I had made it months ago to Caldenia’s specifications. In thirty seconds, I walked into the tearoom. But Caldenia and I shared each other’s company when it was just the two of us and I’d come to enjoy having tea with her. He ate the food and afterward awkwardly patted my shoulder or my head, whichever happened to be closer, so I’d know he didn’t completely hate it. Both times I’d aimed for simple things, like steak or roasted chicken. A couple of times I’d dared to make dinner so he could have the night off. We finally convinced him to have dinner with us, but he was truly comfortable hovering in the kitchen, covertly watching our expressions as we ate his food. For months and months in the beginning, it had just been me and Caldenia at the inn, and even after Orro came to stay with us, he rarely joined us for tea.

I had too much to do and not enough time to do it. Three o’clock was the time when we had our afternoon tea, provided the inn wasn’t under attack or filled with lifelong enemies trying to broker a fragile peace. I opened a small two-way screen in the nearest wall.

I kept worrying about Sean, about the Assembly, about the Drífan coming, about Rudolph Peterson… Not only did everything have to be intricate and ornate, but I’d had a hard time concentrating. “Will you be home in time for dinner?”įinishing the Drífen quarters took forever.

“Mostly I made other people bleed for that money.” A shadow crossed his face. But only if you promise not to spend everything you have on upgrading the inn. You’re in charge of the guests, and I’m in charge of their security. “If I’m going to live here, you have to let me contribute. “What does that have to do with anything?” Dina, you have to decide if we’re together or not.” It won’t open the Baha-char door for me, but it gave me complete access to your finances. “Damn right and I’ll spend it as I please. Sean thought it over and turned to me, a serious look on his face. I had to let it go.īringing the weapon systems back online was going to be pricy, and I really wanted to hold some money in reserve, in case the Drífen or the Assembly threw another curveball at us. And a small part of me worried that once Sean walked back through Wilmos’ door, he wouldn’t come back. Like Sean, he was a werewolf without a planet, and he was the one who’d gotten Sean the Nexus job. He also ran mercenary crews and brokered deals between private soldiers and people who wanted to hire them. Wilmos owned a weapons shop at the galactic bazaar. And that’s why I need you to open the Baha-char door for me.” I’d known opposing the Draziri would be expensive when I took the job but standing by while an entire species was being exterminated was beyond me.

Sweep with Me by Ilona Andrews