Page 70 of Their Knotty Pack
Moving faster than I've ever seen her, Bethany jumps over the couch and snatches the money from Miles' hands. "I do! That's what you get for betting on my sex life." Then, before they can say anything, she's walking back to me, grabbing the back of my neck, and pulling me down for a soul-stealing kiss. Grinning, she releases me before sticking a twenty in the waistband of my basketball shorts. "Buy yourself something nice."
My mouth goes dry as we watch her go up the stairs, her hips swaying with each step. "Yes ma'am."
Chapter 29
Miles
"'Weary traveller', the innkeeper, an older woman with a sinister gleam in her eyes says, 'please rest, though I'm not sure if I have room for you'." Bethany looks at me with a raised brow. Doing the voice of the characters is my favorite part of being Dungeon Master. "But when you look around, you notice the inn is essentially empty."
My phone starts buzzing in my pocket, and I pull it out, making a face when I see it's my parents. They’ve been calling every three days or so since we got out of the heat clinic. I haven't found a way to tell them that I've kind of joined a pack. Not without lying straight to their faces. Or telling them that I’ve been lying to them the last seven years and I’m actually an omega.
For now, it's easier to hit ignore and text them to say I'm working. Even if it is a Saturday.
Bethany frowns as she thinks, oblivious to the quick text I send my parents. "I want to look around the inn, but like…subtly."
"Okay, I need you to roll for perception—"
"What are you guys up to?" We look up to see Brody standing at the side of the breakfast nook, eyeing our setup with interest.
"I'm running a mini-campaign for nymph so she can get confident with her playing." I arch a brow at him. Brody doesn't strikeme as the kind of guy who would make fun of someone for playing Dungeons & Dragons, but I'm definitely not expecting what hedoessay.
"You know, I've always been curious about this game. Would it be too much trouble for me to join? I'm a quick learner."
"You're just saying that because you want to bask in the presence of our beauty," I tease.
Heblushes. And he had his fingersall upin Bethany last night, so he shouldn't be blushing about her at this point. But could that mean…? He's quick to defend himself. "No! I mean, you're both beautiful—handsome? But I really do want to play—"
Bethany and I exchange a look. She gives me a little shrug, letting me know that it's up to me, and I grin up at Brody, who is still trying to recover. "Welcome to the dark side, Brody Benson."
By the time I've grabbed my laptop and pulled up the website to help Brody build his character, Damien, Hunter, and Kieran have wandered downstairs.
"You boys want to play?" nymph asks, fluttering her eyelashes at them. And that's how we end up in the living room with all the guys except for Hunter pulling up the character builder tool on their phones.
"Dude, you rolled a fifteen, and you gave it to intelligence?" Brody looks over Kieran's shoulder.
"What? He needs to be smart." Kieran frowns at him.
"He's a barbarian," I explain, "so his attacks and abilities aren't going to be enhanced by intelligence. You want strength for that."
Kieran's frown deepens. "I just thought the poor guy could do with an even playing field."
Well, damn, he's pretty cute.
"Think of it this way," I come next to him, pointing to the description of his character class. "An MMA fighter doesn't train for his fights by reading books, right? Just like a…mathematician doesn't train by lifting weights. You need to make sure that your stats are aligned with your strengths and abilities."
"Huh," Kieran says thoughtfully. "Yeah, okay that makes sense."
"He's an excellent teacher," Damien winks at me from his phone. "All I hear during the day is "Mr. Hawthornethis, Mr. Hawthornethat. It's a nightmare, honestly."
I can feel my cheeks flame as I let out a nervous laugh. "You're just saying that."
"I neverjustsay anything, blue," Damien's eyes twinkle, and I flush further, turning my attention to Brody.
"How'syourcharacter coming along?" He chose a human cleric, which I think fits him nicely. Bethany made a new character—an elven druid, and Damien is a gnome bard.
"Good," He grins at me. "I think I'm about done."
Nodding, I peak over his shoulder at his stats. "Eighteen wisdom, nice. You can balance out Kieran's character."
