Actually, he might be onto something here…
Myles clears his throat. “I finished setting up the workshop in the basement, but it really didn’t need much work, so I got you something else.”
Ever frowns. “You guys didn’t have to get me anything in the first place. What’s with all the surprises all of a sudden?”
“Do you want to waste time on silly questions, or do you want presents?”
She narrows her eyes. “That depends, what’s the catch?”
My chest tightens. I hate the fact that she’s lived the kind of life that any kindness she received was cause for suspicion. Where she couldn’t trust anyone’s motives because she was surrounded by shitty people that taught her that love was transactional. Something to be earned, and taken away as a punishment. If they even bothered trying in the first place.
“No catch, beautiful.” Cupping her cheek, I rest my forehead against Ever’s, closing my eyes for a moment and breathing her in. Reveling in the fact that I can finally touch her. That she’sreally here.Mine.And I’m going to love her so hard, she’ll never want to leave.
Kissing the tip of her nose, I spin her around to face Myles and playfully smack her ass. “Now, off you go. Let’s see what sort of gift your mage got you, shall we?”
Arson peels himself out of the shadows in the corner of the room, weirdly silent this entire time. “I’ve got it.” In the next blink, he transports all of us to the bedroom, and I stagger at the abrupt change. Unlike every other time he’s yanked us through the shadow realm, it was so seamless, it has me second guessing if I imagined the whole thing.
Myles stares wide-eyed at his brother. “Well, that’s new. Power boost?”
Arson smirks. “Not the only new trick up my sleeve, either.”
Yeah, becausethat’sexactly what we need. To supercharge the already overpowered psychotic demon. And now that he’s bonded to Ever, no other mimic can borrow his powers to stop him, either.
Thank the Fates we’re on the psycho’s good side.
At least until Ever and I cement the bond. Downside, they’ll all get another power boost once they have another mimic in their bond group. And the Fates only know what type of havoc Arson will wreak then.
“Close your eyes,” Myles tells Ever, then leads her over to the walk-in closet. Flipping on the light, he discreetly takes a deep breath to bolster his confidence before saying, “Okay, open them.”
Hell, even I’m surprised, and I helped sneak the bags up here. There’s still enough space for each of our clothes, but the vast majority has been taken over by a small department store. There are a few dresses, both fancy and casual, but primarily, it’s witty graphic t-shirts, jeans, leggings, and shorts. Dozens of pajamas in assorted styles. And…
Ever plucks a hanger from the back section and raises an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure dental floss would cover more of my ass than this.”
I bark out a laugh as soon as I see it. I’m sure it’s some kind of lingerie, but honestly, it’s mostly black leather strips so thin, it’d be a miracle if it covered her nipples. With the way it’s parted on the bottom to frame her pussy, it sure isn’t leaving much to the imagination, if we could even figure out how to get her in the contraption.
Ledger’s chest rumbles like a chainsaw while Myles blushes furiously, fidgeting with his glasses. “The sales woman picked everything out, but I saved the receipt. Toss whatever you don’t like on the bed, and I’ll exchange it.”
“Are you kidding?” I gesture at Ledger, who looks borderline feral justpicturingEver in that. “Half of this is going to wind up in shreds. She’ll need the backups, don’t waste your time taking anything back.”
Ever whips off her shirt, swapping it for a new one that saysLife Fucks Me Harder, so get in Linebefore any of us can pounce, and kisses Myles. “This must have cost a fortune, you really didn’t have to. But I love them, thank you.”
“Of course I did. Now the next time one of us does something stupid, you won’t be able to pack everything you own into a single backpack. It’ll buy us time to grovel and win you back before you can leave us.”
Her eyes get misty, and she blinks furiously. “Myles… I don’t need stuff. I just needyou.”
He presses a gentle kiss to Ever’s lips, cupping her jaw. “Well then I guess it’s a good thing you can have both.” With one more kiss, he reluctantly pulls away. “I’m pretty sure Bell will shank me if we make him wait to show off his surprise any longer.”
Arson is seriously learning how to read a room, because he has us downstairs in such a seamless transition, I blinked and missed it.
“You remembered,” Ever whispers, staring up at the cloud ceiling, the LED lighting behind it giving the den an ethereal, stormy glow.
“Of course I did; it was important to you.”
Arson chuckles. “Says the man that can’t remember anyone’s name half the time.”
“I remember everything thatmatters,” I correct with a glare. “Why would I waste brain space on strangers’ names?”
Ever throws her arms around my neck, and I tug her flush against me, careful not to crush her glasses. “It’sperfect.” She buries her face in the crook of my neck, taking a few moments to collect herself before framing my face in her hands and kissing me like we’re the only people in the world.
