Page 31 of In Prey We Trust

Shit. I’m going to leak; how embarrassing.

Pulling a pair of sunglasses out of my purse, I put them on and clear my throat. “I appreciate that, Felix. You guys and Cori and Rufus are the first people in my life who haven’t wanted to use me for their own gains, so I’m still getting used to that. But it doesn’t mean I don’t believe you or that you don’t hold special places in my heart. You know?”

Chess walks over and kisses my cheek. “I absolutely do, angel.”

“Chinese?” Everyone looks at Fitz as he studies his phone and he rolls his eyes. “Don’t be assholes. Baby Girl knows I’d crawl through glass for her, but someone had to find food before her bunny blasts us with blue shit until it's fed.”

The Raj pinches the bridge of his nose as if the conversation is physically painful, but he sighs. “As usual, my brother is right even when he’s being a dickwaffle. Where are we going, Fitz?”

“Are you all deaf? A Chinese buffet is the obvious choice for a starving bunch of preds. Follow me, assmunches!” He grabs my hand, pulling me along as he strides through the thickening crowds in the artsy district. “We’re hitting up the Happy Kitsune. It’s got a five claw rating and I can’t wait to inhale some crab Rangoon.”

Leave it to Fitz to dispel all the heavy emotions and make us all laugh at the same time.

Dirty Mind

Fitz

I don’t care what anyone says—watching my baby girl put away enough food to feed a small army is hot. Last year, I felt like she was still monitoring every bite that went into her mouth because of that bitch mother of hers and the Petty Plastics. Now she’s dabbing her mouth with a napkin daintily after seven platefuls of various foods each of us suggested she try. I fucking love how happy she looks, and I’d skin someone alive if they upset her.

Of course, I’d skin someone alive for fun most days, but upsetting our girl is the cardinal sin in my world.

“Are you ready to finish our outing, angel?” Chess is looking at Dolly like she hung the moon and my heart swells in my chest. He’s come out of his shell so much since she stumbled onto our public show in the library, and that’s another reason the lovely bunny rabbit has my eternal devotion. The others may not have noticed, but I see him growing more confident day by day and it’s brilliant.

“I think so.” A small belch escapes her lips, and she looks scandalized, covering her lush lips quickly as her face turns red. “Excuse me! Oh my goddess, how embarrassing.”

Snorting, I roll my eyes. “Baby Girl, that wasn’t even a real burp. Don’t apologize for a normal bodily function. Have you heard the dragon after he goes hunting? I’m surprised he didn’t break the fucking windows over the years.”

Aubrey glares at me as if he’d like to set me on fire in the middle of the damn restaurant, and I laugh even harder. “Fitzgerald Khan…”

Luckily for me, Felix steps in before I set the scaly Shakespeare off again. “Stop it, both of you. Princess, Fitz is right. You don’t have to be embarrassed about enjoying your meal. I didn’t want to make you self conscious, but I’m glad to see you consuming enough fuel to feed your bunny. You need more energy after you emerge and you weren’t getting enough last year.”

Dolly blinks and sticks her lower lip out. “Why didn’t you guys say anything? I knew there had to be a reason I was tired all the time, despite getting as much sleep as I could.”

I grin wickedly. “When I let you…”

“Fitz!” Renard sighs and reaches over to take our girl’s hand. “Ma petite, you must know none of us are stupid enough to criticize what a woman eats. Even if it’s clinical, it’s just not a smart plan.”

Good one, soaring sonneteer!

Her brows furrow, and she thinks about it for a moment, nodding when she decides. “Okay. I’ll give you that. I would have told you all to bite me if you tried to comment on my food intake. It was one of Lucille’s favorite topics and I would have been triggered.”

“Now that we’ve cleared that up… shall we hit the last store on the list?” Chess grins a little and I cover my mouth to keep from laughing. “I’m sure we can handle the ones in the middle with online orders and we don’t want you too tired for Zhenga’s practice tomorrow.”

“Mmmm. Skipping the big box stores isn’t about making sure we have time to visit Dungeons, Dragons, and Daddies?” The gargoyle has a sparkle in his eyes as he leans in on his elbows, looking at my cheetah knowingly. “Because I call bullshit if you say ‘no,’ Chester.”

The table erupts in guffaws when Chess turns a lovely shade of pink and the spicy lizard spits his drink out. Clearly, he didn’t think about how Aubrey would react and I fucking cannot wait to see what happens when we get all these stodgy assholes in that kind of place. Renard and I are the most adventurous of the group, so neither of us will be perturbed, but even my commanding bro doesn’t use a lot of equipment.

“Chess!” Baby Girl hisses. “You picked this place? I thought you were the good one!”

His lips curve and he shrugs. “Maybe I’ve been converted.”

Dolly buries her face in her hands, shaking it from side to side as she groans. When she finally looks up, all five sets of eyes are on her, waiting for her assent. “Fine! Fine. We’ll go to this incredibly embarrassing den of iniquity, but you have to promise not to make fun of me when I don’t know shit. That means you, Monsieur Kinky Tail.”

My grin is so big it hurts as I jump out of my seat. “He agrees. We all agree. No shenanigans in the sex shop. Come on, baby girl. Let’s have one last hurrah before this shit show starts at the snooty school.”

The flustered bunny rises, taking my hand as she looks at the rest of our family. “Get moving, you pervs. This is your big chance to see me turn into a literal fruit as you explain what all of this dirty stuff does.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

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