If looks could kill, he would be severely hurting right now. Worse than he already did. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re both totally out of line for that brawl in Meow Lounge. You knew about each other, and despite how you both seem to enjoy spouting off possessive statements in the heat of the moment, I don’t actually belong to either one of you. Nor did I promise either one of you exclusivity.”
Leon’s hand tensed on my leg, but he stayed quiet. I could only assume he was allowing Kai to take enough rope to hang himself, because no way was he taking this without argument.
Kai was, without question, a fucking hothead. His face twisted with fury and outrage, and his fist clenched where it rested on the table. “Out of line?” he roared. “I was out of line? I walked into that club and found you half-naked, tied up and exposed to hundreds of strangers with his cum all over you!”
I shrugged, desperately clinging to my cool. “So? No one forced me into that situation, and to be frank with you, Kai, I think I kind of enjoyed the audience. It was hot.”
His lip curled, baring his teeth like he was one full moon away from going wolf. “I don’t give a fuck about the audience,” he snarled. “I care about the fact that he—” He cut himself off, his teeth clicking shut, and he shut his eyes to break the intense stare he’d been holding with me.
I wrinkled my nose, not fully fucking understanding what we were arguing about. “Look, I’m failing to see the problem, Kai. I get that you thought you owned me, but that simply isn’t the case. Leon and I have… something… and I won’t pretend otherwise just because your alpha male energy is short-circuiting.”
“Something,” Leon repeated with a deeply amused voice. “That’s putting it mildly.” He leaned in and brushed a heated kiss over the bend of my neck where my fading bruises were no longer concealed with makeup.
Kai swallowed visibly, some kind of mental battle going on in his head. Then he shoved to his feet, knocking his chair over. “This is fucked,” he spat. “I’m not having this conversation while he—” His accusing finger stabbed in Leon’s direction, the rage on his face undeniable.
I pushed to my feet in a somewhat calmer manner, reaching out to him in an attempt to diffuse the situation. “Kai, what the fuck?” I asked, all other placating lines fleeing my brain. Well shit, evidently I was only a smooth talker when I was working.
He was so worked up he looked like he was about to punch a wall, steam practically coming out of his ears. “God damn it, Siren! You let him—”
Leon erupted into laughter, cutting Kai off and making us both stare at him in utter bafflement. He roared harder, clutching his sides as he laughed, then dabbed at his eyes as he tried to control his bursts of laughter.
“Sorry,” he snickered, sounding anything but sorry. “I just realized what has this big flightless bird in such a flap.” He let out another peal of laughter, seemingly amused by his own kiwi joke.
Carefully, I leaned over and slid the vodka out of his reach, even though I’d never seen him touch alcohol before. “Leon,” I said, totally at a loss for what was so funny. “What… the fuck?” Apparently, that was the best question I could come up with for either of them. Well… equality, I guess.
Leon bubbled with laughter, staring over at Kai with evil glee all over his face. “Ares has his panties in a bunch over the fact that I fucked you bare, mon cœur. He’s got his feathers all ruffled because you let me come inside you.” His grin was wide, totally unhinged as he pushed to his feet as well.
“What?” I exclaimed, my bewildered gaze flicking from Leon to Kai and back again.
Leon smirked, pure malevolence in his eyes. “Isn’t that right, big man? You’re having a tantrum because I pumped Danny full of my cum, huh? It’s hardly the first time, either. I have photos, if you need proof.”
My cheeks flushed with heat, and I gave him a wild look, silently begging him to de-escalate. But at the same time…
“Is that true?” I asked Kai, taken aback. “Is that what has you about to Hulk out? The fact that I didn’t make him use a condom? ’Cause last I checked, you’re pretty fucking fond of coming inside me, too.” Now I was the one getting pissed off. Of all the stupid fucking things that could have him so enraged…
Kai’s eye twitched as he tried to control himself. Tried and failed. “Of course that’s why I’m angry! If you get pregnant, then it could be his!” He bellowed those words with such passion it took a hot second for the actual words to sink into my brain. Then a few more for them to make sense.
My lips parted in shock, but no sound came out.
Leon gave a dark chuckle, stepping closer to me and looping his arm around my waist. “Oh dear, my douce DeLuna. Shall I break the news to him before he breaks something? Like his puny little mind?”
My mouth moved, but still no sound came out. I was officially stunned speechless.
“What fucking news?” Kai demanded, moving closer and making me feel a little like the air just got sucked out of the room. With Leon at my back and Kai in front of me, with all the heightened emotions swirling, my head was starting to feel like it was full of helium.
Leon dropped a quick kiss to my neck, like he was reassuring me that none of this mattered to him. “Danny can’t get pregnant. She’s not letting you toss loads because she secretly wants to be knocked up, she’s letting you because she literally cannot get pregnant.” His hand at my waist held me tighter, and I knew he was offering me silent reassurance. None of that mattered to Leon, and it wasn’t something I thought about often. But Kai… he wanted to get me pregnant. He had a whole breeding fetish thing going on that I found totally hot because it wasn’t a risk for me.
It was Kai’s turn to be rendered speechless, his eyes wide as he stared at me for confirmation.
“I thought you knew,” I croaked. “I told you…” My words dried up as I cast my mind back. I hadn’t told him shit. I’d assumed he knew, just like he clearly assumed otherwise. Well, fuck.
Kai shook his head, skepticism and disbelief crossing his face. “No, we scanned you for trackers when we took you to the island. If you had an implant or IUD, it would have shown up. And you sure as fuck haven’t been taking the pill.”
I barked a laugh, because it was such a normal train of thought. Such a reasonable, logical method of deduction. “Kai,” I said softly, stepping out of Leon’s hold to cup the shell-shocked man’s face. “Did you forget what I do for a living?” My voice was gentle, all fight and anger having ebbed away. We could deal with the startling revelation that he’d been actively trying to baby-trap me later. Right now, he needed a softer touch.
His brow was drawn tight, and a thin line of blood seeped from below his dressing. But the confusion and denial etched across his face was confronting and painful to see.
“Big Man,” I coaxed, leaning into him more and rising up on my toes to try and lessen the distance between us. “I was raised by the Guild. I made my first kill when I was eight. By the time puberty came around, the higher-ups already had me marked as a honey trapper. The Guild doesn’t play fast and loose with assets, Kai. They cover their bases, and not with something as temporary as birth control.”