Page 59 of Wolf Bitten

The icky, slimy sensation of jealousy seeped within me as my blood jolted. The last time we’d all hung out like this, it’d been the Josie and Raffe show, and it had bothered me way more than I’d ever like to admit.

“Hey, you two.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She took a seat on the other couch near Lucy. “Any updates on Dave?”

“Not since the last time you asked.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “Besides, if there was an update, do you think Raffe wouldn’t be over there right now, all growly and upset?”

“Right.” I swore her expression dropped for a moment before she turned to the television. “What are we watching?”

“Don’t know.” Lucy pursed her lips.

Josie lifted her hands. “There’s this new reality show that—”

“No.” Lucy karate-chopped the air. “When I stayed with you last week, I watched enough of that. Sky and I get to pick something this time.”

“Okay.” Josie shrugged and sat back, unfazed. She picked at her nails as Lucy continued to scan.

Then, one of my favorite stories appeared. “Oh, let’s watchAll Creatures Great and Small.” I’d loved the books growing up—they’d inspired me to become a vet, and I still hadn’t seen the movie. “I’ve been wanting to watch it for a while.”

“Okay.” Lucy nodded, selecting it for me.

Our keypad went off again, and from the other side of the door, Keith said, “Are you sure that’s enough for Skylar? I can go back and get her some more.”

My stomach churned. Was he calling mefat?

“She won’t even eat half of this,” Raffe replied as the door opened.

The three guys entered with three full pizzas, subs, containers of food, and a bag of what smelled like fries. They’d brought enough to feed an army.

Keith homed in on me, brows furrowed. “If there’s something else you want, let me know, and I’ll go get it. They didn’t have any fresh cinnamon rolls, so we had to improvise.”

I swallowed. He seemed concerned and wasn’t being mean or mouthy. But I had no clue why he thought I’d be upset about the cinnamon rolls. “Uh. It’s fine.”

“Last time you got one, so I tried—” he started.

“Man, stop ass-kissing.” Adam rolled his eyes and set the bag on the table. “You go from one extreme to another.”

Keith turned to Adam and murmured, “Shut up, man. I need her to like me, and when I win her over, I’ll level out. I can’t have her hating me.”

I mashed my lips together to keep from laughing. He’d taken Raffe’s threat seriously. I almost wanted to be mean and pretend the cinnamon rolls were a big deal. “It’s fine. I only got one last time because they didn’t have the chocolate cake I like.”

“The chocolate cake that I got you, which Keith has been bitching about.” Raffe held out the triple fudge cake that made my knees go weak almost as much as he did.

Close.

But not quite.

I salivated.

Raffe grabbed two plates, put two slices of pepperoni pizza on one, and had the second one overflowing with fries over a sandwich. After snagging two Cokes and two pieces of the cake, he headed into the living room, where Josie scooted over to make room for him.

My heart ached, and I tried to school my expression. I had to remember they were friends, but that presence in my chest churned uncomfortably.

Needing something to do so I wouldn’t reach over and yank her hair or punch Raffe for no good reason, I stood and almost collided with him.

He tilted his head and smirked. “I’m down.”

I blinked and watched as he took my seat and placed the food on the center cushion. Then he pulled me onto his lap. My eyes widened, but I didn’t complain.

The jealousy eased. He hadn’t even thought about sitting with Josie.

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