“So mate,” he suggested, lifting his cup. “Isn’t that what your kind does?”

I sipped my coffee and set it on the table, my eyes fixed on the ink pattern on his bicep of a justice scale and dagger. “Do you think I’m not looking for a good man?”

He blew the steam from his mug and when he took his first sip, he began choking.

I furrowed my brow. “Something wrong with your coffee?”

Wheeler grimaced and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “No, it’s uh… hot. So with all the Shifters who come into your club, you’re that picky?”

Misha slinked around my legs and released a soft purr.

“A woman is allowed to have high standards. I need to make sure he can manage his money.”

“Ah,” he said, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other. “So it’s all about money.”

“I’m going to live hundreds of years, Wheeler. Do you think I want to be an exotic dancer for the rest of my life? I’m afraid I don’t have the talent Lexi has to run a bakery. I deserve a better life, and mating for money will give me the security I need to survive. I’m working my tail off to make sure I have enough set aside in case that doesn’t happen because, let’s face it, we both know there is no Prince Charming.” I dropped a cube of sugar in my coffee and stirred it with a thin straw. “You can judge me all you like—that’s your prerogative. A mating of convenience is not a mortal sin, and plenty of men mate a beautiful woman with zero intelligence. Not everyone believes in love.”

“Who said I believe in love?”

Misha suddenly leapt onto his lap and his arms flew up.

I chuckled and crossed my legs, leaning against the armrest. “You’re the first wolf she’s ever approached. She doesn’t even warm up to Lexi, and that’s saying something. Did you eat a tuna sandwich this morning?” I quipped.

He bounced his knees in a futile attempt to make her jump down. Misha merely sniffed his armpit and meowed once.

“Mind collecting your cat?”

“Misha’s goal is to win over anyone who dislikes her.”

Wheeler locked his hands behind his head, glaring at me. “Sounds like your pussy is a glutton for punishment.”

I laughed at his innuendo. “Touché. You catch on quick.”

“Well, you two just seem to have a lot in common.”

His comment nestled in the pit of my stomach, and the conversation went from playful to something else. “How are we alike?”

He opened and closed his legs, but Misha just stepped up on the armrest, placed her paw on his shoulder, and began grooming the hair behind his ear. “Annoying, persistent, and you’re only attracted to men who don’t like you.”

“If that were true, I’d be the one crawling all over your lap with my tongue in your ear, not Misha.”

When his lips parted and his eyes hooded, that’s when I knew that despite the verbal match between us, Wheeler was physically attracted to me. I’m not sure why that aroused me, but it did. My suggestion of seducing him lingered in my thoughts a few seconds too long, so I quickly got up and put Misha on the floor.