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energy much differently. You can touch a Mage anywhere and the sexual energy won’t release unless you join hands.” He rolled the piercing in his tongue around a little. “If you want to be with someone who’s not a Mage, then you’re going have to give up touch, or else you’ll do some serious damage.”
    With a hard sigh, I said, “Yeah, found that out.”
    Simon blinked in surprise. “Are you telling me you shagged Logan?”
    “No!”
    “I would be gobsmacked if you told me that you polished his knob.”
    “Get away from me.” I laughed, shoving him. “We just kissed.”
    Everyone knew the custom for Chitahs during courtship was a PG experience. Most went to the next level after the woman accepted his claim on her. That level was more than just dating—it was a permanent commitment. Of course, we were breaking the mold because I was not a Chitah and felt it was too premature to take him as a husband.
    “What Breed of women do you date?”
    “I have a few regulars,” he said, licking his lips. “Mage, of course. But it doesn’t mean I don’t have an appreciation for the lovelies. I’m an equal opportunity shagger and have never turned down a willing Sensor, Relic, or the like.”
    “So all this time I’ve been led to believe a lie? I’m never going to be able to touch another man who isn’t a Mage.”
    “You can always have that with me.” Simon raised his hands defensively when I gave him a harsh glare. “I’m just putting it out there.”
    “I won’t forget how quickly you flew out of that bed after our drunken kiss.”
    His neck jerked back. “You’re cross with me over that? This whole time?”
    I was tempted to give him the finger, but instead I picked at a cuticle.
    “Justus coming home was the cold shower I needed. It went too far, and I can’t do that to a friend. It wasn’t a rejection. You’re lovely, but you don’t deserve to be stuck with a cad like me.”
    “You got that right,” I teased.
    Simon stood up and showed me his back and I realized he took the comment more seriously than I meant.
    “I didn’t mean it like that, Simon. Don’t be mad; I say stupid things sometimes—it’s a sickness.” I brushed the dust from my pants and stood behind him.
    “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” he said with a lengthy sigh, “but it’s something you need to know. For short-term relationships it’s no biggie, most aren’t a stranger to interbreeding, but if it gets serious, you need to consider how much it means to you. Even with gloves, I’m afraid it’s not possible.”
    I hugged his arm and silently wondered how Justus managed to bottle his passion. I could barely contain mine around Logan.
    Simon peered down at me with an angelic face. “Still want to give it a go?”
    He was incorrigible . “I could never be with a man who smokes a pipe and wears a pub cap while playing Clue, just for the effect.” All smiles, I leaned in and gave him a light peck on the cheek.
    “Call that a kiss? I’m a fan of the French Revolution.”
    I shoved him toward the steps when a dirty box beneath the staircase caught my eye. “Has anyone looked through that,” I asked.
    “We’re out of time and I don’t feel like posing for another bloody masterpiece of clay. Bring it along and I’ll return it later. Of all his progeny, not one of them was willing to claim Samil’s inheritance. All of this will go to the Mageri, or the fanciest junkyard in Cognito.”
     
    ***
     
    I stood in the doorway of Justus’s hidden study. “You guys have been in here all day with that box. Do you want to tell me what’s in it?”
    Justus sat behind an old heavy desk, rubbing his tired face in his large hands. The skin on his brow pushed around like putty. He released a heavy sigh, dropped his arms, and leaned back until the chair creaked. “It’s HALO business.”
    “Simon isn’t part of HALO.”
    The sound of overpriced wine washed down his throat as he emptied his glass and set it on