Her blush was the cutest thing he’d seen all day.
“You need to be a lot less R-rated because my sister and sister-in-law will kill me if this isn’t a PG game.” That eyebrow of hers shot up.
“Cross my heart.”
“You talk like an angel but then shoot me a smile that’s all devil.”
He leaned in and finally placed his lips against hers. She moaned into his mouth. all liquid desire and he wanted nothing more than to say forget the game. But they couldn’t.
“I better stop because this is going way past PG.”
She groaned. “You’re impossible.”
Corey smirked. “Log in, chipmunk.”
“That’s another hard no. I may be little, but I’m not a rodent.” She reached for the remote.
“So I should stay away from mouse, Minnie Mouse, and squeakers too?”
Her eyebrow shot up again, and he chuckled as she logged into the game and created a group for them.
“Noah’s fifteen. He’s my brother’s oldest. Bryce is his thirteen-year-old brother. And my sister’s daughter, Crystal, is twelve.”
The commotion started as soon as the kids logged on. Even though he had an expensive sound system, he was having trouble hearing the kids over each other—their excitement of talking to Aunt Taran all at the same time made it impossible to catch much.
“Wait a minute, who’s the demon hunter?” one of the boys asked.
“I was going to introduce you, but y’all are out of control, Noah.” Taran laughed as she said it. “At this rate, we’ll never take down the castle.”
“Who is sportsnut?” A girl’s voice, must be Crystal, asked.
“This is my friend, Corey. He wants to play with us tonight, and we could probably use his help.”
Corey wondered what they would say. The kids were clearly excited to play with their aunt, and for the first time since she said she was canceling, he realized he might be intruding. He held his breath when the kids were silent.
“What kind of friend?” Bryce asked. “Like your boyfriend?”
“She hasn’t had a boyfriend since Uncle Jeremy died. Everyone knows that,” Crystal said with a matter-of-factness that only a kid could use about death.
Taran winced.
Corey couldn’t force her to answer the question, nor could he claim to be her boyfriend to her family. “I’m hoping to someday be lucky enough to get to that title. Maybe you guys can help get her to like me?”
Taran shook her head, but the slight turn up in the corner of her mouth gave him hope she didn’t hate the idea.
“Are you good at this game?” Bryce asked, cutting to the chase.
“Better than Aunt Taran,” Corey assured because he spoke the language of winning. “I don’t forget I’m playing and let my team die.”
“Thank God,” Noah praised even as Taran scoffed next to Corey.
“If you all gang up on me, I’ll leave. Then this raid will fall apart.” Her tone was too light to be a real threat.
“Corey, you have an adult account and can create a raid for us, right?” Bryce asked.
“Hey!” Taran’s mouth fell open. It was apparent she was used to being the favorite.
“I’m grateful for the support, guys, but remember, we want Aunt Taran to like me,” Corey reminded.