Page 41 of Eat. Prey. Love.
I snicker for a sec and he rolls his eyes as if chastising me for my immaturity. But then my feet start throbbing again from standing for so long and I give in. “Damn you for being rightandknowing exactly what would happen if I refused. But you should note that I hop oneveryoneat home and this is the only time you’ve suggested it in public.”
“Touché, love.” He turns again, waiting for me to jump on, so I do. Once he has my thighs arranged on his waist, he grabs the picnic basket he must have gotten from Chessie in his other hand. “Now hang on…”
I wrap my arms around his neck, holding on as he takes off like a shot. It still amazes the hell out of me when they do stuff like this—I’m not a small bunny—but I’ve learned to swallow that ingrained fear. Lucille may have spent most of my childhood destroying my self-image, but the past few years have helped me stop cringing every time they haul me in their arms. “You know, you’re very strong, Your Highness.”
He rumbles a chuckle and I feel it against my chest. “Princess, if that’s your way to cheat the rule about not picking on yourself… you’re not fooling me.”
Leaning in, I kiss his ear. “I could never trick you, Raj. You’re far too smart for that.”
“Oops too far, bunny rabbit. Now Iknowyou’re tugging the tiger tail.” His hands pinch my legs and I wiggle with a gasp. “I don’t respond to flattery nearly as well as my brother.”
“Yes,Sir,” I chirp as I squeeze him tighter. “Duly noted.”
He groans as we approach the shore of the north lake, finally putting me down and spinning around to face me. “You’re as bad as the gargoyle, Princess. You know exactly how to rile me up and how to perfectly stroke my fur to calm me down again.”
I arch a brow at him. “Rennie is stroking your fur?”
“For the love of Apollo’s sunburn, Princess,no.He does it to the grumpy dragon constantly.” Felix gives me a wry look. “I’m still a bit irked that I missed it all those years.”
Winking, I lower myself to the grass by the shore. “Your head was too far up your ass to see anything until I came into your life.”
His jaw drops and he joins me, opening the basket to hand me a bento box that screams Chessie. “I take exception to that!”
“Do whatever you want, Felix Khan, but you know I’m right.” I open my box and the water he gave me, taking a swig of the cold liquid before I wipe my mouth on my hand and look him in the eye. “And if you think you’re any less obvious, don’t think I missed you taking the lunch after my first class with your smooth-talking cousin.”
His face flushes and he growls low, “Watch it, Princess.”
I arch a brow at him, enjoying his discomfort enough to play with him a little. “I don’t know if I could possibly talk about it with my feetaching so badly.”
He rolls his eyes, yanking my shoe off first, then my sock, and starts working the aches out of my arch. “If anyone else in the universe tried to blackmail me this way, I’d slice open their guts and eat their liver.”
Cupping my hand to my ear, I call out, “Fitz? Fitz, is that you? Oh, Fitzzzzz…”
“Who do you think taught him to be crazy?” Felix says as he wrings my toes through his strong fingers and I groan. “I am three minutes older than him, you know.”
“Fine, fine. Okay, you win. Asani was pretty douche-y, though I could definitely see the relation.” I take a bite of the wrap from my box, chewing it quickly before I continue. “But I also felt this… ugly streak I’ve never felt from you or Fitzy. It’s like he has the perfect looks and suave delivery you guys do, but there’s just a bad vibe coming from him.”
He snorts. “You havenoidea.”
Frowning, I look at him curiously. “He was making flirty faces at the Heathers. I have a pretty good idea of what an asshat he has to be.”
“No, it’s worse than consorting with a few bobble headed fools, I’m afraid. And that’s probably why I’m so edgy about it.” Felix licks his lips and looks out into the lake for a moment, then back at me. “Asani was my brother Titus’ right hand. He helped make sure I was exiled and provided the evidence about my consort’s betrayal.”
Ohhhhhhhh, that explains—wait a minute.
“I’m going to kill that son of a bitch with my bare hands,” I snarl as I drop my food. My eyes burn as they turn red and I feel the electricity shooting through my veins. “I’ll even put his gonads in a jar for you.”
“You are spendingwaytoo much time withmy twin,” he says witha soft smile. “But I wouldn’t mind watching it; you’re hot when you tear people to pieces, I hear.”
“I’m hot when I do a lot of things,” I pout and sparks jump from my arms to his as I think about how much I want to destroy the people who hurt my kind-hearted king. “Doesn’t mean I’m not going to slice your asshole tiger relatives into black market steaks.”
Felix laughs, scooting closer to cup my face in his hands. “Somehow, I’m a lot less worried about you having him in class two days a week and a lot more worried about what’s going to happen when he inevitably pisses you off.”
“Again, I’m considering fileting,” I mumble. “Perhaps julienne.”
A splash of water hits us both and we sputter in tandem, then look over to the lake. Standing on the back of a huge whale shifter is the Captain, grinning with his small raccoon features as he waves. Behind him, a comically small boat with Raina and a few other prey animals floats by as they toss food into water for the shifters.
“I suppose I deserved that for thinking you couldn’t defend yourself to start with,” Felix says as we wave back at our friends. “The Captain has impeccable timing; it’s quite remarkable.”