Page 9 of Fatality on the Field

Arching a brow at her statement, I nod. “Sounds like a plan. If Damon and Angelo can mix, that would be good. I’m sure Slade and Iggy would like to be unrumpled and smelling nice.”

Slade gives me a thankful smile, dipping his chin as he says, “That would be great, actually. Come on, Iggy. We should take advantage of that offer before we get re-assigned because the others have arrived with the rest of the food.”

I snort as Iggy drops his bowl on the counter like it’s burned him, and heads for the door. He’s pretty fastidious about his appearance and demeanor, so not bitching about the others going first was likely a stretch for him as it was. “See you soon. Clean up your messes; we’re guests, you know.”

My siren’s eyes widen at that, and I have to bite back a laugh as he moves to the door with a nervous bunch to his shoulders. I don’t think Iggy’s ready to have some sort of fuck fest in a common shower area, but I definitely think encouraging them to explore is the way to go. Kat and Rogue both give me not-so-surreptitious thumbs up as the boys leave, and I turn to see Liam hiding a smirk in his tasks as well.

Everyone knows they have shit to work out, so Iggy better watch his back if he fucks up—I think Slade has gained a fan club across the realms.

“We have returned,” the deep voice says as the door to the dorm opens, and the entire crew of supes whips around to see the huge shark demon enter with a large bundle of something on his shoulder. “And we were successful.”

Kat grins a bit, and I realize that she’s used to the big man being very blunt. “Just in time, Slash.”

“I would not want to disappoint, little demon,” he replies as he strides over to the sink area to set the bundle in front of Salem. “That would vex me.”

A snicker erupts from behind him, and the crow, the prince, and the two blond sporty shifters follow him in. The smartass was the emo demon, of course, and he gives us all a cheeky grin as he shrugs. “Stealing shit with a master thief isn’t very hard. We don’t deserve a lot of praise, but I’ll take it anyway.”

“You didn’t do shit,” the prince mutters with an eye roll. “My TA access allowed us in; it wasn’t like a fucking heist, O.”

“I know where everything is, Jas. Of course I was integral to the mission. It’s not like you fetch food for Salem ever.” The dark-haired demon hands his load off to Liam, who looks surprised, but takes it anyway. Oriel makes a beeline for Kat, ruffling her hair fondly as he puffs up. “Thus, I am still accepting praise from one and all.”

Damon snorts from his spot, mixing as he and Angelo share smug expressions. I suppose they’re not impressed, and I can see why. These guys are at the top of the food chain at this place, so nothing they do is truly outstanding; it’s their turf and they’re able to do just about anything they want.

“Good thing I’m not expected to give it,” Rogue snarks back. “Going grocery shopping isn’t exactly ‘hero worship’ behavior.”

She really makes me smile; no one is above getting the business from her.

“Is this stuff almost done?” Lucas squints at the people working as he and Archie place their bundles within reach of the kitchen helpers. “I’m hungry as… well, a bear. And that’s never good.”

Chuckling, I walk over and kiss his jaw lightly. “Don’t worry, babe. I’m pretty sure we have everything well in hand. Once Iggy and Slade come back from their cleanup, some of the demons will pinch hit on prep, and we’ll have this done soon.”

Salem raises an eyebrow at me, but smiles broadly. “That’s it on the nose, Morgana! If we keep switching around and spreading out the load, we’ll all be squeaky clean and ready to feast by the time it’s all done. KK can run the lines when it’s my turn to shower.”

“I call going next with her!”

Everyone looks at Oriel in puzzlement, except for my new friend, who has panicked eyes for a second followed by a scowl. She thwacks her meat tenderizer on the board hard as she growls, “I don’t shower with people, O. You know that.”

He gives her a confused look as he scratches his chin. “You do every damn day, KK. You’re fucking weird about the bathroom, but we know why now. Not like anything has to change ‘cause you hid from us all the time, anyway.”

“That’s true, little demon.” The shark jumps in before his prince can bite out a retort, and I see the dragon demon scowl now that his moment is ruined.

That was definitely on purpose—good for him.

“Yeah, KK,” the gorgeous cobra demon says as they dust off their hands. “No need to change things up. I’ll escort you and Oriel so more people get done at once. It’ll make everything faster.”

Oriel glares at Xerxes, and I have to turn away. Kat’s desperate to keep whatever happened last night to herself for a bit—which I get—but since the crow is being a bit more flirty than he was, I’ve certainly figured it out. Rogue has, too, by the look of her, and I think her men are exchanging their own looks. The kid is gonna have a lot of people in her grill once they all get it, especially if the crow doesn’t cool his jets a bit.

“That’s fine,” Salem waves at them. “Anton, Slash, and I can go after that. We’ll let Jasper and Zav go last. Seems fair since it’s not likely His Royal Pissypants will do anything but ‘supervise’ in the kitchen.”

Jasper puffs up a bit, looking like he’s going to have a tantrum when the fiery Kitsuné calls over his shoulder, “You can come help me with chopping, Jasper. It’s not a big deal, right?”

The look on the prince’s face is baffled, which tells me his culinary expert was correct about the prince never helping with this shit. However, I’m a bit delighted to see the grumpy asshole trudge over and begrudgingly stand next to his lover.

Shit, even he can learn, which means Kasp—wait, where the fuck is that dickhead?

“Where the hell is our cranky asshole?” I ask as I look around. “Did you lose him?”

Lucas snorts, shaking his head. “No, he handed off his shit to me before we came in, saying he wanted to shower and be done with it. I tried telling him that there was probably an order or something, but he’s a stubborn fuck.”