Dusk Avenger (Flirting with Monsters #3) - Eva Chase Page 0,14
it a surprise is more fun.”
“Maybe to some humans. I prefer a full view of my surroundings.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Blaze. I’m sure the lunk here is doing enough scanning for danger to protect us all.”
The “lunk” let out a wordless grumble. “You look ridiculous,” Thorn said. “I really don’t see why—”
“Oh, the mortals around will understand how we’re playing. We’re fine. And… ta da!”
Ruse whipped his hand away from my eyes. For a few seconds, I could only blink at the mass of lights gleaming against the deepening evening across the face of a… tiny palace?
No, not an actual palace, but a restaurant in the shape of one. Regal Thai said the sign that was almost lost in the glow over the arched doorway.
A hint of curry drifted to my nose, and my mouth immediately started watering. Maybe a little celebrating wouldn’t be such a bad thing if we were going to do it in there.
Ruse ushered me inside while he sang the restaurant’s praises. “It’s just opened—with a top chef who spent ten years running a four-star establishment in Bangkok—and as you can see, they’ve pulled out all the stops with the décor too.”
The smells grew even more enticing when we stepped inside. I managed to keep my drool in my mouth, but it was a near thing. Columns painted in what I assumed were traditional Thai designs of gold, red, blue, and green stood in rows down the eating area, marking off sections filled with booths painted the same hues.
The hostess ushered us to an alcove where we settled onto seats padded with scarlet silk cushions. Sweet silver sand dollars, the fabric was so soft it felt like a crime to sink into it.
Our server gave Ruse’s cap a bit of a side-eye, but he’d exchanged his typical baseball one for a subdued black number that gave the impression of religious significance. I couldn’t have told you what religion or whether that religion even existed outside of the incubus’s imagination, but it was convincing enough that the woman didn’t comment.
Thorn rubbed his hands together in the fingerless leather gloves that hid his knuckles as he contemplated the menu. Ruse snatched it from under his gaze. “I believe Sorsha should do the ordering. She’s the one who’ll get the most satisfaction out of this meal, after all.”
Just a glance over the offerings had me drooling all over again. “I can order us a perfect feast,” I promised, and started making a mental list of all my favorites.
When the dishes arrived, they were delicious, but the best parts of my birthday dinner had nothing to do with the food. There was watching a warrior angel—excuse me, wingéd—attempt to manipulate chopsticks between his massive fingers, and the look of awe Omen quickly tried to disguise when he lowered himself to tasting the pineapple fried rice. And what could be better than letting an incubus offer a morsel of fried banana while his hazelnut-brown eyes lingered on my face, as sweet as the dessert tasted?
By the time the last dishes had been cleared, my stomach felt as if it’d expanded to about ten times its previous size, but the ache was more satisfying than painful. I leaned against the silky cushions and patted my belly. “Okay, you did well, Ruse. Just as long as Omen’s not going to roast me now that you’ve stuffed me.”
“Don’t tempt me,” the hellhound shifter said, but the slant of his lips was almost a smile. We’d come a long way from the early days when he nearly had gotten my ass roasted taking on his tests.
Ruse grinned and pulled out a handful of cash that I was probably best off not asking the source of. “Better to support good food than the putz who contributed this,” he said to me with a wink as he set the money on the tray with the bill. “And we’re not done. You’re going to peel yourself off that seat so I can stuff even more fun into this evening.”
I groaned. “I’m not sure I can walk at this point.”
Thorn glanced up with a hopeful expression, looking pleased to have found some way he could contribute to the party. He moved as if to scoop me up in his bulging arms. “I could convey you back to the vehicle, m’lady, if that would—"
I miraculously found the motivation to shove myself onto my feet after all. “No, no, that’s totally okay, thank you all the same.” As much as I enjoyed