Now I’mreallysuspicious, because Anton isn’t laughing, nor am I. They’re all hiding something.
Jas, however, rolls his eyes at all of them and turns back to Kit. Our fellow cuddler looks extremely fidgety and pink, but he clears his throat to croak, “Okay. That’s gonna fall under I’ll trust you, then.”
“You’re making me look bad, shrimp.” The smirk that takes over my love’s face is devilish, so I stop worrying about the others and focus on how much better he looks than when we got to this room earlier. “I haven’t taken a leap of faith for you, and you’re takingtwofor me now. I’m not a royal who enjoys being in debt.”
“Jasper, you’re not a royal who enjoys much at the moment, andthatis why we’re doing this.” Kit pushes his floppy hair out of his eyes and sighs. “But teaching me will help me get a stronger basis for the classes you TA and the stupid Games. That’s a good payback in my book, especially if you behave while we do it so we can build the whole ‘trust’ thing.”
“Everyone is teaching you, so no dice.” The prince frowns as he looks around for a moment. “And everyone had a surprise for you tonight but me. That’s another mark against me because Anton had books, Zavvie found movies, Salem brought sweets, and Oriel… what the fuck did you do again?”
The crow eyes Jasper carefully as he pulls out a very soft-looking stuffed animal with glittering jewel eyes. It’s probably a raven, but it looks enough like a crow that he can say it is. “I brought spoils from my hoard—and I even made sure it’s clean and magic-residue free.”
Kit’s eyes widen as the emo demon hands it over, and he squeezes it to himself tightly like it’s going to anchor him to reality. “Oriel! This is… really… Damn. It’s really helpful.”
“I know. It gives you something to hang onto if you’re crashing out here.”
Jasper growls again, and his expression turns to a pout. “See? How in Hell’s rings am I going to pay back debts when I’m being constantly outshone? This is bullshit.”
I lean in, looking at him seriously while Kit is admiring the sparkly and squishy gift. “You’re the Prince of Hell, Jasper. I imagine you can think of something nice to give him, if you really want to be even. Monetary value isn’t the reason he likes that thing, even if it has black diamonds for eyes.”
His lips curve as he looks down at me fondly, and I feel my tails swish happily. IlikeJasper showing emotions—especially ones that don’t fall into his Wrath line. If Kit is helping him bring them out, it will only benefit allof us, including me, and it would cement my belief that he really is our last puzzle piece.
I just have to encourage everyone to continue behaving like we weren’t raised by fucking psychos, so we don’t scare him away.
Panic Room
Kit/Kat
Squeezing the stuffed bird tightly, I press my lips together as I try not to show the massive amount of emotion rocketing through me.
Since I arrived at Discordia, I’ve gotten more gifts and kindness than I have in… ever. The guys weren’t all welcoming from the start, nor have they always behaved like I’d prefer. But over time, the relationships between us have slowly grown to be so fucking important that it scares me, and now, even Jasper is acting like he has a shred of decency. I don’t quite know how to handle it because a part of me—this small, sparkling pink part that feels like it’s cracking through the other dark colors inside—is flooding me with what I assume are ‘girly’ feelings.
That part is probably responsible for all the steamy, tingly feeling about them, too, and it needs to get a grip.
“KK? Are you okay? You look… angry and happy simultaneously.”
My gaze moves to Xerxes, who has the hint of a smirk on their lips as they study me. I forget they are extremely talented in deciphering emotions because of their lineage, and hiding things from them is next to impossible. I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat and then clearing it. “Yeah. I mean, I will be once I get some of those tasty snacks Salem got. It’s not like you to order things rather than make them. What happened?”
Salem wrinkles his nose and sighs. “Time, KK. We decided to do this with very little time to prepare, and you know that I only bake from scratch. It’sthat sliver of pride in me, so I had to order out rather than cheat by using something truly awful like a mix.”
I frown at him, wagging a finger. “Don’t be so judgy. Some people don’t have the time or physical ability to cook like you. Pre-prepared meals or mixes make it possible for those with disabilities to experience the same joy you do in the kitchen.”
The panda gives me an exasperated look as he holds up a pretty tray of sparkling, sugary treats. “Duh! Iknowthat, and I’m not being salty about everyone having the chance to get their Julia Child on. I’m just a cooking snob inmykitchen and in how food is preparedhere. However, I should add that this shit comes from one of the most coveted bakeries in this section of Hell… but they rarely serve the elite, only the normies. Their shit issomuch better than the fancy-pants places most of us annoying rich guys buy from—trust me, you’lllovethese cupcakes.”
I wait for him to bring the plate closer so I don’t have to move. Jasper and Zav are whispering to one another, but I don’t think they would be happy if I scampered off. I’m doing my best to shut them out so I’m not eavesdropping, obviously, and I don’t want to shatter this very cozy moment. Once Salem gets close enough, I take one of the pink, purple, and blue confections that smell like heaven and make my stomach rumble eagerly. He looks at me with a soft heat in his eyes, and I blush as I duck my head.
These damn boys are going to give everything away before I’m ready to tell the others, I swear to fuck.
“There you go, KK, but… just as a warning? Eat slowly. They’re made of—” His eyes widen when I look at him after a big bite of the large cupcake. “Uh, they’re made with crunkleberries, crunkle syrup, and crunkle icing?”
Oriel blinks. “Well, that’s going to be fascinating.”
“I estimate the effects will set in within about five minutes, especially with that concentration,” Anton says as he tries to hide a smile. “Salem, you’ve just gotten KitKat high.”
“No. No, no, no,” I groan as panic floods me. “The last time someone gave me a lot of drugs… it did not go well.”
My body locks up, and I look around with a wild expression. I feel scared and trapped, even though my brain knows that I’m safe. Instinct is pushing hard to get me to move, to hide, to get the hell out of here until I’m locked away from the men who can hurt me.
But then the arm around me tightens, and I feel the broad chest rumble a little before lips touch my ear to murmur, “You are safe. You are among friends. You will not get hurt here. Breathe, shrimp.”
