The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,39

out your lip and say please, please don’t mess up my pretty face,” Hunter whispers, his breath dusting my cheek.

I give an eye roll but do what he says. I’m not even sure why, other than it’s been a long time since I’ve been this entertained. The circumstances are a bit weird, though, after what happened.

“Please, please don’t mess up my pretty face,” I say to Zay with my bottom lip jutted out.

Zay shakes his head then sighs. “I’m not going to mess up your pretty face, so stop pouting.” He fixes a firm look on Hunter. “You need to lay off this, though.”

“Lay off what?” Hunter bats his eyelashes innocently, and I giggle.

Zay sears him with an insinuating look. “You know what.”

“Oh, don’t give me that look.” Hunter carries his gaze. “You’re acting just as bad as I am.”

Zay rolls his eyes. “Fuck off. I am not.”

“Um, yeah you are,” Hunter insists. “The only difference is I always act this way. You never do, so the question is: why?”

Zay’s eyes shadow over as he glares at Hunter. “You better shut it, brother. You’re crossing a line with this, and that’s the only warning I’m going to give you.”

Hunter releases a dramatic sigh then removes his arm from my shoulders and holds up his hands in front of him. “Fine, I’ll chill.” His lips quirk. “For now.”

Zay scratches his arm and mutters, “You’re so damn annoying sometimes.”

I’m not sure what to make of what I saw. These guys are crazy. But so am I.

Crazy.

Freak.

Murderer.

My scars throb, reminding me that I’m barely wearing anything.

“Hey, while we’re putting out requests and demands, can I put in one, too?” I ask, stretching out the hem of the shirt I’m wearing.

“What do you want?” Zay grumbles while Hunter says cheerfully, “Anything you want. Name it and it’s yours.”

“What if I ask for a unicorn?” I ask him.

A smile curves across his face. “Then I’d say give me a couple of days and I’ll make sure to have a sparkly, glittery horse with a horn that poops out rainbows waiting for you on your front porch. I’ll even put a sparkly bow on it.”

“Sounds appealing, but FYI, unicorns don’t poop out rainbows. Not sure where you got that information from.” I shake my head, realizing I’m getting sidetrack again. “But actually, I was going to ask for some clothes to wear. Preferably mine, but I’m not sure if they’re still wet.”

“We put them in the dryer a couple of hours ago, so they should be nice and dry now.” Hunter’s gaze scrolls up and down my body. “You sure you don’t want to just wear my shirt? It looks amazing on you.”

Shaking his head, Zay reaches out and smacks Hunter on the back of his head.

Hunter gives him a dirty look as he rubs the spot. “Ow … What the heck was that for?”

“For flirting with her and already trying to break the rule.” Zay nods at the doorway. “Go get her clothes. And while you’re at it, take the time to really think about what you’re doing. And I mean in a way bigger context. Like what’s going to happen in the long run instead of in the next few minutes.”

“You know that’s not my style,” Hunter points out, lowering his hand to his side.

“Well, you need to temporarily make it that way until we can figure this out or it’s not gonna work,” Zay stresses. “Now go get her clothes.”

“Oh fine.” Hunter starts to leave, but then he pauses, grinning at Zay from over his shoulder. “Just because I’m doing what you told me to do doesn’t mean I’m actually letting you boss me around. I’m just trying to clear my head before things get too out of hand.” He sneaks an almost worried look in my direction then walks out of the room.

“Jesus fucking Christ, he’s so annoying sometimes,” Zay mumbles, sinking down onto the edge of the pool table and massaging his temples with his fingertips.

“And you aren’t?” I question.

He lifts his gaze, giving me a dirty look. “I’m not annoying. I’m just complicated.”

“Maybe Hunter is, too,” I suggest.

“Are you defending him?” he questions with a cock of his brow.

Am I? “I don’t know … Kind of … Maybe.”

“Why?” he asks skeptically.

“I don’t know … I guess because, out of all of you, he’s been the nicest to me. And he seems easygoing. Well, when he’s not helping you and Jax threaten me.”

“Hunter is easygoing. He’s also fucked almost every chick