Page 119 of Wicked Heirs

She tasted like hope and deliverance.

Like the sweetest promise.

Like fucking serenity.

When we eased apart, it took me a few seconds to come down from it and return to reality. She pressed her fingers to her swollen lips and grinned at me.

I grinned back at her, then looked out at the guys.

Their eyes were hooded.

I saw Ore’s intent to escalate things.

I was right there with him.

I needed more than a taste of Alena Rose.

But before either of us could do a thing, Xavier held up his hand discreetly and shook his head at us.

Now isn’t the time to take it further.

Give her time.

Give us time.

As much as I wanted it not to be the case, he was right.

We hadn’t invited her out here forthat.

It had been to bond, to connect as foursome, instead of how it had been up until now—individually with her.

With the way Ore, X, and I operated, if she was in one of our lives, she was in all of our lives. It couldn’t be any other way. And we needed to see if she could be that, if she could embrace that way of doing things.

We took a seat on the chairs, facing the fire. Orpheus sat at the far right end and I joined him in the chair beside him. Alena took a seat beside me, with Xavier on her other side.

Orpheus grabbed a glass of bourbon off the conjured bar and started sipping at it. He passed a Snickertini to Alena who took it excitedly. Then he handed me a Hurricane. Xavier reached over to the side table beside his chair and snatched up the glass of vodka mixed with blood there and sank back against his chair chilling.

“Sorry I was late,” Alena spoke, between sips of her drink. “I was meeting with Professor Marlowe and enrolling in hisMagic in Combatclass.”

Orpheus sat forward. “You actually did it?”

She smiled proudly. “Sure did.”

“Magnificent,” Orpheus said, raising his glass and clinking with hers. Xavier and I joined in too.

“This calls for some s’mores!” I cried.

In the next moment, I was getting all the supplies together, then passing some skewers to each of them to roast their marshmallows.

As we all sat around doing that, cozy in each other’s company, Alena asked me, “So, what do you want to be when you grow up? I’ve got a writer for Xavier and a more fair and just King for Orpheus. But it’s blank for you.”

“I love that you’re curious about me, firecracker.”

“Of course I am,” she said, beaming at me, and sending a rush of warmth through me.

I made her a s’more and handed it to her and as she munched on it, telling me how great it was and making me chuckle, I told her, “I want to open a sanctuary for supernatural orphans like me, or for wolves who’ve been separated from their packs, vamps who are used to living in a nest environment too. But not a place like this where there’s so much power play, but one where they can come and stay as long as they like, and it guides them on how to get back on their feet. A place where they can feel loved even with their family lost to them.”

She stopped eating and stared at me in awe. “That’s amazing, Talon.”

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