“You’re more important to me than a fucking position, kitten.”
Her breath seemed to catch in her throat, and she bit her lip. “You couldn’t have known what would happen when you left. You thought I was safe. I should have been safe. Everything that happened was because of Leticia, not because you weren’t here. Besides, you got here in time to deal with Eric.”
His eyes flared. “The fucking asshole died too easily.”
“Your hound butchered him.”
“He deserved worse. I swear, my vision went red when I got to the apartment and saw him stabbing your feline. My hound lost its fucking mind and took over before I had a chance to fight the shift. That pissed me off, because I wanted to kill the son of a bitch myself.”
“Don’t start mentally kicking your ass. I’m okay. You’re okay. That’s what matters.”
He massaged her head, digging his fingers into her scalp just hard enough to feel good. “Fuck, I love you.”
Devon’s heart slammed against her ribs, and she felt her nose prickle. “Yeah?” It was a shaky question.
He smiled. “Yeah.”
“Good. I love you right back.” He kissed her, licking into her mouth, demanding a response. She gave it to him, moaning as he took her mouth in a soft, deep, drugging kiss that made her toes curl.
Then her phone rang.
Pulling back, he sighed. “I’ve been fielding calls from people, telling them you’d call them back when you were awake. Gertie has called eight times. I assured her that you’re okay, but she’s worried about you. I think she’ll need to hear your voice before she believes you’re truly fine.”
“I’ll return the calls after you’ve made me come.”
He smiled. “Later. Some of your wounds are still a little raw. Don’t pout,” he added, chuckling. “Come on, let me feed you and then you can make your calls. My guess is some of those people, especially your parents, will want to see you. After they’ve all gone, I’ll put you to bed and make you come with my fingers and mouth before I fuck you. Deal?”
She pursed her lips. “Works for me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Her eyes glazed and heavy-lidded, Khloë raised her hand. “Wait,” she slurred. “You’re saying my tongue print is different than yours?”
“I’m saying everyone’s tongue print is different,” said Devon, setting her glass on the table but almost tipping it over. “Like fingerprints.”
“Wow. If I was blitzed right now, my mind would be blown. Good thing I’m sober.” Swaying just a little, Khloë chugged down the rest of her drink and burped loud. “How cool would it be if I could fart confetti?”
“Fart confetti?” echoed Raini, slumped in her seat, twirling the little umbrella from her cocktail.
Khloë frowned at the blonde. “You can’t honestly say you’ve never wondered about it.”
“I honestly can,” Raini told her.
Khloë just snorted.
Staring into her empty glass, Harper pouted. “I miss Asher. I always feel so guilty when I leave him behind.”
Devon patted her shoulder. “The party’s almost over. You’ll see your bambino soon.”
Harper and Knox had thrown the “Welcome to the Lair” slash “Congrats on Your Mating” party in the Underground. Most bars and nightclubs on the strip took part, and a lot of food vendors set up stalls outside those venues to help celebrate, so it was kind of like a street party on crack.
There’d been lots of eating, drinking, and dancing as Devon and Tanner hopped from venue to venue, accepting well-wishes and all that jazz—the girls, Knox, and the other sentinels were with them every step of the way, of course.
Now that the mingling was done, the girls were settled at a table in their favorite bar. Tanner, Knox, and Keenan were near the restrooms, talking with a group of people Devon didn’t recognize. But it was good that they were all the way over there, because then they wouldn’t notice that the girls had exchanged their bottles of water for yet more alcoholic drinks—apparently, the guys thought they needed to sober up. Pfft. They were not drunk. Really.
Everyone in the lair had all been very welcoming, which was nice, but Devon was still sad to leave her old lair. She also didn’t like living so far from her parents. Nonetheless, she had no intention of living anywhere but with Tanner. And it wasn’t exactly a hardship to live in his—no, their—condo.
Harper nudged Devon with her elbow. “On the subject of bambinos, what did the specialist say about the whole you-not-going-into-heat thing—something you should have mentioned years ago, heifer. And I say ‘heifer’ with all the love in my shriveled heart.”
“You know why I didn’t tell you.” Devon awkwardly elbowed her right back. “The doc said nothing’s wrong; thinks it’s all psychological.”
Khloë clasped her hands together. “So there could be hellkitties or hellpuppies in your future?”
“The doc thinks so,” said Devon.
Khloë’s eyes went super wide. “Cool. If I had a flag, I’d totally wave it. Ooh, can I have pick of the litter?”
“Khloë, I love you for realsies, but I’m not gonna give you one of my kids.”
“It doesn’t have to be your firstborn or anything—I’m not Rumpelfuckingstiltskin.”
Devon’s brows dipped. “Rumpel who?”
“You’ve never heard the story of Rumpelstiltskin? Girl, you haven’t lived.” Khloë gave her a quick recap of the fairy tale. “The moral of it is … don’t make deals with strange little dudes—they’ll fuck you over every time.”
“Gotcha.” Devon picked up her glass and knocked back the last of her Cosmo. She had a real good buzz going on. Felt all warm, cozy, and tingly. “I could totally crash right here I’m so relaxed.”
“Me, too.” Raini tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “You’ve gotta love that transcendent state of pure happiness that’s devoid of tension and strife. Know what I mean?”
“I was just gonna say exactly that,” said Harper. “Not gonna lie, I was drunk off my ass earlier, though.”
Yeah, so was Devon. But after a few bottles of water and several thousand pees, she was simply a little buzzed; basking in the atmosphere and delighted that the world was such a beautiful, wondrous place filled with love and laughter. Even better, it was no longer spinning. Just kind of blurry, that’s all.
“Shit, the guys are heading our way!” hissed Khloë.
Devon and the girls quickly put their empty glasses under the table and planted innocent smiles on their faces.
Reaching them, Levi frowned. “Those smiles are making me nervous.”
Snorting, Tanner plucked Devon out of her seat, sank into the chair, and then perched her on his lap. “Hi, kitten. Did you miss me?”
“Like an idiot misses the point,” she replied.
Chuckling, Tanner pressed a kiss to her mouth. “You always make me feel so adored.” He peeked down her dress, getting a good look at her cleavage. “How are Holly and Molly doing?”