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witch’s bed. So what is it about this witch that has me wanting to
hold her hand? I never want to hold hands, just as I never want to make small
talk, tell jokes to make her smile or all sorts of other bizarre things I want
to experience with Kate.
    Joshua walked silently, pensively going over everything in
his mind. Before he could consider the question of how deep his feelings for
Kate genuinely went, they were coming into view of the café and Josh felt his
stomach unclench and the weighty thoughts he had been entertaining dissipate.
    “There you are!” Kiera called as she pushed her way toward
them. One hand gently touched Josh’s shoulder as she looked him up and down
then cast a faintly puzzled glance at Kate.
    “You were both taking so long I started to worry,” Kiera
began in a rush as she unconsciously tugged a curl of dark-brown hair behind
her ear. “Did you run into trouble? If you think we should move this to
somewhere else, then—”
    “No.” Kate cut her off with hardly a blink. “Sorry if we
held you up. Do we have a table near the back? You really shouldn’t have been
waiting out here. You and Hayden really are in danger.”
    “I know,” Kiera replied, chastised. “And I promised Hayden
I’d only wait a moment before returning. Let’s go to the table and I’ll
introduce you to everyone.”
    Pleased he hadn’t needed to say a word—or worse, lie to his
best friend—Josh followed Kiera when Kate motioned for him him to walk ahead of
her. Even without turning around to watch his lover, he knew she would be
scanning faces, looking swiftly over the largely human population of the café
to see whether anything stood out or put her on guard.
    When they reached two tables pushed together near the rear
of the café without Kate speaking a word, Josh felt confident that nothing in
the café had unsettled his lover. Kiera instantly slid into the seat next to
Hayden and they automatically held hands as if they had been together forever
instead of barely a week.
    Used to the witch sitting first, it took a moment for Josh
to realize that Kate was waiting for him to be seated before she would consider
taking her own chair.
    “Oh, right,” he half apologized as he scooted into the farther
away of the two empty seats. Kate followed him, effectively putting her slim
body as a barrier between Joshua and the room at large.
    It didn’t sit especially well with him, this reversal of
traditional roles, but he kept his mouth shut. Josh had never thought himself
particularly strait-laced or chivalrous. Had he been asked, he would have
insisted he behaved in a polite, well-mannered and appreciative way with a
genuine respect for all a witch symbolized, yes. Having said that, if a witch
reached for the door he would not rush to beat her, insisting it was his
given right as a male to open it for her and prove his worthiness.
    Josh had worked in the Enforcers for long enough to know a
witch could be just as powerful as any wizard, and frequently they were even
more independent than any male he knew. A witch did not necessarily need to be
taken care of. Though he truly believed witches could be just as fierce as any
wizard it was only now, when he was forced into the role of being protected,
that he began to understand that simple matters such as waiting for a woman he was
eating a meal with to sit first were deeply ingrained in him.
    It was uncomfortable to be the one being taken care of. Even
so, Josh knew exactly what Kate was doing and why. He understood where she was
coming from and hoped he could take the situation they were in gracefully.
    Might even be good for you, he decided with some
slight abashment. Remembering that you can’t be in control of everything.
That a strong, powerful witch can be just as addictive a partner as a soft,
sweet little thing.
    The waitress came practically the second Kate sat down and
they ordered various teas and coffees. When the young girl left, the six of
them exchanged