Page 15 of Slay All Day

“I couldn’t have done it without you guys.” I took a gulp of my bourbon, enjoying the burn down my throat. Jake sniggered, and I clarified, “The defeating the vampires part. Not the mating.”

Trey leveled a death glare Jake’s way, a deep growl rumbling up his chest as his eyes flashed gold. I crawled onto my mate’s lap to stop him from killing his friend.

Connor smacked Jake upside the head. “You just survived a fight against four vampires; it’d be a shame if you died at the hands of my head enforcer for being a dumbass.”

“Sorry, sometimes my mouth is faster than my brain.” He flashed us an apologetic grin, making me giggle. He was such a likeable guy that it was difficult to hold anything against him.

“No worries. It’s all good.” I nudged Trey until he nodded his agreement and settled back against the couch cushions.

“So what’s next for you? How does it work when a slayer takes a mate? Will you continue to take vampire bounties?” Jake asked.

“It depends on the slayer.” I shrugged and took another sip of my drink. “Some of us continue to serve the organization, and others choose to leave.”

Trey and I hadn’t discussed what was best for us yet, and I wasn’t sure which way I was leaning. I couldn’t imagine being apart from my mate often, and the bounties I took for E.V.I.E. meant that I traveled a lot. But I also couldn’t picture myself settling down and sitting at home with nothing to do. And then there were the secrets I’d have to keep from Trey if I continued being a slayer.

“If you decide that you want to leave E.V.I.E. after you and Trey finish the claiming, you’d make a great enforcer for the streak.”

I didn’t know how to react to Connor’s offer since I hadn’t thought about what I’d do after I left the organization. I’d only served for a little more than a decade and hadn’t expected to find my mate so soon into my time with E.V.I.E.

Trey gave me a little squeeze, sensing my discomfort through our mating bond, and Jake lightened the moment with another joke. “That’s an understatement if I ever heard one. After seeing her fight those vampires, Denica could easily take over for Trey as the head enforcer if she wanted to.”

“Hell, yeah, she could.” My mate grinned proudly, not even a tiny bit offended by the suggestion.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, but leaving E.V.I.E. isn’t as simple as giving my two weeks’ notice.” Being down a slayer would mean my sisters at the organization would have to take on extra cases, and I couldn’t put them in a vulnerable position.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Connor nudged Jake with his shoulder. “These two have a lot to talk about.”

The guys got up and stumbled out of the house, feeling the effects of the bottle and a half of bourbon that we’d polished off in a short amount of time. That and the aftereffects of the adrenaline they hadn’t worked out of their system like Trey and I had been able to do in the shower. Now that we were alone again, I twisted on my mate’s lap so we were facing each other. “Now that we’ve defeated the vampires, it’s time to discuss what’s next for us.”

Trey cupped my cheeks with his palms. “I want to claim you and cement our mating bond forever. Beyond that, everything else can wait.”

“Except for Cara. My little fur baby gets grouchy when I’m gone too long.” I flashed him a grin. “I can’t wait to see how my two felines get along.”

His eyes narrowed, the dark orbs filled with humor. “Your other pussy will love me as much as this one does,” he promised, squeezing his arm between our bodies to cup me between my legs.

I laughed, appreciating my mate’s quick wit. Brushing my lips against his, I whispered, “I want my parents and Damien here for our claiming ceremony. I’ll call and ask them to come to Tigerville soon.”

“Beg if you have to,” he asked as his hands slid to the back of my head to pull me close for a deeper kiss.

“Dragons don’t beg,” I teased, knowing it wouldn’t be necessary because my family would come running the second I told them I’d found my mate.

Trey slid an arm under my leg and the other behind my back before standing. “My dragoness is the prettiest little beggar when she wants to come.”

I didn’t bother arguing since he was right, and it was a good thing because he put a lot of effort into proving how well he could make me beg all night long. It was the perfect way for us to start the rest of our lives together.

14

Trey

It turned out that Denica hadn’t needed to beg after all. When she called to tell her parents that she’d found her mate, her mom had been all over bringing her stuff to Tigerville so she could meet me. A few days later, they rolled into town in a moving truck packed to the brim. We walked down the steps to meet them as they pulled up in front of my house—our home now.

Her mom jumped out of the passenger side and came running toward us, making her dad grumble about not waiting for him to get the door for her. She ignored him, flinging her arms around Denica. “Hey, sweetie. It’s so good to see you.”

“You say that as if it’s been forever when I had lunch at your house just last week,” Denica reminded her mom as she returned her hug.

“I know,” her mom sighed, stepping back and patting Denica’s cheek. “But now you’re going to live halfway across the country from me, so you won’t be able to pop over to our house that often.”

Denica’s gaze slid toward me for a moment before she answered her mom. I wasn’t sure what that look meant, but I planned to ask her about it when we were alone. “You know it’ll never be that long between visits.”

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