Ro shuffles the cards, making them dance in front of him and using a mixture of sleight-of-hand and his illusion magic to make them appear and disappear. He’s like a freaking magician and we’re all mesmerized for a moment before he snaps his fingers and starts dealing the cards.
He places down a card, and I snort. It’s got a picture of a pig on it and I don’t even know where it came from.
“Ah, shit. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Imagine it’s a Queen of Hearts.”
Snapping his fingers again, it then morphs into a... raw potato. He frowns down at it and snaps his fingers once more.
“What the hell is with these cards?” he mutters. With every snap of his fingers, the card morphs into something equally ridiculous and I can’t tell if it’s all part of his routine, or he’s genuinely annoyed by it.
I snort when he draws another card, and that one turns into a potato too.
My snort turns into a full-blown giggle when he looks over his shoulder at me, looking so damn affronted, it makes me lose it. Giggles overpower me, especially once Una and then Mona join in. It’s like a contagion of laughter with Hanna and Luna snorting and clutching their faces.
Fabian and Seb look slightly dumbfounded and it’s that which triggers even more laughter until my ribs feel like they’re fit to burst and my abs have had a full workout.
Roscoe tries once more and then drops the cards on the table, flopping back on the sofa and dragging me along with him.
“Sorry, girls. Guess we’d better try another day with a fresh pack of cards. One that’s not so damnweird.”
I snort again, and he tightens his hold around my waist, leaning his chin on my shoulder. We wind up watching movies until late, all together on every chair and spare surface, wrapped up in cozy blankets and snuggled up on soft cushions.
For a few hours, it’s bliss.
By the time people start to make a move and head off to bed, I can barely keep my eyes open.
My sleepiness fades though when I bully Dante into staying over, dragging him into my room. I’m then barely able to stopmyself drooling as I watch him carefully remove the shirt he’s wearing, folding them neatly and hanging it on the back of a chair that’s stacked with my semi-dirty clothes.
Once he’s down to just an undershirt and his unbuttoned slacks, he looks at me with that mesmerizing amber gaze.
“I’ve not shared a bed in a long time,” he breathes.
“You, er, don’t have to. If you don’t feel comfortable.” I feel kind of bad for making him stay. I just didn’t like the idea of him heading home alone. Not after today and how good it felt to have everyone around, happy and with our worries shoved in a box to deal with tomorrow.
“I know it’s not your usual hours for sleeping too,” I say.
He glances at the windows where it’s now the dead of night and raises an eyebrow. “It’s not far off.”
“Oh shit, are you wearing seasonal undies?” Roscoe exclaims, popping his head inside the door. “I think I’m wearing the same ones.”
Dante glances down and then shrugs with a surprising grin. “Ah, not today. Going commando.”
I blush as Dante slips off the rest of his clothes with zero shame before climbing into my bed. He holds open the covers and I strip off and shove an oversized shirt over my head before climbing in beside him.
Dante then glances over at Roscoe, who is still hovering by the door in his bright green holiday underpants, his tattooed chest fully on display.
“Are you getting in then, or what?” Dante asks casually, causing Roscoe to beam.
I wasn’t too sure he’d be into the whole bed-sharing thing, especially with his less than stellar history with my mages. Roscoe clambers into bed on my other side and plasters himself to my back while Dante wraps an arm around me, holding meclose to his chest where I can hear the slow but steady beating of his heart.
I’m exhausted after the day. That and the entire week is catching up with me, so it doesn’t take long for me to drift into a dreamless sleep.
