Page 175 of Sky’s Edge

“Just to say,” Nayden said to Tanyn, “she won me over.”

Oh.

Well then.

Lovely.

“I’m so glad she won you over,” Tanyn drawled sardonically. “That’s been pressing on my mind.”

“Now you can fuck off,” Nayden returned.

“Oh my gods, do you males behave like this all the time?” I asked.

They all turned to me with equally befuddled expressions on their faces.

“Behave like what?” Tanyn asked back.

“I think I’ve heard the word ‘fuck’ more in the last five minutes than I have in the last five years,” I explained.

“Does cursing offend you?” Uly asked curiously.

“No. It’s only when its usage is aided and abetted by an overabundance of testosterone that devolves into pissing in corners that I don’t find offensive, but I might strain my eye muscles with how badly I need to roll my eyes at it.”

Uly looked at Nayden. “Totally like her.”

“Kiss ass,” Nayden replied.

“Bro, she understands we’re stacked in testosterone,” Uly returned.

“For fuck’s sake,” Tanyn muttered.

But I busted out laughing.

When I was done, Tanyn growled, “Get over here.”

Since he was sitting in a chair, and I was sitting in one four feet away from him, I asked, “Over where?”

“Fuck it,” he said, got up, reached, pulled me clean out of my chair, almost doing the unforgiveable: making me spill my martini. He then sat back in his, arranged me on his lap, and said, “Here.”

Although I wasn’t in the habit of sitting on someone’s lap in company (or out of it, really), I couldn’t say I was uncomfortable.

So I didn’t.

I said, “Oh,” and then sipped my drink.

“Och, are we late? I hope we’re not late. I didn’t know if I should change,” Zyra said as she and Manny bustled in (well, she bustled, Manny strolled).

“You’re not late, Zyr, and we don’t dress for dinner,” Tanyn told her, pushing me off his lap that he’d just pulled me into so he could go to her and kiss her cheek.

He also clapped Manny on the shoulder.

But he repositioned us in the chair as Nayden asked for their drink orders and they settled in.

“You’re looking good,” Uly said to Zyra.

“Some tightness. And I think I’ll have an early night, because I have some fatigue,” Zyra said. “But other than that, fit as a fiddle.”

“Good to hear,” Uly said on a smile.