Page 53 of My Pleasure

His dad stood and picked up Nicol.

“She’ll forget how to walk if you all keep carrying her,” Kiera fussed.

“Nonsense. I’ve never had a baby girl, let me spoil her,” his father pouted.

Kiera smiled at him. “I guess it’s okay.”

Nicol leaned down and kissed his dad on the cheek. “I like it when grandpa carries me.”

Hunter stared. He had never seen his dad look so poleaxed. “Maybe it’s a good thing we haven’t had any baby girls ‘til now,” he observed.

Ryuu came back in carrying a canvas bag. “Containers are in here.”

Myra and Keran walked around the table and accepted it. “You boys don’t be too late,” she yelled, as they walked toward the front door.

“Don’t worry about us, Aunt Myra,” Augustus called back.

Once the door was shut, Caiden sat back. “Ryuu, can we have…” he looked at Kiera, then his cousins. “Five shots prepared?”

Ryuu nodded, then headed back to the kitchen.

“Shots?” Eoin asked.

“Me too?” his mate asked.

Hunter nodded. “We’ll be lucky if you don’t pass out again.”

“You make me sound weak.”

“Not weak, but with what you’ve had to deal with today alone, it would be too much for even the best of us. I’m actually impressed by your resilience. It’s probably where the kids get it from,” Hunter commented.

Meryn shuddered. “Trust me, accept the shot.”

Kiera paled. “How bad is it?”

He squeezed her hand. “We’re safe here.”

“Oh, my gods,” she whispered.

While they waited for Ryuu, Hunter turned to Kendrick. “Keran feels magic the same way Kiera does.”

Kendrick brightened. “Really? I do love a good mystery.” He eyed Kiera. “After your banking excursion, would you be available for some testing?”

“Sure. If both Keran and I are the same, I need to know what kind of magic we have, if only for his sake.”

“We need to find out for your sake too,” Hunter added.

Ryuu walked in with no less than a dozen shots. “I thought more is better than less.” He set the tray in the middle of the table. “Can I assume you will be soundproofing?”

Kendrick nodded.

Ryuu gave a half bow. “I’ll be in the kitchen starting the dishes.”

Augustus stood and placed a shot glass in front of each of his brothers and finally one in front of his own plate. “Alright. Tell us what we don’t know.”

Chapter Seven

Hunter watched his mate carefully. She was breathing erratically, but hadn’t passed out yet.