“Yeah, yeah, don’t stare.” Zane flopped into another gaming chair, spinning it in a half-circle.
Koa handed him a bottle of beer and a plate of wings, then asked if I’d like some, too. I shook my head, not a huge fan of wings and hating the taste of beer. He offered to fetch me something else, but I wasn’t that hungry. So he settled into his own chair, and I hovered uncertainly, drawn to the holographic table, but not wanting to disturb whatever important work the brothers were doing.
“Go ahead, beloved,” he said gently. “It won’t bite.”
Happily picking up a set of VR glasses, I put them on and stepped closer, running my fingers through the shimmering 3D projection of Evermere. The image rippled like water around my touch, then reconfigured itself, zooming in on the section I’d disturbed. It was fascinating technology, something Koa had shown me briefly before they’d gone hunting for Claudio with Alpha Jace Beaudreau.
I played with the controls, rotating the image and expanding different sections of the estate grounds. The lake where I’d nearly been eaten this morning glowed with a pulsing red marker.
“It’s atool, honey bun, not atoy,” Zane teased around a mouthful of chicken.
“Ignore him, Seri,” Koa scoffed. “He was playing Fortnite on it last night.”
“Tactical training, bro.”
“Sure it was.”
Casimir remained silent, his eyes fixed on his tablet, and I sighed silently. He was dwelling on this morning’s incident, on how close I’d come to being seriously hurt or worse.
I knew none of them were happy about me fighting that monster crawfish thing, but what choice did I have? I couldn’t outrun it, I had no magic, and I certainly wasn’t going to stand there and let it eat me!
Taking off the VR glasses, I hung them back on their hook, then crossed the room to where he sat and gently tapped his shoulder. Without looking, he turned in his chair and opened his arms, and I settled onto his lap, curling into his warmth and strength and breathing in his moonflower scent.
He exhaled, a jerky, choked sound that was pure Casimir-near-panic.
“I’m okay,” I whispered against his throat. “Really.”
His only response was to hold me tighter, his chin resting on top of my head, and I knew he was still scared. Not for himself.Neverfor himself. Only for everyone else.
My Simmy, always trying to be the strong one, the leader, the protector.
Koa cleared his throat, breaking the moment.
“So, the landscapers are working on having the SUV towed to a garage. It’s pretty badly damaged, but it might be salvageable.”
“And if not?” I asked.
“There’s another one in the garage.” Koa shrugged. “Wedding gift from Sebastian. Left it here when he and Lucian babysat you. Bulletproof, armored, warded down to the spark plugs—”
“What about my golf cart?” I interrupted. “I left it by the lake.”
“Yourgolf cart?” Zane laughed, then made a squishing motion with his hands, complete with explosion sound effects. “Sorry, peach. SUV flattened it when Ko tried to launch it at the crawfish.”
I pouted, genuinely disappointed. I’d liked cruising around the estate in that little cart, feeling the wind in my hair. Brumous had enjoyed it too, sitting beside me with his tongue lolling happily. It had been our little adventure mobile.
“We’ll get another,” Casimir muttered into my hair, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Really?” My spirits lifted immediately.
“A better one.”
“With cup holders,” I bargained, turning to kiss the frown crease between his brows.
“Anything you want, little wife.”
Grinning, I kissed him again, this time a quick press to his lips that somehow still managed to fan the ever-present ember between us. When I pulled back, his eyes had darkened slightly.
“Hold up.” Zane’s chair screeched as he lurched forward. “What about equal kiss distribution? I’m pretty sure there’s a bylaw about that in the Sharing-a-Wife Agreement.”
