"I like it," he said. "What are the hours?"

  "Seven to midnight. While it's closed, several of the djinn we hired work in the bakeshop to make all the food you see in the cases that make up the front counter."

  "Why isn't it open during business hours?"

  "Not enough volume. Maybe if things pick up? But right now, it's a lot easier to bake while it's closed. Less distractions for the guards, fewer people for them to keep an eye on."

  "You should offer some narcotic and magical blends," Cynthia said, looking around.

  "Oh?" Cinnamon asked, looking at her.

  Cynthia nodded as she continued to examine the shop. "A lot of the creatures and demons that come here would prefer it to just plain coffee, and it won't affect them like it would a human. Though you might want to make it clear on the menu that some of those things shouldn't be consumed by human customers."

  "I guess I need to ask around some," Cinnamon said.

  "Oh! I can help you with that. I'll make you a list after today's meeting!"

  "Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Cinnamon said and smiled at Cynthia, who Mihalis noticed lit up with a happy smile back at her.

  "Now, let's go see the restaurant," Cinnamon continued, and they followed her next door.

  "Now, the dining room is finished, and the rooms upstairs for guests are mostly done," she told them as she got out a key and unlocked the door, "but the kitchen is still being built. There's been a few issues with smuggling in some of the equipment."

  "That's okay, we don't need the full tour," he replied. "Any idea when it'll be ready to open?"

  "Probably next week. We haven't started training any staff yet, and we're still looking for a chef to run the kitchen."

  Mihalis noticed a little spike in emotion from Cynthia when Cinnamon said that. From the way Cinnamon glanced at Cynthia, she'd obviously noticed it, as well.

  Going inside, he could hear the sounds of workmen in the kitchen, so he made sure not to head back there; whoever was doing the work, he didn't want Cynthia to see, as they were undoubtedly people Biggs or Oluf had smuggled in via the bi-weekly flights from Carson City.

  The dining area was actually quite nice. Oh, not five-star restaurant nice, but still comfortable, and the kind of place were the rich and powerful wouldn't feel out of place while they were discussing business or just having a meal.

  "Looks like the kind of place you'd find in a nice hotel," Cynthia said, looking around.

  "That's generally the idea," Mihalis told her. "While we want to keep them safe, we don't want them to think they're sitting in some safe and secure restaurant in Manhattan or Paris."

  Cynthia nodded. "It looks nice, and I'd love to see the rest of it when it's finished, but you know what all this is missing?"

  Mihalis looked at her, "No, what?"

  "A whorehouse."

  "I was thinking more of an in-house service," Cinnamon said.

  "I wasn't talking about for your special guests—they'll need special treatment, with who they are and all that. I was thinking of something for the others living here, our residents and the folks coming to your Auction House to do business. A lot of them are going to find their way down here sooner or later, to check out the coffeehouse, and maybe even the restaurant. A lot of those folks would be more than willing to hire a prostitute, and you probably don't want them hitting on the djinn you've got working there."

  Mihalis nodded slowly. "That would be another good source of information, as well as revenue. But we'd have to work something out to make sure the customers wouldn't end up dead or eaten. Same for our workers."

  "I'd be more than happy to set it up for you," Cynthia offered, putting a hand on him and leaning in closer.

  Mihalis smiled at her. He didn't know anything about running a bordello, and he knew none of his sisters did, either. "I'd like that," he told her, and the smile he got from her, as well as the emotional spike, was dazzling.

  "I'll get right on it!"

  "Just make sure you come up with something to keep our employees safe from the customers, and vice-versa, like I said."

  Cynthia mulled that over a moment. "That might be tough."

  "We have access to a high-level enchanter. So if we need something made, we can get it."

  "We do?"

  He nodded.

  "Who?"

  "Him," Caitin said and pointed at Mihalis.

  Cynthia's eyes went wide.

  "And her, too," Caitin added and pointed at Cinnamon, who scowled back at her.

  Mihalis almost laughed at the double take Cynthia did, looking back and forth between the two of them.

