Master of Smoke

stole a glance at him as she pulled into the Drayton Apartments complex. He was watching her, his gaze steady and intent in a way that just radiated sex.
    Fluffy woke up with a happy little bounce. Yeah, baby, yeah!
    Down, girl.
    Oh, come on! Look at him. Yum.
    That’s not David, that’s Fang.
    So let me have him.
    Come to think of it, Fang and Fluffy would probably be very happy together. One big ball of furry fornication.
    Eva, however, had no intention of cooperating. She wanted David.
    She parked the car in her assigned spot and set the hand break with a savage jerk.
    Fang saved your life, Fluffy pointed out.
    Hard to argue with that. If Fang hadn’t turned those guys into minced asshole, she’d be dead right now. And it wouldn’t have been a fun death, either.
    But, still.
    Carefully not looking at Fang, Eva got out of the car, recovered the sword from the back, and started up the stairs. She could almost feel Fang’s hungry gaze on her ass.
    Fluffy started singing “I Want Your Sex” in the key of R. Fluffy wasn’t going to be on American Idol anytime soon.
    Cut it out!
    Fluffy just snickered.

    Eva’s cell phone rang as they were walking in the door. She pulled it out of her pocket to check caller ID, and winced. “Oh, hell.” Flipping the phone open, she reached for a cheery tone. “Hi, Mom!”
    “Eva Naomi Roman, I have been going out of my mind!” Charlotte Roman’s normally pleasant voice sounded just a little shrill. “Why didn’t you call?”
    Eva winced, dropped the sword on the table, and started lying. Fortunately, five years as a werewolf had made her good at it. “I’m sorry, Mom. David and I were a little busy talking to the police.”
    “What happened? Your father told me that creep Ronnie and some friends showed up at the shop. He was scared to death for you—” Her father’s voice interrupted with a rumble of protest. “Oh, shut up, Bill. We’ve been married thirty years. You think I don’t know when you’re scared? Eva, what happened?”
    “We got lucky.” She turned to find David/Fang listening with acute interest. “We saw a police car, so I turned on my flashers and blew my horn. The cop pulled over, and I pulled in behind him. Ronnie and his friends roared off.”
    “But you made a police report, right?” her mother asked anxiously. “Is he going to be charged?”
    “Probably not.” This was turning into a very complicated lie. Which sucked, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. “The cop said if Ronnie tries anything else, we can file charges.”
    Bill came on the line. “That’s not going to stop the bastard. I’m coming over there to kick his ass.”
    Oh, hell. “No! No, Dad, David’s already dealt with Ronnie. He promised he won’t try anything else again.”
    “You mean that long-haired pussy—”
    “Bill Roman!” her mother snapped. “Watch your mouth!”
    “—Actually did something?”
    “He’s not a pussy, Dad.” A cat, maybe, but definitely not a pussy. She grinned. “And yes, he gave Ronnie a punch in the teeth. Made him promise he’d never try anything like that again. So everything’s fine.”
    “Are you sure?” Suspicion darkened Charlotte’s pleasant voice. Something had definitely set off her momdar, God help them all.
    “I’m sure. We won’t have any more trouble with Ronnie.” Which was the utter truth, unlike the rest of the conversation.
    “Well, let me know if you do,” Bill growled. “Ronnie’s a shit. Do him a world of good to be on the receiving end of my fist.”
    “I’m sure it would, but David’s got it covered. Listen, I need to fix dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “Nope, it’s Thursday. You’ve got Friday off, remember?”
    “Oh, yeah.” Good thing, too. There were a number of things she needed to work through.
    After saying good-bye and plugging her phone into its charging stand, Eva headed for the kitchen. Changing into a werewolf always made her hungry enough to eat a yak—violating the laws of physics will do that to you. Which was why she kept a stack of T-bones in the freezer.
    She got out a couple and stuck them on a pan under the oven’s broiler, uncorked a Cabernet Sauvignon and poured two glasses full of fruity red goodness, then went to work on a salad.
    Eva chopped vegetables until it was time to turn the meat. That done, she went back to work at the cutting board, all the while acutely aware of Fang standing far too close. Eva stopped slicing bell peppers to