Amara
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“No wonder he neversleeps.” Using the heel of my hand to clear my blurry vision, I take a break from staring at my new laptop to finish off another bottle of soda. “Have we even made a dent?”
Across the kitchen table, Kodi slowly reaches for our list of assignments Avery's perched next to. An evil glint appears in the falcon's eye as she watches his fingers inch closer, waiting until he's touched the corner of the paper to let out a high-pitched war cry and taking a swipe at him with her talons.
"Son of a bitch!" Kodi yelps, snatching his hand back as fast as lightning. Popping a bloody finger in his mouth, he hisses around the digit, "Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat.”
“Yeah, I’m not even going to attempt to spell any of that to Google translate. What?”
Inspecting the damage, he shoots frequent, narrowed-eyed glares at Avery. “May you get eaten by a cat, and the cat eaten by the devil. You know, so the asshole can go back to Hell where she belongs."
"Be nice," I chide them both, internally chuckling. Stretching closer, I run my knuckles down Avery's back, clucking my tongue at the preening murder-bird, shamelessly sucking up so I stay off her shit-list. Keeping her distracted with one hand, I discreetly use the other to slide Kodi the list. "Maybe you should make her something pretty as a peace offering."
He gives her the stink eye. "Where do you think her gold cuff came from? She just gets off on terrorizing me.”
Scratching under her chin, I glance down at the anklet with her name etched into it and tut at her again when she snaps her beak at him. “Pretty girl, save that energy for the next time Malcolm comes skulking around. You can maul his face off to your heart’s content, and I’ll give you any treat you’d like. Heck, I’m sure Kodi would even let you have that eyebrow ring of his you keep eyeing as a reward.”
As I ramble incentives to calm Raiden’s bloodthirsty pet, Kodi finally takes a look at our to-do list and groans. “Better settle in for a late night at this rate; there’s over half still left to go.”
“Actually.” Stone appears in the doorway, paler than usual, and refusing to meet my eye. “I was hoping to borrow Amara for a little while.”
Kodi beats me to the punch, frowning in concern. “Is everything okay?”
Raking a hand through the disheveled locks of white hair hanging loose for a change, he nods sharply. “Thought it might be a good time to give her that gift.”
Kodiak’s eyes widen, but the nervous tell is quickly replaced with a massive grin, and he promptly reaches across the table to snap my laptop shut. “What fabulous timing, we were just about to go on our lunch break. Take all the time you need.”
Nerves eradicate any hunger I was previously feeling. “If the gift is your dick, I’m going to humbly request time to shower first.”
Scrubbing a hand down his face, Stone tries to pull himself together, looking at me with a tender smile, but his multifaceted eyes contain a riot of indecipherable emotions. “I’m not nearly that egotistical. It’s just-” he sighs “-fuck, I’m messing this up.” Taking a deep breath, he steels his spine. “Walk with me?”
Subtly, I dry my sweaty palms on my pajama pants, rising to my feet. “Only if you promise to pick the prettiest spot in the woods to murder me.”
Some of his anxiety dissipates before my eyes. “It’s a deal.”
Rather than head outside though, I follow him through the house and into a bedroom. I’ve never been in the space, but it’s as utilitarian as the room I’ve taken over. The only real difference is the red and black color scheme to the bedding, and the addition of a desk littered with folders. Stone’s woodsy scent clings to the space, and I scrunch up my face in contemplation as I sift through the floorplan in my mind.
“Wait, if you had an extra room, why’d you put me in yours instead of the spare?”
Sheepishly, he rubs the back of his neck, looking off to the side. “This is technically Raiden’s, but since he rarely sleeps anyway, he insisted. He tends to doze off in Kodi’s office, or the couch in the living room.”
I open my mouth, but immediately snap it shut again. Guilt rides me hard for a split second, but I consider the situation objectively. They were the ones that insisted I come stay with them, and to put their mate up on the couch while they each had their own rooms and beds sounds terrible spoken out loud. Personally, I wouldn’t have given a shit. A couch is a huge step up from the back seat of a car and who knows how many weirdos peering in the windows to watch me sleep. But I can’t really say I’m surprised that this is how it panned out, or that I’m going to waste any breath arguing the point to no avail.
“Makes sense.” Awkwardly rocking back on my heels, I rip off the proverbial bandage, hoping to put us both out of our misery. “Soooooo if murder and dick aren’t on the docket for tonight, what is?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes with a weary sigh, but for all his attempts at preserving the dignified act, the corner of his mouth twitches. “I made you something.”
Never in my life did I think I’d consider a dragon adorable.
“What’s the occasion?”
Opalescent eyes soften at the edges, pulling me into his hypnotic gaze far too easily. “Do I need a reason to give my mate a gift?”
My mouth is suddenly dry. “As long as it’s not to one-up me because I forgot your birthday or something, I suppose not.”
Motioning for me to sit on the bed, I follow his prompting without protest, mentally cursing myself for the bolt of lust that strikes between my legs. Ever since I made the decision to kiss Kodi, I can’t stop thinking about the fact that there’s really no reason to continue my dry spell. Malcolm already has them on his radar, the fear of being marked is off the table, and they’re going to follow me wherever I go for the mate factor alone, anyway. Sleeping with them doesn’t really change anything but the dynamic of our relationships.
