The chime of my phone allowed me to wrench my eyes from Slade’s penetrating gaze.
UnBEARable: Carve out some time later for me too, Ice Queen. Please. I’d love to log in a few hours on your car.
Beaten but still Golden: He’d like you to be naked too. FYI. Streaks of grease on your skin is an added bonus.
Goddess above. Kellan was going to be the death of us both.
UnBEARable: Due to regularly scheduled bouts of being an annoying fuck, Kellan Jackson will not be arriving back to Golden Claw in one piece. Apologies for any interruptions to plans, but… he had it coming.
UnBEARable: But also… he isn’t wrong.
I pressed my hand to my cheek, unsurprised to find warmth under my touch. “Now, I need to know what brought that lovely pink to your cheeks,” Hunter said, leaning forward to cup the other side of my face. “It’s your color, baby girl. Especially when it coats your entire body.”
A slow panting breath was all I could manage under the circumstances. “You’re all going to be the death of me,” I repeated for the group. “I feel like a fucking virgin thrown in to be sacrificed to the beasts. And we all know I’m no virgin.”
Hunter snorted. “We don’t know that at all, baby girl. As far as we’re concerned, you were untouched before arriving on our doorstep.”
Slade shrugged, and I didn’t trust his calm expression. “Once they’re all dead, it’ll be like it never happened. That’s how science works.”
I blinked. “Uh, no. That’s not how it worksat all.”
He just smirked, and I narrowed my eyes on him. “You leave those poor, defenseless humans alone. They’re not even worth the few seconds it would take for you to track them down.”
We remained in a stare-off, and all the time he wore that infuriating smirk. I made a mental note to talk to him about this again later, since I doubted he had time now to hunt humans. Not with everything else going on.
The door to the dining room swung open and Florence hurried in. “Dinner is ready!” she called, setting down a hugebowl of pasta, which was soon joined by bowls of cheese, chili flakes, and other toppings. “It’s a chicken alla bosciaola, and it might be one of Gerry’s best dishes.”
Her eyes shone at the mention of the chef, and I swore I could see a twinkle of their budding relationship in her gaze.
“It smells amazing,” I said, leaning forward to breathe in cream, garlic, bacon and mushroom. “Thank you both for all the incredible food. You take very good care of us.”
She dropped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed briefly. “It’s our pleasure. And soon we’ll have our other boys home too, making sure they’re eating right. I’ll be back with the garlic bread.”
Moving at her usual rapid speed, she was gone and back in seconds, placing the tray of crunchy bread beside the pasta. Garlic butter dripped down the sides of the toasted loaf, and my wolf let out an appreciative rumble. Hunter liked that response, and his beast joined in, as he pressed his palm to my collarbone.
As our entitled alpha, he held a strong connection with my beast, and she frolicked to the surface at his call. Hunter’s black wolf was a powerful entity at the end of our tether, and I wondered how all of these connections would feel once our quintet was complete.
After a lifetime of loneliness and fighting every battle by myself, to feel them always there with me was an unexpected gift. I’d thought I’d hate it, but it had the opposite effect.
“Eat, mate,” Hunter told me, releasing me from his hold.
They’d wait for me as always, so I hurried to fill my bowl and dig into the creamy dish. Both alphas got started after they watched me eat my body weight in food, and when we were finished, Slade headed out to patrol while I visited Talon again.
Hunter wanted to come too, but I left him in the foyer with a thorough kiss. “I’ll be back up here soon and we can wait for ourboys together,” I said, and with a grumble he conceded that he had some work to get through.
“But I’ll be keeping an eye on that fuck. If he pulls you into the cell again, I will remove all of his limbs. And break his neck.”
With a chuckle, I patted his chest. “Okay, love. You can beat your manly chest if needed. I appreciate you going all entitled alpha for me.”
Hunter shook his head. “I know you’re patronizing me, little omega. And as a punishment, tonight might be the night that Kellan and I step up our plans for you.”
My brain exploded and my panties disintegrated.Poof. Gone.
“Yes,” I breathed, nodding like a damn bobble-head doll. “Yes. Please. I absolutely deserve to be punished.” His very satisfied chuckle filled the room, and with one last toe-curling kiss, he left me to visit Talon while he got to work.
“Sweet Honey,” the dragon rumbled, still propped against the bars as if he hadn’t moved since I left. “You kept your word.”
“Of course I did,” I said, forcing myself to move casually, though my wolf was in one hell of a rush to get us closer. When she released a mournful howl, I almost lost control and shifted.
