Page 96 of Let Us Prey

“I say go have dinner with your little squad of admirers and screw your shitty parents. Better yet, screw your hot guys. Work up an appetite before the big meal.” Rufus laughs at his own joke as he continues to fiddle with the other side of my hair.

I smack his leg. “You are such a thirsty bitch.” Cori high-fives me and I grin wider, proud of my burn. “But I am glad I won’t be alone during the break. With the dead body at the Halloween party and the weird decree about no extra security at school, I’d probably have locked myself in my room the whole time if it weren’t for them.”

“That murder shit was fucked up. I think the victim was in my web design class.” Cori’s rainbow curls bounce as she nods emphatically. “He was always leaving to take phone calls and the professor never said a word. It felt very skeevy.”

I arch a brow. Now that I think about it, the weasel left my classes a few times, too. All of my professors—including the guys—are pretty strict about phones in class. A student leaving to take calls all the time is very odd, especially as he wasn’t a Council heir or anything.

Who was that meek little shit connected to that earned him such VIP treatment?

“Maybe he was boffing Professor Marten in web design,” Rufus says as he waggles his brows.

Cori reaches over and punches him on the thigh. “Not everything is about sex, Ru-Ru! Don’t freak her out—professors here actuallydon’tmake a habit of sleeping with students, so it only goes to show how serious Dolly’s guys are about her.”

I give her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Coco.”

“Hmph, I was just trying to make a joke!”

Since I still can't turn my head, I lightly pat the spot on Rufus’ thigh where Cori punched him. “I know Ru-Ru. I appreciate your humor, and the invite to come home with you if I ever need to. I’d love to meet both of your families someday. I’m sorry… I’m still learning how to trust people, and I’m not holding things back on purpose. I guess I didn’t realize how damaged I was by all the shit before I met you two.”

Rufus holds his hand out to Cori, who seems to have some sort of mind meld with him because she has a twist tie ready. “We know that, Dollypop. That’s why we adopted you when you showed up. Misfits like us need to stick together.”

He lets go of my hair, and I dig in my bag for a mirror. Rufus rolls his eyes, pulling out his phone to take a picture of the masterpiece he’s been working on, texting it to both of us.

“I look like a Viking!” I squeal in excitement. The intricate braid makes me look like a total badass, and I cannot wait to show Fitz. He’s going to love this.

They all will…

“Dolly, come hang out in our room tonight. I’ll show you how to preserve this look for your dinner. It’s only a day or two—and your sexy professors will love it.”

Thank Hera I found the two best friends a girl could have.

Somebody’s Watching Me

Renard

“Stop messing me up, Fitz!”Delores’ frustrated cry echoes through the Tower, but I know it’s coming from the kitchen.

Despite her utter lack of cooking knowledge, she’s determined to ‘help’ with our dinner preparation.

Chess tried to get her and Fitz—who is currently nipping at her heels like a lovesick puppy—to go play with the Slaystation, but she insisted, declaring she wasn’t a charity case to be served. No one wanted to push the subject, as we all know she wasn’t welcome in her childhood home over the holiday break. It’s probably why Chess is allowing her in his sacred space at the moment, despite the added distraction of his lover, who is no doubt doing nothing but feeling her up.

“Aw, baby girl! How am I supposed to keep my paws to myself when you’re wearing that frilly apron thingy?” the younger tiger whines.

How indeed.

Delores shrieks again before her giggles fill the air, and I shake my head, glancing at the dragon lounging on his throne with a large,dusty book. Aubrey senses my eyes on him, smirking knowingly as he carefully shuts the book. He’s been feisty since the night of the parents’ meeting.

Could it be that he’s having as much trouble keeping his dragon calm around Dolly as I am with my gargoyle?

“You could go down and mediate,” the dragon suggests, arching a brow at me. “Living in Paris for all of those years must have rubbed off on you a little. Surely you know how to cook?”

I snort. He damn well knows I love to learn things and frequently take up hobbies on a whim. I absolutely know how to cook. Aubrey and I had no need for that skill until the cats came along, and Chess does most of the cooking, but still. “I don’t want to disturb Chess’ workspace, as I had them renovate the kitchen to his specifications. Besides, there’s already too many cooks in there, don’t you think?”

“Fuck, yes, there are,” Felix mutters as he gets up and walks towards the stairs. “I’ll go handle my brother before Chess loses his mind.”

Aubrey watches him go before smirking at me. “If he thinks we believe he’s getting involved to wrangle Fitz andnotto ogle the frilly apron and dress combo, he’s in deeper denial than we thought.”

“You know what they say about denial—it’s not just a river in...”

---