Sassy Ever After: Bite My Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) by V. Vaughn Page A

says, “Grab my coffee? I’ll go save our table.”
    I grin at her because I know what she really wants is to make sure nobody steals the spot next to the hot guys. “Of course,” I say. I watch her walk over, and before she sits, she manages to strike up a conversation with them. At least I’ll get the cliff-notes version of what they’re up to by the time I join her.
    Alisha’s drink comes up quickly, and since mine is a fancier one that I expect will take forever, I carry the coffee over to her. When I hand it to my giggling friend, the drink maker calls out, “Juliet!”
    “Whoa.” A guy with hair to his shoulders hits the one who’s wearing glasses. “Romeo, did you hear that?”
    I roll my eyes because the star-crossed-lover joke is way overdone when your name is Juliet. Romeo looks uncomfortable, too, as his nostrils flare. I go get my drink, and when I come back, Alisha says, “These guys all work together and are here on vacation too.” She points at each one. “Dean, Byron, Alex, and Roman, but they call him Romeo.”
    Something about Roman intrigues me, and I take a moment to look at him. He’s not the usual kind of attractive. His nose is crooked as if it’s been broken, and his eyes are the kind of intense that’s scary. The expression on his face isn’t helping, either. He’s sitting next to Alisha at his table and scowling. But I’m drawn to him anyway. He’s just as built as the other guys, but his shirt is looser, and I think he might be less of a jerk. I notice a muscle along his jaw actually jumps as he glares at me, and it makes me wonder why he’s pissed off. When his nostrils flare this time, I react by doing the same. And that’s when I get it. The heavy odor of their combined testosterone floods my senses, and my stupid wolf snaps to attention. I grab my coffee and take a big swig to tamp down my primal urges before they all smell them. The hot liquid scalds my tongue, and I grimace. These guys are on the prowl, and I think Roman isn’t happy his friends are flirting with a human.
    Alisha continues talking. “They’re camping close to where we are staying, so I invited them to come join us one night.”
    I cover my mouth to keep from spewing out my second sip of coffee. “You did?”
    Maybe that’s why Roman is mad. Not all werewolves enjoy human female company, and I bet he’s one of them. I say, “I don’t know.”
    “Oh, come on,” says Alisha. “They’re all single. We’re all single.” She shrugs as she smiles at the guys. “You never know what might happen.”
    That’s what I’m worried about. I glance at the guys and hope they get my hint. “Alisha, we don’t know anything about them. We’re all just simple school teachers, and what are they?”
    “Firefighters.” Alisha sits back and crosses her arms in satisfaction.
    I want to groan, because there’s no way I’m going to keep Chelsea and Jayden away from these guys now. I’m also suspicious because the story sure sounds like a line to me. I glance at Roman again, and his gaze flits quickly back up my body as if he’s trying to hide that he just checked me out.
    “Really.” I squint in doubt. “Who’s putting out the fires in your town now?”
    “There are a lot of us,” says Alex as he smirks at me.
    Now I cross my arms too. “I’ll bet.” My chair scrapes as I push it back with the intention of getting up to find a cookie or something so I can get away from the intoxicating musky odor, but in my rush, I manage to hook a chair leg around the table and jostle it enough to make our coffees tip over.
    I move quickly to grab them before they spill too much, and Roman reaches to do the same. Our heads nearly touch, and he’s faster than me, but when he grabs the cups, hot liquid splashes on him. He pulls back as if it hurt, and I notice his hands are trembling.
    Alisha says, “Oh my gosh!” She gives him a napkin. “Did that burn you?”
    “No.” He glances at me as he says, “I’m