“That and your bright attitude,” Griff needlessly points out.
“You may need both eyes, but we can test the theory on both hands if you like,” P darkly warns.
Without any additional comments, we disperse our respectful directions. Our walk back to our Fated Mates is done in silence that I’m grateful for.
I don’t want to talk about how awkward that shit was with Karry. Or how awkward it’s going to be when I tell Ana – which isn’t fucking right now – about why I have to stay in constant communication with my ex. And I really, really don’t want to explain why I murdered a bunch of elves at her place of business – uh – ex place.
Ex-place of business.
Yeah.
She deserves a night in her own bed for that shit at the very least.
Opening my bedroom instantly becomes the best, worst decision I’ve ever made in my entire life. The woman I left sitting in pajamas and a tank top – braless but I was doing everything I could not to stare – is now dancing around to “Ain't No Mountain High Enough” in one of my button-up, gold dress shirts and a pair of black knee-high socks looking like a porn version of Risky Business.
Mother of Dragons, if I don’t look away right now, it damn sure won’t be a zucchini she’s asking about in these sleep pants.
Consummate.
I want to…Fuck. Me. I want to.
Words should leave me, yet they never do.
Z loudly snickers at my expense while his mate giggles loudly from the couch corner she’s nestled into with the M&M’s bag. “I think you broke him.”
“I think I need a cold shower,” I mindlessly mutter.
Ana shoots me a sexy smile that stiffens my cock a bit more.
“You definitely need a cold shower,” Z states on a heavy pat to my shoulder. “Come on, Little Tails. Let’s get you and our baby to bed.”
She happily saunters over and allows him to lead her away after waving goodbye to Ana.
Keeping my distance by remaining in the doorway seems to be the best plan of action I can come up with to stop me from giving in to my ancient side that insists we hold her down on the hardwood and fuck her with the door open so the others can hear her properly hit other high notes.
Right as the song ends, she confesses, “Hope you don’t mind I went through your vinyl. We started talking about pregnancy stuff, and I told her how my parents always played music for us when we were in my mom’s stomach, which got her wondering if it would be a good idea to do that to help the human half of the baby develop better, which then led to me digging through your stuff to find music.”
I don’t stop the grin growing on my expression. “And the shirt?”
“I like the way it looks.”
“That makes two of us.”
“On me.”
“Statement stays.”
Ana steals the tiniest bite of her bottom lip. “Genie Gene brought it up with some of your other things. I don’t know why, but it sort of called to me? Dae encouraged me to listen to the instinct, saying it’s basically my subconscious trying to link to you on this side of The Fog so the next thing I know, I’m putting on this fancy new pushup bra, these tiny but surprisingly comfortable shorts, and the black knee-highs you snagged earlier to go with it.”
She’s not wearing any fucking panties?!
My cock swells to the point of pain forcing me to drop my hands to block the sight.
For Dragons Sake, was it not enough that she’s wrapped up in my clothes, wearing socks I got for her, and trying to connect to me?
She just had to not be wearing any fucking underwear, too?
“I can take it off,” Ana salaciously insists.
“Yes.”
Her pierced eyebrow hops upward in a challenging way.
“I mean no.”
It twitches again in question.
“I mean I wanna see it off of you. Wait. No-”
“No, you don’t want to see it off of me?”
“I do! But I mean…I…” stuttering starts sparking her triumphant snickers. “Fuck. Me. You make this hard.”
“This as in your dick or this as in talking?”
Ignoring the kick my cock delivers from hearing her say the word is impossible.
“Dae’s right,” I say, doing my best to switch subjects. “That voice…that instinct…it’s your essence trying to take root on this side.”
“Kinky.”
Her additional playful response bounces my body in laughter, momentarily making it easy to forget that I’ve got enough wood to rival the rain forest right now.
“Meeting go okay?”
“Better than expected.” Staying true to not bringing up the long list of uncomfortable things prompts me to suggest, “Would you like me to take you home? Let you get a good night’s sleep in your own bed? Meet for dinner-” there’s an unexpected grumble of disapproval that slips out between suggestions, “or something sooner in the day to talk more about…this whole…Fated Mates thing?”
Disappointment appears and disappears in a blink. “Sure. I mean, I wouldn’t call crashing on the left side of my lumpy mattress where the springs can’t pierce my kidneys a good night’s sleep, but it beats the floor, right?”
I can’t move my mouth fast enough to remove the proposal.
“I’ll grab my shit from my car, and we can get going.”
Another attempt is made but is cut off.
“Think we can stop for breakfast tacos?” Her hope is both palpable and heartbreaking. “It’s like five in the morning. There’s gotta be at least one place serving them.”
“Yeah, I know a few.”
“That cool? Because I’m fucking starving. I didn’t get a lunch break – not that it mattered since I didn’t have cash to grab anything anyway – and thanks to an army of elves trying to kill me – you still need to explain that shit – I didn’t get to make it to Abel’s, one of my younger brothers, for a late dinner. Pretty sure he was serving chicken fried steak from scratch since he got all the cooking genetics, and also because it’s his current Hulu and Screw’s favorite food.”
Feed.
You, too?
Mate.
Why didn’t I do that shit sooner?!
Dumb.
You can have that one.
“Again, Tiny Toes,” levity actively spreading in my voice. “So much to unpack there.”