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“That just makes you an idiot,” Loki told him with a shake of his head. “I wouldn’t be stupid enough to make that kind of agreement, not with her. How are you doing, sweetie?”
Jasper and Saul exchanged a look, and Saul inclined his head.
“Loki,” the sadist thrust himself into the conversation with a devilish smile, “perhaps you should allow Saul to make the introductions before you open your mouth and get yourself into deep shit.”
“We already met a few weeks ago,” Loki replied with a smile, his eyes never leaving hers, “but by all means, introduce us.”
Saul gestured her to him, and Caera’s feet moved of their own volition, almost tripping over themselves as she hurried down the steps. “Caera, you know Master Loki. One of the youngest Masters in Avalon. He’s a player, so don’t take too much of what he says and does to heart.”
“Ouch. I’m wounded.”
Pulling her in front of him, Saul wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head. “Loki, this is Caera. She’s completely off-limits, so don’t get any ideas in that thick head of yours. She’s mine, as well as being Jasper’s half-sister.”
In a heartbeat, his dark eyes went blank. “What the fuck?”
Silence dropped in the pit like a bomb.
Loki met every single pair of eyes around him, one by one. He lingered longest on Jasper’s, then a grudging smile replaced his bewilderment. “Okay, okay, you got me.” He held up his hands. “Good joke, guys. I see you’re all in on it.”
“It’s not a joke,” Jasper said quietly. “It’s not a lie.”
“But…”
“She’s Jasper’s family, Loki,” Archie told him gently. “By blood. One of the few left.”
His jaw clenched as Saul sat, pulling Caera onto his lap, and those dark eyes were no longer shocked, but angry. “But if she’s blood, then that must mean—”
Connie leaned forward as though she could touch him and soothe the pain that was radiant on his face. “Caera experienced the same hell that Jasper suffered through, yes.”
It was fascinating to watch, even as her belly roiled with stress. Did everyone here know about the deplorable family secret she and Jasper were embroiled in? From Loki’s expression, it would appear that he was one of those in possession of that knowledge, but who else was in a position to judge her for her past?
“Jesus, it’s about time someone put those assholes down once and for all.” Loki scrubbed his hands over his face, then gave her a contrite nod. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Caera. That was rude, and I apologize for my behavior. It’s really nice to see you again, looking…better.” A wicked glint lit in his eyes as he slid a glance toward Jasper. “At least you’re several degrees more attractive than your brother.”
“Hey!” Archie protested with a laugh.
“Relax, kitten. I’ll slap him around later when he’s not expecting it,” the sadist warned.
Wide-eyed, Caera gaped as the group erupted into a war of words. Not heated, not cruel, but…she supposed it was banter. Humorous exchanges of threats, punishments, and little jibes at penis sizes.
She twisted to peek at Saul. “What’s happening?”
“Don’t worry about it, little rabbit. Trust me, this is normal. Wait until Atticus comes home with Alicia, and Braun and Bodie join the fray. It’s madness, but the good kind. This is how a family should be,” he added, rubbing his cheek against her ear as they watched the conversations bounce around the pit.
Madness was exactly right. Archie was almost falling off Jasper’s lap as she gave Loki a tongue lashing, while her sadist sat back and grinned, obviously enjoying his submissive’s feistiness. Thane was amusing himself by tossing insults into the mix, even though Connie was shaking her head and muttering at him.
“This is normal?”
“For us? Absolutely. We fight, we love, we drive each other stark fucking crazy, but when the shit goes south and one of us is in trouble…we rain hell down on the heads of whoever’s causing it.” His laugh rumbled from his chest through her back as Jasper swiftly gagged his sub with one hand and collared her swinging fists with the other. “Uh-oh, she knows better than that.”
“She does?”
“Mmm-hmm. Jasper tolerates her shooting her mouth off occasionally, particularly at Loki, but when she gets physical, so does he. He’ll cart her away next door in a—yeah, there they go.” His tone was cheerful.
Enthralled, Caera bit her lip as the sadist literally hauled his woman over his shoulder, ignoring her outraged display of temper, and strode out of the seating area like she didn’t exist. “W-What happens now?”
“Oh, he’ll give her a taste of one of his toys until she’s repentant, then fuck her brains out. Archie knows when she’s toeing the line and when she’s gone over it.”
Something dark inside craved to do the unthinkable and watch. Ears burning, Caera forced herself not to gaze longingly after them, or to imagine what toys Jasper possessed.
