Page 10 of Deadliest Throne

“I love you too, Foxy Girl,” Taylor says, slapping my ass hard.

I’m smiling so damn hard, my face hurts.

What is my life? Babies and serial killers, that's what. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter 3

Raven

We all stumble out of the confessional booth and almost crash into Hunter.

“Have fun, did we?” Hunter accuses in a teasing tone.

I huff out a breath and stand up straight, brushing the hair out of my face. His eyes drop to my tits, which are very much still hanging out of the dress. "Fuck," I mutter and tuck them away.

“Shame,” he sighs. “I was enjoying the view.”

“Sorry, man. No time for that. We got a baby to take care of,” Taylor says, clapping him on the shoulder.

“You only say that because you just got laid,” Hunter grumbles.

"You could have all of this," I offer, waving my hand over my body. "Anytime you want. You're the ones who've been holding me at arm's length."

“Is the nun costume included?” Hunter wiggles his eyebrows.

“Only if you're a good boy.” I wink.

“I’m never a good boy.” He gives me a blank look.

“Then you have your answer.” I grin.

“You're mean.” He pouts. “And the only reason none of us are getting any action apart from the very PG 13 fondling we’ve been doing is because Link threatened to kill us if we touched you,” Hunter explains, crossing his arms.

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, blinking at him a few times.

“Hunter...” Travis says in a warning tone.

“Oh, don’t Hunter me. You're the one who asked me to help you two set this little fuck fest up. We’re all going out of our damn minds having to use our hands to get off. Just because he’s freaking the fuck out doesn’t mean we all have to suffer.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, anger simmering inside me.

Hunter looks at me and licks his lips. “After we found out you were pregnant, Link cornered us all and said he would chop off our dicks–a threat you two seem to have in common–if any of us touched you. That it would be putting the baby at risk. So, it freaked us all out because we didn’t want anything to happen. But as time went on, we did some reading and as long as we don’t do anything crazy, sex is safe while pregnant.”

“I could have told you that,” I growl. “You mean I haven't been getting any because Link is paranoid?”

"You have to remember, Raven, Link took the loss of our angel baby harder than any of us. It's why he did the crazy shit he did. I can't begin to try and understand his mind, but he didn't warn us off just to be an asshole. He really is afraid. Why do you think he's been keeping his distance? It has nothing to do with being mad at you, or not wanting to be around you. He knows that he has the hardest time keeping his instincts under control. He can't act on them if he's not around."

My whole body deflates, and my eyes sting.

“Why doesn’t he just talk about it with me? I’d understand. Maybe if he gave me the chance to explain things–”

“It won’t help,” Hunter interrupts. “You can tell Link all the things in the world. But it won’t change anything. He is who he is. Once he gets something in his mind, there's no changing the way he thinks about it.”

“It’s not fair!” I shout. “I love his stupid, stubborn, crazy ass. It’s killing me that he won’t touch me, won’t come near me. I miss him.” Tears begin streaming down my face. I hate this. I love Link so damn much. I know he’s complicated and I see now that the loss of our baby was hard on him. I wish I could take away his worry, his pain. But I can’t do anything if he puts this barrier between us.

“I know.” Hunter pulls me into his arms. “And I agree. Things need to change. He needs to snap out of this. But, baby, I don’t think talking things out is going to work with him.”

“You could always give him a taste of his own medicine,” Taylor pipes up.

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