Page 87 of Walking in Darkness

Startled, Kit sucked in air, then started coughing. Hudson picked up the glass of water sitting on their table and handed it to him.

Kit gulped it and then handed it back to Hudson. “Sorry. Sorry about that. I just wasn’t expecting that to come out of your mouth, especially after what happened the last time.”

“The attack?” Austin asked.

“Yeah. That.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Kit. And I don’t have bad memories about your place. Do I about what happened?” Austin shrugged. “Yes. But they’re mainly about Nox, and we all know he’s no longer a threat. If you’re willing to host me again, I’d love to do it at your bookstore.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. I was afraid you’d never want to come back,” Kit said.

Austin stepped forward and tentatively hugged Kit. “Not your fault,” he reminded Kit.

Kit hugged Austin back and then stepped away. “Then tell Lanny to contact me whenever and we’ll set it up.”

“And I also want to say congratulations. I don’t know these two very well”—Austin motioned to Hudson and Connie—“but my mate speaks highly of your mates. If you ever need to talk about overbearing mates, you know where to find me.”

“I appreciate it,” Kit said. “And I may take you up on that.”

Austin elbowed Kit. “As humans, we got to stick together.”

Kit snickered. “Well, one of us is. Human, I mean.”

“But not for long,” Hudson muttered softly beside Kit.

Connie couldn’t agree more.

Kage rolled his eyes as he took Austin’s hand and kissed his knuckles. “My overbearing self will remind you of that later.”

Kit outright laughed as a blush covered Austin’s face.

“What are you laughing about?” Hudson asked as he slung his arm around Kit’s shoulders. “Because I totally intend to remindyouhowyoulaughed when Austin said that… later.”

“Ha!” Austin poked Kit.

Connie listened as the two groups laughed and joked, picking at each other as they walked out to their vehicles. Of course, every paranormal there went on red alert as soon as they walked out of the door.

Goodbyes were said, and everybody went to their limos. Connie constantly scanned the parking lot as everybody loaded up. He only breathed easier once they were in the limo and the door was shut.

Torres, Audrey, and Hudson rehashed the meeting while Sheila and Parker chitchatted with Kit.

Since Connie had a moment to himself, he replayed the meeting in his head, and how Kit had acted through it. He was happy with the way the other paranormals had accepted Kit.

Of course, Austin had kind of broken everybody in, so Kit had an easier go of it. Isadora seemed to like Kit. That was comforting. She was indeed a formidable ally.

Connie didn’t realize how tense he was until they crossed the border of Hudson’s territory. Only then did he relax. Thankfully, they were almost home, and this time they got there with nothing bad happening.

Mitchell parked the limo in Hudson’s private garage, and everybody split up. He, Hudson, and Kit walked back to their quarters. Connie had his arm around Kit’s waist, and Hudson was holding Kit’s hand.

“What do you guys want to do?” Connie asked. “It is late, but—”

“I’mgoing to go change into something more comfortable, then I’ll be right back.” Kit looked Hudson and Connie up and down. “I suggest the two of you do the same, and then Hudson? You start looking for that flat surface.”

Oh hell yeah. He liked where this was going.

With a wink, Kit turned and walked out of the room. He wanted to see Hudson take Kit. Desperately. His cock was already getting hard just thinking about it. He’d barely finished the thought before Hudson pushed him down on the couch.

“Hey, what—”

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