Page 50 of Into Oblivion
“You have three holes. That’s two rounds,” I say with a shrug. She gasps and smacks my chest, making me laugh. “We will work it out in time. Don’t stress over it.”
“Okay. I’m going to shower the mortal off me now,” she says with a proud grin.
“I’m going to make an obscene amount of waffles,” I say, kissing her again.
When I leave the bathroom, I step into the bedroom to get dressed. About the time she’s stepping into the shower, there’s a light knock on the door.
“Come in,” I grunt. Vaughn, Caine, Diego, and Laurent carefully walk into the room and look around. “Looking for Talia? She just got in the shower.”
“How is she?” Vaughn asks as I pull a shirt on.
“I think we underestimated her. She might be a little psychotic,” I say, and Caine snorts. “She’s okay. She was mentally drained by the time I stopped feeding.”
“I bet. What happened?” Diego asks as we walk out of the room.
“Well… She played them the whole time. Made Julie think that she was broken and didn’t want me,” I say. “It’s hard to comprehend that she is also Talia’s mother.”
“Does that make you like a stepdad?” Pierce says as we walk into the kitchen.
“You son of a bitch,” I laugh. “Why didn’t you tell me that Talia was your kid?”
“Because you would have ripped my head off for giving her to Henry,” he says.
“Fair,” I shrug. “So Micah is mortal now. Our badass little lady up there scared Julie away before telling Henry and Micah to run. I suspect she wants to hunt them as much as I do now.”
“Sounds like a fun game of cat and mouse,” Laurent laughs.
“What are you making her?” Vaughn asks.
“She asked for lots of waffles, chocolate chips, and strawberries,” I say. “Y’all wanna help make them?”
“What gives?” Caine asks. “Where is the anger?”
“Right now,” I say, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet. “I am thankful to be home. I’m proud of Talia. I’m proud of you four, too.”
“Us? What the fuck did we do?” Vaughn asks.
“You comforted my mate when I couldn’t,” I say. “When she was undoubtedly screaming in pain, you four were there for her.”
“We couldn’t just stand there and watch her be in pain,” Vaughn argues.
“I know. Thank you for making her accept your help. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her to accept help,” I say. “God knows she is stubborn as fuck. Which also reminds me…”
“We all hated the idea,” Laurent says quickly.
“She does what she wants,” Caine agrees.
“Why are you all so damn defensive?” I laugh. “I think I knew the whole time she’d pull some dumb shit like that, but it saved us. I don’t think I’d be here right now if she hadn’t intervened.”
“She’s great,” Vaughn says, staring off as though he’s thinking. I don’t think he even realizes how deeply affected by her he is. I think one of the main reasons I’m okay with it is because he doesn’t even realize it. He is falling so hard for the same woman that I am, for the same reason. He’s not looking for it, and he’s actively pushing it away, I’m sure. But you just can’t help but fucking fall for that amazing woman.
“You think so?” I ask, and the room falls silent. I turn and smirk at Vaughn. The panic in his eyes is almost impressive.
“Uh…” he says, and I grin.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing…”
