Chapter 36
Raven
My jaw opened so wide when I yawned, I was in danger of swallowing an entire planet. Tired didn’t cover how I felt. The stress of the last week had caught up with me, not helped by the fact I’d not had a decent night’s sleep in, like, forever.
We’d left before dawn broke. Discussions broke down fairly quickly once it became clear Nula’s safety was more important than mine. Adam thought me and my males staying at the farm would bring Tiberius, and he wasn’t willing to risk it.
That, on top of Willow’s attitude, killed whatever warm and fuzzy feelings I had left for the place where I’d grown up. Adam may have cared for me after Mom died, but his allegiances had changed.
It hurt, but that was life. He’d fulfilled his promise to Mom by keeping me safe, and as he went to great pains to point out, with five mates and my new and scary powers, I no longer needed his protection.
Since returning to Starfall Academy was not an option, Rasmus had suggested we hide in plain sight. His vampire clan still owned a mansion in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Luckily for us, Zane had been to that area before—I didn’t ask why—so he could teleport us almost to the front door.
At three a.m., there was nobody around to spot our arrival, and for once, luck was on our side.
The mansion had remained undisturbed since the last members of Rasmus’s family left.
The house recognized Rasmus and let us in without a problem.
How it knew this was a mystery, but I assumed powerful magic was responsible.
The air inside the old house smelled stale, but everything appeared in reasonable condition. I shivered as I spotted huge cobwebs and evidence of rodent activity.
“Hope you feel like catching some mice, Kenji.”
My familiar shook himself and sniffed. “No. I only eat premium meats these days. You know this.”
Maverick surveyed the dust sheets covering the furniture and the extra-thick layer of dust on everything else and groaned, making it abundantly clear he wasn’t happy with the cleanliness of our latest accommodations.
“Fear not, care bear, I’ve ordered you a shit ton of cleaning products on MagiCart.” Zane peered at his phone. “It’ll be here in…”
A loud bell rang from the foyer. I half expected a butler to appear with a silver tray in his hands, but apparently all the human household staff had been let go once the vampires started dropping like flies.
“Shall I answer the door?” Zane asked while playing with his knife and grinning like a psychopath.
“You do realize we’re supposed to be here incognito?” Maverick threw him an exasperated scowl. “Which means not showing our fucking faces in public, where humans could identify us and call it in to the MIB.”
The doorbell rang again. My head pounded, and listening to a ringing bell wasn’t helping. “I’ll go,” I said.
“Super sensible when you’re number one on the MIB’s Most Wanted List.” Kenji flicked his tails at me. “But go right ahead. I’m happy to be a witness to the carnage that ensues when the MIB shows up.”
“I am?”
Fig wriggled free from Kai’s arms and rushed over to headbutt Kunton—or was it Karton? I could never remember Kenji’s cousins’ names. All I knew was they began with K.
Fig had decided the Ks were his new friends. Much to their disgust. They treated my pig with the same disdain as Kenji. Thankfully, Fig wasn’t that bright and hadn’t figured it out yet.
“I’ll go.” Rasmus pushed me toward Maverick. “My glamour hides my identity, and it’s still dark.”
My vampire shot away, returning a second later with a package. He tossed it at Zane, who tore open the bag and grinned.
“For you.” He threw Maverick a pack of cleaning sponges and a bottle of bleach spray. “For my pet,” he said next, passing me the most enormous bar of chocolate.
I burst into tears of happiness. Sugar was a witch’s best friend, and I needed it more than ever since my actual best friend had disappeared with the realm’s most toxic fae. “Thank you! That’s the nicest gift I’ve had today!”
“Oh, that’s nothing, my little petal. Just wait and see what else I have for you!” He pulled a smaller package from the bag and shoved it in his pocket. Then he winked.
“Okay, next, we have sushi for fish boy…and…a Twilight DVD for our suckiest host!”
“What is this Twilight DVD?” Rasmus held up the plastic-wrapped DVD case and frowned. “Why do these people look glittery?”
“It’s a human movie,” I explained. “About vampires…I think it’s Zane’s idea of a joke.” Although I’ll admit I was quite excited about the prospect of watching Twilight. I could do with a chill evening binging on stupid movies.
“No joke, fangy dude. I figured you could learn some useful tips so you don’t scare any humans. Like adding a bit of sparkle to your glamour if you go out in daylight. Or talking really softly.”
Rasmus shook his head in disgust and threw the DVD onto the table. “Vampires do not sparkle.”
Maverick caught me yawning again and growled. “My little mate needs to sleep,” he said before frowning. “Are the beds clean, and is there fresh bedding?”
“I’ll check.” Rasmus zoomed away while Maverick picked up his bleach spray and disappeared to check out the other rooms.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” Zane announced with a wink before he, Kenji, and the Ks vanished.
I probably should have been concerned, but it was late, and I didn’t have the energy.
Kai watched me as I yawned. “Are you okay?” I asked him.
My merman cocked his head. “I should be asking you that,” he said with a wry smile.
“I’m tired and fed up, but I’ll live,” I admitted.
“Maverick’s right. You should get some sleep. It’s been a long week.” When he took a step closer, I flung myself into his arms, needing a measure of comfort that only my gentle merman could provide.
