be here in a minute." She sniffled. "We were so worried."
"What happened, Meryn?" Kendrick asked, eyeing her intently.
Meryn closed her eyes and yawned, deliberately delaying her answer. She knew if she mentioned the demon, everyone would lose their shit, and she didn't really feel like confessing she had made a deal with the devil. "I didn't get to sleep until late; there was a lot swirling around in my head. Plus, the demon was on my mind since I mentioned him at dinner. I think I was just tired." It wasn't exactly a lie.
Ryuu took her wrist in his hand. "She's exhausted."
"We have asked so much of her lately," Brennus said, looking grim.
"I just need coffee," Meryn growled.
"I'm here!" Izzy called out, coming through the door with a tall glass and silver straw. "I made you a quad shot, bittersweet mocha with caramel drizzle."
"Gimme. Gimme!" Meryn held out her hands, causing Felix to take up his usual position on her shoulder.
Izzy smiled and handed over the glass.
Meryn took a sip and sighed. "Soooo good."
Aiden just kept nuzzling the top of her head. "You can't sleep anymore."
"Like ever? Do you know how dangerous that is for you?" Meryn looked up at her poor mate. He had hit new stress levels lately.
"Don't you mean that it would be dangerous for you, Meryn?" Amelia asked.
"No, I definitely mean it would be dangerous for Aiden. I love my mate and don't want to have to murder him because he pissed me off when I was sleep deprived," Meryn yawned, then sipped her coffee. "God, I love you, Izzy!"
"You had us freaking out. You just kept sleeping. At first everyone was like, just let her sleep, but then right before dinner we realized how long you'd been out," Izzy paused in her ramble. "Don't you have to pee?"
Meryn chuckled, then gasped as she became aware of the growing sense of urgency her bladder was presenting her. "Yes! Shit, yes, I have to pee! Aiden, let me go," Meryn wiggled until she slid down out of Aiden's arms. Ryuu helped her off the bed, and she beelined it to the bathroom.
The next time she chatted with the hot demon, they needed to set a damn timer!
Chapter Nineteen
Brie watched as Aiden and Ryuu both hovered around a drowsy Meryn, who kept growling at them while sipping on her coffee. Meryn’s eyes turned toward her. "What'd I miss?"
Brie winced and flexed her arm. "Not much as far as the investigation goes. The warriors are still working with the families to get bodies identified."
"What happened to your arm?" Meryn asked, pointing to the plastic wrap sticking out from under her sleeve.
"I got a tattoo to symbolize that I'm an Eliana's Daughter now." She pulled up her sleeve to reveal the amazing tribal knotwork encircling her arm. "The under part of my arm hurts the worst, but I'm glad I have it."
Ari kissed her arm right above the markings. "It's so hot."
She felt herself blushing. She still wasn't used to being viewed as a desirable woman, but every day Ari showed her that she had just needed a strong enough man at her side.
"Badass," Meryn whispered. She looked up at her mate. "I want a tattoo."
"You have one. That freaky dragon one that keeps changing," Aiden pointed out.
"No, I want a warrior tattoo."
"You're not…" Aiden let his voice trail.
Meryn's eyes narrowed. "I'm not what?"
"Maybe you should design a sixth man tattoo?" he suggested quickly. "Take all the time you need to get it right. I mean it took years to get the unit warrior tattoo finalized."
Meryn's eyes widened. "Why didn't I think of that! A geek warrior tattoo!" She pulled out her laptop and began tapping away. "It's gonna be awesome. I want a magic one like yours and my dragon."
Aiden went from looking relieved to looking worried again.
"We had more people post on the message board grumbling about elitism," Nigel said, looking up from his tablet. "We don't have a lot of views yet though."
Meryn shrugged, her eyes still glued to her laptop. "These things need to grow organically. If it was a concern all of a sudden, then it would seem planted."
"It is planted," Neil pointed out.
"Yeah, but they don't know that."
Brie felt a hand on her shoulder she turned and smiled at her dad as he and Doran sat down on the sofa on her other side.
"How'd Cam take the news that you were officially quitting?" he asked.
She laughed. "I think he's still cussing. He really wanted