Page 13 of Prey It Ain't So

“Plus her fanny stings. Don’t forget that,” Rennie says and I throw a grape at him, nailing him right in the nose. “Hey! No food fights,ma petite. We can’t make a mess before we go.”

Sniffing, I sip my coffee and ignore them both. They look good, too, but now I’m definitelynotgoing to tell them. Three can play at their little game.

“Baby Girl, I amstokedfor this trip!” Fitz bounces in with a frustrated-looking dragon in his wake. I bet he was helping the tiger check their things, so nothing gets forgotten. That had to be a task and a quick look at the cheetah pretending not to notice confirms my suspicion.

My hyper-active tiger is a lot for most people to handle, even his family—but we love him, anyway.

“Grab some food, baby. Your brother is very rigid this morning, and he’s going to explode if we don’t fall in line.” I wink at Felixto let him know I’m kidding, and he rolls his eyes indulgently. I bet no one else would have gotten away with saying that—score one for Dolly.

“Bro, you gotta loosen your sphincter. You won’t have an ounce of fun on our vacay if you’re sewn shut.” Fitz snaps and holds up a finger. “I could go get something to help with that. Worked for me?—”

“No, Fitz.”

Chess leans across the counter to whisper, “Was he going to get the?—”

The low growl coming from the elder tiger makes us both dissolve into laughter. Obviously, he believed his brother was running off to grab the damn strap-on they’re all so obsessed with. That’s definitely a way to loosen his ass, but I’m not sure Felix is quite ready for something like that.

He absolutely wouldn’t let me do it for sure—too much role reversal and he’s enjoying our dynamic.

“For fuck’s sake, Fitz,” Aubrey groans as he joins us, piling a plate high.

Renard grins. “We need t-shirts that say that. It could go on the family crest.”

I blink at him, then laugh again, this time clutching my gut. Felix snarls at us, his eyes narrowed, and I cough, straightening up with wide eyes. “What?”

“Would you alleatand stop making me feel like I should threaten to turn the fucking car around?” His irritated sneer is hysterical, especially since his arms are crossed over his chestlike a petulant child. I cover my mouth, stifling the giggles as best I can so I don’t set him off again.

Fitz claps his twin on the shoulder. “Really, man. You gotta calm down. We’ll get there, do our thing, have some fun, and come home safe. Don’t be so…anal.”

With a strangled sound of frustration, Felix throws his hands in the air and stomps over to the sideboard to pour a hefty tumbler of scotch. “You’re going to be the death of me, brother. No matter how many times I say it, it never becomes less true.”

“It’s my job, bro. I have to keep you from being such a hardass.”

As the humor winds down, I go back to eating, hoping it will make my grumpy Dom find the calm he desperately needs. The others munch on their breakfast as well, passing around the dishes until we finish everything. That makes Chessie look proud and eventually gets Felix’s posture to relax a hair. I hop off of my stool, heading for another cup of coffee, but the cheetah stops me.

“Don’t pour it in there. Rennie got you a special travel mug. Well, we picked one out for everyone, so we’ll all have them.”

I blink, watching Chess head to the cabinet and pull out a completely blinged out tumbler that has my Pred Games numbers and ‘Drew Fluffle’ on it. Smiling broadly, I throw my arms around him and squeeze tightly. “You got me one of those viral things and decorated it! It’s gorgeous, my knight!”

The gargoyle holds his fist out for a bump with Chess as I finish my hug and then I move to him as well. “Ma petite, you will always be the most sparkly bunny in the crowd. We simply like to help you shine.”

Oh, fuck. That damn poetic asshole is gonna make me cry.

“Hey, let her go, Frenchie,” Fitz says as he comes up behind me. “If you don’t quit being such a squishy old fart, our girl is going to ruin her face with tears. I feel it in the bond.”

Felix and Renard look at one another, then at me, as if they just realized Fitz is right. The elder tiger rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, and Rennie smiles. “Je m’excuse, mon amour?1.I meant what I said, though.”

Shaking my head as Fitz tugs me into his embrace, I smile softly. “Never apologize for saying lovely things, Rennie. Before you guys, I had far too little encouragement. I’m happy with every single sweet thing you say, even if I make my mascara run.”

And that is the gospel truth.

Two Tickets To Paradise

Renard

It has beenmany years since I’ve been off campus, much less a train in my ex-homeland. I wish this was under different circumstances—I would like to have enjoyed a vacation with my new family simply so we could be together and experience new things. But alas, until we can get the Council and the Fae and all the other despicable people out of our lives, that is not the case. The excitement I feel about journeying together, however, has brought an important realization about how we were living prior to our mate’s arrival.

We were wasting our long lives drowning in guilt, sorrow, drink, sex… whatever we could because our blood kin rejected us, but that was a mistake.

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