His lips curved up in a naughty little smile. “I think I’m in heaven. I’m so sorry to tell you this, Z, but it’s what I suspected all along. Dev’s gay. He’s really in love with me. He was using you all this time to get to me. Hope you’re not too upset.”
“Is he cuddling you?” I tried not to giggle too loud. Dev couldn’t help it. He was a cuddler. He almost always ended up wrapped around me. If there was something warm in bed with him, he was going to be pressed against it by the end of the night. Today Neil was the lucky one.
“He’s spooning me,” Neil admitted with a happy sigh. “Oh, and he suddenly seems happy to be doing it.”
“Did he just get his morning friend?” I asked, and Neil confirmed it with a grin. It was right on time. If Dev followed his usual morning routine, I was in for a good laugh.
Dev sighed and cuddled closer to Neil.
“Hey, baby,” Dev said, his voice sleepy and his eyes still closed. He ran his hand down Neil’s side and then sat straight up in bed, probably realizing I wasn’t as muscular as Neil. “Shit. I thought…I’m going to take a shower.”
Dev stalked out of the bedroom as Neil and I dissolved into laughter.
“Stop being mean to Dev.” Daniel pulled me firmly against his thighs. Dev wasn’t the only one with a morning friend. “He can’t help it. He’s a pervert.”
“How do you explain this, then?” I asked, wriggling my butt against that glorious vampire cock of his.
“That’s a perfectly normal reaction to waking up next to my superhot wife,” Daniel replied. “I would use that on you, too, if we didn’t have guests.”
“Don’t mind me,” Neil offered.
“Maybe you can call Tamara.” That was now my go to whenever I wanted him to feel guilty.
“And just like that, it’s gone,” Daniel grumbled, sitting up. “Great, Z, now I have an off switch.”
I gave him a tart look because if he hadn’t wanted me to lob that grenade his way, he shouldn’t have given me such awesome ammunition. He did look mighty fine in his boxers, though. God, I loved that six-pack of his. I gave him a grin to let him know I was only teasing. I forgave him and hoped he’d finally learned that Dev and I wanted to share whatever fate had in mind for him.
He leaned down and kissed me, nuzzling my neck. “I’m going to sleep in the coffin. It’s too loud out here. Too many damn people. If I put in earplugs and close the coffin, I think I can get some sleep. Wake me up before you leave for the ritual. I don’t want to miss that.”
Danny walked to the door and gave it a cautious look.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, hoping we weren’t about to be attacked again.
“I’m just pretty sure Lee’s going to jump me sometime in the near future. Tell him about the begging, Z. You tell him I begged politely and maybe we can avoid another fight.” Daniel turned and I heard him say, “Morning, Sarah,” as he left the room.
Sarah did a double take as she entered. She was carrying a bag and a large picnic basket. “Great, Daniel can daywalk now and nobody told me.”
“I knew,” Neil said.
I threw my hands up. “Well, it’s supposed to be a secret. We won’t be keeping it for long if Danny just walks around the house in his underwear, scratching his belly in the middle of the morning.”
“It’s afternoon.” Sarah held up her items. “It’s also time to start getting ready for tonight. I was fully instructed on all the rituals we have to perform to prepare you. It’s just supposed to be the girls today so Neil can come, too.”
Neil sat up, his eyes wide with curiosity. “What are we supposed to be getting ready for?”
“Z’s performing a fertility ritual with Dev tonight,” Sarah confided.
Neil snorted. “She does that every night and probably twice during the day.”
“It’s public, Neil,” Sarah said as I flushed, my cheeks flaming. “You should see the altar. It’s on a hill so everyone will have a nice view.”
Neil’s eyes closed and he sighed in pleasure. “I missed you guys soooo much.” A cloud passed over his face and he sank back into the bed. “I’m not going. It’ll only cause trouble. My brother’s here which means my dad isn’t far behind. If they see me…”
My heart fell as I realized I hadn’t told Neil about last night. He’d been asleep when we got in and we’d been so happy this morning.
“If they come anywhere close to you, I’ll hex them,” Sarah promised.
“Not really necessary. You don’t have to worry about them anymore, Neil.” I watched him cautiously because they were his family after all. Just because they were assholes didn’t mean Neil wouldn’t have a reaction to the news of their deaths.
Neil sat back up and took me by the shoulders. “What did they do to you?”
I shook my head. “They didn’t get a chance. Danny and Dev took care of them.”
“They’re dead then.” Neil nodded as though it wasn’t even a question.
“Yes.” I didn’t think I needed to mention the heart pulling out stuff.
“He would have killed you, you know,” Neil said, searching my face. “You embarrassed Wyatt and he would have killed you. I meant to warn you this morning. I guess it was too late. Don’t feel any guilt, Zoey. They raped their way through my pack. They killed anyone who disagreed with them. They deserved whatever Daniel and Dev gave them.”
“You’re not upset?”
He shook his head and hugged me. “No, I just wish I could have been there.” He turned back to Sarah, clearly putting his biological family in the past, concentrating on the family he’d built for himself. “No more of that. It’s a relief to tell you the truth. So how do we get Zoey ready for her big performance?”
“Well,” Sarah said brightly, holding up a familiar canister, “I was told this sand is important.”
I groaned and fell back on the bed. I hated that sand.
After we got up and found Neil some clothes, we started to head out when Lee scowled at us. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I stopped and stared at him because he was sporting two serious black eyes. Lee had some amazing healing powers, so I would have hated to see him when the injury was fresh. “What happened to you?”
Lee growled and his swollen eyes narrowed. “Your cheating, good for nothing husband happened. Son of a bitch got a couple of lucky punches in.”
“Looks like more than that,” Neil said, his eyes wide. “What did he do to your ear?”
Lee’s hand shot to his left ear. “It’s still on, right?”
“He pulled your ear off?” My voice hit that pitch I got when I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“He bit it off,” Lee said. “I’ll admit though, I had just kicked him in the balls and I was trying to claw out his eyes at the time. It’s okay because Zack held it on until the skin grew back together. Of course he was telling me the whole time how I should stay out of the master’s business and I needed to not upset the master. I’m going to kick Zack’s ass, too. But not until I kill that vampire.”
“Lee, you can’t kill Danny,” I protested. “After he knocked you out, he totally followed your advice and I was damn lucky he did. He killed three wolves who were trying to murder me and then he begged my forgiveness. He was trying to protect me. He thought he could get Dev to take me to Faery and I would be safe from Marini.”
Lee gave that a moment’s thought before finally speaking again. “Did he get on his knees?”
I nodded and Lee seemed somewhat satisfied. I still wasn’t sure he wouldn’t get Danny back, but at least he wasn’t going to try to kill him.
Sarah, Neil, and I spent the rest of the day wandering among the wolves with Lee trailing along. Lee hadn’t been pleased with Neil’s strength and followed us around, frowning the entire time. I tried to ignore his pessimistic attitude because I was feeling good today. Daniel was with us and it felt like forever this time. We’d broken through that barrier and he was going to be himself. Dev and I were going to do his little ritual thingee, and both my boys were going to be happy with me. When the boys were happy, I tended to be happy.