Page 5 of King’s Kismet

The click-pop of the nail gun on my right made me smile at York. Four more shots fired, two of which hit my vampire.

But I finally nailed my mage.

Right in his ass cheek.

“Fuck,” he snarled, dropping to his knee as he held his hands up. “Okay. Okay.”

I passed my nail gun to Briggs and wandered across the room to my targets. Palmer glared when I bent at the waist and snatched the metal from his flesh. I licked the tip, and he narrowed his eyes.

“If we’re going to have to redo your work anyway,” I sassed, bouncing my gaze between the two of them. “Then I’m going to make it worth my while.”

“Is that the only tip you plan on licking?” Novak asked, his head cocked as he ran his tongue over his teeth. “Because you could totally shoot me again.”

I snorted before I could stop myself.

“Don’t encourage her,” Palmer admonished, rubbing his ass.

“You challenge her regularly,” my vampire argued. “And then you get mad when she bites back. If you hadn’t been such a dick this morning, you might not have a hole in your ass now. Isn’t that what you’re always bitching at me about? Thinking about the repercussions of my actions?”

My mage sighed like Novak was just too much to handle. “So if I got shot for being a dick this morning, why’d you get shot first?”

“For being a dick a few minutes ago.” He pointed over his shoulder, as if that gesture made any sense. “Gods, Palmer. Keep up.”

Druid Dreams - Chapter 9

Alternative POV

Saturday, May 16th

Late Morning

I popped a grape in my mouth as I took a seat at the patio table, content in watching Sloane act completely unfazed by meeting her mates.

I tried to ignore the lot of them until after introductions were made.

It was hard to keep the smirk off my face as I listened to Sloane’s rambling thoughts. She didn’t want to understand what was pulling her to them. So she wouldn’t… Not until I blew the lid off this whole business meeting she’d set up. I wasn’t certain if I wanted to gag or scoff at her for thinking she was in control and knew what to expect.

I already knew who they were; I didn’t need any more information than what I had already gathered. Sloane would surely be pissed when she found out that I’d known who her mates were, but she would relax when she found out how much digging I’d done for her.

Maybe. Who fucking knew with her?

Oh, she’d be raging at me in a few minutes.

Would she really be angry, though? No.

Frustrated that I’d been keeping a secret from her?

Abso-fucking-lutely.

I’d watch these guys for a few more days, track how they interacted with my best friend, and then I’d grill the shit out of them. Mates or not, if they didn’t have pure intentions with Lo, then they had to go. I’d kill them myself if I had to.

I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but I wouldn’t write it off so quickly.

I caught the tail end of her conversation with the winter fae and sent them all a cynical grin. I lurk in the shadows. They’d do well to remember that.

Nothing would stop me from watching Lo’s back and keeping her safe. The only one in the bunch who would have heard any rumors about me would be the demon. He looked like a smart male, though. He wouldn’t open his mouth to the others unless I was out of earshot.

The demon seemed suspicious of Lo, not that I blamed him. Her reputation with the supes was nasty on Earth, and even worse in the Underworld. The rep she had here wasn’t really true, but she didn’t want to fight it. It kept most supernatural creatures away from her, knowing she was the biggest predator on the board.