Page 72 of Reaper Flame

After being away, it felt strange to be back in the penthouse. Thankfully, Vixen decided she wanted to buy everything new when renovating Briarly Manor - otherwise we’d have had nothing left. The furniture and rooms hadn’t changed, but everything else had.

I glanced up at her from my spot on the bed, where I hadn’t moved since leaving West to drown his sorrows at the bar this afternoon.

“See you tomorrow,” I replied with a small wave.

“You might want to change out of pajamas,” she said pointedly.

“Who are you? The fashion police?” They were the most comfortable things in existence, and, until we had a plan for killing Hiram, I would be living in full comfort. “Just leave already!”

“The guys are planning a…” She quickly checked over her shoulder, then mimed ‘surprise’. “Have fun!”

“Way to go, Vix,” I muttered. “Remind me to never trust you with a secret.”

“You’re welcome, bitch,” she said, blowing me a kiss.

* * *

A knock came on my door half an hour later.

“C?” Rocky stepped inside without waiting for an answer. “Are you hungry?”

“Why knock if you’re just gonna charge in?” I asked, but my rumbling stomach answered his question.

“We’ve made food,” Rocky said with the tone of an excitable puppy.

I arched one eyebrow. “We?”

He looked sheepish. “Well, I mean, I helped…”

I laughed and followed him through to the living area.

“What the hell is this?” My mouth dropped as I took in the scene. “A fucking intervention?”

Lit candles gave the room a romantic glow, and pretty flowers in a vase made the table look like a restaurant. Zander’s head was in the oven, checking that something wasn’t burning, and West held out a bottle of wine like a butler. What had they done with the scary Seven men who Port Valentine feared?

“We’ve had a rough few days,” Rocky said, pulling out a chair for me. “We wanted to do something special for you. Why don’t we call itourfirst proper date?”

I was too dumbfounded to do anything but sit my ass down. Were group dates even a thing? Thousands of articles had been written about first dates, but I’d never read one involving three guys. That made my chances of fucking up three times higher!

My mouth went dry. “I don’t know if it’s the best time for a date night,” I stammered.

“Doesn’t something bad happening make you realize how important it is to live for now?” Rocky said. Damn, for the joker of the group, that shit was profound. “It’s a perfect time.”

I turned to The Hulk. “This was your idea, wasn’t it?”

He shrugged and poured me a glass of wine, then took the seat on my left. The big guy would never admit it, but underneath his muscles, he was a true romantic.

“Our food is almost ready,” Zander called over.

Dates were nerve-wracking enough, let alone when they were with three gorgeous Greek god lookalikes! I’d never been on a proper date before, well, not unless you counted the times I seduced marks before killing them.

“What are we having?” I asked, trying my hardest to keep my cool and not freak the fuck out.

“Your favorite,” Zander said. “I’ll break the culinary rules this once and have breakfast food for dinner.”

“You know, I never thought I’d go on a date with you, Zander,” Rocky teased, sitting opposite me. “But I’m definitely starting to see the perks.”

Zander shot him daggers. “This isn’t for you, Red.”

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