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20. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

M itchell woke feeling better than he had in a long time. No twitches of pain from his ribs and none of the headaches he got some mornings. He also woke up being the little spoon with Seryn practically laying on top of him. Seryn's leg was over Mitchell, and he wrapped his arm around his waist.

"My little protector." Mitchell might have whispered it, but he was loud enough Seryn would have stirred had he been awake. He was still dead to the world, which meant Mitchell was stuck.

He wiggled around, testing Seryn, but all it did was make Seryn cling. I'm going to call you a clinger monkey.

Daddy? Even half-asleep, Seryn called Mitchell that.

Daddy needs to get up.

Seryn tightened his hold. I want to cuddle.

Your cuddles are aggressive. Mitchell chuckled when Seryn rolled off him as if he were pouting.

Mitchell turned and lay on top of Seryn, who wrapped his arms and legs around Mitchell as if he were an actual monkey. Seryn gave him a sleepy smile. "Monkey."

"I know you like it."

"Yeah, I do." He could wake up in Seryn's protective embrace every morning for the rest of his life and die a happy man. "Do you want to sleep some more?"

Seryn blinked as if his eyes were getting heavy and nodded.

"Okay, baby. You sleep. I'll have breakfast ready when you get up." Mitchell gave Seryn a quick kiss before getting out of bed.

He pulled on his jeans from yesterday.

"Sexy Daddy."

When Mitchell turned to smile, Seryn gave him a sleepy smile back. Seryn yawned and shut his eyes. He was asleep within seconds. For a guy who killed people for a living, he sure could fall asleep at the drop of a hat, have an entire conversation he wouldn't be able to remember, and fall asleep just as fast afterward.

Mitchell chuckled and left the room. Jude and Daruss were in the hall making out. Daruss had Jude pressed against a wall.

He'd seen Jude in similar positions before with lots of random guys, but this was the first time it didn't give Mitchell the creeps. Jude's relationship sat right with Mitchell.

But Mitchell reserved the right to roll his eyes, and he certainly didn't want to watch.

He headed to the kitchen. He was in the middle of searching for the coffee when Jude came into the room. Jude seemed to hesitate for reasons Mitchell didn't understand. When Mitchell opened his arms, he smiled and came into the embrace like he always did.

Jude sighed. "Where's Seryn?"

"Still sleeping. Daruss and Raylee?" Why were they talking about their mates? One thing Mitchell knew about Jude was he had a reason for bringing them up, but he'd get to it in his own time.

"Raylee needs extra cuddles sometimes, so Daruss went back to bed with him. I got up because I knew you'd be up around this time. You always get up early." Except for the nights he'd been up all night on a job, Mitchell wasn't a late sleeper. It gave him a headache to lie in bed for extended periods of time. It drove him nuts when he'd been sick.

"Did you want to talk to me about something?" Mitchell let him go. "Where's the coffee?"

Jude opened a cabinet and pulled down a container. "Scoop's inside."

He went around the island and sat on a stool, watching Mitchell. They had two different coffee makers. One was a French press, which Mitchell recognized because he wasn't a complete savage. He'd never used one before, and the other was a drip maker. Mitchell opted for the drip maker because it seemed easier. There was another machine at the end of the counter with a jar of colorful pods next to it. It might have been a coffee maker or a time machine. Who could tell? It looked weird and complicated, so Mitchell left it alone.

"Yes. I wanted to talk." Jude glanced at the bite mark Seryn left on his neck. "You bonded last night. That's very permanent. You know that, right?"

The coffee maker gurgled to life. The smell of roasted beans filled the air.

"I'm aware." Seryn was stuck with him for the rest of their lives, which was just the way Mitchell wanted it.

"Mitchell, what if you go to prison? What then?" Jude shook his head. "I wish you wouldn't have taken that stupid job. Terrell was an idiot for even thinking about going for those guns. And you were an idiot for going along with him."

Mitchell couldn't disagree with Jude. "We were in a desperate situation, Jude. You know that. We talked about it, remember?"

"I remember you talking yourself into doing it. You didn't listen to me just like you always don't when you get scared about money." Jude's volume had increased over the course of his little speech.

