I rose to my feet. “I think it’s time for us to head out. Let the Vamp go. He has permission to kill anything sucking on me.”
“Even himself?” a man growled.
That sent me into a fit of laughter.
“Havin’ a good time, are ya?” Christian asked me while shaking free from the men’s grip.
I found his shirt and tossed it at him. “You better go before you wind up on a spit.”
He slid on his shirt and then circled his arms around my waist. “Is that so, Precious? You’d watch them burn me on the fire?”
“I’d make sure they didn’t eat you.”
He playfully kissed my neck. “Pity. I’ve heard I’m quite delicious.”
“You better get Blue home before someone puts her on the karaoke machine.”
Christian sighed dramatically. “It’ll be a blessing to not hear the shenanigans of fifteen wee ones. Finally, I’ll have some peace and quiet.”
“Admit it—you’ll miss them.”
“Like I miss the plague.”
I glanced at a couple dancing by the roses. “I’m thinking of giving my pay to the other victims. Lenore’s taking care of the alphas, but I feel guilty about the rest.”
Christian frowned. “You can’t just be giving away all your money every time you have a job. You need to build your finances. That’s the only way to survive.”
“I know, but I feel shitty about the whole thing. After talking to Ren, I can’t stop thinking about all those people I lied to. Some of them lost children. Maybe they’ll accept a compensation package for sharing their stories, and if they don’t, I’ll donate their share to charity. Don’t judge me. I didn’t come from money, and I survived just fine. Sometimes it feels like we get paid too much for these jobs. I know I need to save it, and I do, but it feels wrong to keep it all. Even Viktor gives some of his away.”
“Fine, Mother Teresa. Just don’t come weeping to me in a hundred years because you can’t afford a hamburger.”
I tapped my foot against his ankle. “I’m a skilled scavenger, remember? I can talk any man out of his onion rings.”
His eyes twinkled with the memory of how we met. “You never stood a chance, Precious.”
“Not against the Lord of the Onion Rings. I’ll meet you back home.”
We fell into a deep, passionate kiss. His arm snaked around my lower waist, his hand cradled my neck, and I gave him all of me. Maybe I didn’t have much to give, but everything I had was his. My heart, my soul, my family, my friends, my past, my future, my secrets…
Well, maybe notallmy secrets.
When our kiss simmered to a few lingering pecks, I fell back on my heels. People were staring, mostly women who undoubtedly wished their man would kiss them like that.
He caressed my cheek. “I’ll be on my way to take the drunkard home.”
“Keep the bed warm.”
That put a twinkle in his eye as he hurried off.
I found Crush, who was sitting at the end of a table, Harley at his side.
I patted the dog’s head as he licked my elbow. “I’m heading out.”
“This early?” a woman said in disbelief.
Crush chuckled. “Sometimes I wonder if she’s really mine.”
I smacked him on the back of the head.
