Page 139 of Shifter Situations

“Caricatures?” he questioned mentally.

I gave him an imperceptible nod.

When he passed me the first one, I struggled to not laugh. A cartoon version of Briggs stared back at me, his large eyes narrowed, hair unruly. I swatted the purple balloon across the room, quickly covering my face with a half-filled orange balloon.

“Cute,” he grouched. “This is a very adorable picture of me.”

I blew up the whole pack of balloons, gathering them at our feet as Stone drew everyone on them. Novak leaned over the back of the couch, twisting his head so Briggs wouldn’t see him laughing. York sat beside my wolf, striking up a conversation with him about the day’s itinerary.

I watched Briggs from under my lashes, pretending to play on my phone as I sat, surrounded by a rainbow of balloons. As soon as I was positive that he wasn’t paying attention, I tossed another one his way.

He popped it.

Stone tossed two more at my wolf.

“Is this what you do while we’re sleeping? Look for ways to aggravate me?”

“No,” Stone assured him. “We do that on Tuesdays.”

I coughed, trying to hide my snort, and Briggs narrowed his eyes at me as he popped the new balloons. I glanced around me, rising to his silent challenge as I whispered, “I have twenty-six more.”

“I have claws all day, every day, Barbie. I’ll flatten the whole bag.”

He put so much effort into not smiling that his cheek twitched. I giggled as I sent another sailing across the room. He burst it before it touched anything, one wolf’s claw extended on his index finger.

I arched a brow at him, biting my lips together.

He shook his head in warning. “Don’t do it.”

I flipped my hand over, palm up, and raised it, pulling the balloons to attention. He sat up, still shaking his head as he let the amusement slip over his expression.

I shoved them all at him, cackling as he lunged for me only to be thwarted by a latex rainbow.

He growled as he popped them, two and three at a time, and just as he made a clear path to get to me I hopped through the Void, straight into the kitchen. I started a pot of coffee as I waited for him to follow. Then I counted to ten and then stepped back into the frigid winds once more.

I landed in the living room in a fit of giggles after watching him search for me.

Vaughn was putting his shoes on, getting ready to leave. He glanced up, eyeing me suspiciously, and I lifted my index finger to my lips, asking him for silence.

His brow furrowed, but he nodded, grinning to himself when he heard Briggs cursing from the kitchen.

“Godsdamnit. Where did she go?”

I bolted through the rooms on the ground floor of our house, stopping abruptly when I realized that my fae wasn’t the only one getting ready.

“Got a hot date?” I questioned my mage, loving the way his eyes glazed at my sarcasm.

“I do later. Grab yer shoes, Love. We’re going to stop by the apartment and then we’re going downtown to get some lunch.”

“You know Franklin got everything out of your apartment except for the furniture, right? He may have left some pictures on the walls, but other than that, it’s all here.”

He smirked, reaching for my arm to pull me against him. “Vaughn wants to check the mail, and Briggs will want to throw out the food before it goes bad.”

“Fine. I’ll find some shoes,” I begrudgingly agreed. “I need to get a new pair of boots while we’re in town, anyway.”

I backed away from him, heading to my room as I called over my shoulder, “I’d like my winnings after lunch also.”

I could hear the grin in his voice as he said, “Whatever you want, Love.”