Wolves at the Door - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,58

we were finishing up the bathroom all I could think about was how excited I was to show it to her. I knew she’d love it, and she did. And when we argued about a remodel, she always had some good points (although ultimately, I was right).

I don’t ever want to work on a house without you at my side again, I thought, as I watched her walk through the ticket booth and do a half-spin on her toes to take in all the lights of the fair.

“I’ve never had a corn dog before!” she said. “Are they actually good?”

“They’re awesome,” I said. “Clearly you need to acquaint yourself with carnival food the same way you need to embrace the cheap beer at a bowling alley.”

“I’m actually pretty excited about this,” she said. “I’m glad we didn’t go to the fancy place. After all, you don’t need to step up to my level when I’m trying to come down.”

“That could be taken as an insult, but I’ll accept it.”

“What about thrill rides?” Jasper asked, pointing at a Himalayan type ride.

“I’ll try it! It can’t be worse than falling through the rotten floor of a house.”

“So maybe a thrill ride or two before we eat every greasy food that exists,” I said. “Nothing ruins a date like puking.”

Unfortunately, rides were not designed for threesomes, so Jasper took her on the first one while I got a ride car to myself. But soon Hel was next to me, laughing a little nervously on a giant swinging ship. She clutched my arm. I hoped it was on purpose. She managed not to scream until the ride let out a creaking noise and then she gripped me harder.

“I’m more worried it’s going to break than anything else!” she said.

“Well…considering our line of work, I don’t blame you.”

“Things do break a lot!”

The ride slowed down and she was still holding my arm. She let go slowly, her eyes so big and blue when she glanced at me that the beast in me was straining at the leash.

“I really haven’t dated much,” she gasped. “Like, never anything serious.”

“I can tell.” I grinned.

“I’m always questioning whether I’m doing it right.”

I pulled her to her feet as we walked off the ride. “No one really knows how to do this right. We really haven’t dated much either.”

“You seem awfully confident.”

“That’s a skill I’ve honed, and you don’t need to date much to do it. It serves me everywhere I go. But you were probably taught to be a modest lady, huh?”

“Too true. So…” Her hand was still holding mine as we fell in line with Jasper. “If I wanted to learn to be more confident, what would you suggest?” The hint of flirtation in her tone and the way she gave us both a little glance through long eyelashes suggested that she hadn’t just learned to be modest. But I suppose flirtation was a tool in the witch arsenal.

“Maybe something like this.” Jasper took her other hand and we drew in close, squeezing her between us.

“People are going to wonder if I’m with two guys!” she squealed.

We both laughed a little mercilessly. I didn’t give a shit about what random humans in Louisiana thought. They’d never see us again.

“Twins at that. What a scandal,” I said. “Of course, that’s only the beginning of what a confident person would do. Maybe something like this.” I pressed my lips to hers, a little longer than a peck.

“For the sake of fairness…” Jasper kissed her next.

She was completely crimson now. And a few people were giving us funny looks.

“So do you think you’re ready to face the world with more than one man?” Jasper asked.

“You are both…so…just so…”

“If you can’t come up with a word, I’ll find one. Charming? Wonderful? Shameless?”

“Oh, sure. Something like that…” But she didn’t fight our hands. She let us walk with her. Deep down, I think she was enjoying the naughtiness of it all.

“Do you want to ride on that big swively thing, or are you ready for corn dogs?” Jasper asked.

“Corn dogs! Definitely corn dogs.” She paused. “Unless this is going to turn into something even more embarrassing.”

“Well, now that you said it, we have to do it.” We shot for the nearest corn dog booth and kept ahold of her while we ordered three. While I paid, Jasper held them all in one hand.

I took two of them and he put one to her mouth. “Open wide, it’s a thick one,” he said.

She was