Page 359 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

“I believe I gave you candy.”

“A single lollypop!”

“Single? I had a bag of two-hundred cherry flavored ones sent to the church.”

Her rage evaporated and her eyes filled with tears. She covered her mouth with one hand and tried not to cry. “Those were forme?”

“They had your name on them, didn’t they?”

“Aww man.” Her shoulders sagged and she dropped her head. “I thought Alex ordered them for the church! They ended up in the candy bowl by the door!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Now she was mad again.

And in five minutes, she’d be sad.

And in another five, she’d be horny.

But... she’d always be mine.

“Wait,” Sophie whispered, her sweet high-pitched voice timidly cutting through the awkward silence. “If Mister Weston didn’t give you the fox set, who did?”

“Yes. Who gave my wife afox-tail butt plug?” I was getting a little pissed off.

“I thought it was Scott Murphy at first,” Alice replied.

Cat choked on her drink, and then coughed to clear her airway.

Alice looked offended. “What? He was obsessed with me at one point.”

Cat smiled widely and shook her head. “Scott Murphy would never, in his wildest, filthiest, drunkest moments, search for a butt plug on the internet, let alone purchase one and give one to a girl... at a public gift opening...at church.”

Becca raised an eyebrow and smiled. “He sounds cute.”

“He is,” Cat said. “And he’s Irish.”

I did not need Becca going after Scott Murphy, so I jumped in. “Cat is right. Scott wouldn’t do that. He is definitely more on the submissive side of things.” I rolled my eyes at the idea of him buying sex toys on the internet for a crush.

Alice smirked. “I know he’s a sub. That’s why I thought it was fromyou.”

Hold on... did she just...

The room quieted. I felt a growl come up from my gut. Alice’s cheeks flushed dark red to match her lipstick, and she sank her teeth into her bottom lip, instantly making my blood run hot.

I took slow steps towards her, and she backed up, her shoulders lifting slightly as if to defend herself. “Well,” she said loudly. “It was nice knowing you all, but I am going to run for my life.”

She turned and ran out the front door as fast as her tiny goblin legs could carry her.

I turned and went downstairs to collect some supplies.

The hunt was on.

She was terrible athiding outside. There were only so many places she could go, and we had a hard-fast unbreakable rule that she had to stay on the paths we’d made, because I didn’t trust her not to walk into a bear trap or a wasp nest. That left the paths, a clearing just past the backyard, and the lake.

Sure enough, I found her hiding behind a large rock in the clearing. I probably would have walked right past her except she seemed to have forgotten to tuck her tail in. It lay on the ground sticking out behind the rock.

I caught her by the waist and took hold of her collar, jerking on it to bring her closer to me.

I knew we had the same look in our eyes. Need. Trust. Excitement.

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