“You don’t get to speak to?—”
Snorting, I hold my hand up. “I’m no longer interested in letting arrogant dragons tell me what to do. Everyone with a pulse knows that, Your Highness. Rogue and I want to spend time with Kat, and the rest of the room has come to an excellent compromise. You don’t have to go home, but you sure as fuck can’t stay here.”
He looks even more furious at my declaration, but Rogue points a finger at him menacingly. “I’m not exactlystableat the moment because one of my mates is missing in action. It’s seldom that I use the magic of my hybrid side, but if I do, this room is going to get pretty uncomfortable for everyone very quickly. Fear is good for battle, butmydemon side is much better forprivateencounters.”
I blink, then cover my mouth as I laugh. While I’m not comfortable with the idea of a half-Cubi infecting the entire room, and IknowKat isn’t, her threat makes the prince blanch. “Lust fog in ten… nine… eight… seven…”
The pretty demon with long hair looks at his caliphate members sternly. “Our Kit Kat isn’t ready for that privately, much less in mixed company. Get out, shoo, let’s go… all of you!”
I watch as the demons in the kitchen set their finished treats on the counter, then the ones at Kat’s feet rise. They pat her hand or shoulder lightly, as if reassuring her, and head for the door. I nod at my guys, letting them know I’m okay, and they move as well. It takes another few moments, but Rogue’s men and finally, the cute foxy demon pulls the prince along. Once they’re all out the door, I wait for it to shut and turn back to the women looking at me.
“Thank fuck. I thought Rogue was going to have to do it, and even I wasn’t really on board.” Kat looks at me in shock, and I shrug. “I have two of them I haven’t fucked yet because they’re earning their way into the club. Her powers would circumvent my wishes, and that isn’t something I’d want to deal with when we get home.”
Rogue nods sagely. “Reb being missing is even harder because we haven’t mated yet. I was sort of doing the same thing sincehe fought the family and stuff harder than he should have. You should think about that, Morgana. Regret is a bitchy elephant sitting on my chest at the moment.”
Kat licks her lips, her expression nervous as she admits, “I haven’t done… anything. I mean, with anyone.” We both stare at her, and she rushes to correct her statement. “I’m not a virgin; I had a bad… thing four years ago. It didn’t get handled well and um, well… I’m still getting past it.”
I frown, my gut clenching as my sense of justice aches to help her. Gargoylesandgorgons are motivated by that, much like vengeance demons, and female ones are even more sensitive to the plights of fellow women. “I’m sorry, Kat. Is that why you decided to hide who you are?”
“Fuck no,” Rogue interrupts. “This place isalldudes, and everyone I’ve ever known who was assaulted wouldneverchoose it if they had better options. The boy gag is about being here, right? It can’t be anything else.”
The small woman leans her face against the furry familiar for a moment, and I realize that it also functions as a support animal. “Um, well, yes. Rogue is right. Ihadto get out of my town because I was aging out of the foster system, and I thought college would do it. My grades and stuff were perfect, but somehow, no one accepted me but here. And I didn’t know squat about it or the supernatural world until I got here.”
Blinking, I suck in a breath as it hits me. “You were a truly lost one. One that slipped through the cracks and didn’t end up in an enclave; maybe because your demon side was semi-emerged and the Society thought you were being handled by hell.”
“Um… what?” Kat looks puzzled. “The guys have been teaching me, but I have to focus on catching up to Hell shit first. So I think they’ve mentioned a Society and that supernatural stuff up there is different and people like me are handled like… I dunno… sleeper agents, sort of? But that’s the extent of my understanding.”
Rogue sets the bird down and gets to her feet. “We’ve gota lotto go over, girl. Maybe we could get more comfortable and start munching on the food? I’m checking out this sweet kitchen. Which, by the way, is a lucky break. That hottie cook being your roommate and so clearly devoted? Nice.”
I chuckle as she strides over to raid the goodies and look at Kat. “She’s right. If we’re going to have girl talk, it’s the custom to be comfy and well lubricated.” Kat’s face looks like a surprised emoji, and I wave my hand to calm her. “I meant by alcohol, don’t worry. Girl on girl is kind of advanced for you.”
Oh, now she’s even more red-faced. That’s actually quite cute, and I bet her men damn near swoon in masculine pride when she does it.
“Morgana is teasing you. While I’m pretty sure we’re both pan, neither of us is hopping on anyone not in our families. Am I right, M?” Rogue is rifling through the cabinets now, obviously searching for the booze I recommended.
“Correct. Very dedicated to them, as I think you will be to your massive amount of dicks, eventually.”
“Ooh! That’s something we should talk about, too. She’s in for surprises, and I bet no one’s given her a real talk.”
The strangled sound coming from the hybrid demon makes me laugh again. “Why don’t you go find your comfy stuff and bringsome for us? I think Rogue could wear yours, but you’ll need to steal your cutie roomie’s for me. I’m fairly imposing because of my gargoyle.”
“Clothes. Yes. That’s what I should do. Get clothes.” Kat gets up, scurrying away with her familiar like her ass is on fire.
I look at Rogue, sighing softly. “That poor kid. She’s got no idea what she’s in for with evenoneof them, much less all, and she’s so jumpy that I know she has discussed nothing with them. Combined with her trauma, they could wait eons for her to be ready without us helping her along.”
“No kidding. I mean, anatomy of demonsandshifters, plus her lack of experience? I bet the girl had that one time with a very infuriating result and nothing else. She’s almost re-virginal besides maybe seeing stuff in books or media? That’s rough, though I will say dudes adore teaching women stuff, even if they suck at it.”
That makes me snort again, and I shake my head. “We can’t let her run into this stuff blind and have a heart attack, Rogue. Kat needs friends who are female, like Xerxes said. We can guide her and shit. But also… she’s gonna need to loosen up or we’ll get nowhere in the next twelve hours or so.”
“Agreed,” the pink-haired Fae says as she opens a cabinet and squeals. “And I’ve found the stash, so we’re in luck. Fae wine, Crunkleberry champagne, Ash Bourbon, Bone Tree scotch… this isswag.”
I arch a brow at her. “Do you think she knows about any of that? I’m not even familiar with most of it.”
Rogue grins as she pulls bottle after bottle out, then double-fists six by the neck to bring them into the living room. “So, livingwith two demons and a phoenix bartender has its benefits. Plus, I have a regular room at a bondage club and a regular stool at a big supe bar at home. I’ve been around a shit ton of liquor over the years. Some of this is used for sexy stuff by rich idiots at times, which I think is blasphemy. I’d love a Fae cart because it’d really help this along, but I’m not sure I could find one in Hell.”
“I, um… I have the sweats, but… I have to be really careful with things that make me intoxicated.” Our other friend comes out in the baggiest loungewear known to man with extras in her hands. “My… um, drugs were involved. If I have too much stuff, I get flashbacks and panic attacks.”
The urge to find this douchebag and make him suffer even more than Magnus is strong right now.
