Page 104 of Kidnapping Their Third

“Sure,” Caleb agreed. “How are classes?”

Tim groaned and hid his face in his hands. “Never mind, let's go back to my sex life.”

To keep costs down, Tim was doing his first two years at a local community college before transferring to a university. High school had been years ago, and Tim was finding out that college was harder than he expected.

“That bad?” Cora asked.

“Why do I need to take a biology class?” Tim moaned. “I want to study history, not dissect a fish!”

“I remember thinking the same thing in an Eastern Philosophy class,” Tina said as both she and Mark joined their little group. “I like numbers. Why did I have to learn about Taoism?”

Tim pointed at her and nodded his head at the rest of the group. “She gets it!”

“I don’t know what you guys are complaining about, I loved every class I took,” Caleb said.

Cora gave him some side eye. “Really? So that wasn’t you who complained bitterly about economics class?”

“I was complaining about the professor, not the subject,” Caleb answered. “He could’ve made the study of pornography boring!”

“Personally, I’m very grateful for the Eastern Philosophy class you took,” Mark said. “If you hadn’t needed a study partner for the class, we might never have gotten together.”

“Yes, we would’ve,” Tina countered. “I’d been stalking you since the first semester of school. You just didn’t notice.”

As they laughed, Pike appeared, soaking wet and smiling. “Beer me!” he shouted to one of the wolves near a cooler as he nudged his way between Cora and Kimble.

The wolf picked up a can and tossed it to Pike. Plucking it out of the air, Pike popped it open, took a long swallow, and sighed with happiness.

“You’re wet!” Cora protested and tried to move away from him. Pike put an arm around her and snuggled closer, squishing his wet clothes between them.

“I got caught in the crossfire of a water balloon war,” he explained. “I’ve been mortally wounded; don’t you want to comfort me as a die?”

She was lucky it was an unseasonably warm night because one side of her was soon as wet as Pike. “Bad bear!” she admonished.

Kimble moved them apart and tutted at Pike. “You know better. She could get sick from being outside and damp at night.”

The vampire’s worry over her “fragile” human body was the only thing they fought over on a regular basis. He was sure she was only one cough away from dying of consumption even though the bond made her far stronger than a regular human.

Along with being strong, she would stay young for as long as Kimble lived. Eventually, she’d need to explain to her family why she wasn’t aging, but she could put that off for years, or even decades.

“I’m damp, not dying,” she assured Kimble. Pike had grabbed a blanket from a nearby seat and wordlessly handed it to Kimble so he could wrap her up tight. She rolled her eyes and let him.

“You call him bear?” Caleb asked, eyeing the dripping Pike. “Fitting.”

Cora grinned. “You have no idea.”

“Was that sexual innuendo?” Trevor asked, pretending to cover his ears. “Because I’m young and impressionable.”

“Pike, we need you!” a young voice yelled out. “Our position is taking heavy fire!”

Pike chugged back the last of the beer and tossed the can over his shoulder. “Duty calls!” Then he sprinted off with a battle yell that sounded like something from a cartoon.

“He’s so great with them,” Tina said. “Just think—”

Cora pulled a hand free from the blanket and held up a single finger to cut her off. “First warning.”

Tina laughed and pretended to zip her mouth shut. Cora had learned quickly to stop the wistful baby talk before it got started. So far, they hadn’t had to get to a second or third warning let alone any true threat. Cora having a baby wasn’t on the table yet. Maybe someday, but not now.

“I’ve had a great time, but Sammy managed to make himself sick by eating too much,” Caleb said as he moved in close to give Cora a hug. “We’re going to head home so he can recover without further temptation.”

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