Page 43 of Eat. Prey. Love.
“Yeah!” Fitz crows then scowls at the gargoyle. “Wait…. no. Fuck you, Stone Temple Poet. I’m all man and all feline—ask Chessie and our girl.”
I blink at them, looking from the winged ancients to the amused king for a moment before I shrug. “I don’t have any complaints. And… I’d rather not get the ick from you making him sound like someLolita-esquegrossness. Didn’t my angel wag her finger at you guys for that already?”
“Chesssterrrrrr,” the stone shifter groans as he flops out even more like one of us in his big chair. “Don’t be such a buzz kill,ami.You’re allles enfantsto Flames and me; we pre-date the humans’ landing on this continent. How do you think I feel, mmm?”
The dragon snorts and I smile when small smoke rings flitter through the air. “Rennie is correct. I pre-date so many things I’m having nostalgia flashbacks in every era I’m sifting through.” He sighs, leaning back in the chair then sitting up again when it makes a suspicious sound. “I miss when the wealthy patronized the arts heavily; my best horde items are from those times. Now everything is made by mass production and it breaks so easily.”
My gaze drops to his chair and he nods. “To be fair, you’re a big guy, Aubrey. This furniture wasn’t made for preds of your size.”
“No shit,” Felix mutters and the next death stare is focused on the tiger. “It’s true, Draconis. Quit being cheap and have the Captain order you custom shit like you did at Apex. You’ll never live it down if the damn things give out while you’re working.”
Fitz grins manically, leaning in to pat the surly librarian’s head. “He’s right, Growly Gecko. Baby Girl and I will laugh until we have to shower off to save face. No cap, big guy.”
“Fitz, what the actual fuck are you?—”
“Anyone home down here? Yoo-hoo!”
We all grin at one another, the jabs forgotten when her voice echoes in the outer hallway. Dolly appears moments later clad in her Pred Games practice uniform, dirt, sweat, and the smell of blood. It’s fucking delicious and the atmosphere in the room goes from joking to deadly serious within seconds.
“You smell good, Baby Girl,” Fitz says as he moves to her side, sniffing her neck with a shudder. “I think our girl broke a piece off someone, guys.”
She grins, her eyes flashing with the red of her bunny as she nods. “I took a chunk out of an ocelot. Coach Z tells us to pull our hits, but this chick refused to stop coming. I had to put her on the ground and do that… thing I do in the ring to make them fuck off.”
Felix tilts his head, smirking. “You dominated her, Princess. The Alpha bunny made the tiny kitten its bitch.”
Her nose wrinkles and Dolly shakes her head. “First, I don’t like that phrase. I’m a bitch by most definitions, and that doesnotmean I’m going to let some jackass pin me down until I concede.” A throat clears and she rolls her eyes. “In the bedroom is different because I’mconsentingto giving up my power and that’s even more powerful than domination. Everyone knows that, Tiger Prince.”
The elder Khan chuckles, rising to join his twin in sandwiching her against him. “Very true, Princess. You’re learning so well.”
“Chess and I are aware of that fact, too,” Ren says with a yawn. “You’re not giving us praise.”
“Youdon’t need it,” Aubrey mutters. “You’ve been a pain in the assall day. At least Chester made lunch and afternoon tea. What have you done to earn your keep?”
“Boys,” Dolly says as she pulls away from the Khans. “Don’t bicker. It’s been a hell of a day, and I could eat an entire hippopotamus then have room for dessert. Maybe we can order in while I shower? I’d like to get this yuck off of me.”
Aubrey and Ren look at one another, then nod. The dragon gathers his papers, then takes Renard’s, creating neat stacks on the table. I follow suit, putting my pile next to theirs and stretch up on my toes. Fitz comes over and grabs me, burying his face in my neck this time.
“Don’t think I forgot you, love.”
He puts on the scariest psycho mask for the rest of the world, but with the people he loves, Fitz Khan is as soft as a baby blanket.
“I don’tget hugs,” the gargoyle mumbles and his mate snorts.
“You’ve been here annoying me all day.”
Dolly frowns at him, smacking the librarian’s big arm before she walks over to snuggle Ren close. “I missed you, even if he’s being a dick. I miss all of you when I have to venture out and deal with the rest of this damn campus. It’s full of snobs and assholes, like home, but with prettier accents.”
I can’t fault her for that statement—I’ve had the same experience and I doubt it will get better as the year goes on.
Know Your Enemy
My runwith Felix this morning is brutal again—I have the feeling that Tuesday/Thursday ones are going to kill me all semester long. He’s grumpy as fuck about his sleazy cousin and while I get that he feels helpless, I’m going to be Usain Bolt by the time he’s done with me. I don’t say anything, though, because truthfully, having better speed and endurance is good for me when I’m being stalked by evil Fae and fuck knows who else.
Practicality is my new goal when it comes to secret enemies and I’m winning at it.
Cori and Rufus are waiting for me when I exit the library, their gazes hungry as they watch for me to pull out ‘breakfast to go’ from Chessie. When I do, Cori moans happily, taking her fishy concoction with a grateful expression and Rufus flashes his pointy teeth. My cheetah has life time devotees because of his thoughtfulness and it makes me smile as we walk towards the admin building in the early morning sunshine.
“You’re never going to believe this, Dollypop,” Rufus says around a huge bite of his burrito. “My fucking juries include year-long projects I only get this semester to complete. What a crock of hippo shit.”