Page 11 of Jacinth

The girl, Jacinth, had become increasingly pale the longer Sky spoke. My brother, of course, was oblivious as he tried to convince me the girl was the second coming. A loud clap brought everyone’s heads around, and I watched as Jacinth’s eyes narrowed on her sister.

The girl in question smirked with a twinkle in her eye as she asked, “Should we have another go at the coffee meet-and-greet?”

I sighed loudly, so they were all aware of how little I wanted to be involved in all this.

“I’m driving.”

CHAPTER 9

Niko

“You needto get your ass moving, Drunky McDrunkenstein.”

Harley swatted me on the ass as I finally got my feet under me. Shock and a hangover did not lend themselves to a steady body and clear thought processes, funnily enough. I decided to ignore all commentary from the peanut gallery. Better late than never, I supposed as I let my clothing fall where it would on the way to the shower.

I didn’t want to think too much about the fact I was making myself presentable for some theoretical mate I found out about from the specter who was currently swinging a transparent baseball bat and blowing an oversized pink bubble.

Where she got the gum from? No idea.

My pants hit the floor with a soft jingle from the belt... and an obnoxiously loud wolf whistle. I considered searching the house for another bottle, but Orion left too easily. Clearly, he had cleaned me out again.

The hot water was a godsend as it hit my oversensitive skin, and I made quick work with the soap and shampoo. I considered working myself over more thoroughly, but one glance through the glass shower door showed Harley perched on the toilet cistern, watching me as though I were some documentary.

“Oh. Don’t stop on my account,” she said.

Yeah, there was no way I could get myself off with Harley Quinn leering at me like that.

Feeling more uncomfortable by the second, I cut the water and wrapped a towel around my hips. As soon as I hit my bedroom, I replaced the towel with jeans and a t-shirt. Harley sauntered in as I stomped my boots into place. I barely spared her a glance before striding through the house and out to the street.

“Ok. Where to?” I asked.

But the pain in my ass had disappeared.

***

It took far longer than I would have liked to walk into the main hub of Silver Springs. Between my hangover, my lack of fitness, and the distance, I was in a less than ideal mood by the time I wandered past Jewels Cafe and happened to glimpse the group inside.

“Hooray! You found me!” Harley cheered from where she sat beside the front door.

“I hate you,” I muttered and made my way inside.

Well, wasn’t this cozy? It looked as though my brothers had scored themselves a set ofstunningly gorgeous twins. However, it seemed both of them were focused on the same one. A zing of awareness shot up my spine when I got a good look at her, and I realized I would have to kill my brothers. She was definitely my mate. I could feel it in my bones.

Harley sprawled herself out on the last remaining chair at the table and spread her knees, patting her inner thigh suggestively.

“You can sit right here, if you want to. Your head will fit nicely in between. C’mon. What’s a little eating out between friends?”

If the invitation hadn’t turned my stomach, the way she followed it up by flicking her tongue between the V of her fingers would have.

Decision made, I marched around the table, lifted my mate, and sat, re-situating her on my lap. Her body vibrated with tension at the manhandling. Admittedly, I could probably have given her my name first, but it was done and I could hardly bring myself to regret it as her ass fit nicely up against my groin.

“Niko,” I muttered in her ear as I flattened my palm against her lower abdomen.

She turned and seemed to lose her voice completely as she caught my eyes. I had never particularly cared one way or the other about my heterochromia, but as the seconds ticked with no sound coming from her, I squirmed.

Of course she wouldn’t want a defect, especially when she had her choice of angelic, damaged Skyler, and the golden boy himself, Orion.

She shook herself a little and leaned in, her breath tickling my ear. What would her voice sound like? Did she want to know more about me? Would she tell me off for taking liberties?

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