Page 13 of Riding A Cock-Horse
Jack and Theo are trying to stifle their grins, and Jude just puts a hand to his face like he's used to my shenanigans. Poor Dageus, though, probably doesn't know what to make of me. And Harry…Harry stares at me like I'm his favorite thing in the world—and he hasn't even seen my tits yet!
Makes you wonder why the others aren't looking at me the same way since they have.
“Well, fairies aside, I'm sure the Highlands are beautiful,” I attempt to remedy my word vomit. “I'm sure it’s much better than where I come from.”
“Where are you from, lass?” Dageus asks.
“The Midwest—Nebraska. Do you know what there is to see in Nebraska?” Everyone in the cart shakes their head. “Nothing,” I fill in for them, “absolutely nothing. But I have a good family. It’s just my parents and me…I think they had me and realized they didn't really want to chance having more, er, like me.”
Everyone in the cart chuckles
“Were you a cheeky, little nipper?” Sian wonders.
“Huh?”
Sian rolls her eyes.
“Were you a bit of a troublemaker?” she clarifies.
“A bitis putting it mildly—I was hell on wheels. Luckily, I rerouted all that energy into sexual escapades when I got older.”
“Ooo, yes, do tell me more,” Harry purrs.
Jack leans over and smacks his cousin upside the head.
“Behave.”
“I'm not the one who brought it up!” Harry gripes under his breath, put out.
I chuckle at his pouting face.
“Maybe another time I’ll regale you with tales of my sexual exploits.”
Harry immediately perks back up.
“Can’t wait!” he chirps, and even Dageus—who I can tell really doesn’t approve of me—looks mildly intrigued.
But being the stuffy pot he is, he gets back down to business.
“My da’s most interested in hearing what you have to say,” he tells Arthur before addressing the rest of us. “My da’s Laird—that’s the name of the clan leader. I told him of your urgent matter, and I'm hoping he'll help us even though it doesn't pertain to horny toads.”
I look at him askance.
“What are you talking about?! It most certainlydoespertain to horny toads! Just because it didn't happen to you, per se, doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect your species—this affects all Primaries! It affects all shifters! This is huge. This is—”
Jude cuts me off.
“This is life or death right now for us,” he simplifies. “We have a war on our front we didn't even know was coming. I think the Tertiaries want to exterminate the humans and use the others as breeders. Even if we don't care about the humans—no offense, Belle—we're still part of the world. If the Tershes can cut them out, who's to say they won't do the same to us?”
Harry shrugs nonchalantly, like none of this bothers him.
“I doubt it,” he disagrees. “The Tershes need us to do their bitch work.”
Elise puts her arms under her impressive bosom.
“I don't want to be anyone'sbitch—and certainly not the Tershes! So, yes, it does affect us and I'm not going to take it lying down.”
“Would you take it standing up?” Harry asks hopefully.
