26. Meet the Fam

26

MEET THE FAM

TERESA

W e sneak in through the back door, hoping that no one is around because both of us are completely naked. With the urgency instilled in us by the Lantern Witch, neither of us thought about stopping back at the Sex Cave to get our clothes.

So, of course, everyone is home.

Anelisa's eyes go wide as she looks us up and down. In a panic, my eyes dart to Pacari, who seems to have dried off in the swift ocean breeze on our journey back up the trail to the house. Zephyr covers their eyes and lets out an amused, but exasperated sound. Taara tilts her head, an assessing look on her face.

Okay, so I was wrong about everyone.

"Where' s Dawn?" I ask.

"That's not the important question right now, is it, Teresa?" Taara laughs, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you still doing with him?"

"I have a lot to explain," I say quickly, "but I really need to find Dawn."

"And put on some clothes!" Zephyr interjects. "Taara doesn't need to see that shit!"

"Just because I'm a lesbian doesn't mean I turn to dust at the sight of a penis. If you're bothered, Zephyr, don't blame me."

"Fine! I'm bothered! Put some clothes on!" they complain, throwing a few pillows our way.

"But where's Dawn?" I ask again.

"We just got back. She has to be here somewhere."

I let out a huff and look to Pacari. He smiles back at me, just as much worry in his face as I have.

The Lantern Witch made it seem like Dawn was somewhere dangerous. And now that we can't find her, I'm thinking it must be true. Somewhere dark. Somewhere evil. She's always running off in search of little mysteries. Maybe she went to the smuggler cave!

"If we're going to go searching for her, maybe we should put on some clothes," I grumble. "Come on. Let's go fast."

Pacari follows me up the stairs. Even with everything else going on, I can't get my brain to forget that I'm very horny for him. Which is very inconvenient because I know his face is only inches from my pussy—I know that I'm practically waving it in his face.

And what's crazier… I think I can feel his interest. Not in that vague sort of way you can sense what other people are feeling. But I feel weirdly attracted to me. Like I want to eat myself out. Except not me, but like if I was Pacari.

What did that bond do to us?

I feel the instinct before it happens. He bites my ass playfully before smacking it, making me yelp.

"Pacari!" I squeal as quietly as I can. "What are you doing?"

"It's your fault," he grumbles. "Stop thinking about fucking. We have to get Slugger back."

I gasp and turn around to face him. He doesn't slow down in time, and catches me in his arms, our bodies pressed together.

"Can we read each other's thoughts?" I ask.

His eyes trail over my skin. My hairs stand on end at the insinuation. I can almost feel him lick across my collarbone.

"Not our thoughts," he says, leaning in against my ear. "Just our desires."

I nearly stumble back as we both imagine what it would be like to fuck in the middle of this stairwell. Pacari lets out a grunt, shocking me back to reality.

"How come I didn't feel it before?" I asked.

"We were acting on our desires," he says simply. " Then you fell asleep. Then you bartered with a sea witch."

"We both did," I insist.

"If it was just me bargaining, she would have killed us both. She has never liked males of any species. Assumes that we are all parasites, because that is how her species is."

"Also, you were bargaining with nothing."

"I didn't want to offer her our… But I'm glad you did. It made sure of our safety," he says, softening when he sees that I feel bad for giving our love magic away.

"I don't mind," I tell him, giving him a soft kiss on the lips. "Really. Not if it meant our safety. If giving away a small part of what we have means we get to keep on loving, then I really don't mind. And I don't want to ruin what we have by ever asking that of you again. So you'll just have to fuck a lot of people for their sweet, sweet, sex magic and then I get to reap the benefits."

"You're really not bothered by the arrangement?" he asks again.

"No! I'm bothered that we can't just fuck our lives away because we have to find my MIA best friend so we can get that enchanted little pet of yours back," I grumble.

"Cute," he says before pulling me into a kiss .

I whine into his mouth and push him away. "See? This is what I mean!"

With a huff, I turn around and race up the stairs to my room. He chases me down, and I'm met with flashes of desire—him pushing me up against the wall as I try to escape, us laughing as we play a sexy little game of cat and mouse. I grab the door to my room with an annoyed grumble and pull it open. Once inside, I throw on a dress and some boots as the fastest options, before throwing various things Pacari's way to try on.

He also decides on a dress, which is too big, too wide, and too short in length. And he looks way too adorable in it. He bites his lip as I imagine what it would be like to peg him like that.

"Fun," he says with a wink. "But time for business."

I let out another groan.

"I'm gonna kill Dawn if she's not already dead," I joke.

But the fear gets a little deeper.

There's a knock at the door, and some ancient, buried instinct about having a boy in my room causes me to step away from Pacari. I'm thirty-two, what am I doing?

"Come in," I call out.

With a sigh, I look to the door.

"Hey, found Dawn," Taara says, staring us both down. "Thought you'd want to know. "

Pacari and I look to each other and then at Taara.

"Is she okay?"

Taara shakes her head, rolls her eyes. "She's doing what she loves best. I swear everyone in this house is an easy mark for the right kind of murderer. You with your…"

She looks Pacari up and down, tries not to smile at the sight of him in the dress.

"Excellent taste in men. Anelisa with her books. Dawn with her mysteries..."

"Another mystery?" I ask.

My head's starting to hurt with them. I don't care about the mysteries. Just getting Slugger back, making sure Pacari and I are safe, and that we get to spend the rest of our lives together.