Page 25 of OutFoxed

Ula grinned and nudged her friend. “Go sit with your alphas.”

“Nope. I have been sitting on them for the last half hour. It isn’t as comfortable as romance novels would have you believe. Lots of hard protrusions.”

There was a lot of laughter from the other side of the space.

Merry chuckled. “I have to send them home and take inventory of my wardrobe. One dress is dead. Turns out silk versus concrete leads to the expected result.”

Ula sighed. “Right. Do you want to go shopping?”

Merry pulled a face. “No.”

Ula laughed. “Well, go sit with your guys. I will take care of the dishes before I go to bed.”

Merry smiled and walked away from the dry sink with the pile of plates. “Kisses!”

Ula watched her friend walk back into the living area and uncharacteristically hesitated. Merry looked between the three, and when the large one lifted his hand, she nearly dove onto his lap. Merry spent a lot of time on her own, so the fact that she felt comfortable and safe with the big guy spoke volumes. The other alphas were tall and strapping, too, but the dark angel needed a large predator to hide with.

Ula smiled, plated up the cheesecake, and grinned that thirty-two pieces were going to be demolished in one day.

She looked at Kasim. “Did you want one?”

“Yup. And I have nagged Walter into trying it.”

She nodded. “Okay. I am going to start the dishes.”

Clark walked toward her. “Let me do it. You go and sit with the others. I will be done in a moment.”

She hugged him, and he stroked his hands down her back. She sighed. “Thanks.”

He patted her butt gently. “I promise to take it out of your hide when you are healed.”

She looked at him in shock. “What?”

He grinned. “Off you go, bunny.”

She pushed away from him. “That’s just mean.”

“You promised me a heat, and if I have to share, I will get my due. Now, go cuddle with Walter. He looks edgy.”

She nodded and walked past him. She walked to Walter and stared at him with wide eyes. He smiled and held out a hand for her. She let him pull her onto his lap and curled against him. Walter chuckled. “How long have you lived here?”

“Since the incident. Merry said I was in no shape to live on my own, and she could easily take over my bills, so she did.” Ula sighed. “She got me to my appointments and kept me from surrendering to depression. She can lift me if she has to and took me for flights.”

Merry chuckled and spoke from across the room. “Tell him what else I did.”

Ula paused and blinked. “Oh, she dropped me in the lake and made me swim.”

Merry cackled.

Ula smiled. “She drove home the fact that I wanted to live, so after that, I started living again with my angel at my back.”

Merry looked at her through narrowed eyes. “I tried to go in front of you, but you kept throwing popcorn at my ass.”

Ula sighed. “It seemed like fun at the time. If I knew you were going to find your swan, I would have waited.”

“I had no idea that Richard was going to be sitting there with a lady’s hand in his trousers.” She growled.

There was a sharp smack, and Merry retaliated with a punch to the ribs. The surprised grunt made Ula grin. Merry’s men were going to have to learn. Loyalty was important, and she was willing to give her all, but if they weren’t willing to do the same, Merry would drop them like a hot rock and then hit them with her car.

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