Secret Santa Surprise: Book 29 in the Kindred Tales Series - Evangeline Anderson Page 0,45
Twin said, frowning. “You’re really acting like an anus hole today, do you know that?”
“You mean an asshole?” Strong raised an eyebrow at him.
“Whatever the humans call it—yes. You are.” Clear glared at him.
Strong opened his mouth to give an angry retort…and realized that his twin was right. He was being an anus hole today. What was wrong with him, treating Clear like that?
“All right—I’m sorry,” he made himself say. “I just have the worst fucking headache today and I had strange dreams all night.”
“I had strange dreams too—I don’t remember them much, except I think they all had Melanie in them.” Clear frowned. “And my head aches as well. I feel almost hung-over, but I didn’t drink much at all yesterday.”
“Me either,” Strong growled. “Just a cup of that Goddess-damned punch. Maybe it was the Fireflower juice they spiked it with.”
“But we’ve had Fireflower juice before and it never made us feel this bad afterwards,” Clear objected.
“Who knows?” Strong shrugged. “Maybe it was really concentrated.”
“Maybe.” Clear sounded doubtful. “But if—”
Just then their front door chimed, cutting him off.
“Oh!” The Light Twin’s frown cleared at once. “I’m sure that must be Melanie! She probably wants to help us frost the Christmas cookies since we never got to that last night.”
He hurried to the door, but when he pulled it open, it wasn’t Melanie but Sonja and Sahran who stood there.
Strong felt his twin’s deep disappointment but he still tried to smile.
“Oh, hello…” Clear stepped back, gesturing for them to come in. “What can I do for you two?”
“It’s what we can do for you two,” Sonja said, stepping inside. She handed Clear something as she walked past him and he took it automatically and looked down at it.
“What’s that?” Strong came over to join him.
“The oven mitt!” Clear exclaimed, turning it over in his hands. He looked up at Sonja. “How did you get it? It was supposed to be my Secret Satan—I mean Santa—gift for Melanie.”
“That would be my fault,” Sahran said sheepishly. “I mixed up our gifts when I wrapped them yesterday, I’m afraid.”
“Which means that I got your oven mitt and Melanie got my gift,” Sonja added.
“What was your gift then?” Clear asked, looking puzzled. “And why didn’t the two of you just switch?”
“You’ve already seen my gift—at least I think you did,” Sonja said. “If what Melanie told me about last night is true, I think you saw quite a lot of it—and quite a lot of her in it.”
“What are you talking about?” Strong growled, losing patience. “My head is pounding today from that fucking punch last night. So just tell us what you mean.”
“Welcome to the club—we’ve all got horrible headaches today,” Sonja snapped. “And what I’m trying to say is that Sahran’s gift to me was a sexy red nighty trimmed in white fur with panties to match. Now have you seen it or not?”
“Goddess…” Clear’s eyes went wide.
“Yes, we saw it,” Strong said, frowning. “Melanie came over wearing it last night.”
“I thought so.” Sonja nodded. “And I’m assuming the three of you got up to some monkey business?”
“Monkey business?” Clear frowned. “What do primates have to do with it?”
“And why would we do business with them?” Strong asked, frowning.
“Sonja is using a human expression for doing something you perhaps should not have been doing. Something mischievous, or in this case, sexual,” Sahran put in helpfully.
“What concern is it of yours if we did this ‘monkey business’ with Melanie?” Strong growled, glaring at the two of them. “What a warrior and his twin do with the female they care for is private.”
“Well, excuse me for trying to help you out!” Sonja threw up her hands. “Come on, Sahran—we’re leaving.”
“No, not yet.” Sahran put a hand on his fiancée’s arm to get her to wait. “Now look,” he said to all of them. “None of you is feeling his or her best this morning—that much is clear. But we would be doing our friends a disservice if we didn’t tell them the whole story here.”
“All right.” Strong crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re listening.”
“Fine.” Sonja took a deep breath and blew it out, obviously trying to calm herself. “Melanie has left the Mother Ship,” she announced at last.
“What?” Clear looked worried and Strong could feel his twin’s sudden anxiety through their link, just as he was sure Clear could feel his.
“Why?” he asked.
“Why, because of whatever it was you three did together last night, of course!” Sonja sounded exasperated.