Xaedren met Keltyr's look with a smug one.
“You fuckedhim?!” Keltyr pointed at Xaedren as he stared at me with wide eyes.
Xaedren narrowed his eyes at Keltyr. “What's wrong with me?”
“He knocked you on your ass his first day here,” Kel huffed. “And you're a dick.”
I couldn't help it. At heart, I'm a smartass, and my previous life hadn't given me a lot of opportunities to let that part of me shine. So, I brightly said, “I happen to like dicks.”
Xae snorted a laugh, then went back to eating.
“Of all the people,” Rath murmured.
I swiveled my stare back to Rath. His hands were clenched into fists and his jaw was tight. My chest felt just as constricted. One of the perks of sleeping with Xae had been his lone-wolf attitude. I didn't think anyone would find out, especially not Rath. But then I went and told Rath I had sex. I could have made up an excuse, but I didn't. So, I couldn't blame Xaedren entirely for our secret coming out. But I never would have expected this from him. Why was he behaving like this? I thought it was going to be a one-night stand.
Not that I wouldn't mind something a bit more . . . just more.
Transferring my gaze from Rath to Xae, I felt my chest relax even as my heart sped up. Rath had made his choice, and it wasn't me. I made a choice too, and it had turned out a lot better than I thought it would. Instead of ignoring me and pretending nothing had happened, Xaedren defended me from Kel's advances and proudly sat beside me. No man had ever admitted to being with me before, much less been proud of it. It felt . . . fucking amazing. I would have kissed Xae right there if I hadn't known he'd be opposed to such a public display. Or maybe he wouldn't. He'd made a far larger scene by tossing Keltyr on his ass. But no, I wouldn't do that to Rath.
Damn it! Why was I worried about Rath? I should just kiss Xae. Or maybe just touch him. I glanced at him. His big body was just a couple of inches away from me. I leaned over until our shoulders touched. Xaedren looked over at me, met my stare, and did something that shocked the entire table. He leaned over and nudged my forehead with his.
“Holy fucking shit!” Keltyr leapt up and pointed at Xaedren. “What the fuck was that? Was that anaffectionatenuzzle? From you?! Youlikehim. Holy fuck!”
I hunched in on myself. Not that I was embarrassed about having sex with Xaedren. Quite the opposite. I was just as proud as he was, maybe even more so. Both for snagging him and for getting over my issue with his people. But I was still getting used to attention, and this was a private matter.
“Shut the fuck up and sit down,” Xaedren growled. “Who I touch and how I do it is none of your fucking business. And if you make Ember uncomfortable one more time this morning, I'll cut off one of your horns and shove it up your ass.”
“Holy shit,” Keltyr and I whispered together as Kel sat down.
“We'll be late for your training,” Rath said abruptly as he stood. “Come along, Ember.”
“But I haven't finished my—”
“Now!”
“Son of a . . .” I trailed off as I saw Xaedren raise a brow. “Berry.”
“Son of a berry?” Xae asked, his lips twitching.
“Yeah, it's a thing. People say that. I've heard it.”
“Sure you have.” Xae grinned, but that smile hardened when he looked across me to Rath. “He needs to eat.”
“He's had enough to sustain him.” Rath glared back at Xae.
“He needs more. He had a long,strenuousnight.”
“I'm fine!” I practically shouted as I jumped up. “Really, I've had enough to eat,” I said to Xae.
He grunted and let it go, but as I climbed over the bench, he cupped my ass, making me flinch.
“I'll see you later.” Xae lowered his hand and went back to eating.
“Uh, yeah. All right. Sounds good,” I stammered and stumbled over the bench. “See you later.”
Xae absently reached out a hand to steady me, as if he knew exactly where I was and what was happening with me even when he was focused on something else.
“Thanks,” I murmured.
