Stix rubbed at the wooden bar until he rubbed a spot in the finish. For the past two hours the minute had crawled by, and he'd fought every second to keep from walking back to his office to make sure Satia was okay. His ursa paced unable to rest at the knowledge that Satia was so close and yet so far out of reach. He wanted to muzzle her, sniff her, snuggle her and protect her. All emotions and thoughts that rumbled around inside Stix for one hundred and twenty minutes until he thought he might explode and shift right there, scaring the hell out of everyone.

When the clock hit midnight, Stix was up on the bar calling closing time. The patrons grumbled and asked to finish their drinks, but it was all he could do to stop himself from throwing every single one of them out on their asses. Never before had he been so anxious to close up and move on.

After every employee had been thanked and locked out, Stix headed to his office. Satia hadn't so much as made a peep in over two hours. He didn't know if she'd snuck out the back, fallen asleep or given up on his horrendous filing system. But any of the three was a definite possibility.

He stood outside the door and listened for movement, but heard nothing. He sniffed the air and caught a faint whiff of her heavenly scent. She was still in there at least. So check sneaking out off the list.

Stix breathed in deep and opened the door. He stood in the doorway for a moment, and his jaw dropped. His entire office had been organized. Bins that had been in the storage closet for as long as he could remember, lined on the wall, stacked on top of each other like a makeshift bookcase. Not a single sheet of paper sat piled on a chair or his desk or even the top of the filing cabinet. A dying plant that he'd forgotten he had, replaced the mess on his desk, next to his computer and phone. Every speck of dust had been eradicated. Even the furniture had been moved around to provide a better flow in the room. The change was incredible.

Satia waited quietly in the middle of the room.

"Is it too much?" she asked. "Is it not what you wanted?"

"Oh no, it's what I wanted and more. I just... I didn't expect you to be done so fast."

"I've always been very efficient," she replied. "Do your task well and quicker than your master requires. It makes you invaluable; my mother used to say."

"It sure does, but, I'm not your master. I'm you-" He stopped himself from saying, mate. Though that was obviously what was going on with him. "I'm your boss," he finished.

She nodded. "Thank you again for the work." She looked around sadly. "I suppose now you will no longer need me. Maybe I should have taken longer after all."

The thought of letting her leave made his ursa grumble.

"Oh, no. I have plenty of other things for you to do," he blurted.

"You do?" Her eyes lit up, and a genuine smile spread across her lips.

"Yes. Tons of things I don't have time for. Weeks and weeks worth of work," he lied.

"Wonderful. That would be most helpful."

"So, it's getting a bit late. Do you need to call Gerri's car service or an Uber? I can give you some money if you need to grab a taxi if you're not that far." He headed to the cash box.

"Oh... uh..."

He noticed Satia's flustered expression. She clasped her hands together.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, I... I saw a cot in the storage room, and I thought maybe you'd allow me to stay here for a few days until I find a place." Her gaze hit the floor.

The storage room? "Wait," he said. "You don't have anywhere to go?"

She glanced up and shook her head.

"What about Gerri? Aren't you staying with her?"

"Oh no. She was kind enough to find me this job, but that's all. We aren't friends or anything."

"And I heard Affina and Razor were out."

Satia shuffled her feet. "They, uh... I haven't told them I'm in the city. I'd like to keep it that way."

Alone. She was utterly and entirely alone. No family. No friends. No place to live.

"Well I can't let you stay in the storage room, I'm sorry."

She nodded. "I understand. I didn't mean to impose. I-"

"But you can stay with me." The words tumbled out of his mouth.

"You don't have to do that, but thank you for the offer."

"No really." He rounded his desk and sat on the edge of it in front of her. "I have an extra room that isn't in use. And it's no problem at all. That is if you are comfortable. I know you don't know me."

"I expect Gerri would never have introduced us if she thought you were going to cause me any harm."

"Logically."

"And... you have been nothing but kind to me so far..."

He was glad she wasn't one who didn't even think through the danger she could be getting into by going home with someone she'd just met. She was apparently a girl with a good head on her shoulders. A beautiful, fascinating head...

Satia's eyebrows knit together and she chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment.

"If you're sure it isn't too much. I would greatly appreciate it. And it won't be for long. I don't want to take advantage."

Hell, she could take advantage of him all she wanted. As far as he was concerned, he didn't ever want her to not be where he was.

"It's settled then." Stix grabbed his coat from the back of his chair and his keys from the top drawer. Satia picked up her sweater and rolled her bag to the door.

Okay. He could do this. He could take the girl he was pretty sure Gerri had intended for him to mate back to his house and be a total gentleman to her. Yup. No problem. His bear warbled like a cub sucking on honeycomb.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later Satia and Stix walked up to a sandy brown colored building camouflaged in the midst of an entire street full of sandy colored buildings.

