King Cave (Forever Evermore, #2)(87)

Huh. My eyes darted to him as the movie started. Apparently, it wasn’t only Shifters who needed touch when they were upset. And that was what he was. Upset. Extremely so. It was…sweet. Tilting my mouth to this ear, I whispered so quietly no one would hear but him, “I’m alright, Ezra.”

He nodded jerkily once, his grip only tightening. “The medic healed you.”

Realizing just how hard it had been for him to watch and not interfere, as I more than likely would have done if the situation had been reversed, I placed my hand on his hard thigh, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you.”

He grunted, and then murmured, “Hush.” His eyes darted to mine, dipping over my features. “Watch the movie.”

And sometime during the middle of the first show, I yawned heavily, tired from the workout with Elder Merrick, King Fergus, and King Kincaid, then my more intimate workout with Ezra, and lastly the challenges, the expensive whiskey having settled my rolling stomach and thoughts. I fell asleep, perfectly content in our sanctuary…only to be woken later.

A clapping sounded, and I heard King Venclaire bark, “Wake up, Prodigies.”

I growled, my wolf sounding, snuggling further into the warmth.

“Fuck off,” Ezra’s voice vibrated against my ear, his arms tightening around me.

“Five more minutes,” Pearl slurred.

“Hell…chickens,” Jack groused.

It was the snickering that really woke me.

And the sound of…Elder Jacobs…muttering, “Chickens?”

“Kill ‘em…bastards,” Jack snorted.

Jack mumbling unintelligibly in his sleep was nothing new, but hearing Elder Jacobs and King Venclaire? Well, that wasn’t normal. Nor were the many chuckles sounding.

My head and Ezra’s popped up at the same time, and I blinked blurrily. “Huh?” I pulled my hand out from underneath the blanket, rubbing my eyes to see better in the bright light. “Who’s there?”

Ezra’s predator growled loud in my ear, sounding ferocious, though he apparently had the same problem as me with his sight, taking a hand off my hip to rub his eyes. “Answer her!”

Someone whistled long and high, followed by, “Someone’s testy when they wake up.” That would be King Nelson’s voice off to my right.

“You have no idea,” Cahal’s voice muttered, sounding exasperated, directly in front of me. “I don’t know how many bedroom doors, alarm clocks, and light switches we went through during his teenage years.”

I shook my head, still hearing Jack and Pearl snoring, and squinted through the light. I went completely still. I had no clue how Ezra and I had ended up on the ground, but there it was. We were lying in front of the couch, half concealed by the blanket, which was wrapped under us and protecting us from the hard, cold floor. All the Kings and Antonio’s posse were standing in front of our couch, spread out like a bad f*cking dream. “Nightmare. It’s got to be.”

“Jack had it right the first time,” Ezra grumbled, basically lying on top of me. “It’s hell.”

“With brooms,” I muttered, brushing hair out of my face and staring at what King Kincaid held, firmly ignoring some of the looks we were receiving waking like this.

“And dustpans,” he mumbled, eyes on what Elder Jacobs held, even as I felt him carefully removing his other hand from under my shirt, where he had been gripping my breast. One of his favorite sleeping positions. Just not exactly appropriate for our current audience. Again, thankfully, the blanket partially covered us.

I nodded toward King Fergus’s hand. Stalling. Giving Ezra just a bit more time. “Pearl can Windex.”

“Revenge?”

“I stank of it for weeks afterward. It was like it soaked into my pores.”

“Are you two done yet?” King Nelson griped.

Ezra actually chuckled, his hand slowly creeping down my stomach. “Just about.”

I snorted hard, and my voice choked as I glanced at Cahal’s hand. “Jack gets the Dirt Devil.”

King Venclaire appeared pretty damn amused. “For the hell reference?”

“Exactly,” Ezra murmured while his fingers gently pulled the hem of my shirt down. “Well, that about does it.”

My head lolled back against Ezra’s chest as I began to laugh my ass off.

“Ignore her.” Ezra patted the back of my head. “I think she smoked something herbal.”

King Venclaire snorted, but coughed over it, then took the broom King Kincaid held next to him. I blinked as he whacked Jack and Pearl, whose snores turned to shouts, up on top of the couch. The broom was suddenly back in King Kincaid’s hand, and King Venclaire pointed at him, saying, “I believe he did it.”

“What?” Jack muttered loudly. A pause. “Hey! Where the hell are Ezra and Lily?”

“Down here!” I called, my chin quivering as I waggled my fingers. “Somehow.”

“That happened during the…” Elder Merrick paused, looking at King Kincaid. “What? During the second movie?”

King Kincaid’s head tilted. “Well, it all started during the first when Pearl fell asleep.”

King Venclaire nodded. “Ezra and Lily were already out, and then Pearl fell asleep.”

“What did I do?” Pearl asked slowly.