Chapter 10 Hey, Good Lookin’
Hey, Good Lookin’
Salem
My brothers have annoyingly terrible timing.
Kit gives me a shy, but mildly frustrated smile when I pull away.
Despite wanting to throttle Oriel for interrupting, I’m still happy to see her look eager to kiss me again, so I decide to spare the crow—this time.
I wink to let KK know it’s okay, then stroll over to the door to disengage the system so we don’t have to stop fixing the food for each arrival.
I only had it on so we’d have privacy to talk—and maybe smooch a bit—and that’s not an option now.
No use making everything more difficult and the rest of them cranky.
“Food smells tasty,” O says as he pads in. He’s wearing casual clothes, too, and his feet are bare.
KK waves at him from her perch on the stool as she keeps an eye on the pots and timers. I didn’t have to ask her to do so, and that pleases the shit out of me. Dottie chitters, and my roomie grins. “I think she’s happy to see you, Oriel. You’re probably not on the ‘grape up the nose’ list.”
The crow shifter smirks as he drops his stuff next to his chair, then heads over to grab a drink. “I’m honored and grateful. As funny as that was, I don’t want to be on the receiving end of the little gal’s vengeance. She’s fierce for such a small animal.”
“A bit like me, hmm?” Kit grins broadly as she crosses her arms over her chest.
That makes me marvel again at how dumb I was not to figure her secret out without that moment in the tent, and I chuckle under my breath when I think about how annoyed O will be with himself.
He notices so much because of his line and his role, but this seems to have coasted right over his punky head.
“Definitely like you. Hey, we should do that bestiary thing tomorrow. I almost forgot about it.”
“Can we?” KK pops out of her chair, obviously excited as fuck. She rubs her hands together as she waits for us to respond, clearly plotting something—though I’m not sure I want to know what.
“Tomorrow’s pretty packed,” I say as I grab the trays out of the oven. Kit blinks at me, her eyes on my hands, and I shrug. “I thought you realized I don’t require mitts and stuff, dude. Demon, you know?”
Oriel elbows her as he passes by with his drink. “You’re more observant than that, KK. Come on now.”
I blink, my eyes cutting to my new kissing partner as I try not to snort.
The annoyed face she’s making is adorable, so I have to look away before I fuck this up.
I swore I wouldn’t, but damn, I didn’t think O would give me an opening like that right off the bat.
Coughing as I pull the bread out, I shut the oven so the roast can continue cooking and put the hot tray on the stovetop.
“You, however, Kit… You need to use the mitts to get the bread sliced, so it cools flat. It’ll be easier to put the spread on. ”
She gives me a salute, her eyes twinkling, and I growl softly as I stalk over to where Oriel is now stretched out in his seat.
The little brat is taunting me, and I can’t do a damn thing about it.
However, I can definitely needle my brother a bit to take the edge off.
“When do you think the others are gonna show? Slash should be soon, I’d think, but the couples are probably still fucking like rabbits after all that nakedness and danger on the surface. ”
Kit chokes on the soda she’s drinking, and I grin as she wipes her mouth on her hand. “Salem!”
“Yeeees?” I ask, batting my lashes playfully. “I mean, ask Oriel. He’ll tell you I’m right. That kind of violence and arousal combined with risk and magic, makes our demons super horny.”
“Salem.” This time it’s O and I raise my hand to rub my hand over my mouth so he doesn’t know how amused I am. “Be nice to Kit. He’s not quite ready for such blatant guy talk yet. He’s getting there, but…”
Wrinkling her nose, Kit sniffs her agreement. “That’s right, buddy. I’m still figuring this stuff out and you’re being a Pushy Panda. Today was a lot for me; be nice.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake—now she’s purposely pouting.
Oriel’s eyes widen as he tilts his head. “KK, are you… pouting? I don’t know if I’ve seen you do that quite so… appropriately timed before. You are getting more comfy with us!”
I let out a sigh of relief when he jumps to a conclusion that doesn’t raise suspicion on his own. “You don’t live with him, man. This dude knows how to get what he wants when he feels like it.”
“Who doesn’t?” Kit shoots back as she gets up again, rounding the island to finally start slicing the bread like I asked. “Besides, you guys always say you want me to communicate better and I’m trying to do that. Am I doing it wrong somehow?”
“Not at all,” I reply with a smirk. “You’re just a wee bit sassy, given the lack of Jasper in the room.”
This time, Oriel arches a brow, his expression thoughtful.
“You know, he might be right, KK. Though, to be fair, I enjoy the smart mouth. It’s fun, and it tells me you’re feeling confident in what you’re saying.
That might not be true with Prince Pissypants, but I can tell the difference between the fake confidence and when you’re really comfortable. You have tells.”
She does? Now I feel dumb because I don’t know those. Damn him and those sharp fucking bird eyes.
