Page 69 of Scrooged for the Holidays
“Always sunscreen.”
After a moment, I manage to turn my head away from Remi to see Kai watching us with a reverent smile. His knuckles are gripping the high wooden back of the chair in front of him. When our eyes meet, his grin grows wider.
“Pour the wine, Remi,” he says. “I’ll grab dinner.” With a wink toward me, he turns and heads through the open door, his broad back disappearing into the room.
When I meet Remi’s gaze again, he’s staring at me intently. I start to ask him his age once more since Kai is hellbent on making me guess, but he leans forward and stops the question with his lips.
The kiss is short and chaste, nothing like our kisses from earlier. It warms me from head to toe, and my heart beats faster in my chest like hummingbird wings.
I open my mouth to allow him access to more, but he pulls back before I can. “Wine?”
“Fuck the wine.”
His bark of laughter is loud, but he reaches for the wine anyway. “Dinner first. Then if you want me to fuck you with the wine bottle, I will.”
My eyes widen, and my mouth drops open enough that I could catch bugs. “Why do I think you’re being serious?”
He takes the bottle and shows me the label. A very expensive dry white. “Because I am. But I’d rather you fuck my cock.” His lips get close to mine again. “If that’s what you want?”
My mouth is completely dry, but I manage a nod.
“Good.” He kisses my forehead. “Now, relax. You’re in for a treat. Kai hand-makes the pasta.”
Chapter twenty-one
Samael
ThelastthingIexpected to find when I forced myself to check in with my fellow guardians at the inn is them eating and laughing with Greer as if they’re old friends. What’s even more alarming is that the woman I left at the rink appears almost the same, yet she’s completely different.
She doesn’t look injured from her slip, which is good. But that’s not why she’s different. Her gray aura, that was tinged with the deep pink of joy, now has a soft blue I usually see in Kai’s aura. What’s more, there are threads of bright gold weaving through it. The gold is a color I’ve only seen in Nephilim—more specifically, in Remi’s aura. It’s rare, a color that represents magnetism, healing, light, and love. In Remi’s case, it also signifies his lineage.
I have no clue why I’m seeing it in her when I’ve not seen it in another human before, but I can’t deny it warms something in me. And when I look closer at her energy, the gold is coming from healing. Which is good—that’s what she’s here for.
I have no doubt my fellow guardians will use that as proof that whatever they’ve done with her while I’ve been away had something to do with it. And in the minutes I’ve been watching them, I am certain it was something intimate. They’re all comfortable with each other, flirting easily. Not to mentionthe way Greer allows them to touch her, small brushes of the hand and arm, sly smiles and laughter.
I want to be angry at Remi and Kai, but I gave them my blessing to do whatever they wanted when my emotions got the better of me, and I ran off. Shame creeps through me, and I clench my fists. I should have stayed at the rink, faced whatever was happening with my aura with my fellow Nephilim by my side.
But I’m still unsure of what Greer being here means. I don’t know what my dark aura expanding and reaching out to her earlier means, either—along with everything that was already different about her. Like the endless hunger and now her aura changing, taking on the colors of Remi’s and Kai’s along with her joy and passion.
Are you going to hide forever or come eat with us?Kai’s voice rings in my head. I opened the link back up when I found them, and I’m surprised it’s taken him this long to say something to me.
I consider my next words. Despite everything that’s happened, I do feel a tug to join their dinner. But I’m hesitant, especially after accidentally hurting Greer on the rink.
I think I’ll stay where I am,I answer back.
Come here, Samael. Get to know Greer with us.Remi’s command leaves no room for argument. I may be well matched in angelic grace with him, but he’s our leader, the Nephilim who welcomed me to Elysian Pines with open arms and became more than just a friend and partner. Every fiber of my being urges me to obey, to step into the room…but I resist.
You won’t hurt her, he assures me.
I want to laugh. There’s no way he can know that. My mind fixated on what happened for hours, but the best I could come up with was that the lack of control I feel right now is manifesting in unique ways. My inability to control my aura is one of them. I don’t know if I’ll be able to control it if I join them for dinner.
Was Greer badly injured?I ask.
She’s fine. Her ankle needed a bit of ice—
—and Remiel’s thigh,Kai adds cheekily. I hear the mental smack Remi gives Kai, and my cheek twitches despite myself. I guess that’s a hint of what they did to change her aura.
Come eat with us. She wants you here.
