34
“Take a date home to meet the family? Sure. Let me grow a dad belly while I’m at it.”
“Boys,” Sunny announced, approaching William’s side. “Your relationship is new. There are going to be kinks as you learn to trust each other. Forgive each other for this misunderstanding and move on. And by move on, I mean clean my room.”
William did his blink, blink.
Funny thing. Axel did it, too. How adorable they were together.
The two nodded, some of the tension draining. William even leaned over to kiss her brow.
“When we finish,” he said, “I’ll take you both to see my boys and meet Evelina.”
Sunny watched William the entire time he and Axel worked, panting. She loved how his biceps bulged every time he tossed an unconscious Sent One through a portal back to camp. Mostly, she loved the way he glanced at her, as if to reassure himself that she hadn’t looked away.
As he’d once done for her hotel room, he used magic to dissipate the blood. Then Axel left to change into a clean robe, and William accompanied him, casting her a final look over his broad shoulder, one as warm and vulnerable as it was lusty.
With a shiver, she prepared to meet his children. Hair in a loose bun, she hurried through a shower, brushed her teeth and applied lotion, then donned a pair of panties she thought William would love, and a super sexy pink dress that molded to her curves. Strappy white flats completed the look. Heels were so not her thing. She just wished she had jewelry.
Unicorns loved sparkly things. Something she’d lost interest in while she’d been on the run. Now? Gimme.
She grinned. How drastically her life had changed. From sneaking into one run-down motel after another, alone, always alone, to orgasms, mythical battles, magical decodings and secret meetings.
When William and Axel returned, they were both showered and wearing clean garments.
Spotting her, William stopped abruptly. Lust, wonder and pride blazed in his electric blues.
“You like?” she asked, breathless. She spun slowly.
“Axel, you need to leave.” William took a step toward her. “We’re experiencing an unexpected...weather delay. Yes, that sounds believable. We’ll leave in an hour, once this particular storm has passed. Meet us in—”
“Oh, no. We leave now.” Even though she would do bad, bad things to slide into bed with William, she shook her head. No way she would put off this meeting. “There’s been a change in forecast. That big storm has been downgraded to a light drizzle.”
Laughing, Axel punched his brother in the arm. “Do you have a light drizzle in your pants, Ever Randy?”
Seeing them together and at ease made her heart swell with happiness.
Expression wry, William adjusted his hard shaft and closed the distance. He wound an arm around her waist, asking, “Ready?”
She arched a brow. “No portal?”
“No need. Inside Hell, I can flash anyone I can touch.”
“Down here, I have the ability to flash, as well.” Axel approached William’s other side. “But I’ve never seen the territory owned by your children. I’ll need to hitch a ride.”
Flashing wasn’t a skill Sent Ones usually possessed. How many traits did these brothers share, and what were their differences?
Sunny had to help them regain their memories, sooner rather than later. If she made the pair part of her pack, her magic would increase, tripling the odds of success. Would William want to be part of a pack, though? A kind of merging of minds? She’d have twenty-four-hour access to his thoughts.
He kissed her temple. “Away we go.”
Suddenly, the foundation beneath their feet vanished. The bedroom vanished, too. A second later, a new location materialized around them. An elaborate parlor room with crystal chandeliers, papered walls and velvet settees. Three gorgeous males who looked to be in their late twenties occupied different seats, each one reclining and smoking a cigar.
The pungent smoke tickled her throat, and she coughed. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the haze, she studied William’s boys more intently, and oh, wow, they were seriously battle-hardened, radiating savage brutality. The smoke obscured their auras, preventing her from gaining the upper hand, learning more about them than they were able to learn about her.
The lack was both a kindness and a cruelty. Information was power, and she desperately needed power right now. But a jumble of thoughts was already blowing through her mind like a parade of tumbleweeds.
A meeting had never been so important. She wanted, needed, to make a good impression, but she had no idea how to proceed. Her personality type tended to annoy or charm, rarely anything in between. What if she couldn’t win these boys over? Already they were glaring at her.
Or maybe someone behind her?
She turned. Nope. Her. She was the target of those death glares. What had they been told about her? While she hadn’t given two sages about the kings’ opinions, she gave all the sages about these boys’. Family mattered.
What if they told their dad to ditch her?
She gulped, panic unfurling.
The boys snuffed out their smokes and stood. They were so tall, so muscled and now even more furious. Why, why, why?
Unaware of her turmoil—shouldn’t a boyfriend sense this kind of thing?—William released her and walked over to embrace each of his children. What a beautiful, heart-wrenching sight.
Feeling as alone as ever, no, more so since she’d now tasted of companionship, she wrapped her arms around her middle. The males had what she’d tried not to let herself crave since the destruction of her village—love and support. They were a true family, their affection obvious.
Will I ever be a part of this? Here, now, nothing had ever been so important to her. And seriously, how was she supposed to act? Smile and wave? Show no emotion?
Her stomach turned over, a thought occurring to her. For their relationship, William brought an entire family to the table. Not just his sons, but his siblings and his plethora of friends. Maybe, one day, his father. Sunny brought baggage and a missing unicorn-shifter.
Unbalanced.
“Sunny, Axel, these are
my sons, Red, Black and Green,” William said, ever the proud papa. “They are horsemen of the apocalypse, but also shadow warriors. Boys, this is Axel, my brother, and Sunny, my woman.” He offered the descriptions without hesitation or rancor.
“I—I can guess who is who,” she said, her voice reedy. The smoke had thinned, revealing their auras. The gorgeous bald man with a jade aura... “You’re Green. Nice to see you again.”
Green gave a clipped nod. “I’m known as the bringer of death.”
“That’s, uh, great?” She shifted to point at the equally gorgeous blond with a dark-as-jet aura. “You’re Black.”
Black nodded, as well. “The bringer of famine.”
She shifted in the other direction, pointing to the—yep—gorgeous black-haired one with a scarlet aura. “You’re Red.”
He did the clipped nod, too, but more aggressively. “I am the bringer of war.”
That said, the three dismissed her, facing Axel.
“I need your autograph.” Black hiked his finger at William, saying, “This one keeps a scrapbook of your victories.”
Axel blinked with surprise, and glanced to William for confirmation.
He inclined his head, his cheeks flushed, and Axel’s surprise redoubled.
Sunny barely refrained from blurting out, “I have victories, too!”
Grinning, Green patted his brother on the back, telling Axel, “We might be your biggest fans.”
Red lit a new cigar, taking a puff before telling the Sent One, “Admired your work at the Third Battle of Lleh.”
“Greatly admired,” Black said for emphasis, then claimed the cigar for himself. “You took down more witches and warlocks than anyone else in history.”
“I’d heard what they did to William,” Axel responded, “all those centuries ago.”
William blinked with surprise.
Desperate to be part of the conversation, Sunny asked, “What are shadow warriors?” Showing interest in their lives was an excellent start. Surely.
William said, “When I birthed them—”
“With your magic vagina,” Green piped up, earning snickers from the other.