  " Both of you?"

  "Yup, both of them. Now, how about we go back to the coffee shop, get some food, and then Cinn and Cynth here can go do that meeting thing?"

  "Sounds good to me," Jade said, smiling.

  Lunch was, in a word, interesting. Caitin steered Cynthia into a seat between him and Cinnamon, then she sat next to Cinnamon, and Jade sat next to him. What made it interesting was, if she didn't have her free hand on his thigh, she had it on Cinnamon's. She wasn't throwing herself at either of them, but he could've ripped her clothes off and banged her on the table, and she would've been completely down with it.

  Because she was focusing a lot of lust on the two of them and wasn't trying to hide that at all.

  But other than that, lunch was pleasant. Each of the girls working there took a minute to come over and introduce themselves to him and thank him for the job—apparently none of them wanted to go back home, and they found Minden and Carson City to be both boring and constricting.

  Cynthia was actually charming, and didn't proposition him or Cinnamon—obviously she was changing tactics, for all that it was clear she wanted both of them.

  The coffee was enjoyable, and the food was good.

  When lunch was over, and they got ready to head their separate ways, he gave Cinnamon a hug, and then gave Cynthia one as well, leaving her standing there with a slightly befuddled look on her face.

  "Yeah, she's definitely hot for you, and Cinn. I was waiting for her to proposition me and Cait!" Jade said with a grin.

  "I'm wondering if part of why she's so hot for us is because 'cubi are sex demons and she's the daughter of a devil that's focused on lust."

  "You know, if you don't bed her eventually, there's going to be problems," Caitin pointed out.

  "That's why I'm sorta hoping Cinnamon does."

  "That'll only delay the issue."

  "Maybe I should walk around as 'Nega-Lion'," he mused.

  "That might dissuade others, Mike, but she's already got her sights set on you," Jade said, looking thoughtful.

  "That's what I'm afraid of."

  "Well, no one says you need to figure it out today."

  "Besides, you did promise Beri you'd take care of her," Caitin teased.

  "With all the lust Cynthia was giving off at lunch, trust me, Beri's going to be very well taken care of!" Mihalis growled a tad lustfully himself.

  #

  Cinnamon sighed as they finished their daily meeting. The hug Mihalis had given Cynthia had put her in such a good mood, Cinnamon was actually reassessing her opinion on sleeping with the cambion. If there was ever anyone who fit the definition of 'starved for affection', she was starting to think it was Cynthia.

  At one point during the meeting, she'd reached over and patted Cynthia on the thigh and smiled at her, and the look she'd gotten in return was like the sun coming out on a gloomy day.

  "Cynthia, how long will it take you to get that list of things we should be adding to the coffee for our supernatural customers?" she asked as they all stood.

  "Oh, I can do that now; say, thirty minutes?"

  Cinnamon smiled at her, and leaning over, she gave Cynthia's ass a light stroke. "Thanks. Find me when it's done."

  "Of course!" Cynthia said brightly and all but danced out of the chambers. Cinnamon smiled; this definitely had possibilities.

  "Excuse me, Cinnamon?"

  Turning, she saw Hengity was looking at her with a curious expression.

  "Yes?"

  "Has Michael taken Cynthia's oath?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "Has he taken her oath? The two of you took her out this morning, and she's been very focused on you since then. I was wondering if he'd sworn her to him?"

  "Oh! Well, it's a little different with Earth demons than with djevels."

  "Different? How?"

  "We don't get power from it like you do with djevels."

  "Then why do it?"

  A little alarm bell went off in the back of her head. She remembered what had happened with capturing the biskop and how they'd been able to use their 'cubi powers on him.

  "I didn't say we don't get power from them, it's just not like what you're used to from your former prince." She thought about what Mom Estella had told her, that djevels were 'power pyramids'. "You see, we have to touch them and spend some time with them to harvest it, it's not a constant connection."

  Hengity nodded, looking thoughtful.

  "That explains why you all have sex."

  "We don't have to, but with Earth demons, it makes it easier to set the link."

