Free Fabulous Beast by Unknown

can’t ask her out on the floor. Why shouldn’t I take her away from you?
    The casual challenge had an unexpectedly savage effect on Dev. He was not normally the possessive type, and even if he had been, he knew Tabitha well enough by now to know she was hardly the kind of woman who would play two men off against each other even if she got the chance. Hell, Tabitha wouldn’t know how to play that kind of game. But the knowledge didn’t lessen his purely masculine reaction to the blond beach boy.
    “I beg your pardon?” Tabitha was saying, glancing up at the stranger with a puzzled expression in her huge, sherry eyes.
    “I asked if you’d like to dance. The name’s Steve, by the way. Steve Waverly.” The man gave her another of his sunny grins, confidence radiating from every pore. He had assessed Tabitha’s companion and decided there was no threat from that quarter.
    “Oh,” Tabitha murmured, sounding rather flustered, but nonetheless pleased, “that’s very kind of you, but I’m really not much of a dancer, I’m afraid. Not much practice, you see. And I was right in the middle of telling Dev, here, about basilisks. And weasels.”
    “Weasels?” The stranger’s smile slipped a bit as he attempted to follow the conversation.
    “You use weasels to get rid of basilisks,” Tabitha explained kindly. “They might not actually have been weasels, of course. There is some speculation that they were mistaken for mongooses which do tackle snakes. And since basilisks may have been a type of snake, it makes sense that mongooses might…”
    She was interrupted by a muffled groan from the other side of the table. Instantly her head came around in frowning concern. Dev gave her his bravest smile. “Sorry, honey. My ribs are acting up again. You know the doctor said they would be sore for a few days.” He gingerly put a hand inside his jacket, testing the bruised ribs. “And I’m afraid all that exercise today might not have been the best thing for my leg. It’s aching a little. But don’t worry, I’ll just take a couple of aspirin while you have a dance with Mr.
    Waverly. Maybe that and another couple of drinks will deaden the pain.”
    Instantly Tabitha was on her feet, Steve Waverly completely forgotten as she rounded the table to take Dev’s arm. “You will not sit here and gulp aspirin and alcohol! Of all the silly notions. What you need is more bed rest. I should never have dragged you off to that artist’s colony this afternoon. How could I have been so thoughtless? And now I’ve kept you up till all hours when you ought to be sleeping. Come along, Dev. I’m taking you back to your cabin right now!”
    Dev allowed himself to be assisted to his feet, his fingers closing strongly around the handle of the cane as he smiled blandly at his puzzled foe. “If you’ll excuse us, Steve?”
    Tabitha seemed to remember Waverly’s presence. “Oh, yes, please excuse us, Mr. Waverly,” she said with a charming smile. “Dev is still recovering from a terrible incident back on St. Regis, you know. He needs plenty of bed rest. See you later,” she added rather absently as she took Dev’s arm and started him out of the cocktail lounge.
    They had almost reached the door when Dev pulled back slightly. “Just a second, honey, I forgot to leave a tip. You wait here and I’ll be right back.”
    “I could take the money back to the table,” she began earnestly.
    “No, that’s all right. Won’t take a second.” He patted her hand reassuringly and turned back into the crowded lounge. Using the cane with a polite ruthlessness, he forged a path back through the dancers until he found the table Steve Waverly occupied alone. The younger man glanced up in astonishment as Dev approached.
    “Listen, weasel,” Dev drawled in chillingly polite tones that immediately got Waverly’s complete attention. “I think we need to clarify a small matter here. Just so there’s no misunderstandings, the lady is private