A cold blast of air swept up the stairs, followed by the scent of blood. Maverick sniffed.
“The vamp’s back with our dinner. I’ll go deal with the carcass while you two fuckers help our mate dry off.”
“By the stars, I don’t need babying, Maverick!” Raven huffed crossly before sweeping out of the bathroom in a trail of fragrant steam.Brilliant.Thanks to the stupid incubus and bear, our mate was now pissed off and not in the mood for more sexy time.
Ugh.
62
Raven
As much as I enjoyed watching stupid human shows, I was not a fan of drama in my own personal life.
My males had sensibly left me alone after the ridiculous bullshit in the bathroom, started by Zane, it seemed.
Any remaining mood boost from my delicious merman-induced orgasms had long since faded. Now, instead of drifting on a cloud of feel-good hormones, I lay on the bed worrying about Zane.
If he couldn’t find Alaric, would he end up staying away until he did? Which meant he’d be stuck in some godforsaken wasteland forever. Yes, I knew I was being ridiculous. But I also knew Zane was not the best at making calm, logical decisions.
A photograph in a gold frame snagged my gaze. In it, a small boy smiled as he held up a fish he’d caught. I got up to take a closer look. Was that Alaric? Stars, what a cute kid.
“Yeah, it’s me,” my mate confirmed. He leaned against the wall, watching me, his damp hair combed. Unlike me, who still wore atowel, he’d changed into a pair of faded jeans and a tee. The denim hugged his thighs to perfection. And the rest.Sweet goddess.
I tore my gaze away from his much-too-appealing package and forced myself to look up.
“I’m surprised your dad has photos.Had,” I instantly corrected, remembering Tiberius was dead.
“It’s for show. This is—was—a guest bedroom. Dad liked to pretend we were a functional family when visitors stayed. It sold the illusion that he was an upstanding member of the magical community.”
My childhood had been lonely at times, but at least I’d been raised by people who cared about me. Unlike Alaric.
“I’m glad he’s dead,” I admitted with a small measure of guilt.
That made Alaric smile. “I think we can both agree it’s a blessing he’s fucking dead, my vicious little witch.” He pushed away from the wall and stalked across the bedroom. “You’re supposed to be dressed by now. Maverick’s getting twitchy.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s been, like, five minutes!”
“Ten, actually.”
“Ugh. Fine! I’ll pull some clothes on and be down in a minute.” The smell of roast meat wafted upstairs, making my stomach rumble. There’d been food at our bonding ceremony, but Zane had whisked us all away before I could sample any of it.
“Is Zane back yet?” Anxiety had my belly cramping.
“Missed me, pet?” My incubus swept in, shoulder-checking Alaric as he passed.
Seeing him smirk as if all was right in the world riled me up something awful. My magic flared, and without thinking, I blasted him with a fireball. He yelled when it hit him in the chest.
“Ouch! That hurt!” Clearly not that much from his rueful grin, although there was now a black scorch mark on his shirt.
“I think our mate needs her ass spanked.” He laughed at my feeble attempt to shove him back, and we both fell onto the bed.
“You’re the one who needs to be punished for being an ass to Alaric!”
“Aww, pet, it’s not my fault the vanilla popsicle has a degradation kink.”
“No I fucking don’t, you dick.”
“Yeah, you do. Everyone knows pranks are my love language. Now get your ass over here, sparky. We have five minutes before the bear comes up here, so let’s make it count.”
