The music is louder onceI step outside. Even while holding the tray with a tea towel, I can still feel the heat from it. After walking over to the tables, I put the large tray down. Elena, Rage, and Axle pass by me with the other trays of food as I walk back inside.
As I grab the two jugs of gravy, Elena comes up behind me. “Is there anything else you want me to take?”
“Plates, forks, and knives.” When I reach the back door, I stop and let Axle and Rage walk through first. “Oh, and napkins, salt, and pepper.” I take another step, then halt. “Can you get all of the sauces too?”
Rage picks up the apple sauce and takes the lid off, then brings it to his nose and takes a deep breath. “That smells good,” he murmurs, putting his finger in it.
“Rage,” I warn.
He stops and looks at me with innocent eyes.
“Don’t even think about it.”
His shoulders drop. “What do you have this with anyway?”
“It goes on the pork.”
He looks back at the jar. “I might give it a go.”
I smile and continue back outside with the gravy.
* * *
After dinner,Elena and I are standing by the house, chatting.
“Did you want another glass of wine?” Elena asks.
I lift the flute to my mouth and finish the remaining mouthful. “Yes, please.”
She fills it three quarters of the way, then fills her own.
“Is everything okay with you and Axle now?”
“Yes, and you were right. I should have told him earlier, but I’m the only ol’ lady here and I didn’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Well, they are gone now. I do admit I was glad to see them go.”
She turns her head, looking around outside, and sighs. “And those are no doubt the new ones taking their place.”
I follow her line of sight to two new women holding cards around a table with Viper, Cash, Twitch, and the other two sweet butts. The men cheer, then one woman seductively lifts her bandeau, exposing her breasts, and throws it at Twitch’s face. The men cheer again.
“Are they playing strip poker?”
“Yes. The men love it, obviously.”
“The other two sweet butts who live here seem okay.”
“They are. They’ve always been nice to me. I think they are here for a good time, rather than to claim a particular man as their own. Where’s Conan? I haven’t seen him since dinner.”
Giggling, I point to his kennel, where he’s fast asleep. “Everyone was giving him food. I think he’s in a food coma.”
Elena rubs her belly. “I know how he feels.”
“Babe!” We turn to see Axle standing by the bonfire, waving us over. “Come sit down over here.”
The fire is huge, and the closer we get to Axle, the warmer it gets. When we reach him, Elena walks into his arms and they kiss. I turn away to give them privacy and see Reaper and Demon sitting on the sandstone blocks around the fire. Demon leans back, blowing rings of smoke from his cigar. Reaper gives me a smile, so I wander over and sit on the other side of him.
“Are you having a good night?”
