so, he flattened one hand on her chest and pushed her behind him, carefully. His powerful body had turned seamless with aggression, and the tiny hairs at the back of Pia’s neck rose in instinctive response.

He said, his voice soft, “Make me.”

Shadowing his heels, Skeeter growled at Aryal.

“Cut it out!” Pia ordered. She’d been talking to the dog, but when both Dragos and Aryal paused to look at her, she decided to take advantage. Pointing at them both. “You predators have the worst tempers of anybody I’ve ever met.”

Actually, Aryal had the worst temper of anybody she’d ever met—harpies were famous for their tumultuous, often violent temperaments—but Dragos wasn’t known for his sunny demeanor either.

“Make him give me back my fucking phone, Pia,” Aryal said, her expression obdurate.