Page 26 of A Bloody Merry Christmas
Bee’s mouth curled and she signed something to Samael.
He sighed and released my hand to reply. Whatever he said had her eyebrows shooting toward her hairline.
“So, apparently I’m not allowed to sign around you,” she murmured, flashing me a grin. “Because you don’t know ASL and Samael doesn’t want you to think we’re talking about you.”
“I don’t mind if you sign. But, are you?” I took Samael’s hand again and tightened my hold.
“Talking about you? Yeah, definitely.” She shrugged unashamedly. “I wanted to know why he’s so attached to you. Are you a witch, Ezra?”
“Not as far as I know. Is there a way I can tell?”
Bee laughed and shook her head. “Sit down. Let’s eat. I’m starving.”
We all took a seat at the table, and I chose the chair beside Samael, not that I had much of a choice because he wouldn’t let go of my hand. In the middle of the table was an array of food spread out, with a few bottles of wine, including the glasses Samael had poured. The spread had a Christmas festive theme, the jugs and glasses and plates decorated with mistletoe and reindeer and Santa.
“Do you always celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving?” I asked.
“Christmas lasts all of November and December,” Lucy answered with a chuckle. “As soon as Mariah Carey comes out to play. I heard her on the radio a few days ago.”
Bee rolled her eyes as she grabbed a dish, spooning out mashed potatoes onto her plate before doing the same to Lucy’s. “I told you that we’re not listening to her anymore. You’ve met your quota thisweekalone.”
“Oh please, you’re just jealous that Mariah has my attention,” Lucy hit back.
Dalton held up his hands. “Ladies, please don’t flirt at the dinner table.”
They both turned their glares on him.
I watched, not quite sure what I was seeing.
Samael nudged me and grinned, and even though I wasn’t surewhatwas actually happening, I laughed anyway. I didn’t have a chance to reach for food because Samael was already doing it, grabbing bowls and dishing out all sorts of things onto my plate, from mashed potatoes to bacon tocheese—“It really doesn’t have human meat in it,” Dalton insisted with a wink—to different types of vegetables. By the time he was finished, there was a mountain of food. I wasn’t sure how I was going to eat in all, but I was certainly going to try.
I started with the potatoes. It’d been a long time since I got the carb filled veggie into my mouth and it didn’t fail to meet my expectations. The perfect mashy goodness.
Samael grabbed a napkin and wiped under my mouth, and I froze, his touch electrifying even though it wasn’t sexual. The smile he gave me stole my breath, though, and I shot him a hesitant one back. Clearly I’d pigged out a little too much. He dropped the napkin and brushed his thumb over my chin, his face so close to me it almost felt like he was going to lean in and press his mouth to mine. His dark gaze flickered from my lips to my eyes and back again and I tilted my chinjusta little.
Someone cleared their throat and Samael sat back, successfully destroying the moment. I sent a glare to Bee, who had the audacity to appear innocent even though the smug grin said otherwise. Maybe I didn’t like her, after all. Okay, that was a lie. She was awesome.
“So, Samael killed for you.” Bee twirled her empty fork in front of her face and grinned at me. “Tell me about that.”
Samael shook his head at her, but I shrugged.
“Some jocks were being assholes and one of them was beating the shit out of me. I’d made my way into Samael’s?—”
“Call him Sam,” Dalton interrupted.
I paused, then smiled. “Sam’s yard. I thought they were going to kill me. The next thing I knew, Sam was there, whacking them with a baseball bat.”
“Ah, the bat. Classic.” Bee chuckled and stabbed a cut up piece of pork on her plate, then shoved it into her mouth. Her short blond hair fluttered around her cheeks and she brushed a strand away.
Sam signed and Bee nodded.
“And the tranquilizer for two of them, huh? You must be important. He only pulls that out for special occasions. It costs a fortune.” Bee’s grin widened.
I slid my gaze to Sam and stared at him for a moment, taking in the blush that swept over his cheeks. His eyes narrowed on her. He avoided looking at me and the warmth from earlier turned into molten heat that burned me from the inside out. Was I special to him? Fuck. The thought made my cock twitch.
“Are the bodies dealt with?” Lucy breezed through the question as though asking about the weather.
“One of them is.” Dalton took a piece of cheese and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “The second’s still on ice. When it’s time for my kids to eat again, I’ll feed him to them. The third is with Sam.”
