Omens (The Dark in You #6) - Suzanne Wright Page 0,96
smile hit her right in her core. “Call out to me if you need to leave here for any reason—even if it’s only for five minutes,” he said.
She licked her lips, a little dazed by his kiss. “Will do.”
“Good.” He nodded at the girls, gave her one last kiss, and then breezed out of the studio. And, yep, she watched his ass the entire time. Well, it was one very fine ass. He hadn’t been impressed when she’d scrawled her name on it with a sharpie, but she couldn’t say her apology had been whatsoever heartfelt.
Turning to face the others, Khloé saw that they were all gaping. She frowned. “What?”
“He looks … happy,” said Harper. “And I mean really happy. Keenan can often be in a good mood, but he’s never actually happy. Considering there’s all kinds of shit going on around you right now, I expected him to be in the foulest mood ever. What gives?”
Khloé tapped her fingertips on her thighs. “Well … he decided to claim me earlier, and I accepted his claim.”
Raini sighed. “Khloé.”
Surprised, she widened her eyes. “What? Why is this bad?”
“It’s not. But I now owe Devon thirty dollars.”
Smug, the hellcat folded her arms. “I bet Raini that you and Keenan would claim each other before all this Enoch business was over—as far as I was concerned, it was a done deal. But Raini thought it would take longer for you guys to get past all your issues.”
“I didn’t participate in the bet because I thought it was juvenile,” said Harper, all haughty.
Devon snorted. “You didn’t participate in the bet because you had no clue what would happen, and you didn’t want to be wrong.”
Harper waved that away and slid her gaze back to Khloé. “So, you’re happy?”
Khloé inhaled deeply. “Yes, I am. The claiming feels a little surreal, though. I never thought it would happen. Ever. Like Raini once said, Keenan seemed so set on keeping me at a distance.”
“And he failed in an epic way,” said Devon. “I always knew he would.”
Khloé frowned. “No, you didn’t.”
“I so did.”
Slipping off her jacket, Khloé rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“How are you feeling today?” asked Raini.
“No different than I felt yesterday,” replied Khloé as she hung her jacket on the coat rack. “Which is both good and bad.”
Harper put a hand to her forehead. “I’m still so shocked that the angel couldn’t help you.”
“Keenan spoke with a shifter who made it clear that his kind wouldn’t be able to heal me. That didn’t go down well with Grams.” Khloé had telepathically passed on the news to Jolene earlier.
“We will find someone who can, Khloé,” Harper told her, her expression hard and determined.
“I know. I’m not admitting defeat.” And neither was her demon.
The sphinx nodded, satisfied. “Good. Have you been keeping Teague updated on everything?”
“Yes. I spoke to him on the phone this morning, in fact.” She almost blushed as she remembered what else happened during that conversation.
“I’ll bet he wasn’t too pleased to hear that Keenan claimed you,” hedged Raini.
Khloé rubbed her nape. “Actually, he took the news pretty well.”
Raini blinked. “What did he say?”
“Something along the lines of ‘I will slit his fucking throat if he hurts you in any way, shape, or form.’”
Raini put a hand to her chest. “Oh, that’s a relief. I expected Teague to try to kill him for claiming you.”
“I don’t think he dislikes Keenan. I think he disliked the idea of Keenan using me. Now that he knows that’s not the case, he’ll deal, but he’ll also take time to warm up to the mating—in Teague’s mind, no one will ever be good enough for his anchor. On another note, Teague invited us to the racetrack on Saturday. You guys up for it?”
All three women brightened and immediately accepted the invitation.
“Watching hellhorses race is always entertaining,” said Devon. “Mostly because they’re psychotic.”
Khloé felt her brow furrow. “They’re not psychotic. Just wild.”
“And crazy,” added Devon. “And vicious. And cannibalistic.”
“You’re so judgy.”
Devon scrunched up her face. “Is that even a word?”
“Yes. My Aunt Mildred used to say it all the time and—Hey, sheathe those claws, feline.” Khloé backed up a step and wagged her finger. “Don’t think I won’t dig out the water spray bottle.”
“Don’t even try it.”
“Stop hissing, it’s rude.”
“And antagonizing others isn’t rude?”
Khloé pursed her lips. “I don’t know. Never really thought about it.”
“Harper, get her away from me before I strangle her.”
“Damn, you’re moody today, Dev,” said Khloé. “You surfing the crimson wave, sweetie? I have spare tampons