His lips curled in the barest hint of a smirk. “Feeling possessive, wildflower?”
I was actually, but I played it off with a laugh. “I just don’t know how strong my willpower is after so much time apart. Would hate to cause a riot during such an important meeting.”
“Uh, does that mean I should keep my shirt on then?” Sin asked, his t-shirt halfway up his torso already.
“Yes,” Grim rumbled.
Crestfallen, Sin let the fabric fall back into place.
“I do need a belt, though,” I offered, rolling up the sleeves. “I’m swimming in this thing.” I gestured at the oversized dress shirt. It hit me just above the knees, but I could work with that.
Sin lit up, his hands going to his belt as he made quick work of unbuckling and sliding the leather free of his jeans. “You’d look good in a potato sack, but I’m happy to help.”
I had to blink a couple of times before his words registered. Apparently, Sin taking off his belt was my new catnip. I accepted the strap of leather with a muttered, “Thanks,” my brain—or more likely ovaries—begging him to go for the buttons of his jeans next.
I was such a whore. My appetite for these men would never be sated.
“We’d better get going,” I finally said, shaking myself free of the lust fog Sin and Grim had accidentally created. Or not so accidentally, as the case may be.
A memory of that day in Blackwood when I’d unintentionally kicked off a whole-ass orgy because of my lust surfaced. And that had only been caused by a romance novel. A horny Merri could not be trusted in group settings. I needed to get a lock on this ASAP. For everyone’s sake.
“Actually, boys, can you do me a solid and step out of the room for a sec? I need to clear my head before we go into a meeting.” The air was thickening by the minute, and even though I was fully fed, my Famine nature was never satisfied. She could always take more.
“I am not, nor have I ever been... aboy.” Grim said the last word with pure disgust.
Sin knew exactly what was going on if the wink he gave me was anything to go by. He slung his arm around Grim’s neck and hauled him toward the door. “Yeah, yeah. We know, Grandpa. You’re the big bad Death, you appeared on this earth a fullyformed douchebag.” There was a slight pause and then a loud, “Ow! Really, asshole, my nose? Again?”
“You were asking for it,” Grim replied dryly.
Shaking my head, I took a moment for myself, an attempt to ground my body and mind. I closed my eyes, breathed deeply, and the moment my hunger began to crawl back where it came from, relief flooded me. I could control it—to a point. But for the last few days, I’d let my Famine side have free rein. It was time to put Pandora back in the box.
Pandora being my new name for that hussy.
I guess that would make the box my pussy.
A snicker escaped before I could stop it. That was something Sin would say. We really were two horny peas in a pod.
Stealing a few more seconds, I checked myself out in a mirror. I didn’t have a hair elastic and was rocking the most ‘just fucked’ hair in existence, so I finger-combed it to the best of my ability and then tied it in a knot on the top of my head. It worked... sort of. I still looked pretty freshly railed.
“This is as good as you’re gonna get, Meredith. They know you’re a succubus. No one cares.”
And with that swell pep talk, I spun on my heel and sauntered off to rejoin my mates.
Five minutesand a very confusing walk later, I found myself in a room stuffed with supernaturals. If this was a band, it was The Polyphonic Spree. I could already imagine just how off the rails this meeting would go if not held in check by a very firm hand. Good thing Auntie Lilith was here. That was practically her specialty.
Many of the people in the room were new faces, but a few stood out in shocking relief. Cain, for instance, sat with Asshole curled up in his lap as he absentmindedly petted the pooch. What was he doing here? My mind flashed back to the dream I had of Dahlia, and it all began to make sense. He was hers; she was part of this. Kai as well. The dragon fae stood in the corner, chatting quietly with a large man who bore a striking resemblance to Tor. That must be his twin, Alek. The Berserker had mentioned him once or twice during our group therapy sessions.
The only other faces I recognized out of the twenty or so people in the room were my horsemen, and Lilith and her pet prince. I doubted we had time for introductions, but I hoped someone might do some kind of roll call just so I could get my bearings.
“Merri, love, we are so glad to see you here safe and sound,” Auntie Lilith said, striding across the floor and pulling me to her for an uncharacteristic embrace. She offered an air kiss on each cheek before looking me in the eye and saying, “You gave us quite a fright.”
The display of affection told me far more than her words. She’d been worried.
“Sorry,” I murmured, mostly out of habit. Looking back, there were probably a few other options at my disposal, but I only knew that now in hindsight. Put in the same position, I’d have ended up in the same place, so it wasn’t like an apology would change anything.
“Now that everyone is where they ought to be, we should jump in. There’s a lot to discuss,” Cain said, putting Asshole on the floor at his feet as he stood.
The little dog ran over, licked my shin a couple of times, and then sped off toward a shimmering portal Cain had created inthe corner. As I watched, Asshole jumped through and appeared next to a beautiful blonde with an outrageously styled bun.
