Page 46 of Shadow Caster
A slow smile curved his lips. “Oh, you’ll see.”
“Got the coffee on, Faraday?” A dark-haired guy with tousled waves falling into his eyes ambled into the lounge followed by three others.
The one directly behind him could have been his twin. Hang on … he was his twin. They had the same twinkling hazel eyes and pouty mouths, but the one behind was stockier, as if he worked out more. The guy directly behind stocky dude was slight and wiry with sandy hair that was cut short at the back and sides but left longer on top. He yawned, showcasing even, white teeth with a hint of fang. The final guy kept his head down, but it was impossible to miss the claw marks on the side of his neck. Red angry welts cut down and vanished into the collar of his T-shirt. He caught me staring and bared his teeth in a growl.
“Back off, Brady,” Lloyd said evenly.
Brady’s lip curled, and he slumped into the nearest seat, his angry eyes fixed on my face as if daring me to stare, to speak, to breathe.
I glared back at him. Like hell would I let him intimidate me. He was big, but I’d taken down bigger.
His dark eyes narrowed, assessing me, and then he reached up to scratch at his stubble, and the stare-off was broken.
By him.
Ha.
“Ignore Brady,” the slender twin said. “He’s a beast until he’s had his morning brew.” The other twin passed him a steaming mug.
Brady took a long swig and sighed. His shoulders relaxed, and the rage in his expression ebbed a little.
“I’m Aidan,” the slender twin said. “And this is my brother, Devon.”
Devon grunted at me and ran a hand through his thick, dark hair.
“Carlo.” The fair-haired guy smiled. “Is it true you ate your brother in the womb?”
The coffee I’d just sipped went down the wrong hole, and I ended up coughing it back up. My eyes watered, and I blinked back the sting of embarrassed anger.
“Fucking hell, Carlo,” Brady grumbled. “They should fucking teach you some tact.”
“Says the dude who growls to greet people,” Carlo sing-songed.
I took a deep breath and stood tall. “I got the gene from my twin, yes.” I stared them down one by one. “Anything else you want to know?”
“Shame you didn’t also get his penis,” Carlo said.
“You think a woman can’t do the job?”
He shook his head. “Nah, you have the gene, you can do the job. But this is a male-dominated environment. Throw in a beautiful woman, and things are gonna get crazy.”
Beautiful. Me? I filed that away for later examination. Possibly in front of a mirror. “I can take care of myself.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure you can, but the cadets who’ll be forced to bunk with you will be wondering how they can get you to take care of them.”
What the … My neck heated.
He held up his hands. “It’s a lonely road. No women till we retire after twenty years of service. It’s ahardlife, if you catch my drift.” He winked.
They didn’t get to have sex?
Lloyd tutted. “It’s not that bad. Shadow knights get the odd day’s leave when we can portal to the mortal world and … indulge.” He cleared his throat. “But relationships and marriage have to wait till retirement. If we make it that far.”
The guys flopped down onto the sofa against the wall, nursing mugs of brew.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Aidan asked me.
“Not like she gets a fucking choice,” Brady said.
