Page 20 of Ivory's Familiars

Seth narrowed his eyes, “I’m a growing boy.”

“Well, you won’t be doing any more growing tonight. You’re on bouncer duty,” Vaughn reminded him – with a tad too much relish, Ivory thought.

Seth’s shoulders immediately slumped and all the animation from his face disintegrated in an instant. They had decided that at least one of them would be with her at all times in her apartment and two of them when she was out in public. Not that she went out in public much other than here lately. She could still hear that chilling voice in her head telling her she was bad and to make them leave. She didn’t think walking around town with all three of them on her arm would help the situation. Tonight, both Vaughn and Ronan would be with her upstairs and Seth would stay and play the part of bouncer. It was too suspicious if they all left when she did. There were only four hours left until everything shut down for the night – not that Seth seemed to care about that. The man was pouting big time.

“Why do you both get to play with Ivory while I stay here?” he sulked.

“Because you lost the rock off, ya big baby,” Vaughn taunted, nudging his shoulder.

Ivory giggled at that. It seemed the only way the three of them were ever able to make any fair decision was to engage in a round of rock, scissors, paper. She watched them complete the ritual every night before bedtime to determine who would be on night duty and who would be sharing the bed or sleeping alone. Poor Seth seemed to lose with alarming regularity.

“It’s only spag bol, Seth. Nothing exciting. I promise to save some for you.” She actually enjoyed cooking for them every night. She loved cooking and baking and it was nice to see someone other than herself reaping the benefit of her culinary skills.

“That’s not the point. They’re going to try to steal you from me,” he placed his hand over his heart dramatically.

She laughed, “There’s plenty of me to go around.”

Shocked stillness met her words. Crap. She’d just said that out loud. It had been her first honest response to their advances and she wouldn’t take it back. No matter what those crazy butterflies in her stomach thought.

Vaughn’s face looked earnest as he demanded confirmation, “Is there?”

She swallowed;all in, Ivory, “Yes. There is,” she pledged.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ronan had been unable to take his eyes off Ivory the whole night. Her comfort level with them had grown by leaps and bounds over the past few days and although she had been easy with them, she had yet to reciprocate their obvious advances. But this evening he had noticed a definite shift in her temperament. She was always easy-going and laid back in general but he sensed she was never fully relaxed around them. But since they had returned to her apartment above the bar, she had been playful and her banter held definite sexual undertones. He wanted to grab her and kiss her senseless but was afraid this new little bubble would pop.

The past week had been one of the happiest of his life – despite the terrible and inappropriate circumstances. The more he learned about their feisty little client, the more he liked. And he knew he wasn’t alone in his crush either. Seth and Vaughn were just as interested and intrigued. She was a true dichotomy, feminine and vulnerable but also strong and independent. She had been making her own way in the world since her mother died when she was eighteen and wasn’t used to asking for help from anyone. She was always happy to talk about her past, including adventures, education, and travels, in broad terms but never specifics. It was the only blight on his infatuation. Even though they had long since stopped worrying about her being a hunter, they all knew she was still keeping something from them. He hoped this new, open Ivory would soon trust them enough to share. It was almost a full-time job keeping Vaughn’s blunt, suspicious mouth shut. The man and his panther were practically frothing at the mouth to make Ivory talk. But at the end of the day, it really wasn’t any of their business unless Ivory decided it was.

He pushed back the bowl he had practically licked clean and patted his full stomach. It was now well past one in the morning and they were only just finishing up another delicious home cooked meal. Ivory had ended up staying downstairs for another hour and by the time they completed their usual checks and Ivory showered and cooked, it made their dinner more like a midnight snack. Not that he was complaining – none of them could cook worth shit – so he was basking in all these wonderful meals.

“What’s this?” he looked askance at the bowl Ivory placed in front of him.

“Dessert,” was her prompt reply, placing an identical bowl in front of Vaughn.

Ronan picked up his spoon and prodded Ivory’s offering dubiously. It looked to be Neapolitan ice cream, which was fine, he loved all three flavours. But what was strange was the topping. It was brown in colour but he knew it wasn’t chocolate. Inhaling deeply, he picked up the salty and greasy smell of bacon.Bacon?He groaned. This strange concoction was a favourite of Vaughn’s – he had somehow shanghaied Ivory into making it for him.

Ronan moaned; “Bacon and ice cream?”

She nodded, staring at Vaughn intently, “Yes. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Desire, heady and intense started to pump off Vaughn in waves. Clearly, he was missing something here. And it was somethingbighe thought, as Vaughn pushed his seat back from the table, paced to Ivory in two quick strides, scooped her off her feet, and proceeded to kiss the living hell out of her. For her part, Ivory didn’t push him away or slap his face or any of the things Ronan assumed she would. He sat dumbfounded and horny, watching the show until Vaughn returned a swaying Ivory to her feet several minutes later.

“We’re kissing now? Kissing is allowed? Since when is kissing allowed?” he really hoped he didn’t sound as childish to the others as he did to his own ears.

Ivory giggled – actually giggled; ‘Since now.”

That was all the confirmation he needed, surging from his own chair. He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her with all the pent-up passion he’d been bottling up since meeting her. He moaned because her lips were just as soft as he imagined, groaned because her tongue reached out to caress his, and growled because her unique flavour burst across his taste buds in an intoxicating mix of sweetness, freshness, and wildness. She tasted exactly the way she smelled. Her soft curves aligned perfectly with his hard frame and he had to fight his panther’s instinct to lay her across the table and haveherfor dessert.

Unfortunately, oxygen soon became a necessity and he pulled back, watching her parted lips and closed eyes with satisfaction. She ducked her head and cleared her throat, putting some space between them. Although she had been as into it has he was, she was now looking a little shy and uncomfortable. That wouldn’t do. Hoping to break the tension, he sat back down and picked up his spoon;

“Okay, it’s official. I want bacon and ice cream every meal from now on.”

His joke had the desired effect, causing a laugh to bubble in her chest and Vaughn to snort in appreciation.

They were just scraping the bottom of their bowls with their spoons when Seth walked in more than an hour before he was expecting. Ronan was surprised at how much he had enjoyed the salty and sweet treat – not that he would ever admit that to Vaughn. The man had been trying to get him to taste his weird concoction for years.

“There he is,” Ronan didn’t need to look up to see the smile on Ivory’s face. He could hear it in her voice and truly believed they had turned a corner with her this evening, “The third musketeer. We were just – what is it?”

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