Page 22 of Walking in Darkness

“Exactly. Not that I think our mate isn’t worthy of meeting our deity, butwe’rethe dragons. If there was a worry concerning Kit, shouldn’t you or I have been visited?” Connie asked. “Actually, strike that. You’re the king. I’m nobody important. It should’ve been you.”

Hudson scooted across the couch and took Connie’s hand. “You are very important to me, and you also will be to Kit. Don’t ever say you’re no one important.”

Connie squeezed Hudson’s hand. “I appreciate that, but you know what I mean. Out of the three of us, you’re the highest rank.”

“I don’t have an answer for you.” Hudson stared at their entwined fingers. Why had he never noticed how long and sexy Connie’s fingers were? Amused at his thoughts, he met Connie’s eyes. “I might be the highest ranked, but don’t fool yourself. I wouldn’t be the king I am without you.”

Grinning, Connie opened his mouth to say something, but Kit’s raised voice from outside halted his words. Connie cringed, and he and Hudson both turned to look outside. Kit was pacing, and the hand not holding the phone gestured wildly. It wasn’t hard to see that Kit was quickly getting frustrated.

“She wants answers,” Hudson said, watching Kit. “And she’s not taking no for an answer.”

He knew that because both he and Connie could overhear Kit’s part of the conversation.

“He was so mad earlier. Ihatedthat.”

The sudden shift in topics didn’t surprise Hudson. “Can’t say that I blame him. That was a helluva thing to be told, not to mentionhowhe was told.”

“And by who. He must’ve been terrified. I wish I knew what Gaura’s thinking was.” Connie grimaced at the sudden spike in Kit’s voice. “Man, she’s really giving him what for.”

“She loves him. That’s obvious. I imagine she also knows something is going on and is concerned. When you add in the fact that Kit’s being less than forthcoming, that mothering instinct is triggered.”

“And Kit just told her our names,” Connie said. “Shit’s about to get real.”

“And he just told her to ask his papa who we are too. I’ve noticed when Kit feels threatened or insecure, he gets snarky.”

“Well, you told him not to mention what we were over the phone. That restricts exactly what he can say.” Connie perked up. “It looks like the conversation is over if him throwing his phone on the table is any indication. Should we go out there?”

“Yeah, come on.” Hudson waited until Connie stood, then followed him onto the patio.

Kit faced away from them, his hands on his hips and his head leaned back slightly. Even from here, Hudson could hear Kit taking deep breaths.

“I love that woman, but oh my damn, she makes me crazy.”

Hudson snorted because he completely understood. He wrapped his arm around Kit’s waist while Connie took one of Kit’s hands. The three of them stood there staring at the pretty pool water.

Kit released a long, tired sigh. “I told her, several times in fact, that I needed to talk to her and my dads, but that there were things I couldn’t say over the phone. So, what does she do? Keep asking me questions I couldn’t answer over the phone. And then got mad when I kept repeating that I couldn’t answer her.”

“You told her you were seeing us?” Connie asked.

“Yes. Of course she wanted to know everything—who you were, what you did for a living, how old you were, how I met you, and so on. A lot of those things I honestly couldn’t answer over the phone, and she wasn’t having it.” Kit rested his head against Connie’s shoulder. “She didn’t understand why I wouldn’t answer her questions. She asked why I was being so squirrely.”

Hudson’s lips twitched.

“And Iwasdodging her questions, but I’d already told her I couldn’t get into certain things on the phone. I got irritated and told her to tell Papa your names.”

“Oh, Kit.” Hudson squeezed Kit.

“Yeah, I probably could have eased into it better, but Mom can be really insistent. She’s like a gentle tornado.”

Connie snickered.

“No, seriously. She’s sweetly persistent, lovingly forceful, and unfailingly stubborn. You see her coming, and you try to get out of the way, but she sweeps you up, and the next thing you know, she’s zeroed in on whatever’s troubling you and doesn’t stop until she gets an answer.”

“She sounds awesome,” Connie said.

“The woman is devious. Don’t think she isn’t, but she’d go to war for those she loves. Anyway, after I threw that out there, to tell Papa, you could’ve heard a pin drop. Needless to say, she hung up quickly after that.” Kit sighed. “Bet the next phone call I get will be from my papa.”

“Actually, I’d be surprised if he did,” Hudson said. “He’s not going to want to talk on the phone about this.”

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