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“This is the best we can do right now. Behave yourself. Don’t say anything too scandalous. I know how you fairies are.”
    “You say you fairies as if you aren’t one.”
    “I wasn’t raised as a fairy, though. I know how to keep my lips zipped and not spew words my brain hasn’t had a decent chance at filtering.”
    He knew he was bad at that. With the crew being mostly male, and the few ladies in their midst not particularly sensitive about language, Ethan had picked up a few indelicate habits over the years.
    He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and shifted his weight. “Tell me what I’m allowed to talk about, then.”
    “Light things.”
    “Throw me a bone, Princess. My concept of light probably varies considerably from yours.”
    “Talk about easy things, like…the weather and, oh, I don’t know. Sports or something.”
    “Do I get to actually learn anything about her?”
    “Sure, if she volunteers the information.”
    “Can I tell her anything about me?”
    Princess Simone sucked some air through clenched teeth and let her breath out in a sputter. “I guess that would depend on how much you can say without delving into fairy stuff.”
    “Gods, you’re not giving me a whole lot to work with.”
    Prince Heath stepped into the room and softly closed the door behind him. “She’s out there pacing.”
    “Let her in,” Ethan said.
    “Not because she’s impatient, I don’t think,” the prince said. “She’s nervous. Be cool, Ethan.”
    “I swear, I’m trying to be. You’ve got me on a very short leash, Prince.”
    “If we knew of a better way to do this, we’d choose that plan instead of fumbling our way through this ordeal like middle schoolers at their first coed party.” Princess Simone pointed to the armchair in front of the window. “You sit there.”
    Ethan sat.
    “I’m going to go get her. Try to be calm, okay?”
    Ethan scoffed and cracked his knuckles.
    He hadn’t been calm since the first time he’d seen Dasha standing in the motel office. Instinctively, he’d known she was his. He’d felt like lightening had grounded through him, and he’d been frozen in place ogling her until someone ushered him away.
    If she’d been a fairy like him, he might have said, “How about that? What do you want to do?” and that would have been all the ignition they needed. They would have gone off and done some naked thing.
    Being kept apart from her wasn’t natural. He’d been uptight and snarly for the past few months, and the fact anyone had been able to be around him was a wonder.
    Princess Simone opened the door just enough to step through. A minute later, she returned, pulling Dasha in by the hand.
    He stood.
    “Ethan, sit,” Prince Heath scolded.
    Ethan sat, and nervously bobbed his knee.
    The princess had Dasha sit in the farthest chair from him—in the last cushion of the sofa, closest to the door. Likely so she could make a quick getaway if she needed to.
    This is bullshit.
    Princess Simone padded to the kitchen with Prince Heath, where they conferred quietly with their backs turned to the living room.
    Ethan dragged his gaze back to Dasha, who wasn’t meeting his. She was fiddling with her phone and chewing the inside of her cheek.
    Normally, he would have opened the conversation by complimenting her in some way, but he needed to think two or three times about everything he said to ensure his words wouldn’t incite her in some way. He had a tendency to be somewhat inflammatory by default, and the crew expected that of him. He wasn’t used to being so filtered.
    While she studied her little electronic toy, he stared openly at her.
    He was lucky in the first place to have been fixed with a true mate—so many fairies didn’t get them—but Dasha was something to brag about. He’d always had a special fondness for the curves and swells of human women, and he liked the way Dasha’s had been assembled. Had he not been self-censoring, he might have told her