“I get that.” Earnessa led me out of the bedroom and down the arched hall with ten-foot ceilings.
“It was like that with Kingsley when we first mated. I was love and rage side by side, throwing girls across bars and challenging anything that got near him. But you’ve been mated awhile, haven’t you?”
“Yes. A few months now.”
“Does the mating fervor last longer with female gargoyles?”
“Honestly, nobody knows. There’s not much information about my beast. We’ve had to do a lot of guessing.”
Mimi and Denise were murmuring quietly in the kitchen together when we walked in.
“Where are the guys?” Earnessa asked. “Getting the fire ready, I hope?”
“Yes.” Mimi pushed off from leaning against the counter. “We chased them out so we could have a little peace. Kingsley mopes much too frequently for my taste, always put out when we have these dinners.”
“I wonder why,” Earnessa murmured, giving me a knowing look before bustling me toward the side of the big room. “Let’s go join them. Jessie, I heard the craziest thing today, by the way. Did you get townspeople to transport your Bigfoot? Or…is it Bigfeet when plural?”
I let her coax me out of the door as I explained the various details about the basajaunak, including their names, as I took in what Earnessa had referred to as a sunroom, which held three long tables filled with food items. A hot tub sunk down into the floor at the other end.
“Here we go…” She led us toward two French doors beyond the hot tub, and we stepped out onto a deck that ran the length of this side of the house. Lawn chairs and umbrellas had been folded up and stowed to the side under a canopy. To my right, under a covered area, hunkered a large grill with space for charcoal and gas burners lined up below it. A counter unit with a granite top held what looked like a small refrigerator and other drawers and cabinets. Two round outdoor tables had been
arranged next to it, the chairs pushed in, and beyond them stood the three guys, with Kingsley stoking the fire of a big brick pizza oven.
Mr. Tom stood off to the side in a “disguise,” the leaves of a nearby tree partially covering his face but nothing else. I’d felt him near but ignored him and, given the others were also ignoring him, figured it couldn’t hurt just to leave him at it. It would be far too much effort to shoo him away.
“Very cool space,” I said, feeling the overwhelming urge to return to Austin’s side and glue myself to his body.
He must’ve felt it, because he turned, his hand in one pocket and the other holding his glass of wine. His hand left his pocket, reaching for me, an irresistible temptation. I met him halfway, wrapping my arms around his middle and soaking in his heat.
“You look nice,” he said, holding me tight. “Feeling a bit better?”
“I’m usually pretty good at this family stuff, but this time I’m a little overwhelmed.”
“Understandable. Life within a house of alphas isn’t easy to navigate.”
“Okay, everyone.” Earnessa smiled and clasped her hands in front of her. “As you can see, we will be having brick oven pizza tonight! You have everything you need set up in the sunroom, and when you have the pizza of your dreams, bring it out here and my amazing mate will fire it up for you.
He is incredible with that oven, I’m telling you! All our friends rave. Denise, you know, you’ve had it before.” Her smile burned a little brighter, almost at half-mast now. “Okay, let’s eat!”
“Finally, ” Mac said, the first one through the doors.
“She talked you up pretty hard,” Austin told Kingsley as we followed the others. “You’d better deliver.”
“Usually she nitpicks at me. She’s probably trying to compensate for how lovey-dovey you two are. It’s making us look bad.”
“Sorry you’re not as awesome,” Austin said, holding the door for me.
“No, you’re not.” Kingsley shoved Austin and walked in after me. “Thanks for holding the door, chump.”
“Kingsley, be nice to your brother,” Earnessa admonished him. “He’ll think we don’t want him here!”
“You don’t,” Mimi said, and Mac—standing by one of the tables of fixings—spat out a laugh before turning around and starting to cough.
“You’d better eat everything you just spat on,” Denise told him.
“Yes, ma’am,” Mac said, wrestling with a smile.