Unlike the other three, Kai was less physically demonstrative, but he gave great hugs.
“I want to sleep with you tonight,” I told him. His arms stiffened around me in response. “If that’s okay?” I hoped he said yes; I rarely got any alone time with my merman. Zane and Maverick tended to hog my attention, and while Rasmus was happy to join them, Kai didn’t enjoy group cuddles.
After seeing the mer queen’s party orgy in action, I suspected Kai’s group activity experiences had been less than positive. We’d not talked about it, but his discomfort around the others when things got sexual was a dead giveaway.
I knew he enjoyed sex, with me at least, but he definitely didn’t enjoy sharing me.
But that was okay. I would never push him into anything that made him uncomfortable.
“I would love to sleep with you tonight,” he beamed with a happy sigh.
“Let’s go find a working bathroom. I want to clean up before I sleep.”
While Kai and I took turns in the shower, my bear put clean sheets on the bed. Kai was waiting for me when I left the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy towel. The room smelled of violets and mothballs, but I lacked the energy to care that it reminded me of a funeral parlor.
At least it had an actual bed, not a coffin. I loved my vampire mate, but I drew the line at sleeping in a coffin.
“No coffins, mea amica,” Rasmus chuckled in my head. “Most modern vampire residences have UV-blocking windows and blackout blinds, so coffins are not needed.”
“Phew,” I muttered to myself.
Kai looked up but didn’t comment. I guessed he was accustomed to me talking to myself.
“Come to bed. You’re exhausted,” he ordered.
My lady bits swooned at his gruff tone. I wasn’t used to seeing a more dominant side to my merman, and ooh, I liked it.
His nostrils flared as he caught my interest. “Raven, you need to sleep.”
He wasn’t wrong. The emotional overload of dealing with Willow’s weird behavior had left me with a stress headache. Despite that, my body didn’t hesitate to respond to the handsome merman sitting in bed waiting for me.
The covers pooled around his waist, drawing my attention to his delicious abs. Kai had the physique of a swimmer. Broad shoulders, muscular arms, and narrow hips. The sort of body that made thirsty witches weep. In all senses of the word.
I licked my lips.
Kai’s eyes glowed in the dim light from a bunch of flickering candles. I rubbed my hair with a towel as he watched me like a predator scenting blood in the water.
“Come here and let me do that for you,” he ordered when I picked up a brush to de-tangle the knots.
I nodded and then, with a smirk, dropped my towel, enjoying the way he inhaled sharply at the sight of my naked body. While I’d never been especially prudish about nudity, I very much enjoyed how my mates loved my curves.
Putting some additional swish into my hips, I sashayed over to the bed and threw the hairbrush at him. It hit him bang in the chest, prompting a low growl. But whereas Maverick would have probably spanked my ass with it, Kai ignored my teasing.
Instead, he patiently combed out the tangles in my hair and then used magic to dry it.
I regretted not learning that spell. Glynda had promised to teach me but then shit happened and I forgot about it.
Glynda. My heart ached for my bestie.
“Glynda will be fine,” Kai said as he put the hairbrush aside.
“Did you read my thoughts?” I gave him some side-eye.
“Everyone within a hundred-mile radius can read your thoughts, witch. You broadcast louder than Tiberius Vane at a press conference.”
Ugh. Kenji was right; I needed to get a grip on my mental shields.
“Your shields are fine, Raven. Kenji’s being mean.”
Kenji huffed loudly in my head. “I’m building your resilience in the face of adversity. Truly, it’s for your own good.”
I seriously doubted that, but whatever.
Kai lifted the covers. I crawled into bed and snuggled into his shoulder. Stars, my merman smelled good. Like the ocean on a hot summer’s day.
“You should sleep now, sweetheart.”
He was right, but my brain refused to quiet.
“I might need help to relax.” I heard Zane snort in my head, but for once he didn’t materialize in the bedroom with a kind offer to assist.
Kai cleared his throat. “What do you want from me?” All my other mates would have skipped the question and gone straight to ravishing me, but I appreciated Kai’s respectful approach.
“Um, maybe if you kiss me?” While I was definitely interested in jumping his bones, I was wary of making the assumption he felt the same way. It had been a stressful week for all of us, not just me, so he might prefer to sleep.
“I’d like nothing more than to kiss you, my sweet mate.”
“What he really means is he wants to rail you into the next realm, pet, but he’s too polite to say so.”
Kai tensed. The connection between Zane and me abruptly closed.
“I’d love it if you did that too,” I whispered, praying he’d heard Zane and that was why my incubus left the group chat.
My merman didn’t reply. Instead, his mouth found mine. But before I could melt into the mattress, he pushed me away.
“I’m feral for you, my love,” he said, breathing hard. “But it’s late and you are tired, so it would be remiss of me to take advantage.”
I let his words sink in for a few seconds.
Was he for real? He’d just admitted he wanted me, and make no mistake—the evidence of that want had practically drilled a hole in my belly while we kissed.
Yet despite all that, he claimed leaving me unsatisfied and pissed off was in my own best interests? !
Not. Fucking. Happening.