Page 13 of The Magic of Betrayal
Cam and Kai both looked sheepishly at me and then Saige, muttering apologies.
"Thanks, Guppy," my sweetheart smiled at me and I longed to press my lips against hers.
Sloane had prepared her a plate of food and handed it to her, loaded with pizza, extra parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, and a fresh can of diet Dr. Pepper. After thanking him, she immediately tore into the food, sighing when she took a deep drink of her soda. The other guys slid off the bed, moving to grab their own food.
"So, like I was saying, there's this man. He's the demon prince, and the two times I projected there in my sleep, I ran into him."
She went on to explain how she'd woken on the stone floor of the castle, coming face to face with the demon king and his guards, telling us how this prince had protected her from his lunatic father.
“There’s something about him that just made me feel safe so when his father was all,” she deepened her voice, “‘what are you doing here, you trashy whore?’ I told him I was there to see his son, knowing he’d get me away from the king,” she explained.
“I’m sorry, he called you what?” Cam gritted out, his jaw ticking.
Saige put her hand on his cheek and pulled his face down for a soft kiss. “It’s fine, I’m home. Don’t worry about it, big Daddy,” she winked and Kai groaned.Fuckin’ Kai.I laughed to myself.
I know I'd just scolded the others for being jealous pricks, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a twinge at the thought of another man doing what I should have been. Protecting my family was my number one priority in life. But I was thankful on the other hand, who knows what would've happened had this prince not been there for her.
"But, oh my GODS, I almost forgot." Saige's abrupt change to anger had all of us steeling our spines, ready to defend against some unknown enemy.
"MAVEN!" she shouted and the grumpy fox barely twitched an ear in response, he'd nestled in between her thighs on top of the blanket.
"What is it, little witch?" Cam questioned, staring at the fluffy animal.
"MAVE!" She tapped him on the head with her index finger and his eyes cracked open the tiniest fraction, but they were filled with death. Saige began running her hands over his fur, lifting his head to inspect his face.
"What the hell are you doing to that fox, Red?"
"Is there a way to tell if an animal is really an animal? Or if they're a shifter... or a demon? When I was in Besmet, Bram took me to the forest and he told me that the woods are infested with white, trouble-making foxes. Now, you tell me, what the odds are of that, and the fact that I have an arctic fox sitting on my bed right now?"
Kai grunted, eyes flashing yellow.Oh shit, here we go.The shift came so fast that Bagheera's paws hit the floor before Kai's shredded clothes did.
Saige screamed. Legit screamed, a high pitch sound that had Cam wrapping his arms around her and pulling her onto his lap. Right... she hadn't met Bagheera yet. At two hundred and fifty pounds, and an impressive eight feet long from tip of the nose to tip of the tail, yeah, that might be kind of terrifying.
The stubborn as fuck fox didn't even move. The balls on this little animal were astounding.
Bagheera towered over top of Maven, teeth on full display as he leaned down to thoroughly sniff the hell out of him. Maven did have the decency to roll over onto his back, which, in the animal world was always seen as a sign of submission.Good. The fluff ball doesn't have a death wish.
And, I take it back. He's a wild animal.Just as Bagheera started to get closer to his face, the little grump gave a half second warning with his own snarl before launching himself up and biting the big black cat right on his nose. A wail came from Bagheera and he shook his head violently, a few drops of blood hitting the bedspread. Sloane intervened and grabbed Maven's snarly ass before Bagheera could retaliate.
"Just go put him in the bathroom for now, Sloane," Saige offered, and Sloane quickly deposited him in the room and shut the door. That was probably the best choice if they were going to continue this bullshit alpha fight.
Saige slowly crept off Cam’s lap. "Umm, hi, Baggie..." she addressed the bleeding feline softly, and his huge head turned in her direction, his tail slowly changing from the flicking of an annoyed cat, to one that had just laid eyes on something that he'd decided was his.
The mattress creaked beneath his weight as he moved to her, dropping down into a crawling position that mirrored hers and looked ridiculous, but perhaps it was meant to put her at ease. Looked more like a predator stalking prey to me, but whatever. I took a big bite of my pizza, eager to see how this was going to play out. A hand on my back had my attention turning elsewhere, though. Sloane had materialized beside me, the heat of his hand warm enough to give me dirty thoughts.
As if he knew the effect he was having, his hand trailed lower and he palmed my ass, taking his own savage bite of his pizza, his tongue licking his bottom lip after he swallowed and I gulped. A sexy smirk tugged at his mouth, and my own mouth gaped when his hand ran up the crack of my ass through my jeans. He turned his attention back to the introduction that was happening on the bed, leaving me wondering what the fuck had gotten into him to start giving me public displays of affection. Even if it was hidden, this was a first.And earlier, when he'd been so gentle and caring before going to The Pig with Kai and Gran?
This was a new side of Sloane, and it was one I wanted to explore further. Was he finally ready to have a real talk about whatever was between us? The thought made my stomach clench, but before I could think on it further, commotion from the bed had my head snapping towards that direction.
"Baggie! Quit!" Saige squealed, her body squirming underneath the big cat as he nuzzled, purred, and licked her face. That's another first.Are all men and beasts destined to act completely out of character around this woman?
"Alright, let her up, Bagheera. She needs to finish eating, let us talk to Kai and see what he thinks about the fox," Cam ordered, and after one last lick, this one up the side of Saige's throat, he was gone in the blink of an eye and I was left staring at Kai's bare ass.
"Hello, Sprout." Kai's sultry voice had me rolling my eyes, but I moved over to them, nonetheless. His lust was evident, as his mental shields dropped and the room was being invaded by it.
"That was crazy! He... you... you're so big!" Saige exclaimed, grasping onto Kai's biceps as he hovered above her.
"Oh, Cub... if we had a dollar for every time we heard that..." he trailed off suggestively and Cam's eyebrow raised at the use of a new, more sexual nickname for her. Cam’s lust was breaking through now and permeating so strongly I could hardly breathe.
