Page 260 of By His Vow
“Sure you don’t,” he says happily as he marches through the entrance hall in search of his big brother. “What the fuck?” he barks the second he lays eyes on the state of the living room.
“Don’t start,” Kingston snaps.
“You finally opened them then.” Kian’s voice gets quieter as he speaks, and when I step into the room, I discover why. He’s already in the kitchen, pulling a bottle of Kingston’s scotch from the cupboard. “Drink?” he asks as if it’s his to offer out.
“Sure,” Kingston agrees before turning his eyes on me.
“Tate, do you?—”
“I’m good with my water,” I interrupt, making Kian smirk with accomplishment.
Yeah, okay. I’m still suffering from last night.
“So, what did you get?” he asks, walking back over with two glasses of scotch before dropping onto the opposite couch to Kingston and next to Griz.
I wince, unsure how she’s going to react to a man encroaching on her space, and when I glance at Kingston, I find him smirking, clearly having similar thoughts.
“You probably don’t want to know. Most of them are ugly enough to convince you to never get married.”
“You opened mine though, right?” Kian asks, unaware that he’s getting a full body assessment from my cat.
I swear she looks him up and down, studying every inch of him as she makes a judgment.
“If you sent the log on a stick, then yes. We opened it and have already organized a courier to send it directly back to your place.”
“Log on a stick?” he asks with a deep frown. “I sent you a coupon for a year’s supply of lube.”
“Fuck off. You didn’t, did you?” Kingston scoffs.
“Well, if you haven’t opened it yet, you wouldn’t know, would you?” As he replies, Griz gets to her feet and begins stalking closer, sniffing the air around him.
Kingston watches closely, waiting for the moment she strikes.
“Oh hey,” Kian says when her movement catches his eye. “Didn’t see you there. Aren’t you cute,” he says, thoughtlessly reaching out, ready to tickle her.
I’m still debating whether or not to warn him that my kitty isn’t a big fan of men. But just before any words tumble from my mouth, he makes contact with her ear. I wait for the strike, for the blood and the cry from Kian that will more than likely follow.
But it never comes.
Instead, Griz tilts her head to the side and begins to purr happily.
What the actual?—
“The fuck?” Kingston barks, echoing my thoughts.
“What?” Kian asks innocently as Griz leans closer, craving more of his attention.
The buzzer rings again before either of us gets a chance to respond.
“This had better be dinner,” I mutter, having visions of Kieran standing on the other side of the door this time instead.
“Oh sweet, you’ve already ordered.”
I narrow my eyes at Kian before spinning on my heels and marching back to the front door.
Their rumbling voices follow me, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. And everything is forgotten when I pull the door open and thankfully find what I really want.
Food.