Page 38 of Cora

Although the canned chicken was already cooked, I drained the can and dumped it into a frying pan to heat it up and season it so it didn’t taste gross. While I was doing that, Trent worked on putting the rest of the casserole together.

“Hey, I didn’t thank you for saving Remi,” Trent said. “I appreciate it.”

I waved my hand at him dismissively. He didn’t need to thank me for saving Remi.

“No, I mean it,” Trent pushed, stopping what he was doing to wrap his arms around me. “I know you’re saying that thanks isn’t necessary, and I know you would have done what you could no matter what, but Remi’s been a little distant since we had sex, so I appreciate that you didn’t hold it against him.”

I looked at Trent with a horrified expression. Why the hell would I have allowed him to be hurt?

“Sweet Cora,” Trent sighed, leaning down to rest his forehead against mine. “The world isn’t the same place you remember. You’d be surprised by what a decent person would do nowwithout blinking an eye. Right and wrong isn’t as black and white as it used to be.”

I stroked Trent’s face, trying to smooth away the sad lines gathered around his eyes. We kissed softly as I leaned into him. The kiss wasn’t urgent and wasn’t meant to lead to anything more. It might have been my favorite kiss so far.

When I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, I ended the kiss to see who it was. When I saw it was Remi, I quickly jumped out of Trent’s arms. While Remi apologized, I wasn’t sure where he stood on Trent and me together. Until he talked to Trent and got that sorted, I didn’t want to rub it in his face and potentially make him feel worse.

Trent looked surprised and saddened by how fast I moved away from him. Remi grimaced when he saw Trent’s face.

“Cora, wait!” he said quickly. “I might not have had the best reaction to finding you and Trent in bed together, but that has nothing to do with either of you. It’s my issues that I need to work through.” Remi held his hand out to me. I took it and let him pull me between him and Trent. He pressed himself against my back tightly, wrapping his arms around us. “This here is right for all of us. I can’t promise I won’t have any more freakouts, but I promise to try and manage them better.”

Remi kissed my neck, sending a slight tingle down my spine, and then he and Trent kissed over my shoulder. I squirmed between them as I watched. Seeing them together will always be a turn-on for me. Remi grunted softly as he pushed his stiffening cock against my ass harder.

“Behave, Little Mouse,” he said in my ear, his voice thick with desire. “We don’t have time for that right now, and when I finally get between your thighs, I don’t plan on leaving for quite some time.”

I shuddered at his words and the promise they held. I’ve had a front-row seat to Remi in the bedroom numerous times. I couldonly imagine what it would feel like to have all of that sexual energy directed at me.

“Dinner is burning,” Derrick said with amusement from the doorway where he leaned.

I pushed out of Trent and Remi’s arms and leaped to the stove. I lifted the pan from the burner and quickly stirred the chicken. Crap! It was a teensy bit charred. My shoulders drooped as I turned off the burner and set the pan back down. We had more chicken downstairs that I could make, but I was annoyed that we wasted this can; plus, I burned it the first time I tried to cook for them.

“No worries, love,” Trent said, hip-bumping me out of the way to look at the chicken. “We’ll just have Blackened Southwest Chicken and Rice. You know, three years ago, you would have added ten dollars to the price of this dish at a restaurant.” He winked at me as he added it to the casserole dish.

Isaac joined us in the kitchen, looked at the casserole, and then at me. “Come on, Princess. Let’s let Trent finish up dinner before more things become blackened.” Isaac took my hand and tugged me away from the others. “You’re such a pretty little distraction; we may have to ban you from the kitchen while cooking.” He chuckled when I stuck my tongue out at him. I followed behind him until I realized where he was taking me. I stopped walking and yanked my hand from his. When Isaac turned around, I shook my head emphatically at him. I was not going outside.

“Come on, Cora. It’s time. I’ll be with you the entire time, and you have your gun. You’ll be perfectly safe,” Isaac prodded.

I shook my head and pointed at the floor. I was perfectly safe right where I was.

“You can’t stay inside forever, Cora.”

Oh yes, I could. I pointed toward the stairs to the bunker. Daddy made it so I could stay indoors indefinitely.

“It’ll be good for you,” Isaac continued as he stalked toward me. “The sunshine will do you good.”

I stomped to the window where the sun shone and gestured toward the sky. I could get plenty of sun right here.

“Stop being stubborn, Cora,” Isaac said more firmly. “I’ll carry you out there if I have to.”

I glared at him and lifted my fists as I shifted into a fighting stance. He could fucking try.

Isaac growled in frustration as he scrubbed his hands down his face.

“I’ll bet you five Cosmic Brownies that Cora will take him,” Derrick whispered.

We both looked toward the kitchen to see all three men watching us with obvious enjoyment.

“Nah,” Trent whispered back. “I gotta bet on my brother. He used to beat on me as a kid and is far more agile than you give him credit for.”

“I’m going to have to side with Derrick,” Remi stated. “I’ve seen our girl in action. She’s scary as fuck.”

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