Page 94 of Paws for the Villain

She went. Zeir was leaning against the counter, glass in hand, watching the doorway she walked through with an expression that was—yes—exactly as Kael had described. She crossed to him. Took the glass from his hand. Set it on the counter. Rose on her toes and kissed him in front of his entire family.

Revka smiled into her own glass. Soren studied his glass with the concentrated attention of a man giving his son privacy in a room with no walls. Kael pulled out his phone and took a photo. Keanu, returning to the kitchen, surveyed the scene and said nothing, which from Keanu was essentially a five-star review.

“I love your family,” Lumi said against Zeir’s mouth.

“They’re your family now.”

“That’s terrifying.”

“You fought wolves. You can handle the Axans.”

“The wolves were less judgy.”

He laughed. Low, warm, unguarded—the sound she’d spent months earning and still hadn’t gotten used to hearing. She pressed her face into his chest and breathed him in and the silver band on her finger caught the light and the figures on the wall three miles south weren’t reaching anymore.