Love Bites Extra Hard (Mated to the King #5)

Chapter 20

twenty

TALON

After dinner, we all sat around eating ice cream and talking. Clementine and Zora kept the conversation going the most, and it was honestly a good time.

It reminded me a little of my friend group, before Sylvester went and fucked everything up. But the sirens’ pod was more stable than my group had ever been.

They were family. All the shit they’d survived together had made them loyal, even when personalities clashed or bad decisions were made.

And honestly, I felt lucky to be a part of it.

I’d eventually try to get Stella and Evan adopted in, but I knew it could take some time. From what I’d heard, they were having enough fun together that she wouldn’t mind missing out.

It was the middle of the night when we finally got around to cleaning up and taking the ice cream machine back down. We’d had enough conversation about our different kingdoms not to even need a meeting in the near future, which was nice.

It would be really nice if we could do away with them altogether, which seemed pretty much guaranteed.

We were all sirens now, according to Clementine, so why not handle all the political shit casually?

When everyone went their separate ways, we walked back to Fae Manor with Kai and Clem. It was in the same direction as Dragon Manor, so no one questioned us.

We stopped just inside the doors, and met Clementine’s bright smile. “We’re in for the seduction plan, but we want to make a vacation out of it.”

I blinked.

Avery’s lips curved upward. “You can stay for a few days in my old bedroom. We have hot springs.”

Clem’s eyes widened. “Hot springs?”

“With a cave system,” Avery confirmed.

Kai’s forehead furrowed. “Aren’t those dangerous.”

“So dangerous,” Clementine said, her voice full of barely-contained glee. “And with your vines, we can’t get lost.”

Kai considered it. When he finally nodded, he looked grudging.

“I can go with them,” I said.

“Ooh, I’m jealous. Can you learn how to breathe underwater?” she looked back at Kai, waiting for an answer.

“Nope.”

“Bummer.”

She didn’t look bummed, though.

“We get to ride on a dragon too, right?” she checked.

“Yep. A glittery one.” Avery messed with my hair.

Clem’s grin widened. “Alright, let’s go now.”

I blinked again.

Avery laughed. “Okay. We’ll probably need a day or two to get Stella back to the castle, though. She’ll want to be there when we take Sylvester down.”

“We can vacation before the seduction.”

“I don’t love knowing that this plan involves you seducing someone other than me, Five,” Kai warned.

She looped her arm through his and kissed his cheek. “Do it for the vacation.”

He grumbled, but didn’t protest.

He had to be a saint to put up with a female that wild. Or maybe just bored.

He had seemed bored for a long time. That was probably the right answer.

After Kai and Clementine disappeared upstairs to change and grab their bags, we headed to Dragon Manor instead. It took some finagling to get all three of them on my back, and was a small hit to my pride. But for the sake of finally ridding the world of Sylvester, I could handle it.

The flight was quick and painless. Avery’s old room had been cleaned out thoroughly, with the mattress and bedding replaced, so it was perfectly fine for visitors. After Clem assured her they wouldn’t have a problem settling in, Avery promised her a tour in the morning, and we finally headed to our own room.

“Did you enjoy feeling like a pack mule?” she teased me, bumping her hip against mine.

“There’s nothing in the world that I enjoy more,” I drawled, and she laughed.

We were both tired, but in a good way.

It had been a nice day.

I was glad she had invited me to the party, despite my initial uncertainty.

“Are you used to the glitter yet?” she asked me, as I opened the door to our room.

I closed it behind us and lifted an arm, watching it catch the light. “I don’t think I’ll ever be used to it.”

She smiled, going up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “Thanks for being a good sport anyway.”

“It was actually kind of fun.”

“Right?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

Her smile widened, and she towed me toward our room before releasing my arm and striding into the bathroom. “I need a shower before I can sleep. I can feel the chlorine clinging to my skin.”

I followed her in. “It looks suspiciously like glitter.”

“Better investigate,” she agreed, untying the back of her bikini.

I leaned against the cabinets, watching her strip. The glitter was a little bizarre, but in a good way. I still wanted my mouth on her tits just as much as always.

Her swimsuit bottoms followed the top to the floor, and my eyes skimmed her body.

Yeah, I still wanted my mouth on her clit while she sparkled too.

“Do you taste different, covered in glitter?” I asked, lifting my gaze to hers.

“I don’t know. Want to find out?” she lifted an eyebrow at me, and I followed her in as she turned on the shower. She squealed as her back hit the wall and I kissed her lips deeply.

Followed by her tits.

And her cunt.

It turned out, she didn’t taste any different with the added glitter. She was just as good as always.