Page 158 of Rattle the Cage

Nash shot me a dirty look as she closed the door, leaving me with full access to our toy on the drive.

Sucker.

Tess was seriously a smokeshow. The costume was effortlessly sexy, which might have been the best part. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve her affection, but fuck was I one lucky son of a bitch.

“You look amazing, baby.” I couldn’t stop the praise from spilling from my lips. Every time I looked at her, warmth welled up in my chest.

But her smirk told me she didn’t exactly mind. “Thank you. You know, I don’t remember picking this one up at the costume shop…”

“This one’s a custom order. Worth every fucking penny,” I smirked. I knew full well it was Cyrus’ card that had paid for it, but given the chance, I would bankrupt myself to buy another.

Tess chuckled at that. “Does it come with a towel or something? If you don’t calm down, your drool is going to get all over the leather seats.”

“That won’t be the only mess,” I growled, running a hand up her thigh. “But can you blame me, baby? Goldilocks has me feeling like a fucking animal.”

Tess’ quad stiffened under my touch, and as I slid my hand higher, a soft little gasp followed. But before I could convince her to get there just a little bit later, the front passenger door opened, drawing both of our attention.

“Cyrus?” Tess tilted her head, voice still adorably breathy.

Nash tilted her head too, flicking her gaze away from the rearview mirror as she turned to Cyrus. “Since when are you⁠—?”

“Drive,” Cyrus grumbled, slamming the door shut behind her.

And not seeing a point in pushing back, Nash did just that.

Pulled back to Earth by the sudden interruption, Tess smoothed down her skirt over her thighs, cutting off my free show. But it didn’t matter — her head nuzzled into my shoulder and her fingers intertwined with mine was all that I needed.

I pressed my lips to the top of her head, placing gentle kisses on her scalp. The sweet smell of her shampoo was completely intoxicating. Normally, sitting still was impossible, but given the option, I could have stayed like that all day.

Unfortunately, though, time seemed to move fastest at the moments I’d most like to freeze it. Before I knew it, we had reached downtown Valemont in all of its Halloweeny glory.

Nash pulled the car over a few blocks from where Tess was meeting Lola and Chrissy. Lola probably could have handled the meet and greet, but with the kid involved, everyone felt better keeping a distance for now.

Luckily, we were quite good at tracking our prey. While Tess stepped down from the Cadillac and refluffed her underskirt, I reached under my car seat and pulled out my paint-splattered mask.

“What are you doing with those?” Tess frowned, her eyes flicking from me to Nash and Cyrus, who were already pulling on their masks in the front of the car.

“It’s Halloween!” I shrugged, slipping the mask on. “These are our costumes.”

Tess’ shoulders tightened. “You’re not coming with.”

“Not with.” Nash offered. “Adjacent to.”

Clearly, Tess wasn’t happy with that answer. “I don’t need a babysitter. You’re going to freak out the kids.”

“We aren’t even close to the scariest thing roaming around Valemont.” I protested. “If Rubin’s face plastered all over hasn’t traumatized them yet, then we’re fine.”

She rolled her eyes at the jab, but Cyrus flung her own door open and stood, towering over Tess in an instant. “It’s too dangerous for you to roam the streets without our protection, Ragdoll. Rubin’s followers are everywhere, and they’re growing more desperate by the day. You’re not going alone.”

Tess screwed her lips up, ready to fight back, but Nash had already hopped out of the car and stepped between them. “Listen, we’ll keep our distance, alright? But you remember what happened in the park.”

Tess eyed Nash skeptically, before turning her glare on me.

“You won’t even know we’re here.” I held up my hands innocently.

After a moment of consideration, Tess slammed her door. “Fine. But I’m being serious, stay the fuck back. I don’t want Chrissy to even know what a clown looks like by the end of tonight.”

“Anything you want, Trinket.”