Page 55 of Beasts of Mine

I appreciated that.

I said I like you, I told Evie myself, sitting a little straighter while I watched to see what she'd do. Evie blinked, looking genuinely surprised for a second before one corner of her mouth lifted.

“Well, at least someone around here is straightforward,” Evie told me, lowering her arms while her smile became more obvious.

I immediately looked at Malek.

His ears went backward.

Excellent.

A quiet sound came from Luca's direction, drawing Evie's attention away from us. Luca hadn't moved closer. He remained several yards away beneath the trees, sitting with his front paws neatly placed in front of him while he watched her with the patience he'd somehow been born possessing and I'd somehow been born without.

Evie looked between us.

“And you're the polite one?” Evie asked Luca, lowering herself into a crouch while leaving the space between them entirely up to him.

I stared at her. She'd known Luca for perhaps forty seconds.

How had I already become the problem?

Compared to him? That isn't difficult, Luca told Evie, glancing toward me before returning his attention to her.

Evie laughed.

My ears flattened.

I'm sitting right here, I complained to Luca, turning toward him while my tail hit the leaves behind me.

“I like him. He has manners,” Evie told me, pointing toward Luca as though she'd just produced undeniable evidence in a debate I hadn't agreed to have.

You've known him for less than a minute, I told Evie, standing because sitting suddenly felt inappropriate given the level of disrespect occurring.

“And he's already winning,” Evie told me, smiling widely enough that I finally realized she was enjoying herself.

So was I.

That was mildly inconvenient.

Luca glanced toward Malek, and something passed between them that neither bothered explaining. I'd ask later.

Evie's hand moved toward the larger camera hanging against her chest, but she stopped before lifting it. Her fingers rested near the body of it while she looked directly at Luca.

“Would you mind if I took some pictures?” Evie asked Luca, leaving the camera lowered while she waited for his answer.

Luca's ears moved forward.

You ask first? Luca asked Evie, watching her more closely as the leaves above him shifted and scattered narrow patches of light across his coat.

“Of course I ask first. Just because I want a picture doesn't mean you have to want one taken,” Evie told Luca, lowering herself onto one knee without moving any closer.

I glanced toward Malek. He'd told us she asked.

Seeing it was different.

Evie's entire career revolved around photographing wildlife. Most humans presented with three leopards in one clearing would have started taking pictures before any of us had time to object. She waited, and Luca studied her for several seconds before rising.

You may, Luca told Evie, stepping out of the deeper shade and into a patch of cleaner light near the creek.