“Pfft, you keep telling yourself that,” Madigan chimed in, out loud this time as he set about making himself some breakfast.
“Will you all fuck off out of my head for five fucking minutes?!” Mordecai snarled, glaring in the direction of his knights, who were now all lined up like a bunch of trained monkeys along the kitchen island. They had all made themselves very much at home in Ryker’s lovely log house by the sea. It was tight quarters – even in such a huge house – but Mordecai didn’t mind. He would live in a hovel if it afforded him the chance to get to know the daughter he had once lost.
Ryker sauntered over to Max, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Now we know where Max gets her filthy mouth from.”
“I thought you loved my filthy mouth?” Max smirked up at her man.
Ryker’s eyes widened and he quickly looked at Mordecai, who merely raised his eyebrows, daring the younger paladin to say something salacious about his daughter. “Why do you insist on trying to get me killed? I want to be around to meet my daughter, you know,” came Ryker’s eventual response.
Max pulled Ryker down for a chaste kiss on the lips. “I think it’s so cute that you’re afraid of my father.”
Ryker pulled back, frowning. “I’m not afraid of your father. He wishes I was afraid of him.”
Mordecai simply straightened from where he was leaning against the counter, beyond amused when Ryker took an involuntary step back. His own smirk was met with a fierce scowl and a silently mouthed ‘go fuck yourself’ from the younger man. Mordecai covered his smile by taking a healthy swallow of his coffee. He really did like the grumpy, violent life paladin that was his daughter’s soulmate. In fact, he couldn’t have chosen a better partner for Max himself. Not that he would ever admit that. No, he would go to his grave before ever saying so out loud.
“Seriously, dad, you can’t ignore her forever. She’s sticking around this time,” Max paused, looking sadly uncertain as she bit her bottom lip. “At least, I hope she is.”
Her Order was quick to rally around her with murmurs of assurance, Beyden hugging her from behind. “Hey, she said she would stay, right? Pop in and out or something?” he reminded his friend and liege.
Max sighed, slumping back against Beyden. “Yes. She did.”
Beyden scrubbed his large hand over her hair, making it even messier, saying, “Then she will.”
Jasminka rolled her eyes as she passed her lover and best friend on the way to the coffee machine. The human doctor literally shoved Mordecai to the side with her hip so she had room to make her own cup. “Bey, you’re so sweet and perky. It’s barely eight in the morning. I don’t have the stomach for that yet. I almost preferred it when your soul was being eaten by the darkness.” She cast Mordecai a conspiratorial wink, “At least then I could have my cup of coffee in peace.”
Mordecai grinned at the doctor, appreciating her level of ease with him, as well as her love and respect for coffee. She had never once been intimidated by him and it made him respect her even more – on top of the fact that she had been a true friend to his daughter when she had been sick and alone.
“If you don’t want him, I’ll take him.” Max snarked back at Jazz, holding Beyden tightly to her.
Jazz grunted, drinking down her coffee in one breath like a true veteran. “You already have your own giant. What would you do with another one?”
“Really? Do you even need to ask?” Max retorted, causing Beyden to blush and step back, and Ryker to growl.
Sexual jokes were commonplace within the group, and whilst Mordecai liked to believe he had a sense of humour, he didn’t really like to listen to sexual banter from his daughter. “I’m leaving,” he muttered.
Max stepped into his path, her belly now leading the way at twenty weeks along. “I don’t think so. Mum has been around for six weeks now and you two still haven’t talked.”
Mordecai knew how long it had been. The infernal woman had simply poofed herself into the kitchen one day like it was no big deal. After playing matchmaker with the latest couple to fall victim of the love-bug, that is. It had been two and a half months since Celeste had first shown up, and six weeks since