Page 60 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I won’t just be an extra vote for you. A vote stuffer. Is that a thing?” Nico shook his head. “No, Sweetheart.”

Titus looked heavenward. “I wouldn’t expect my brothers to both fall for a girl who would just follow orders. No, you do not owe me anything greater than hope for the future of vampirekind. That is enough.”

I thought about it a little longer, but I didn’t have a better solution. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Well,Mazel Tov, Love. Now, I need a damn drink,” X said from behind me.

I shook my head at how insane my life was. But hopefully this was it. This would give me the protection I needed to justlive.To create my best afterlife. “Better make that a whole round,” I murmured to X as I turned back to Titus and we nutted out the logistics.

Someone should have told Alice that her rabbit hole was filled with quicksand.

With my agreementwritten in blood, Titus left soon after, the Enforcers melting back into the night as he strode down the path. Vampires came out and knelt on their front stoops as he walked down the street. Like he was a god. It was super weird, and Judge and Walker turned up with panicked looks on their faces. “Titus is in town?” Judge gasped out, searching me for injury or like scarlet letters, or something.

“Yeah, he came to give me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” I did my best fat Marlon Brando impression, but they all seemed to miss the point. Ugh, I missed Tex. I looked over my shoulder at Nico. “Remind me to doThe Godfathermarathon at The Immortal Cupcake.”

I filled Judge and Walker in on the whole Succubi Representative thing, and Walker’s eyes got wider and wider. Judge just shook his head. “Only you could go from a ditch to a Convocation seat in the space of a year, Rainey Day.”

Walker held me tightly to his chest. “When will it be announced?”

I shrugged. “Titus seemed to think it would take a week to gather all the Representatives together to vote, but he was confident by the end of next week, you’d be holding the brand new Representative for the Succubi in your arms. Then I’ll be safe, you’ll be safe and we can go back to normal.”

Judge kissed my cheek. “You don’t do normal.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong. I’d give it another week, and then I’d have my shifters back. I missed them so damn bad.

Nico kissed my other cheek. “I best tell the Council about this new development. And the introduction of more Enforcers.” He looked over my shoulder at Lucius loitering near my front door. “And probably about Lucius’ continued presence. I do not think they would let him pledge into the town, but they may let him stay if he adheres to the rules, as they did Judge.”

I winced. “Lead with the fact I’ll be an all-powerful Convocation ruler of the Universe.”

He kissed me once more and left. Walker got a call soon after, a domestic disturbance between nest-mates on the other side of town. Judge went with him, wearing a deputy badge even if he refused to wear the uniform. I briefly wondered if I could get them to frisk me later.

“Well, this is interesting,” X said, wandering into my personal space. He smelled so damn good, and a tattoo of a crying girl on his chest caught my eye. I traced the tear that was rolling down her cheek. He really was a work of art, considering when he got these tattoos done they didn't have the inks and machines they had now.

I looked up into his dark eyes. “What’s interesting?”

He picked me up so we were eye to eye. “I’ve got you alone, except for Crazytrousers, who owes me.” His grin was distinctly predatory. My eyes grew wide. Surely he didn’t mean…

I looked at Lucius, but there was heat in his eyes.

Oh shit.

“I always pay my debts,” he growled. Well, la sploosh. It was on. “But do not call me Crazytrousers or I will rip out your tongue and eat it.”

X made a rude noise. “Way to prove my point, Lucy. Let's go, Love. I need to taste you on my tongue. I’ve been starving and you are the only thing that can satisfy my hunger.”

I leaned forward and kissed him hard. “That was cheesy, even for you.”

I looked over my shoulder to make sure Lucius was following. I could pretend it was just because I wanted to give him a hit of my pleasure to keep him balanced, but I’d be lying. I must have been consuming his craziness, because the fact there was still a bloodstain on my stoop where he had cut the throat of a man who wanted to do terrible things to me, well, it made me wet as hell.

X groaned and kissed me again, focusing me back on the other insane person in my life. I was obviously nuts too, because I was about to jam myself naked between two of the most crazy people I had ever met. And the idea made me so freaking hot I was going to combust.

We strode through the living room and into my bedroom.

X threw me on the bed with a bounce, peeling off his clothes at a rapid pace, and then stripping me naked too. His eyes traveled over my soft curves and he sucked his lip between his teeth. “Feck me, Love, you are the most gorgeous creature who has ever ridden my cock.”

“You romantic,” I teased, but I crawled up the bed, just to hear him hiss out that pained noise. Lucius stood in the doorway, his pupils blown wide as his eyes ate me alive. X opened a drawer and grabbed out several lengths of rope.

“On the bed, Lucy.”

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