Page 74 of Bones

And then I thought about how I would give my left nut to see her in just that flannel with nothing underneath.

I looked away before I got an uncomfortable hard-on and was forced to leave before I even spoke to my siblings.

Clearing my throat, I told Lenuson and his mate, “Everyone calls me Deke. And this is Aurora.”

The dog in my mate’s hold gave a little bark.

I rolled my eyes but added, “And Victoria.”

“I go by Lennon now. This is Lilith.” He stepped to the side to wrap an arm around his mate.

Without him in the way, her blue eyes widened as she inhaled sharply. I assumed it was with excitement about the dog like Denny’s gasp, but her gaze was leveled squarely at Aurora.

My mate immediately lowered her flushed face, and I had no doubt she’d been able to feel my shame because I could suddenly feel hers. The intensity of it knocked the breath from my lungs.

“Hey,” I whispered to her, unsure what was happening.

Lilith cringed. “Sorry, that was rude. And you probably think I was being dramatic because of your eyes, which I wasn’t. Not that they aren’t breathtaking. They’re unique and mesmerizingly lovely, and now I’m probably making you even more uncomfortable. Great, I lost the easy win for best first impression.” Her tone might’ve been light, but the way she stared at Aurora wasn’t. “It’s just… golden.”

Aurora lifted a shaky hand to touch the long length of her golden hair.

“No, your aura. It’s the most beautiful gold I’ve ever seen. Vibrant and illuminated.” Her lips tipped down, and her voice was filled with confusion when she added a whispered, “But also cloudy…” At Aurora’s matching frown, she quickly amended, “Not in a negative way. Iffy, bad, or even outright evil is smudgy. This is… cloudy. There’s no better word for it.”

Aurora gave an equally puzzled shrug.

“Well, obviously.” Juno gestured to us. “Her name. His tattoo. Wait.” She leaned closer to scan my exposed arms. “I’mguessing that’s real and not a temporary one you got from a mechanical rat, pizzeria, and children’s casino with your tickets from the Skee-Ball game. How’d you get ink to stick? The one time I tried, the whole thing wiped away like it was done in cheap, waxy crayons. All that pain for nothing. Which, honestly, was just as well because I was under the influence of some powerful gummy bears, and the homage to Loki’s scepter was probably a little, uh, phallic.”

Everyone looked at her with growing confusion the longer she spoke.

Except her mate.

He shook his head but did it while smiling at her like she was adorable.

Never seen anyone look at War that way.

Everyone examined my tattoo, Aurora, and then back, trying to work out the link between the two—myself included.

It wasn’t my area of expertise, but I was pretty sure there was a princess with the same name. And my Aurora was definitely pretty enough to be one. Animals seemed to flock to her, too.

But I had no idea what that had to do with a tattoo.

At the staring, she pushed in closer to me.

They’re your siblings.

Your long-lost siblings.

Play nice.

Ahh, fuck that.

Before I could tell them to back the hell off, they’d already picked up on her discomfort. Everyone’s attention shifted as they moved—and talked—at once.

“Let’s go …”

“Lots to discuss…”

“This calls for drinks…”

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