“I’m saying she’s more than that.”
Reaper blinks again. “There is nothing more important than a pet.” He looks at me. “Tell him, Flame. Pets are cherished.”
I sigh and shake my head. “I think it’s his pet name for her.”
“Yes,” Reaper says. “That.”
“It’s belittling,” Orcus tells him.
“No, it’s not,” Reaper argues. “It’s cute.Andshe likes it.”
“How do you even know what she likes?” Orcus demands.
“How do you know what she doesn’t like?” Reaper counters, folding his arms. “Just because she’s yourlittle oneand Flame’slittle pantherdoes not mean shelikeseither of those names. So I’m tryingpet. And I happen to enjoy it a great deal. Just as I happen to enjoy her, too.”
Orcus looks ready to throttle Reaper—which is fascinating since Orcus is typically the patient one of our trio—but all three of us are distracted by a strange sort of roar from the bedroom.
Reaper is instantly on his feet.
Orcus and I are right behind him.
Only for us all to freeze as an adorable growl follows that roar. A veryfemininegrowl.Like the kind made from a little panther,I muse.
“Oh, shit. Did she just…growl?” Reaper asks, glancing back at us.
“Yeah,” Orcus breathes. “Yeah, she did.”
“Fuck,” Reaper groans. “Oh, hell, I hope she does that around my cock sometime soon.”
Reaper’s crass comment goes straight to my dick, causing me to harden just as the door opens to reveal adisheveled-looking Alina. Her pretty, dark eyes instantly find mine as she heaves a furious sigh.
“Can you please help me?” She trails off and gestures at the tangled mess of fabric around her torso. “I… I don’t…” She grinds her teeth, her expression filled with a heartbreaking mix of irritation and desperation.
I’m moving toward her before she can say anything else, already understanding what she needs. “Reaper, can you get us a knife?”
He clears his throat, likely trying to recover from his fantasy of Alina growling around his shaft. “Uh, yeah. What kind? Throwing dagger? Paring knife? Carving blade? A cleaver? Something thicker, like a butcher’s tool?”
I glance at him in exasperation. “Something that’ll slice through fabric like butter.”
He nods, his tattoos writhing along his forearm to his wrist as metal glints at the end. Within a few seconds, he’s holding a very sharp-looking blade. “This’ll do?”
“You are not using that on Alina’s dress,” Orcus interjects. “Make him some scissors instead.”
Reaper frowns but creates the item in his opposite palm and holds them both out to me. Only, Orcus grabs the one he prefers first and hands me scissors with a pointed look. “Hurt her and I hurt you.”
I roll my eyes. “My claws are sharper than both of those toys.”
“My promise still stands,” the Alpha tells me.
“I’ll only hurt her in ways she’ll like,” I counter, turning toward the wide-eyed female in the doorway. “Come on, little panther. Let’s get you out of that monstrosity.”
It’s a purposely chosen term, one that has her nostrils flaring. “I didn’t choose it.”
“I have no doubt that’s true,” I tell her as I close the door behind us and lead her through the bedroom to thebathroom. “All right, go stand in front of the mirror for me.” I could technically do this by the bed, but I want her to be able to see what I’m doing. We have to develop trust, and this seems like a good way to do it.
She swallows as she does what I request, her eyes meeting mine in the reflective glass.
“I’m going to work on snipping through the ties of your corset. You might want to hold the top against your chest while I do this so it doesn’t fall down.” Not that I would mind catching a glimpse of her tits—in fact, I wouldloveto see her tits—but I strongly suspect she’s not ready for that.
