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Carmen leaned into Raini. “Who the fuck is that bitch, and what is her problem with you?”
Raini tracked the sentinel’s gaze and sighed at the woman sitting at a table scowling. That scowl vanished in an instant when Maddox’s cold gaze landed on her.
“That’s Risa,” said Raini. “She’s my sister’s friend. She’s also one of the people who aren’t so comfortable with the recent news that circulated around my lair,” she added vaguely, not wanting to mention the psychic hellfire out loud.
Maddox didn’t move his glare from Risa. “Is she now?”
“I don’t get why they reacted that badly,” said Hector. “Lots of abilities can be positively lethal.”
“But nothing other than you-know-what can destroy a you-know-what-else without killing a person,” Raini quietly pointed out. “It’s natural that some would have reservations. Be honest, you’re not terribly comfortable with it either.”
“But I trust that you wouldn’t betray Maddox by harming one of his demons,” said Hector, to which his mate nodded.
Raini blinked. “Oh. Well. Thank you. You don’t know me, so I wouldn’t have expected that.”
“We don’t know you well,” began Hector, “but we know that you made a deal with Maddox that couldn’t have been easy for you to make. You never complained. Never went back on it. You kept your word because it means something to you. I know it couldn’t have been an easy ride, because I know Maddox. He’s a control freak.”
“You’re kidding,” Raini said dryly.
Her anchor only smiled.
“Your tables are ready,” the hostess announced. She guided Maddox and Raini to a cushioned booth, being sure to wiggle that ass of hers as she walked. Ugh. Flashing him a sultry grin, she said, “Here we are.” Whatever she saw on Raini’s face made her dial down that smile. Wise girl. She placed two menus on the table. “Your waitress will be with you shortly.” With that, she guided Hector and Carmen to a nearby booth, where they could keep watch on Maddox and Raini yet also give them privacy.
Scanning the menu, Raini bit her lip. “There are too many choices. Which is not a complaint.”
“Why not get the combo platter,” Maddox suggested. “It has miniature desserts—Red Velvet cupcake, Pavlova, Chocolate Pudding, Mango Meringue, and Angel Food Cake.”
“That does sound like a plan I can get behind.” Raini snapped the menu closed. “What are you having?”
“These.”
She looked at the picture of the three small glasses of beautifully presented chocolate mousses. “Good choice.”
“Drink?”
“Hmm, vanilla milkshake.” Raini glanced around, admiring the décor. Framed paintings of cakes, puddings, mousses, custards, and frozen desserts adorned the bright walls. So many delicious smells laced the air—dark chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, caramel.
It was relatively busy. Waiters and waitresses weaved around the tables, serving food or collecting dirty dishware. Talking and laughter came from the couples, groups, and families that were scattered around the large space.
Catching sight of Hector scanning a menu while Carmen shook her head in disgust, Raini smiled. “I like your sentinels more than I thought I would,” she told Maddox.
“And they like you,” he said. “But then, you make it impossible for people to dislike you.” He paused as their waitress appeared. After she’d taken their orders and left, he went on, “I’m quite sure that most of my demons were determined to dislike you so that they wouldn’t have felt guilty about not being welcoming toward you. But they didn’t manage it. You won them over.”
“Marcella and Euan still aren’t my fans, but they’ve stopped giving me grief.” Probably because they wouldn’t hesitate to ask me to free them from a haze, and they don’t want me to not feel inclined to help them, she added telepathically.
Most likely, he agreed. “The others have accepted you. They often ask when you’re going to transfer to our lair.”
Raini almost rolled her eyes. “We’re back to this again, huh?”
“It would seem so.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “I think you’ve learned by now that I like to get my way.”
“It’s pretty easy to sense, yeah.”
“So then you know I won’t let this go. You’ll be safer in my lair.”
“Yeah, you keep saying that. But I’m not unsafe in my current lair.”
His brow hiked up. “I didn’t say you were unsafe there. I said you’d be safer in mine.”
“I don’t see how. What I do see is that you’d feel better if I was under your rule.”
“I would, yes. Because I don’t believe anyone will protect you more vehemently than I would. Jolene loves you—I see that. She even seems to view you as family in a sense. But you don’t come first to her the way you do me. You’re my priority. Your safety and well-being matters to me on a level it can’t matter to Jolene because you’re not her anchor, you’re mine. So of course I’d feel better if you were part of my lair.”
