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“It wouldn’t be the worst thing. Holden knows what we do and I have a feeling Sophie can keep a secret,” I admit. “Lief won’t like it.”

She rolls her eyes. “Neither will Hunter.”

“No, he won’t.” I agree.

“But right now, I’ll just meet with Vanya. She’s my mother-in-law and I’m more than allowed to talk to her,” Valerie sighs.

The drier dings, and she jumps up. “Let’s go make the bed.”

“Or ruin it,” I tease.

She giggles and pulls out as many sheets as she can as I pinch her ass. She squeaks and shoves the sheets at me before grabbing the duvet and trying to run upstairs. I grunt. “Don’t fall!”

She doesn’t. instead, she’s waiting for me on the bed. We play a kind of tug of war over the bed as we put on the fitted sheet, then I pull the flat sheet on over Valerie. She squeaks and struggles under it, until I join her and pull her against me, kissing her.

Valerie softens against me, and I rub down her back, pulling her closer. She hums against my mouth, kisses me deeper and rubs herself against me. The sheet settles around us, filtering the sunshine until we’re bathed in blue light.

“I love you, Chase,” she breathes.

“I love you so much,” I say as I roll on top of her. “Whether you’re taking down assholes, using your brain to help people, or just playing around with me.”

She strokes my cheek and hugs me. I hug her back until she tickles me. I gasp and grab her hands. “What are you doing?”

“We’re getting too serious. We’re supposed to be silly,” she teases.

We roll around, picking and poking at each other, teasing until somehow the bed gets made. Housework doesn’t seem like housework when we’re doing this together.

After we finish cleaning up, Valerie settles with me on the couch as I put something I think she’ll like on T.V. She rubs my abs and moves closer. “I enjoy having you at home.”

“I’m trying to make sure I can be here more,” I promise.

“Well, if all I have to do is get knocked around, maybe I’ll have to join a fight club, then you’ll stay right here,” she teases.

“Absolutely not. Since I will not fuck you until those stitches are out,” I say, then look at the green edges of the bruise on her jaw. “Your bruise still looks bad.”

“He bruised it to the bone. Of course it looks bad,” she snorts.

“I could get someone into his prison cell and-”

“No. If you kill him, you validate him. We’re going to make sure nothing bad happens to him, not by our hand,” she says, taking my hand. “I didn’t kill him even though I wanted to, that means you don’t get to either.”

I open my mouth to argue, but Lief comes home. He walks right to Valerie, leaving the door open and kisses her. He cups the back of her neck, drawing out each kiss until she moans and leans against him.

When she draws back, he shows her a box and sits beside me. “I wanted to get you something.”

“Lief,” she says with a sigh. “You know I’m not big on jewelry or..” she opens the box and stares at the iridescent knife there. After blinking a few times, she looks back at Lief. “It’s beautiful.”

“I had it sharpened as well. Don’t put this one on your thigh, it might cut you viper,” he says.

“I’m sure one of you would kiss it better,” she says with tears in her eyes, taking it out and enjoying it.

I shake my head slightly. “No flowers for our fiancée?”

“Flowers die. Knives can be sharpened,” Lief argues.

“Yeah, but it’s not very romantic,” Hunter says as he comes in. “And we need to romance our woman more often.”

“Krolik, what are you doing back there?”

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