From the restaurant, they'd walked to a train and ridden it within a few blocks of Stix's house in a city called Brooklyn.

Stix grabbed her bag and carried it up the steps to the large wooden front door.

"You pack pretty light," he chuckled. "Is there even anything in this?"

"I don't have much," she replied. "Don't need much." Truth was, even though Affina had given her a credit card and told her to buy whatever she wanted, never again did Satia wish to be indebted to anyone. And as a servant she'd never needed dresses and shoes and fine things. She'd had two outfits. One to wash and one to wear and that had been all she'd ever needed. Buying dozens of things to wear them a few times seemed a waste.

The front door creaked open and Stix stepped inside and turned on the light. Satia walked in the small entryway noticing how narrow the entire structure was. Like his office, the little house was cluttered with stuff.

Stix reached around her and closed the door, locking it. Again she was struck by the thick male scent that made her saber purr in delight.

His body pressed up against hers for a moment, and the heat of his skin invaded her space, making the hair on her arms stand up. He brushed her chest with his, making her nipples stand at attention.

Satia stepped back and covered her chest with her arms so he couldn't see.

"I apologize," he said. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

She gave him a tight smile. "You didn't. You're just so warm."

He gave her a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I've always been like that. Sometimes in the summer I seriously think my skin is going to peel off. My AC bill is outrageous."

"AC?"

"Air conditioning. It's expensive but worth it in the summer months. On the weekends I like to go to my parents' place and swim in the lake."

"That sounds amazing. I used to sneak out of the castle every once and a while and swim naked in the nearby lake. Maybe we could do that sometime."

The scent of Stix's skin grew heavier as he stared down at her with a strange expression.

"Swim, I mean," she corrected. "Not naked. I didn't mean... I mean, we don't have to..." Heat flushed her skin at the thought. What he must think of her that she was the kind of woman to go around asking men to go swimming naked with her.

Stix smiled and nodded. "Come on, I'll show you around." He picked up her bag again and walked down the hallway." He pointed to a room on the left. "These are uh... some rooms that I never use."

She popped her head in to see three small, connected rooms run the length of the building. The first had a couch and chair and various living items. They continued down the hallway and the next room was piled with junk. The last room held a large table and chairs.

"This is the kitchen." They walked into a thin area with cabinets on one side. Dishes and old food containers littered the counters. "I'll clean it up in the morning," he mumbled.

"Back there is the laundry room and a door to the backyard." He squeezed past her back to the hallway and opened a door. "That's the basement. Not much down there right now but some storage. You can sleep down there if you want, but it's a bit cluttered."

The thought of sleeping down there alone sent a wave of panic through her.

"Where do you sleep?" she asked.

He peered at her quizzically. "I sleep upstairs."

She swallowed hard. "Do you mind if I sleep up there too? Not in your room of course. I'm not used to being alone."

"No problem." He showed her back down the hallway to the stairs. She grasped the old wooden banister, tarnished over time by age and loving hands, and followed him up the creaky stairs to the top floor. Three bedroom doors lined the hallway.

"So this is my room over here." He opened the first door on the left. "It's been my room since I was a kid."

He opened the middle door. "This was my cousin Deacon's room. He lived with us when his parents died." He walked to the third room. "And this was my parent's room. They don't stay here much anymore. You're welcome to stay in there if you'd like. It's the largest of the three."

"I don't know that I would feel right about staying in your parent's room," she said. "Deacon's old room will do. If you think he won't mind."

Stix snorted. "Deacon hasn't stepped foot in it in over five years. I'm sure he would be fine letting you have it."

"For the time being. I don't want to overstep. You've done quite a lot for me already."

He nodded. "It's nothing."

Her gut clenched. "It's something to me."

Their eyes connected and warmth rushed through her and pooled in her belly. Again she imagined what his lips would feel like on hers. The touch of his hand as he brushed the hair from her neck. His muscular arms wrapped around her body.

"So, the bathroom is over there," he pointed. "There should be clean towels, but I can't promise anything tonight. I'll make sure in the morning though. I apologize for you having to see the house in this state. It's been a while since I've cleaned up and I wasn't expecting company."

"Thank you." She held out her hand for her bag. "You've done more than enough. And I would never judge you for having a house that was lived in."

Stix snorted. "Lived in. That's a very polite way of putting it."

Stix handed her bag to her, and she walked to the doorway of Deacon's room. She caught the faint smell of cologne and stinky socks in the room.

"I tend to sleep in a bit since the restaurant is open so late," he said. "But feel free to make yourself at home. There is some food in the fridge, but I'll go shopping-"

"Tomorrow," she finished.

They both laughed and he rubbed his head. "Yeah. Tomorrow."

"Goodnight. Thank you again."

He nodded. "If you need anything. I'm right in here."

Satia walked into the room and closed the door. She leaned back against it and shook her head. She'd had enough awkward conversations to last her a lifetime.