  "Ah, so Prince Michael would not have to have sex with me to take my oath."

  "Wait, what?"

  Hengity continued on with his train of thought. "I was worried that he would not be able to take my oath because he would not be able to have sex with me. But you say this is only with the Earth demons, and not with us djevels."

  "Who told you he was a prince?" she asked, drawing herself up and staring him in the eye, her wings spread slightly.

  Hengity's eyes went wide, and a look of panic appeared on his face. "I'm sorry, Mistress! I meant no insult or harm! I did not know our prince wished it kept secret!"

  "Who told you?" she repeated.

  "Ärsyttävä told me! He said Lord Ennakoida had figured it out, which is why he has not tried to take Bartertown from him; instead, he seeks to improve his stature so when the time comes he can present himself to Prince Michael to give his oath!"

  Cinnamon almost froze at that. They thought Mihalis was a djevel prince?

  "How did he learn of this?" she asked him slowly.

  "Our scholars recall that there was once a race of winged djevels that lived among us who left us to live here long, long ago. They had thought them destroyed by the lions, and yet here you are."

  "There has to be more to it than that!"

  "When he died, he reformed, just as we all once could do back before our world was taken from us! He can eat djevels with ease, and the lions fear him! We have heard that he even killed one!"

  "I'm surprised you heard about that," Cinnamon said, relaxing a little.

  "So, he really is a prince then, is he not?" Hengity asked, with the look of a kid asking about Santa Claus and hoping beyond all hope to hear that yes, Santa is real.

  Cinnamon bit her lip and thought a moment.

  "I'm not allowed to answer that question," she finally told him. "Don't go around talking to anyone else about this, either. Understand?"

  "Of course!" Hengity said and bowed to her, while trying to hide his elation. Lord Ennakoida was right! Michael, the incubus lord, was a prince!

  Turning around, Cinnamon immediately headed off to her office.

  " Reagjin, if you tell anyone about this conversation, I'll have words with my father, and then your father, understand? "

  " Why? What are you worried about? This is downright hysterical! " Reagjin replied, all but laughing in her head.

  " Because I need to talk to Mike first before anyone else does. If he hears this from somebody else because you told him, I'm sure he's going to pop in there and kick your butt all the way around the mountain ."

  " Okay, fine! I won't tell anyone. When are you going to tell him? "

  " Right now, obviously. "

  " I seem to recall him having plans for Beri… sure you want to interrupt that? "

  Cinnamon stopped and thought about that just as there was a knock on the door. Looking up, she saw Cynthia there with a folder in her hand, wearing a very expectant look on her face, and nothing else.

  " Oh, and I think somebody else deserves a little something as well, don't you? " Reagjin teased.

  " Yes, I certainly do ."

  Smiling, Cinnamon looked at Cynthia.

  "Why don't you come in and lock the door behind you?"

  Cinnamon almost laughed as Cynthia nearly stumbled as she all but leapt into the room. This, this was going to be, fun .

  What Would You Do…

  Mihalis yawned as he walked into the kitchen, with Kerrie under one arm, and Taeria under the other. After a very enjoyable afternoon with Beri, he'd gone to bed early last night, along with Azure and Rika, to reward them for their studies, as well as to let Azure practice what she'd been learning on him. After that, he had to reward Talin for taking the lead on dealing with Biggs, then came Taeria, Kerrie, Caitin, and Jade. Then it was just whoever he decided to grab next.

  The others were already eating breakfast. He'd let Kerrie and Taeria drag him into the shower after the others had used it, and was finally starting to understand his father's fascination with wet and slippery women.

  "Morning!" Beri said, setting a couple of plates on the table, then all but dancing over to him. Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him, laid her head against his shoulder, and just stood there pressed up against him.

  Smiling, he let go of Taeria and Kerrie, gave Beri a hug, followed by a kiss, then dragged her over to the table and sat down with her cuddled up against his chest as he ate.

  "I'd be jealous, but after last night, I don't think I have the right," Talin said with a smile.

