Page 26 of Gemini Hunted
I pout down at her skeptical face.
“He certainly didn’t protest.” Searching for allies, my gaze shifts to Neo, who promptly abandons the hairbrush to crowd into my vacant spot, straddle the bench, and nestle Zara’s back against his front.
So much for being on my side.
Neo is, as always, on Zara’s side.
Unexpectedly, his wide leaf-green gaze lifts to mine.
I’m not on anyone’s side. I mean, we’re all on the same side, he says meekly through our mating bond, which takes me aback. Despite being one of his alphas, neither of us are natural telepaths, so I must be projecting.
Dear me. How gauche.
“That demon,” I say grimly to the room at large, “presented himself to me this morning asverystraight. My typically excellent gaydar was simply not pinging. How on earth was I to know the fucking kraken is pansexual?”
Neo gives me a sympathetic grimace.
Our First Boy is both looking and feeling a bit flustered himself, given his proximity to Zara’s lingering heat, not to mention his susceptibility to the sex magic emanating from the neighboring cabin—to say nothing of his susceptibility tome, his horrible alpha. The poor boy is flushed and his glasses are steamy.
Hmmm.
I might just have to do something about that.
No point letting Ash haveallthe fun with this one.
“Yeah, well, he probably wasn’t trying to sex you up from inside his summoning circle,” Zara says,verydryly, still fixated on the demon. “He wanted out—free rein to wreak havoc on a whole new plane of existence—and that’s exactly what you gave him.”
Reluctantly I stop eye-fucking Neo and indulge in a bit of pacing between the Alaskan king bed and the wall of rain-scoured glass that overlooks the cabin’s private deck.
“The Horn was in the sea,” I say curtly. “Your charming ex-BFF is a sea dragon shifter. We needed an aquatic ally. A powerful one. And that’s precisely what we’ve obtained. Now our team holds the prize—anda demonic watchdog. As usual, my horrid little plan is working perfectly.”
“So far,” Zara says softly, leaning into Neo for comfort. He gives her an affectionate murmur and nuzzles the side of her neck.
Indeed. Everything I’ve said is the truth.
So far.
Of course, needless to say, I’ve kept a little something to myself.
Namely, the highly motivating fact that Mordred is still Zephyr’s mortal enemy. The kraken is the primary threat to that pointy-eared tyrant and his Dark Fae throne.
Zephyr is my rival in this harem.
The enemy of my enemy is, as they say, my friend.
Better yet, my minion.
While the vessel rocks beneath me and rain drums against the roof, I stare at our polycule’s collective reflection, wavering in the rain-washed glass. Of course, Maxim is missing. Ash too is briefly absent, having nobly volunteered to take first watch above at the helm.
Probably because we’re expecting Zephyr back at any moment, and Ash wants a chance to warn him about our dangerous new ally.
Lucius is still frowning over that ghastly Unseelie grimoire (which I’m fairly certain is bound in human skin and inked in human blood, probably some poor unfortunate who pissed off the wrong Unseelie centuries ago) and doggedly trying to read. But Ronin is clearly succumbing to the powerful pulse of demon sex magic. Rolling lazily onto hands and knees, Ronin straddles our headmaster’s hips and starts unbuttoning our wolf’s lord-of-the-manor pajama shirt.
Lucius glances up in surprise. His whiskey eyes acquire a reddish tinge.
“Ronin, my dear one, I’m trying to locate—”
“Put that thing away, love,” my horny boyfriend says huskily. “You’ll give yourself a migraine poring over that faded text in this pissy light. Besides, your boner’s been poking me in the ear all night.”
