He came over and poured the sauce over the noodles and chicken, tossing everything together.
The smell made me drool.
“Drecken, did you not set the table?” Jesper sighed, looking at the bare dining table.
“I forgot.” Drecken snapped his fingers, and the dining table set itself. Plates, glasses, and cutlery appeared. Another snap of his fingers, and everyone’s plates filled with an even portion of Jesper’s chicken carbonara. “There.”
Jesper planted his hands on his hips and nodded. “That was unnecessary.”
“It was efficient,” Drecken corrected as we all took our seats.
Slater and Zuko claimed the chairs on either side of me. Jesper sat directly across from me, Drecken at his right, and Koa at his left. Dimitri took the seat beside Zuko.
I stabbed a piece of the pasta and took a bite.
Heat and flavor exploded on my tongue. It was creamy, spicy, and perfectly seasoned.
I moaned, eyes fluttering closed as I squeezed my legs shut, too. “Oh my Fates, Jesper…did you poison this?”
“No,” he answered cautiously.
I opened my eyes and frowned. “Are you sure?”
Zuko watched me, maintaining steady eye contact as he lifted his own fork and took a deliberate bite. “He didn’t do it, pretty little poison.Youpoisoned us. Don’t you remember?”
My brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Everyone paused mid-bite, forks hovering near their mouths. It didn’t matter anyway since everyone had already taken a bite.
Zuko leaned closer, his breath ghosting over my cheek. “You let aphrodisiac venom slip into the sauce when you were stirring.”
The memory of his hand under my shirt, my desire spiking, and my fangs aching while I stirred came back to me.
“Oh,” I said faintly.
“Oh,Fates,venom baby,” Slater purred. “You let him turn you on without including me?”
“You both turn me on,” I assured him. “All my mates do.”
Jesper unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt and started fanning himself. “This isn’t the first time our mate has drugged me.”
“Oh, we remember,” Zuko and Slater said in sync.
“Perhaps that means we could end dinner early?” Dimitri’s desire-laced voice dropped over me like honey.
“Yes, I agree,” Drecken said, pink and red fireworks exploding around him. “I’m pleasantly surprised by how well this venom affects me.”
Koa looked at me with the embers in his brown eyes glowing brightly. “Since my little vixen poisoned us, we’re going to reward her for it. Correct?”
“Reward or punish?” Dimitri’s fangs lengthened.
“It was an accident,” I protested weakly, molten need for them overriding my senses.
“Of course,”Slater placated me quickly before a devious grin curved his lips. “However, your venom is running through my veins, straight to my heart and, well, also my dick.”
A streak of heat ran down my spine. My lips parted as lust and love burned through my brain until that wasallI could think of.
“Yes,” Zuko growled, orange eyes darkening as he stared at me. I’d taken the bandage off his eyes the moment we got to the estate, and they heldsomuch emotion. “I’m sure it’s clear to you that all of us want you, pretty little poison.”