  "I guess at some point I need to go get Tamerin and spend some time reminding her who she belongs to," Mihalis said between bites. "Where are my sisters this morning?"

  "Noje and Harmony already ate," Beri said from his lap. "They needed to be at the lab early today to oversee things. Natalie rarely gets out of bed before noon, seeing as there's usually someone in it with her. Cinnamon… usually she's up by now."

  "Oh?"

  "Noje did say that there were some very interesting noises coming from her room last night, and enough lust to power a small town—whatever that means."

  "Sure that wasn't us?" Kerrie teased.

  "We'd power a large city," Taeria joked between bites.

  "So what are our plans today? Azure asked.

  "Visiting family," Talin replied. "Tomorrow, the auction starts back up, and the day after that we're back on the campaign trail, so late tomorrow night, we'll be flying out of here to meet up with Steve in Boston."

  "Are we going to be in DC for the election results?" Jade asked.

  "No," Mihalis said, looking up at the others. "We'll be coming back here, and we're not going anywhere until the inauguration, assuming Steve can talk me into going there for it."

  "Azure and Rika want to go," Talin said nonchalantly.

  Mihalis sighed and nodded. "What about the rest of you?"

  "Definitely!"

  "Party!"

  "As much as I hate DC, it'll be fun!"

  "If it makes them happy, then yes, I'm all for it."

  Kerrie, Taeria, Jade, and Caitin said, in that order.

  "Then I guess we're going. But other than the occasional trip to my parents' house on Lyon Peak so some of you can continue training, I really don't want to go anywhere for… well, for as long as I can get away with," Mihalis said with a thoughtful smile.

  "Morning!" Cinnamon said, looking both smug and tired as she joined them.

  "Just a minute," Beri said, and giving Mihalis a kiss, she slid off his lap, "let me get you some food."

  "Someone have a good night?" Taeria asked.

  "Yup."

  "Anybody we know?"

  "Cynthia."

  Mihalis looked at her in surprise. "You took Cynth to bed?"

  Cinnamon sighed, and even blushed a little. "She was just so needy -looking after the meeting and everything. So I figured, 'Why not have a little fun?'"

  "From what Noje and Harmony were saying, it sounds like it was more than 'just a little' fun," Kerrie said, snickering.

  Cinnamon smiled. "Oh, yeah. Having a lust demon as a father really gave that girl some abilities in bed, as well as a hell of a lot of power! I've never eaten that well before."

  "You didn't hurt her, I hope," Mihalis said and went back to his food.

  "Nope. But she's pretty much unconscious, up there in my bed. I figure after I've eaten, I'll go wake her up."

  "Do cambions eat food?" Jade asked.

  Cinnamon nodded. "Yup. She can feed off of sex a little, and she definitely generates a fair bit of power when having it. About her only ability is to amplify lust, both to ensnare others and to gain a little power. But overall, other than being great in bed, and having a demon's natural physical strengths, she's really not all that powerful."

  "She tell you all that?"

  "Nope. Pulled it out of her mind while we were having sex."

  Beri set a plate down in front of her, and Cinnamon took a bite.

  "So, what other powers did you use on her?" Azure asked.

  "Eh, just the empathy ones. That was really all I needed."

  "Why's that?" Rika asked.

  "Because she very much wants to be Mihalis'…"

  Just then a naked and well-used-looking Cynthia stumbled into the room, and coming up behind Cinnamon, she wrapped her arms around her and glommed onto her, closing her eyes and looking quite happy.

  " Annnd mine too, apparently!" Cinnamon said, giggling.

  Mihalis could feel it; Cynthia was all but broadcasting her contentment.

  "I think I better get Cynth here cleaned up," Cinnamon said, getting to her feet and taking a moment to dislodge Cynthia from her back, then turning and gathering her up in her arms.

  "Oh, Mike, I need a few minutes to talk to you in private after I've taken care of Cynthia and breakfast."

  "We'll be heading over to HoJo's to visit family," he told her.