cushioned arms. I had purposefully turned the seat away from one of the many round windows so I couldnât see out the side nearest me. Unfortunately, the plane was so narrow that I caught glimpses on the opposite side windows of fluffy clouds and clear blue sky. Hard to forget youâre thousands of feet above the ground with only a thin sheet of metal between you and eternity when clouds keep floating past the window.
Jason plopped down in the seat next to me, and I let out a little yip. He laughed. âI canât believe youâre this scared of flying.â He pushed his chair with his feet, making it spin around, slowly, like a kid with Daddyâs office chair. His thin blond hair was cut just above his shoulders, no bangs. His eyes were the same pale blue as the sky we were flying through. He was exactly my height, five three, which made him short, especially for a man. He never seemed to mind. He wore an oversized T-shirt and a pair of jeans so faded they were almost white. He wore two hundred dollar jogging shoes, though I knew for a fact he never jogged.
Heâd turned twenty-one this summer. Heâd informed me that he was a Gemini, and he was now legal for everything. Everything could cover a lot of ground for Jason. He was a werewolf, but he currently lived with Jean-Claude and played morning appetizer or evening snack for the vampire. Shapeshifter blood has a bigger kick to it, more power. You can drink less of itthan human blood and feel a hell of a lot better, or so Iâve observed.
He flung himself up from the chair and fell to his knees in front of me. âCome on, Anita. Whatâs to worry?â
âLeave me alone, Jason. Itâs a phobia. It has no logic. You canât talk me out of it, so just go away.â
He sprang to his feet so fast it was almost magical. âWeâre perfectly safe.â He started jumping up and down on the floor of the plane. âSee, solid.â
I yelled, âZane!â
Zane appeared beside me. He was about six feet tall, stretched long and thin as if there wasnât enough flesh to cover his bones. His hair had been dyed a shocking yellow, like neon buttercups, shaved on the sides and gelled into small, stiff spikes on top. He wore black vinyl pants, like a slick second skin, and a matching vest, no shirt. Shiny black boots completed the outfit.
âYou rang?â he asked in a voice that was almost painfully deep. If a shapeshifter spends too much time in animal form, some of the physical changes can be permanent. Zaneâs gravelly voice and the dainty upper and lower fangs in his human mouth said heâd spent a little too much time as a leopard. The voice could have passed for human, but the fangsâthe fangs gave it away.
âGet Jason away from me, please,â I said through gritted teeth.
Zane looked down at the smaller man.
Jason stood his ground.
Zane moved those last two steps to close the distance between them. They stood there, pressed chest to chest, eyes locked. You could suddenly feel that skin-crawling energy that let you know that human was not what they were.
Shit. I hadnât meant to start a fight.
Zane lowered his face toward the shorter man, a low growl trickling out of his closed lips.
âNo fighting, boys,â I said.
Zane planted a big, wet kiss on Jasonâs mouth.
Jason jerked back, laughing. âYou bisexual son of a bitch.â
âNow, if that isnât the pot calling the kettle black,â Zane said.
Jason just grinned and wandered off, though there wasnât a lot of room to wander anywhere. I also have a touch ofclaustrophobia. I got it from a diving accident, but Iâve noticed itâs worse since I woke up one morning trapped in a coffin with a vampire I didnât like. I got away, but I like enclosed spaces less and less.
Zane slid into the seat beside me. The shiny black vest gaped over his thin, pale chest, giving a glimpse of a silver