15. Jar of Bones

CLOVER

Fitzroy. Now that name fits my shifter mate. My Fitzy. I giggle as he peppers my face with kisses, and when he pulls back, a cheeky grin stretches across his face.

“Let me get something to clean you up with,” he says, gently sitting me on the rust-red couch we just made love on.

He gets up, tucking himself back into his pants, before going to his desk and rifling through the drawers. He sighs, blushing, before he hands me my clothes, then kisses me again like he can’t help it.

“I’ll be right back. I don’t have any towels in the office,” he says sheepishly, waiting until I’ve got my sweater on before he leaves, the door clicking shut behind him.

My eyes wander to Aldrich, who is suspiciously quiet. He’s facing away from me, and I clear my throat.

“Um… You can turn back around. We’re done with the sex stuff.”

He turns, smirking as he crosses his arms.

“I figured that much out for myself.” He’s panting slightly and his cheeks are pink. Although it’s hard to tell, since he’s almost completely faded now.

“I smelled something,” he says, out of nowhere.

“Oh, that’s nice.” I pat his leg. “At least I hope it was nice. Was it a nice smell?”

“It was a nice smell. Clover, I haven’t been able to smell anything when I’m with you like this.” He smiles at me. “But I’m pretty sure the smell came from the shifter… which kind of takes away from the nicety of it now that I’m thinking about it.” He scrunches his nose.

“Fitzroy,” I say, giggling.

I gesture for him to join me on the couch, and he quickly crosses the small room to sit down beside me. He rests his hand on my thigh, squeezing a little tighter than normal, and when I look up at him, there’s a heat in his gaze that goes straight to my core.

We both jump as Fitzroy opens the door, and Aldrich gets up, leaving us alone once more.

“Sorry, that took so long,” Fitz says, kneeling in front of me. “I had to promise Lenny that I’d replace the towel with a better one.” He pushes my legs apart to wipe off the evidence of our sexcapade and pauses, inhaling. “Are you horny again?”

“Yeah, I was already all hot and bothered from what we just did, but then Aldrich had to go and look at me all sexily and get me all worked up again.”

Aldrich snorts from his spot behind us, and Fitzy just looks at me.

“Who’s Aldrich?” he asks, frowning.

“I already told you,” I say, huffing. “He’s my mate, and he’s stuck in another realm.”

“But he’s here?” Fitz raises his brow.

“Yes, but you can’t see him.” I smile. “No takesy backsies,” I sing-song as I kiss the tip of his nose. He scrunches his brow. I giggle.

“Would it be rude of me to ask what kind of shifter you are? I haven’t met any shifters before—that I know of, anyway—and I’m not sure what the proper etiquette is.”

Fitzroy blushes and looks away. “It’s not rude to ask, especially if the shifter in question is your mate.” He stands up and turns away from me.

“What is it? Are you something embarrassing, like a sea cucumber? Or maybe you’re a ladybug or an inchworm?”

“He’s probably a kitten.” Aldrich scoffs.

“It’s nothing like that,” Fitzroy says. “Just don’t laugh when I tell you, okay? It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with what I am, and if my mate laughs at me, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“I can’t promise that. If you’re something ridiculous, like a potato bug, I might have to giggle a little.”

He snorts, and I take that as an invitation to approach him. I wrap my arms around his waist.

“So, tell me. What are you, Fitzroy.”

“A un… orn,” he mumbles.

“Speak up,” I say, tickling his ribs. I’m rewarded with a girlish squeal. “I’ll do it again if you don’t tell me what you are!” I hold my fingers against him, and he tenses.

“Okay, okay. I’m… I’m a unicorn.”

“A UNICORN! Oh my goodness, how exciting!”

“Yeah, about that...” he says rubbing the back of his neck. “So I’m not a big, badass, awesome unicorn. I’m… miniature.”

Aldrich bursts with laughter. “He’s joking, isn’t he? He’s got to be joking.”

I wave my hand at my Fae, shushing him.

“What’s wrong with being mini?” I ask the big guy. “I’m small. Is there something wrong with me?”

“No! Of course not.” His mouth is agape, and his eyebrows are practically in his hairline.

“Does it affect your job or your stabbing ability?”

“... No.”

“Then, there’s nothing wrong with being mini. You wouldn’t be you if you were anything else.” I squeeze him, then walk around so he’s facing me again. “Now, may I go meet this Lenny? I need his picture.” My shifter mate blinks at me, then finishes cleaning me up and pulls me to my feet, tucking the towel into a motorcycle saddle bag.

