Page 49 of Gambling with Time

“I doubt he did,” Alastor said with a grin.

“Like any of you did either, no, just Daddy Rai,” he snarked, rolling his eyes.

I laughed, and tears of happiness coasted down my cheeks as they mock-argued. Rai kissed my stomach again and whispered something I couldn’t hear, his lips brushing my skin as he did.

He pushed back to his feet and dragged me in for a hug. “Don’t keep secrets from me.” His words brushed the shell of my ear, and he dropped another kiss just behind my ear.

“I didn’t want to distract you.”

“Sammy, we are all distracted anytime you are fighting, because we love you. I’m sure we all know you are more than capable, but there is always going to be this need to keep you safe. It is my dragon’s sole focus in battle.”

“You can’t lock me up, Rai,” I said, pulling back from him.

He chuckled. “As much as I want to, I know you, you’d just get free, and then there would be hell to pay.”

“Now that we have settled that,” Bellamy interrupts. “Where do you think we can find bubble wrap?”

A surprised snort erupted from me as I met his joking gaze. Of course, he would bring up my original thought. Sometimes having a demon boyfriend who could read minds was bad, but other times, it was the best thing ever.

“It is the best thing ever when you don’t have to say a word and I know exactly what you like,” he said.

He circled around me, coming up behind me. The warmth of his body flowed into my back as he and Raiden held me. Alastor and Lex joined the group hug, and it was the most loved and secure I had ever felt. In their arms, I felt like I could take on the entire world.

* * *

“We will take the fight to them.” Alastor gripped the edge of the table. “They ran, which means they knew they were losing. If we attack now, they will be weak.”

“But will the Gods and Goddesses help us this time?” Lex murmured, leaning back in his seat on the other side of Alastor.

“We can’t count on their help,” Raiden replied. “But we will have the dragons.”

“And the demons,” Bellamy replied. “My father will make sure of it.”

“We should go in alone.” All eyes snapped to me. “The prophecy said that we save the realms. That means we are enough.”

“Sammy,” Rai warned.

“Rai,” I echoed. “We are enough. Together.”

There was no doubt in my mind. This was what we needed to do. Bellamy moved like an assassin, Alastor had his souls and other powers, Lex had his shadow monsters, Raiden was a fucking dragon, and I was a hunter. That didn’t even mention Cerberus who was a badass hellhound all on his own.

Bellamy nodded, hearing my thoughts with ease. It seemed the longer we were together, the more connected we became because I could read him too. Not his exact thoughts but feelings. He agreed. Which meant I needed to coax the others to my point of view.

“What if we put out word that we are going to take an army? If we get the information into the right hands then they can take it back to him. And I know there are still demons in the mortal realm that want Osiris to win.” I couldn’t stay seated any longer, there was too much anticipation to get this done.

“I can go to the warehouse they were at before,” Bellamy suggested.

“You think this is a good plan?” Lex asked. “We can’t do reckless.”

“I agree, no reckless, we have to all make it out alive.” Alastor watched me, and flowers bloomed in a pot next to the door. It was now overcrowded with different kinds; Persephone will remove the ones that she didn’t want.

Turning my focus back to the guys, I drew in a slow breath as I propped my hands on my hips. They were definitely getting wider. That wasn’t my imagination, was it? It distracted me briefly, and when Bellamy caught my eye, he grinned. His look sent my thoughts in a completely new direction, and I could feel my body heat.

Damn. We needed to rescue the world so I could spend the next few months in bed with them.

“Rai?” I lifted my gaze to him. He’d been silent so far about the suggested plan. And I didn’t need telepathy to know he was super close to actually locking me up. The puff of smoke from his nostrils and the flare in the depths of his eyes all told the same story: it was only a matter of time.

His tongue swiped at the inside of his mouth, pushing his cheek out, and as the tendon in his jaw jumped, he sighed. “Fine, but you, Sammy, will be protected on all sides by us.”

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