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reached him, he silenced his radio.
    He scanned me head to toe. “You’re hurt.”
    I touched my busted top lip, wincing like an idiot. Of course it hurt. Davis had headbutted me, and the wound was taking its sweet time mending. Must be some kind of allergic reaction to hobgoblin.
    “It will heal.” The scrapes and bruises were already mending. “That is one mean little bastard.”
    Shaw propped his elbow in his open window and set his chin on his palm. “My offer still stands.”
    “Good.” My shoulders slumped, knowing I wouldn’t have to ask outright. “I appreciate it.”
    “I’ll help. I’ll even let you keep the bounty...” he opened his door and joined me on the asphalt, “...if you agree to have dinner with me.”
    “No dice.” I backed away slowly. “We just agreed—”
    “It’s not like that.” He held up his hands, palms out. “Nothing romantic. Just business.”
    “Oh.” I squared my shoulders. “In that case, sure, I can do dinner.”
    He strolled past me, hands in his pockets, grin on his face as he headed for the recycling center.
    Shaw called over his shoulder, “Do you remember the first thing I told you about incubi?”
    I didn’t have to think about it. “They’ll say anything to get in my pants.”
    The scent of patchouli drifted in his wake. “Exactly.”

Chapter Nine
    Whistles and catcalls blasted us as Shaw and I entered the recycling center. I cocked an eyebrow at him, but Shaw had gone bye-bye. Tendrils of mist clouded his pupils until his eyes were white voids. His complexion paled. Veins in his face and neck grew more pronounced, pulsing bright blue beneath his skin. The hand nearest me quivered while bone-white claws sprouted from the tips of his fingers.
    A shiver of anticipation tingled through my limbs. Somehow it was a comfort seeing handsome Shaw appearing every bit as monstrous as I sometimes felt on the inside. He looked too normal, too perfect, and I was relieved to be reminded he wasn’t. Not at all. He was pure fae, pure trouble...pure temptation.
    The first time I saw him like this, bare and real, I asked him out afterward.
    Of course, I had been thirteen at the time. He let me down easy by promising we would revisit the topic once I was legal. He had been trying to make me feel better by proving I wasn’t alone in my otherness . Compared to his chilling transformation, the runes gradually creeping up my arm were only a minor tell that I wasn’t one hundred percent human, no matter how much I once wished I was.
    Davis kept his back turned until he made his goal then faced us with his makeshift bat raised.
    “This is the last time, girlie.” He paused while his gaze swept over Shaw. “You look familiar.”
    A low rumble of sound from Shaw filled the sudden quiet. “You made her bleed.”
    I’m not sure which of us was more stunned—Davis or me. I’m betting me. I bled all the time. It was an occupational hazard.
    “I asked her nicely to come back later.” Davis’s throat flexed. “You ought to teach her—”
    “If you finish with my place ,” I snarled, “I’m going to peel your hide like a moldy banana.”
    Shaw’s lips curved in my direction. It wasn’t a pretty smile. It was tinged with hunger and made me desperate to cross my legs or invest in a full-body chastity belt. A chastity suit? Was that a thing?
    His attention riveted on Davis. “Apologize.”
    Davis folded his twiggy arms across his barrel chest. “I won’t.”
    A gentle breeze teased flyaway hairs into my eyes. The earthy scent it carried made water pool in my mouth. When the lure hooked the other hobs, cheers for Shaw grew deafening. Davis swiped his mouth with the back of his arm. His chest pumped harder, his nostrils flaring as he inflated his lungs.
    “Shaw.” I reached for him. “It’s not a big deal. Let’s slap a restraining Word on him and go.”
    Forget handcuffs. Not only were some fae allergic to metals other than iron, they were a pain to keep on hand.