Julian nods. “I was the last one to try the cocoa, and I was thinking of a hot summer day… and us having sex by the pool.”
At his words, I instantly react. Unfortunately, I’m still a Yeti, so I end up with a cheese-grater boner pushing painfully against my skinny jeans.
Chapter Nine
Amber
I’m still battling my Yeti hard-on and trying to force myself to shift back when footsteps echo through the tunnel.
“Is everything alright in there?” a familiar voice calls. Liam. The troll cop.
For some reason, just thinking about getting caught in someone else’s body by the police makes me shift. I know it’s not illegal to turn into a Yeti, but I still feel like I’m breaking the law somehow. And I’m in the middle of the cafe in my bra, which has to be public indecency.
“My sweater,” I hiss, looking around wildly.
“I’ll intercept him. You guys get dressed,” Chase hisses back.
My bunny shifter rushes out into the tunnel while Julian tosses me my sweater and Wes grabs his. We quickly get dressed, and then pull on our boots, so we’re looking decent. There’s still a puddle by the door, so Wes rushes into the back room and returns with a mop.
“Just a bit of melted snow,” he tells Liam casually when the troll strolls in with Chase at his side.
“Interesting tunnel you got out there,” Liam says. “Do you have a permit?”
“We need a permit?” I ask, my pulse accelerating. We can’t afford to pay a fine for some illegal tunnel. And if Liam shuts us down for building a tunnel without a permit, the whole Mid-Winter party will be ruined.
“We’re so sorry, officer. It’s all my fault. I didn’t mean to—”
“I was kidding, Julian.” Liam rolls his eyes. “Guess I should know better than to joke around, even when I’m not in uniform.”
“Oh,” Julian sighs in relief, and I instantly relax.
“It’s a bit cold in here,” Liam points out. Which makes sense, considering I was the last one to take a sip of the Cozy Cocoa, and I was a Yeti at the time. Liam doesn’t know that, though, so he makes a pointed gesture at the propped open door.
“Let me close that.” Julian rushes off to pull out the door stopper. “Hey Bean, you should finish your Cozy Cocoa. Wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”
I take the hint and gulp down what’s left in my glass. Now that I’m no longer a Yeti, my ideal temperature is no longer ten degrees below freezing. And the moment I down my drink—and Julian coincidentally closes the door—the cafe starts warming up and getting back to normal.
“So, I hear Not a Vampire is playing tonight? I can’t wait to hear them play ‘Blood Witch’.”
“I love that song.” I grin. “And they’ll be here at six, though the party starts at two.”
Liam nods. “So, ten minutes ago.”
My eyes widen. “We still haven’t set up. We need to move the chairs, grab the pastries from upstairs, and…”
“Deep breaths, little bear,” Wes says, moving to my side. “I’ll move all the chairs to the back. Chase, get the pastries. Liam, Julian can make you a…”
“I’ll help you with the chairs,” Liam says, grabbing the nearest one.
“If you’re sure.” Wes grabs another chair.
“I’ll pour out the rest of these Cozy Cocoas,” Julian says. At Liam’s surprised glance, he adds, “Failed experiment. Very bitter. Only Amber likes them.”
“Huh.” Liam grunts.
“Come on, sweetheart.” Chase takes my hand in his. “Help me carry the cookies?”
“Sure.” I nod and follow him up the stairs. When we get to the top, he leans in, his breath grazing my ear. “Your sweater is inside-out. If we had more time, I’d help you fix it, but we’ve got a party to host.”
“We do.” I grin, pulling off my sweater and quickly fixing it. “I can’t believe we did it.”
“You did it.” Chase smiles at me. Then his gaze turns heated, and his voice drops a couple octaves. It’s all deep and gravelly and fills me with need when he adds, “Maybe we can sneak back up here and do it together once the party is in full swing? Go for a carrot ride?”
I swallow hard and barely resist pulling down his pants right then and there. “I can’t wait.”