Page 181 of Under an Endless Moon

No chance of letting me out of his sight.

But it was the way of Sanctum. If they protected strangers the way they did? You could bet that would extend to the ones they loved by a hundredfold.

“You could go for a ten-mile hike in those things, and I bet you wouldn’t even twist an ankle,” Charleigh called as I hopped onto the sidewalk in front of her.

I scoffed with a grin. “Hiking? Do you think I’m some kind of masochist?”

My bestie lifted a wry brow as she swung open the door. “As evidenced by the fact you make Otto carry you on his back every time we take the trail out to the lake.”

“Two birds with one stone and all of that. No hikingandI get my legs wrapped around the man’s waist.”

Unfortunately, it had been from the wrong direction, but I didn’t have that nasty little problem anymore.

“And it sounds like that’s where they’ve been.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially as we stepped into the cool air of the restaurant.

My heart pattered, and I angled my head in her direction. “Things might have changed a little bit since we talked yesterday.”

She started to ask more, but she clipped off when Sienna rounded from behind the coffee counter and came striding our way, welcome on her face. “Hey, Raven. What are you up to?”

I hooked my arm through Charleigh’s. “Having lunch with my bestie. I’ve been wanting to introduce you two. Charleigh, this is Sienna, my new friend I was telling you about. Sienna, meet Charleigh, my brother’s fiancée, even though she was mine first.”

I tacked the biggest pout I could onto the last.

Charleigh laughed, giving my arm a tug. “The two of them love to fight over who met me first.”

“Obviously me.” I widened my eyes in a way that claimed it. “My surly, grumpy brother would have chased her off if it hadn’t been for me.”

Sienna’s laughter was soft as she glanced between us. “Well, Raven definitely has a way of making us feel welcome, doesn’t she?”

Charleigh’s gaze was soft. “She definitely does. And she’s told me a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“Sienna is going to join us for Otto’s big birthday bash this weekend. She gets to finally see all the hotness that is my brother’s friends.”

“Well, I already got a peek at one, so I’m ahead of the game,” Sienna teased.

Speculation filled Charleigh’s expression.

“Theo came in for lunch one day,” I explained out of the corner of my mouth as if it were a sordid secret.

Understanding dawned on Charleigh’s face. “Oh…so you like them dark and terrifying.”

Sienna’s brow arched. “From what I’ve seen, I’d say you do, too. I’ve seen your man hanging around here.”

Charleigh laughed a self-conscious sound. “He can be a little intimidating, but I promise, there is nothing but goo underneath.”

Okay, that was a bald-faced lie, but we couldn’t admit the real truth in front of Sienna. This world classified and contained. It made it hard to get close to anyone outside of it, but I still intended on trying.

“Well, hopefully Theo isn’t too soft because I don’t mind my men a little rough around the edges.” Sienna let the innuendo wind into her voice.

“I already warned you that man will eat you alive.”

“I’m counting on it.”

She turned to the nook where the menus were stored. “So, two for lunch, or are you grabbing something to go?”

“We definitely want a table. We have some conspiring to do.”

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