“It didn’t seem real at first,” Silas said. He sipped his vodka and tonic within the confines of a booth in the bar area at Valentine’s. “I’m not a prude, Meredith, but I’ve never seen anything like that. You hear about things, you know, doing the work we do. You interview people. You know it happens. But there’s a difference between knowing and seeing.”

“I know what you mean. I thought I could handle it… until…”

Silas waited.

“Until I thought about what it must be doing to you. It’s obvious you cared for her. If I’d seen someone I loved, even in the past tense, doing something like that, it would be like enduring open-heart surgery without anesthesia.”

He snorted. “Maybe. But not for the reasons you might think.” He finished his drink and motioned to the bartender for another. “You want another wine?”

“No, I’m okay.”

He held up one finger. “I thought about stopping it.”

“They would have killed you. The place was full of vampires and demons. If you survived, it would have been a bloodbath.”

“Part of me wanted to believe she’d been drugged. Part of me felt responsible for defending her.”

Meredith swallowed hard and whispered, “She looked like an eager participant to me.”

“Yeah. I eventually came to that conclusion too.” Silas scrubbed his face with his hand, a shiver running through him. “Laina says I clean the pepper out of the salt shaker.”

“What does that mean?”

“Long story.”

“So I take it, it wasn’t like that with her before?” Meredith’s eyebrow quirked.

“Hmm? No. Not with me. I’m a simple guy. I like to keep things simple. Too many people and devices just complicate everything. Why do people need that stuff? Keep it simple, that’s what I always say.” The tip of his nose had started to tingle, and he had a distinct impression that he was oversharing. Fuck. He was drunk. “Sorry. I mean no offense if you’re into that sorta thing. Whatever floats your boat.” He gave a deep chuckle.

She laughed. Goddess she had a cool laugh. It made you want to laugh along with her. “Uh, no. Not my cup of tea. When it comes to sex, I’m more about what’s happening up here.” She pointed at her head.

“Your mouth?” Silas whispered. He was drunk. Definitely drunk.

“No, my brain.” There was that laugh again. “How many of those have you had?”

“I just think it shouldn’t be that complicated, you know?”

“You’re a werewolf. You’re a creature of habit, of instinct. You want a permanent bond to raise young. It’s in your nature. What we saw tonight was not it.”

He nodded, pointing his pinky finger at her as he gripped his now empty glass. “You get me.”

The bartender plunked another drink down on the table and took his empty. “Danke schoen.” Silas raised the glass in thanks to the bartender and took another sip, knowing damn well he should quit for the night.

Meredith took a microscopic sip of her wine. “When I was dating Dave, I thought he was the one. I pictured us living in the suburbs with our 2.5 kids. Turns out he pictured it too, but not with me. He married the girl he cheated on me with. They’re expecting their first young in October. So, as bad as today was, at least you know she wanted something different. It wasn’t that she rejected you like Dave rejected me. She rejected the future you wanted with her.”

“Is that better or worse?”

She shrugged. “Now that I think about it, I’m not sure. Sorry.”

A shadow passed over their table. Logan. “Hey, buddy? What’s going on? Dustin tells me you’ve been drinking the well dry.”

“He’s had a rough night,” Meredith said. “I’m Meredith, Silas’s new partner.” She shook Logan’s hand.

“Shee’sssss not my partner,” Silas said. Okay, now he could hear it. He was definitely inebriated.

“Nice to meet you,” Logan said, ignoring Silas’s protest. “Are you okay getting home on your own?” he asked Meredith, “because I’m going to take this guy’s keys and set him up in my office for a long nap.”

“Gotta get home and feed Maggie,” Silas blurted. He was suddenly very tired.

Meredith’s lips twitched like she was suppressing a good laugh. “Actually, we came here together,” she said to Logan. “I’ll drop him off at home. I’m good to drive.” She pointed at the single glass of wine she’d been nursing the entire night. It was still half full.

“Good enough for me.” Logan grinned like he found the entire situation amusing. He reached for Silas’s keys and handed them to Meredith.

Silas grabbed his best friend’s wrist. “I’ve decided to take you up on your offer. You were right about that situation we discussed.”

“Okay,” Logan said. “We can talk about it tomorrow.”

Silas squeezed. “The Soleil situation. She’s been playing me. Playing me like a harp the entire time.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Logan took him by the shoulders and shook gently. “I’ll help you. We will figure this out. But right now, I need you to go with Meredith. You need to lie down.”

“Ooookay.” Silas allowed Meredith to help him from the booth, losing the murmured conversation between her and Logan. She was a beautiful woman, Meredith. Her hard-ass attitude made her seem uptight, but now, as she buckled his seatbelt around him, he realized how soft her hair looked, how the square jaw and athletic build gave her a strong but feminine mystique. She wasn’t a girly-girl. No makeup. No jewelry. A practical dresser, for sure. But there was something about her. She was funny and smart. Smart-mouthed. He loved her mouth.

“You gonna make it?” she asked, finally succeeding in clicking the seatbelt at his hip. “You look a little—”

He leaned over and spewed out the open door. In his defense, he tried his best to miss her shoes.