I shrug, pulling the slide back to chamber the first round. I don’t tend to keep one in there when I’m at home. “I’m usually armed no matter where I am.” I reach into my top and pull a small knife out of the bra I put on after my bath. “You can never be too careful, you know.”
Tristan groans, and I find him looking at me with a whole heap of lust in his eyes. “That’s so fucking sexy.”
Xavier purses his lips. “Would you have had those if we hadn’t been living in the house?”
“On me?” I clarify, and he nods. I shake my head. “No, probably not. I have weapons in easy reach all around the house, and I mostly don’t feel the need to carry one with me while I am in my own home.”
Tristan’s desire bleeds away, and the two of them look at me with what feels like pity.
“We’re really sorry we’re invading your safe space. You shouldn’t feel like you have to protect yourself in your own home, especially because it’s a fortress,” Xavier says gruffly, and I wave him off.
“It is what it is. Gio invited you, and I can’t very well uninvite you. He wants you here, and what he wants goes.”For now.I don’t bother adding that last bit out loud though.
“I promise the four of us and Casey have no ulterior motives, and as soon as the dorms are rebuilt, we will leave. If at any stage you get sick of us, we will move into the Lucky Diamond like you said, no arguments,” Xavier promises as Tristan chimes in, looking uncomfortable.
“But it might be at least a couple of months. The whole dorm was relocated because the top two levels have structural problems, and until they are fixed, they won’t let anyone live there.”
“It’s fine, I promise, and if you start to piss me off, I’ll just get rid of you.” I smile, but the threat is very clear, and I can tell they understand when they exchange a glance.
“Well, in that case, we better do everything we can to stay on your good side.” Tristan becomes all flirty again and winks at me. “Now why don’t you show us what you can do with that thing?” He nods at the Glock in my hand and passes a similar one and a magazine to Xavier, who slams it home and pulls the slide back.
“Care to make this interesting?” he asks me as the three of us move toward one of the lanes.
Chapter Twelve
When we get to the lane, I place my gun on the ledge and use the switch on the side to bring the target forward. “Sure,” I agree as I grab a fresh target sheet from under the bench. “What are the terms?”
They exchange a glance, and it’s like they can communicate without words. I’m kind of envious, to be honest, that they have this capability.
“If you outshoot the two of us, then the four of us will leave tonight and stay at the Lucky Diamond, but we can’t speak for Casey,” Xavier says.
I keep my face blank as a rush of emotions runs through me, both excitement and disappointment, and I’m not sure which one is more prominent. Do I even want them to actually leave now? Fuck, I’m such a goddamn mess.
“Okay, and if you two outshoot me, what do you get?” I ask, and it’s Tristan who answers this time, his eyes sparkling.
“A kiss. One for each of us.” He points between himself and Xavier.
“And you stop carrying your weapons on your person while we are in the house,” Xavier adds. “I hate that you feel like you aren’t safe in your own home, and we are responsible for that.”Xavier’s brow furrows with concern, and I feel a wave of warmth at the knowledge that he cares about me to some degree.
It would be nice not to carry my weapon constantly, and it isn’t like there aren’t plenty hidden around the house in case of an emergency. Although I don’t know a lot about these people, I don’t think they mean me any bodily harm—or at least I hope not. If they wanted to kill me, they’ve had plenty of opportunities to do so, and I think they’ll find I’m not such an easy target.
“Okay. Sounds fair,” I agree, feeling confident I have this in the bag. “What are the terms?”
“Five shots. Closest grouping to the bullseye is the winner, and since you have home court advantage, Xavier and I get to go first,” Tristan replies, pulling on a pair of earmuffs and settling into a confident stance. Xavier and I both don our ear protection and stand back a little, giving him some room.
Both guys obviously have experience with handling a firearm and seem comfortable around them. I thought Tristan would be flashy and rapid fire his rounds into the target, but he’s slow and methodical, taking his time and lining up each shot perfectly. The report echoes through the range in five controlled shots, the scent of gunpowder tickling my nose, with him taking his time between each round. When he’s finished, he places the gun down on the ledge in front of him and takes off his earmuffs before flicking the switch to bring the target forward. I can already see he scored well—a close grouping around the nine ring with one even slicing halfway between the bullseye.
He releases the target from the clips and turns, waving it at me with a huge grin on his face. “Look at that, I’m on fire. It’s going to be hard to beat that. Do you need some lip balm to get those lips ready for me? I can probably find some of Vienna’s,” he teases and does a little victory dance that involves a lot of hip thrusting, very similar to what Sage has done in the past. I giggleat the display. He’s so carefree and joyful, and he reminds me so much of Sage. No wonder the two of them clicked.
“Settle down, Rambo, it’s my turn,” Xavier grumbles good-naturedly and grabs Tristan by the nape of his neck. “How about a kiss for good luck?” He doesn’t wait for him to reply before smashing his mouth against Tristan’s. The kiss is aggressive, and I can’t drag my eyes away from them, watching as Xavier scrapes his teeth over Tristan’s plump lip. My core throbs, and I squirm at the overt display of possession. Tristan groans, and when Xavier pulls away, he follows, not wanting to let him escape, but Xavier just shakes his head and grins, pushing him back. “Well, now I’m feeling very lucky.”
Tristan leans back against the wall, his head thumping against it as he groans, his eyes heavy with lust. “You’re going to be very lucky no matter if we win or not,” he mutters under his breath before exhaling and running a hand through his hair, pushing back a lock that fell over one eye.
“Sure you don’t want to rethink this bet?” Xavier teases me, grinning and winking. “I have this in the bag.”
I cross my arms, keeping my face blank. “I think I’m okay,” I deadpan, and he shrugs and steps up in front of the lane. He puts a new target on the system, and it rolls down the lane. Xavier picks up the same gun Tristan used and takes his stance, wrapping both hands around the grip.
“You know Xavier is a crack shot, right?” Tristan pushes off the wall to stand next to me as we watch Xavier take his turn. “A goddamn expert at just about everything he puts his hands on. You should see what he can do with a sniper rifle.”
