Page 328 of Blood & Betrayals

“Your friend is here!” Luke calls from the other side of the door as Connor and I finish getting dressed.

“You need to be nice to him, big guy. This is a big deal that he’s trying.”

Connor gawks at me. “I’m always nice!”

I give him a look, and he pouts, buttoning his jeans.

“If you’re a very good boy, I’ll do that thing with my mouth you love after he’s gone.”

Connor groans, kissing me again. I smile and slide my hand into his. “Game face, big guy,” I whisper, leading him downstairs and into the living room.

Max holds up a pizza box and a six-pack. “I brought food and beer.”

I drop Connor’s hand and nudge Max playfully. “The game is already on in the den,” I say, leading the way, with them silently following.

Rafe is already in the den, standing in front of the television. He looks up when we walk in, his gaze catching on Max. His brow furrows for a moment and then clears. “Oh, you’re that gym guy, right?” Rafe asks.

Max lifts an eyebrow but nods and sets the pizza and six-pack on the coffee table before sitting down with one of the beers. I grab a beer from the pack and hand it to Rafe, kissing him on the cheek as I do so. He barely reacts, slowly getting used to the casual affection from me. When did I become this person? I wonder if he asks himself the same question.

Connor settles into the recliner and holds his hand out for mine. “Romulus is a friend of Summer’s.”

Rafe nods and turns his attention back to the game.

I grab a slice of pizza before taking Connor’s hand and letting him pull me into his lap. I happily nuzzle his cheek and offer him a bit of the pizza.

“Max has been training me, and I’ve decided that he’s kinda all right, I guess.”

“What actually happened is that she was embarrassingly pathetic at fighting, and I couldn’t endure watching it. Clearly, combat class was wasted on her.”

Rafe scoffs, shaking his head. “I cannot imagine Summer actually fighting.”

I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him menacingly. “Is that a challenge, Rafey?”

Rafe rolls his eyes at me. “You couldn’t hold up against me.”

“If I can pin a berserker, I can pin you,” I say, smirking devilishly.

Rafe scowls at me, his irritation amping up. “I fight demons, you know that, right?”

Connor snorts. “No, you…” He sits straight up, almost launching me out of his lap, but catches me at the last moment.“That’s who you’ve been fighting?” he shouts. “What the fuck, Rafe? You’ve been fighting demons?”

Rafe shrugs, unaffected by Connor’s raised voice, and grabs another beer. I glare at Connor, pissed that he almost launched her into outer space. I stand up to grab a beer, noticing that Max is smothering a smile as he eats a slice of pizza.

“Why are you smirking?” Connor glares at Max.

Max shrugs. “Just… interesting.”

“Connor,” I warn.

“What?”

I give him a dissatisfied look.

He sighs. “I meant it in a non-aggressive way.”

Max takes a swig of beer. “I just thought you had the perfect life.”

“Max,” I warn, about two seconds away from bashing their heads together.

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