“Well, keep that to yourself, bird boy. I don’t want everyone knowing all the shortcuts yet.” Kit hops down from the step stool, wiping her brow from the steam. “The veggies are almost done, Salem, and the bread is sliced. What’s next?”
Frowning, I wag a finger at her. “Now you come sit down and relax. I let you help because we both enjoy it, but you’re exhausted from the shit on the surface. You need to let your body and your brain calm down some more. No more chores for the night.”
She rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at me, making both O and I blink in surprise. He’s definitely right about her comfort level with us, and I can’t wait to explore that at some point. But first, I want her to myself, so I’m keeping my damn mouth shut.
It won’t always be just me, but I’m going to fucking soak up the time that it is.
“You look much better, little demon.” The second Slash is in the door he’s headed for Kit, his eyes narrowed on her like he’s a guided missile. He’s laser-focused on my roomie, and I’m pretty sure it’s only partly because Jas assigned him to see to her welfare.
I have zero clue what Slash does or doesn’t like in that arena because he is the most mysterious of us all about sex; I’ve tried a million times, but no one ever talks.
Oriel looks up from his book, squinting for a second as he grins a little. “Calm down, big guy. Salem and I didn’t make him run circuits or anything. We’re not stupid.”
“Sometimes, I question the limits of your intelligence in matters such as this. You are both fond of risks.” Slash drops down to his knees, getting even with KK’s face as he examines her. “But you seem truthful at the moment.”
“Slash, I’m fine. See?” KK holds up the arm that was injured prior to our trip, moving it to show him the wound has healed well and didn’t get fucked up on the surface.
“Whatever Dr. D gave me and the rest took care of most of the problem, and since I did nothing strenuous today, it got better. Cross my heart.”
The huge shifter grunts, watching her movements, then nods. “Okay. But I want to make certain you remain cautious for the first couple of days this week. We will start working on endurance again after Wednesday. Does that sound like it will work?”
“Yep.” Kit smiles at him, then jerks her head at the kitchen. “The food smells fucking awesome, right? I helped Salem cook and now we’re finishing up some work while we wait for it to finish.”
“It does, little demon. You did very well.” His hand reaches out to ruffle her hair, and I hide my grin when she flushes the pretty pink that is one tell I’m aware of.
That means she’s having less than pure thoughts, and when I inhale slowly, I can almost smell a change in her scent.
It’s weird that I can’t grasp it fully, but I bet there’s a reason.
I’ll have to ask her about it later. For now, I’m kind of enjoying being in on her big ass secret, and I refuse to spoil it.
“Kit Kat, you are so much easier with him than Jasper. If you were this calm with him, the two of you would stop butting heads.”
“Truth,” Oriel adds as he looks up from his book. “However, taunting him is amusing as fuck, too. I can’t decide which one to root for.”
Slash shrugs, moving from kneeling to sitting at Kit’s feet.
He picks one up and starts rubbing it absently.
“I think he can do whatever makes him feel comfortable. It would be less trouble if they got along, but I know that my old friend and leader can be abrasive. He’s often that way when he loses control of things around him, and it is the only thing he can do to get it back. ”
What the hell?
“Slash, you’re almost waxing poetic, dude. What gives?” I look at O, who nods in agreement, and then back at our brother. “And you’re not kissing Jasper’s ass, which is unheard of.”
Kit chuckles, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “The big guy talks more around me than normal. I guess it manifested even with you jokers here this time. That’s why I don’t look shocked.”
Our general grunts in irritation—likely with himself for forgetting his audience—and goes back to working on the foot in his palm. “You listen, and it doesn’t feel excessive when we are alone. Get back to work, all of you.”
I shake my head, knowing that he’s embarrassed about the slip, so I let it go.
I’d love for him to interact more in the group, and I definitely wish he’d break from our cranky dragon leader more often.
If he feels like we’re poking at him, he might not show that side again.
“Fine. The roast only has a little longer, anyway.”
“Plus, the mattress bouncing quad will get here soon. We won’t be able to focus once X gets here.
They’ll want to talk about everything that happened in great detail.
” Oriel’s jab is friendly, but he’s right about the cobra shifter.
Xerxes will want to chat, and Anton will insist on analyzing every detail as they do so.
That’s why they work so well together, in my opinion.
“Jasper will also be eager to discuss the events and the possible allies we met. The Fae and the Gemini twins could be strategic.”
Kit puts her book down again, leaning forward in his chair. “And I want to get contact info for Morgana and Rogue. They seemed cool as fuck, and I’d like to at least be able to text them sometimes.”
My grin is huge; Kit trusting anyone is a big deal. I don’t know if we helped her do that or if we just supported her well enough for her to get there on her own, but I love that she’s actually interested in making friends.
I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure she gets to do that—and if they hurt her, they’ll have to deal with me.