Page 61 of Flirting with Death

"Rai!" Sam said, turning to eye him.

"Your brother is a man whore, and it has been at least a week. Bellamy isn't wrong."

"One, ew, why do you know my brother's sex habits? And two—" Sam held up a second finger.

"Two, I'm a sex demon. I can sense that shit about someone," Bellamy cut her off. "But my brother said rest."

"I'm fine. I'm not some breakable doll." She stood up and took her container to the trash. Then she returned and cleaned up the mess Tyler left behind in his haste to leave.

"That is not rest," Raiden said, stopping her from taking his finished take-out box.

"Lex, Alastor, tell them I'm fine." She propped her hands on her hips as she shot a glare at the other two. I traded a glance with Alastor, and it appeared we agreed again. Someone needed to mark the calendar, at least twice in one day. She puffed out her cheeks as we remained silent, before blowing the breath slowly out. "Really?"

"You almost died," Alastor said, his cultured voice soft in the silence that fell. I felt all the emotion he held in those words. We all did. "If a little rest will do you good, then you need to relax for a bit."

"But I feel fine. Better than fine. Thanks to Dodger, I almost feel invincible."

"That isn't a power Dodger has," I said.

"Your energy feels different too," Alastor said. "You almost feel like another Goddess to me, which is impossible."

Raiden stood up and grabbed my empty plate, taking it with him to the trash. Then he returned and took Alastor's and Bellamy's now empty containers. "If I don't do this, Sammy will," he said in explanation of a question that wasn't voiced.

Samantha groaned as she flopped onto the sofa. "Fine, I'll relax tonight. But tomorrow evening, I'm hunting."

It was probably the best we would get out of her, and I held back as Alastor and Raiden joined her on the couch. Bellamy sank to the floor next to Cerberus, making sure he was touching our girl. We were becoming a family, the kind that loves and works together. Would there be fights and disagreements? Sure. But we were building the foundation right now, and as crazy as it sounds, almost losing Sam brought us all closer.

* * *

Soft snores filled the room, and I grabbed extra blankets from the closet to cover them all up. The end of the movie Sam picked played the ending credits, flickering the light over their sleeping forms. Bellamy rested his head on Cerberus's body, his tail firmly wrapped around Sam's calf. while Sam was sprawled between Alastor and Raiden. Raiden's fingers tangled in her hair, having fallen asleep mid-stroke, and Alastor held onto her one ankle loosely.

I lifted Raiden's hand from her hair, just in case he moved in his sleep. And then I covered each of them with a blanket. Cerberus lifted one of his heads to eye me until he decided I wasn't a threat. It was domestic, and I could see my life play out with the four of them. We could be happy. As soon as we eliminated this threat.

Sleep didn't come for me. Instead, I sank into the armchair and watched them. It was funny how life could be so cruel and then make it all better. My sisters used what was at their disposal to bring all of them into my life. Was it crappy? One-hundred percent. But I wouldn't change it, not if it meant losing even one of them. I flicked my gaze over each of them, committing their faces to memory. Even Alastor had wormed his way back into my heart. Fake it till you make it worked in more than one way, I guess.

And I didn't know Raiden well, but I knew he had a heart of gold. I'd seen his helplessness while they hurt Sam. He had lost all sense. He was everything we all wanted to be in that moment, to give into the pain and desperation.

The sun splintered into the darkness much sooner than I expected. Samantha shifted and stretched, waking both Raiden and Alastor. Bellamy stirred at her movement as well. She lifted her head, looking for me, and our eyes met.

"Didn't you sleep?" she asked.

Shrugging, I ran my gaze over the four of them. I wasn't really tired. "Just going over different plans in my head."

She nodded like she understood before resting her cheek against Raiden's thigh. "You still need sleep."

CHAPTER 35

Samantha

The day passed slowly. They wanted to make sure I was well rested, but that didn't help to make me less bored. We had done all the planning I could stand for the day. Action was more my style. As if Lex could sense I was going to lose my mind locked in the apartment for a single second more, he cleared his throat, gathering all of our attention.

"We could go down to the club for a bit," he said, observing all of our reactions.

I would not say no to the club. Dancing was second on the things I loved to do. Sitting forward on the edge of the seat, I bounced in excitement.

"Looks like our girl wants to dance," Rai said. Something warm spread inside my chest at his words. Had he been accepting of the guys? One hundred percent yes, but I could sense a change that differed from even that.

"Yes, she does," I said as I popped to my feet like a jack-in-the-box.

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