Mitchell waited Jude out with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised. Jude knew what Mitchell's body language meant. He didn't have to say anything at all.

"Sorry. I know I'm blaming you for everything, and it's not all your fault. Just the parts where you agreed to Terrell's stupidness. And for the publicity those guns got. You should have expected that."

"I made a couple of mistakes. Ones I may have to pay for later on. Ones I've already paid for. I have the scars to prove it." Mitchell turned just enough to show Jude his surgery scar. He had several others that were months old that also came from his time with Davorion. "I also have a vampire after me. That hasn't gone away yet either."

"I'm worried, Mitch. Really worried. What if it goes bad?"

"Chances are it will." Mitchell didn't have the answers and he certainly wouldn't make up lies so Jude could stop worrying. "I don't know what will happen, Jude. All I know is I'm not alone this time."

"Daruss and the rest of the Skulls will back you, but you'll have to convince him first. He won't do anything that will put Raylee and I in jeopardy. I know that much for sure." Jude contemplated that. His frown grew deeper. "If you don't have their help, how will you keep from going to jail?"

Mitchell felt Seryn's emotions before he saw him pad his way into the kitchen, barefoot and with crazy bed hair. He still looked like an angel. He was the sexiest man on the planet. Or vampire warlock. Whatever. Seryn was still a man, right?

"I'll get him out."

Jude jumped when Seryn spoke, not having heard him enter the room. "God, you scared the crap out of me. Way too silent."

"Makes me good at my job."

Mitchell opened his arms for Seryn, wanting a hug. "Good morning, clinger monkey."

Seryn went into his arms without a word. He hummed. After sharing a hotel room and bed with Seryn for the last two weeks, Mitchell had learned two things. Seryn wasn't a morning person, and he didn't like to talk before downing a cup of coffee.

"I think I told you to go back to sleep, sweetheart." Mitchell rubbed his back. He met Jude's gaze, who smiled at them as if he were loving the sweetness of their moment. Mitchell's mouth and shook his head, "Not a morning person."

Jude chuckled.

"Vampire hearing." It was the only explanation Seryn was likely to give, but Mitchell understood that his and Jude's conversation had kept Seryn from falling back to sleep.

"Sorry, baby."

Seryn mumbled something that didn't sound like words.

Jude chuckled. "I'm not a morning person either."

Seryn met Jude's gaze with an empty smile. It put Mitchell on alert because no one was exempt from dying if Seryn deemed it necessary. Something he'd heard had made his protectiveness kick in. That much was clear. And he directed his veiled threat toward Jude.

Mitchell poured Seryn a cup of coffee first because a happy, caffeinated Seryn kept his little clinger monkey from killing people so early in the morning.

By the time Mitchell poured himself and Jude a cup, Seryn was much more agreeable because he was three sips in. We have two new rules, baby.

Seryn sighed. "What rules, Daddy?"

Jude seemed to know Mitchell had talked to Seryn through their internal connection. He raised his eyebrows but didn't interrupt.

Since Seryn didn't seem to care about the privacy of the conversation, Mitchell spoke aloud. "The first new rule is to not kill my brother. No matter what."

Seryn sighed and addressed Jude. "You were loud. It irritated me."

Seryn, acknowledging an emotion, was an enormous step in the right direction. Mitchell kissed Seryn's temple. "Good job, baby."

Jude's mouth opened as if in shock, and then he scowled. "Good job? He told me I was loud, and you tell him 'good job'. Sheesh, Mitch."

Mitchell just wrapped an arm around Seryn's waist. "We're working on feeling our feelings. And you yelled. Your volume is something you need to work on."

Jude sighed in frustration and got up.

Daruss came into the room with Raylee under one arm. "Sit back down, boy."

Mitchell met Seryn's gaze. "The other rule is not to kill anyone when you first wake up. Wait until you've had at least two cups of coffee. If you still want to kill, then we'll talk about it."

Seryn smiled around his mug. The smile was genuine. "Yes, Daddy."

Daruss chuckled. "That's a good rule for him."

Not that Mitchell needed approval, but being a Daddy was new. So maybe he needed a little affirmation now and then. And Daruss seemed like he had the Daddy thing down to a science.

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