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Tanner squeezed Devon’s shoulder. “Come on, kitten, up you go.”
“Someone stood on my foot,” whined the hellcat. “It hurts.”
“To stand?” he asked.
Devon shook her head. “No.”
Tanner flicked a hand. “Then get up.”
Piper snorted at him. “Dude, you are stone cold. Carry her or something. You’re supposed to be her white knight.”
“Speaking of white, Harper keeps saying there’s no such thing as white chocolate,” Khloë groused to her mate, using a napkin to dry her lipstick.
Keenan sighed at Harper. “Did you really have to tell her that? She’s gonna whine about it all night, and I’ll be the one who has to listen to it.”
The sphinx grinned. “You have fun with that.”
“Teague!” hollered Khloë, waving.
Her pulse skittering, Larkin tracked the imp’s gaze. Striding toward their table, he flashed his anchor a grin that made Larkin’s stomach churn with jealousy; her demon didn’t like it either. But then his gaze slid to Larkin, and his grin widened as it became something else—something sexy and warm and purely for her.
Stopping in front of her chair, he stroked her hair. “Hey there, baby.”
Larkin smiled, unable to pretend to herself that she didn’t like his use of the endearment. “How’s it going, Black Beauty?”
“Better now.” He helped her stand, chuckling when she stumbled. “Easy.” Ignoring her insistence that she could do it herself, he slipped her jacket on her. “Now let’s go before you pass out.”
Affronted, she huffed. “I won’t pass out.”
“Uh-huh.”
The hand on the small of her back steered her away from the table and out of the bar. As they all walked to the elevator, she sniffed at the sight of her friends leaning against their guys . . . only to frown when she realized she was letting Teague take some of her weight.
Too tired and mentally fuzzy to care, she didn’t push away from him. Or step back when he held her close in the elevator. Or argue when he insisted on helping her climb the basement stairs of the club.
But she did telepathically tell her demon to stop sending her images of him fucking her hard.
The entity, being the little bitch that it was, didn’t listen.
Outside the club, Teague guided Larkin straight to Saxon’s truck. He’d never seen her drunk before. She was cute as fuck. Sniffing and huffing and frowning. He should have guessed that his prickly harpy would turn even pricklier when smashed.
He wasn’t surprised when she passed out during the journey to her complex. She was gonna be pissed about that tomorrow. The idea made him smile.
When he arrived at her building, Teague lifted her out of the car and hoisted her up. She slumped against him, her arms dangling over his shoulders. As he carried her to the main door, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. She was going to be mad at herself for this, too.
Tanner held open the door for him while keeping his mate plastered against his side. Teague tipped his chin in thanks and breezed into the lobby. There, Levi and Piper were walking into the elevator. Teague followed them inside, closely followed by Tanner and Devon.
Teague didn’t miss how the other two males watched to see which button he’d push on the panel. They clearly wanted to see if he knew where Larkin’s apartment was—that would be a clue as to if she truly was his girlfriend.
As it happened, Teague would have had no idea what apartment she lived at if Piper hadn’t telepathically told him mere moments ago.
A short elevator ride later, he strolled along the hallway toward Larkin’s front door. Piper came to his rescue again, fishing the harpy’s set of keys out of her jacket and then unlocking the door. Teague thanked her, took the keys, and then carried Larkin inside, closing the door behind them.
Her apartment smelled like her. Rich and heady and feminine. The living space was bright and spacious. No bold colors or frills. The tones were gentle and earthy—mostly pastel shades that gave it a calming feel.
Walking along the hall in search of her bedroom, he saw that the ‘gentle and earthy’ look continued throughout. Finally reaching his destination, he carried her inside. The space was soothing with its crème and lavender color theme. There were no throw pillows or unnecessary accessories on his harpy’s bed. That made pulling back the duvet easier.
He placed her keys on her nightstand and then laid her carefully on her bed. Her head lolled to the side, but she didn’t otherwise move. He managed to remove her jacket and shoes without jostling her too much. Not that it disturbed her sleep—she was totally out of it.
Suspecting she might be uncomfortable sleeping with her hair braided—okay, fine, he wanted to see that glossy curtain free around her face just once—he gently removed the hair tie and then carefully unraveled as much of the braid as he could reach.
