Alfie growled, glaring at me, a little hairier than usual. Will, pinned sideways, one leg dangling free, merely glowered, his arms crossed over his chest stuck like he was practicing becoming a mummy.
Once I got to the sliding glass door, I concentrated and released them, then stepped inside. The triple thuds, followed by shouts and curses, had me chuckling to myself. Going into the kitchen, I put a pot of coffee on and grabbed several mugs down.
By the time they all made it inside, scowling at me, they had fresh mugs of coffee waiting for them, and I had another cup of strong black tea.
Alfie sat down at the table, paused, took one short sniff, then let out a wolfish whistle.
Will, cradling the mug where he’d decided to sit next to him, frowned at Alfie, lifted his nose, took one careful sniff, then sneezed. “Oh- I’m not sitting here!”
“It’s not like he didn’t clean it after. Place reeks like sex layered with lemon cleaner.” Ben shrugged and sat back in his seat, until it creaked from his weight. “Don’t tell me you haven’t knocked one out in the kitchen, Will. I’ll call you a liar.” Picking up his mug, he brought it to his lips, hiding a smirk as Will spluttered, and the Cylcops took a long, slow sip.
“Of course not!” Will burst out. “I don’t mount a woman at the table. I eat there!”
When Alfie and Ben glanced at one another, cleared their throats, then glanced away, William’s eyes narrowed on them. “I’m never eating over at any of your houses again.”
“I’m sure my sweet little wife will be sorry to hear that,” Ben replied casually, like it was no sweat off his back. “And what with her being pregnant again and all…”
“Best not sit on or stand near any surfaces in mine if that’s your shtick, Billy Goat,” Alfie spilled with a shit eating grin.
“Plastic wrap,” the Satyr muttered. He was looking fit to be tied. “A hazmat suit… Filthy animals, all of you.”
“I thought Satyrs were sexual deviants. The players of the Para world.” I was teasing, but Will shot up from his seat and let out a long, drawn out hiss.
“It’s the Faun talkin’,” Alfie put in conversationally. “He’s one of them sexually repressed types.”
Will spluttered, spitting everywhere. Ben blinked, swiping at his face, as Will spat, “Just because I don’t care to frolic about rubbing my jollies on everything, fornicating with anyone and anything with a wet, willing hole, does not make me sexually repressed!”
Sobering, Ben patted the table near Will’s spot. “Come on, man.” Ben jerked his chin at us. “They were just playing. We all were. Don’t get your stubby tail kinked.”
“I’m not repressed,” Will grumbled, but slowly sat.
“I wasn’t joking.” The Werewolf smirked at Will.
“No one cares what you think, mutt,” Will muttered, mumbling the rest of his diatribe into his coffee.
Glancing at my time, noting almost an hour had passed since Aster had left, I set down my phone, my leg starting to shake like I’d downed a pot of coffee, and my gaze darted between the guys. “Where’s Seg?”
“Viv has her witchy water lessons with the Merfolk today in the Human realm,” Ben chimed in, “then a doctor’s appointment. My Penny is watching Vi and Dre for ‘em.”
“Tell Seg to remind his Queen it’s not polite to shadow spell someone's land and flat out trespass,” I muttered, still annoyed they’d pulled one over on me.
Ben snorted. “You tell him yourself, plant boy. I’m not responsible for what my sister-in-law does.”
My chin lifted as my chest puffed up. Ben looked like he wanted to poke me to watch me deflate but he was too far away to try. Hah. “Okay, I will.” I noted then, how often he glanced at his watch, and how much Alfie fidgeted in place when it was just us guys hanging out. “You want to get back to them.” My gaze darted between the two. “It’s driving you crazy coming here to get the dirty details for your women, instead of being with them, isn’t it?”
Ben blinked and cleared his throat. His eye narrowed and he drawled out, “Am I that obvious.” Picking up his phone, as if that was meant as a rhetorical question, he began looking at something on it.
“My Kitty Kat says Aster’s real nice. Great with the girls. It’s all Alice has talked about since I walked in the door last night from a run.” Alfie looked surprised, but I knew it was because Alice wasn’t much of a talker unless she was playing.
“Aster is special.” Pride swelled in my chest. “She’s-” Blinking, stilling, like my brain had suddenly stalled as something rather pertinent registered, I felt stuck like that. “She… Sh-sh-she never told me who C-Dog is!” I burst out.
“Uhm, what?” Will squinted up at me, cocking his head as I shot up from my seat.
“That man that called her before her first alarm went off this morning,” I blurted. My hands lifted and I shoved them through my hair. My fingers gripped the almost too long dark strands and I gave them a yank.
“Oh.” Alfie’s mouth formed a silent O as Will sat back in his seat. The Satyr looked like he didn’t know what to say for once.
“It’s not like that,” Ben said quickly, too quickly for my liking.
