Page 47 of Friends With the Monsters
“What would you propose?” Grim settles himself with his ass leaning against my island. I find myself licking my lips. Damn, if he isn’t gorgeous.
“Touching—there should be no touching,” Gunnar responds quickly.
“Now, wait just a damn minute.” I shake my head and focus on Gunnar instead of Grim’s tight ass in his dark jeans. “I’m a tactile person. I happen to likey the touchy.”
“I agree. Why should we hold ourselves back for you?” Calix sneers at Gunnar.
“How about because if I see you touch her, I’ll rip your fucking arms off. Would that work as enough of a deterrent?” Gunnar takes a step toward Calix, who just stands his ground like he’s not at all intimidated.
“You could try, Viking.” Calix smiles darkly, and I see the tips of his very sharp, very inhuman teeth. Damn, that shouldn’t be sexy.
“I said no fighting,” I call out, even though there’s some part of me that would like to watch these two go at it.
Gunnar drops his arms to his sides, but his fists are still balled up. “Then a schedule, perhaps,” he suggests through his teeth.
I snicker, then cover my mouth when they all look at me. “You wanna schedule touch time?” I burst out laughing at the absurdity of it.
“We could schedule alone time.” Grim tilts his head. “After all, there are times each of us must be away, when our duties can’t be avoided.”
Calix leans against the counter on his elbows with a wide grin on his lips. “Not me—I’m free and clear. I’ll always be around.” He winks at me and I get a little fluttery feeling in my stomach. My hand covers the spot—what was that? I scowl to cover how uncomfortable the feeling made me and spin on my heel, facing the opposite direction.
“How did you manage that?” Gunnar asks incredulously.
“You may have visited her and left rocks, but I’ve been preparing. I knew this day would come, and I wanted to make sure I could make up for lost time,” Calix hedges, with a hint of cockiness in his tone.
“Well, that’s bullshit. I can’t get out of my commitment.” Gunnar looks around as if there might be someone he could appeal to.
I settle myself back on the stool. Watching them interact is entertaining. I usually only have myself for company, and maybe one visitor a night if I’m lucky. This is like watching reality TV, but so much better.
“What commitment? To the witches?” I question, wishing I could eat popcorn. This would be the perfect time for popcorn.
Grim casts Calix a distrustful glance. “I, like the Berserker, have obligations. I must come and go,” he admits.
“Don’t worry, boys, I’ll take real good care of her.” Calix doesn’t bother to hide the leer he’s tossing in my direction.
“Hurry up and put the rest of this away so we can go back into the living room. Then you guys can tell me about yourcommitments.” I give the word a little extra dark flare for emphasis.
“Give me two minutes, and I’ll be done.” Calix leans away and gets right back to work, shoving groceries into the fridge and freezer.
“I’ve warned you about bragging about your speediness.” I waggle my finger at him jokingly.
Calix looks over his shoulder with a sultry, traffic-stopping grin. “If I would have moved a little faster the other night, we might already be rid of these two.” I can tell by the gleam in his eye that he’s joking. If anyone would be okay with sharing, I know it would be Calix. He’s already said he likes an audience. I glance over at Gunnar and burst out laughing. He looks like he swallowed a lemon, and that just makes the mental picture of him watching Calix and me even more comical. Nobody asks why I’m laughing.
I pat Gunnar’s firm bicep on the way to the hall. “Come on, I want to hear about the creepy witches, and why you work for them.”
“With them,” Gunnar immediately corrects me.
“With them.” I roll my eyes, agreeing.
Chapter 16
“So, you’re some kind of watchdog.” I settle back into the couch. Gunnar is next to me, making it hard to pay attention to his words, instead of the thickness of his thigh.
Gunnar purses his lips, thinking. “I make sure they don’t get reckless or too power hungry.”
“Uncle told me that witches steal their power from people like us. You let them do that?” I watch Gunnar for his reaction.
“No.” He shakes his head vehemently. “That’s exactly why I keep an eye on them: to make sure they aren’t doing shit like that.”