“For later,” he mumbles.

I finish getting dressed, pick up my purse, and grab his hand as he opens the door. He grins, gently tugging me out of the now very used office, and we head back to the bar area.

Several guys whistle at us, but one look from Fitz and they shut up pretty quick. Mip whistles as he reappears on Aldrich’s shoulder, and Aldrich quirks a brow at my new mate.

“This one might be just as scary as the demon,” Mip says, eyeballing Fitzroy. “If he so much as looks at a lock, be it on a door or handcuffs, I’ll run him through.” He unsheathes Needlestrike and waves it wildly through the air, nearly catching Aldrich in the ear.

“Put that blasted toothpick away, or so help me…” Aldrich reaches for Mip, but he teleports ahead of us to the bar and twirls, blinking sweetly at my Fae.

We approach the bar, and Mip blinks back to Aldrich. The smiley man and the guy behind the bar look up at us. Smiley gives us a knowing grin, and the guy behind the bar keeps cleaning the glass he was cleaning before. Lenny, I’m guessing.

“Pres, Lenny. This is Clover. My mate.” Fitzroy looks down at me, his eyes full of devotion.

“Clover, this”—he gestures at Smiley—“is President Mike. And this”—he gestures at the guy behind the bar—“is Lenny.”

“And this is Mip the Wonderful.” Mip says, gesturing to himself and puffing out his chest. “And this sap is Aldrich. He’s okay. Better than the idiot demon.” Aldrich frowns as Mip blinks back and forth between us. He seems to be wound up, and I’m glad he isn’t in his little body right now. I can’t imagine the chaos.

“Hello, gentleman! This is a lovely establishment you have here. I particularly like the decor.” They follow my pointing finger to the jar of tiny bones sitting on the shelf behind Lenny. “Are those fingertips?”

Lenny grunts. “They are, lass.”

“Bones are always so nice for jewelry. They last forever!” I pull the bone ring my grandfather carved for me from my bag to show to him. It doesn’t fit around my finger anymore, but I like having it close to me. He died when I was young, and it’s one of my only memories of him.

Lenny’s face goes from grumpy frown to warm smile when he sees the ring. He quirks his eyebrow, silently asking permission to hold it, and I nod enthusiastically. No one ever likes my ring.

He examines it quickly and efficiently before handing it back. “Do you make jewelry?” he asks.

“I do! I didn’t make this, though. It was a gift.”

He nods and silently goes to grab the jar, rifling through it several times before he’s satisfied. He places it back on its shelf and comes back over to our little group, nodding at me to hold my hand out and dropping two of the tiny bones there.

“For earrings,” he says.

“Thank you, Lenny!”

The big man smiles again, and Fitzy coughs.

“Well, it looks like you’ve got yourself a winner there,” Smiley says, looking between me and Lenny and chuckling.

“Obviously,” Mip and Aldrich say at the same time, and I giggle.

“Hell yeah I do,” Fitz says, pulling me closer. He nods at Lenny, who nods back and turns to go help someone else at the other end of the bar.

“Oh, Lenny!” I call out before he gets too far. “Do you mind if I take a picture of you? And you too, Smi—I mean, Mike. It’s for my picture wall!” I pull my camera out of my bag, and Fitzy flinches.

“Clover, I don’t know…” He glances in Lenny’s direction, looking like he is ready to step between us if needed.

I don’t know what he is so worried about. I don’t bite. And Lenny just gave me lovely bones for jewelry, after all.

“It’s fine.” Lenny says.

Smiley waves at Fitz’s concern. “Of course it’s fine,” he says, leaning back against the bar as Lenny poses stiffly behind him.

I shrug Fitzroy’s arm off my shoulder and back up to get the jar of bones in the photo as well.

“Say cheese!”

Smiley beams at me, and the corner of Lenny’s mouth turns up slightly. The shutter clicks, and the photo prints slowly.

“That’ll be a keeper.”

Lenny winks at me and leaves, going to help the guy that was waiting.

“He’s so nice.”

Smiley and Fitzroy laugh, and Fitz pulls me into a hug.

“Definitely a keeper,” he murmurs.

The door to the club opens, and my heart stutters. Two men enter the bar heading straight for Smiley, and one of those men is very, very familiar.