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me to have you give me a few pointers on dealing with difficult alphas,” he said with a wry smile.
    “I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit,” Thea said. She felt a head rush and faltered for a moment. She found herself in Billy’s arms once again. She should push him away, but she didn’t. She needed to stay in the present, and she enjoyed being in this man’s presence. She wasn’t ready to think about what had happened in the alley. It was the past now. Time to forget. “After all, you are a sheriff and a councilmember of your clan. Surely you’ve mastered the fine art of negotiation and dealing with tricky people.”
    “I’ve noticed that a certain kind of person, particularly those of the female persuasion, seem to have a far greater influence than I do most of the time.” Thea noticed that prospect didn’t seem to faze Billy. He was simply saying it as a matter of a fact.
    “Some men would find that frustrating or annoying, if they thought that undermined their own authority.”
    “There are simply more than one ways to skin a cat. I’m open to any of them,” Billy said. That twinkle in his eye was back. “Are you feeling a bit steadier on your feet?”
    Thea realized that she was still standing in the circle of his arms. She blushed and sat down breaking the circle. “Sorry. I think I’m just a little bit shaken still.”
    Billy sat down next to her. Although their legs didn’t touch, she felt the proximity of his body to hers. She glanced at him from beneath the curtain of her eyelashes. He looked different than earlier today, when she had seen him outside the airport. More self-assured and definitely cockier. She had seen him expose a vulnerability earlier, but it didn’t seem to bother him at all. In fact, he was looking her over now without bothering to keep his appreciation in check.
    He caught her assessment, and he shook his head with a grimace. “Sorry. After what you’ve been through, I’m ogling you like some asshole. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about what a coincidence that we’ve run into each other again. But now really isn’t the time for pleasantries, is it? You need a little time to process and decompress.”
    He was right. She had just been through a traumatic experience, but for some reason, she felt calm. She wasn’t completely settled yet, but having Billy next to her had an effect that she couldn’t put her finger on. She didn’t feel as if she had anything to be afraid of. She almost said so, but stopped herself when she heard the knock on the door.
    “You decent in there?”
    She wanted to sink into the floor. Billy stood up with a start, but Thea waved him to sit back down. “It’s okay. She’s with me.” She thought about her words and grimaced. “Come in, Sophie.”
    Her best friend swept into the room with her usual dramatic flourish. Thea was dismayed to see that Sophie looked even more attractive than normal, but of course, it was a fight night. Sophie was the lead bartender at the main bar at Urban Dwellers, and she knew how to dress to maximize tips from the crowd.
    In addition to wearing three-inch heels (Thea had no idea how Sophie worked in them through her long shifts), Sophie wore skintight black leather pants and a matching bustier that more than accentuated her ample bosom. Her blond hair fell in perfect ringlets framing her heart-shaped face. Sophie’s silver eyeshadow should have looked overdone, but instead it made her icy blue eyes pop, even in the fluorescent light of the office lights overhead.
    She realized that Sophie was waiting for an introduction. She sighed. One look at Sophie, and she was sure that Billy would find her meager attributes lacking in comparison. She brushed that thought aside, though. Why did she care what Billy Miller thought of her or Sophie? “Sophie, this is Billy Miller. Billy, this is Sophie. She works downstairs.”
    “It’s nice to meet you, Sophie. How are you this evening?” Billy