Page 104 of The Haunting Plot

I scrub a hand down my face. No haunted vibrators. It’s just the mom group DM.

Bella: HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAVEN!!!!

Lucy: Happy birthday!

Summer: Woohoo! Lordy, lordy, Raven is forty! I hope your day is magical!

Lucy: Raven doesn’t believe in magic.

Summer: Or ghosts.

Bella: Who’s ready to PAAAARTAAAAYYYY?

Summer: That’s a secret.

Summer: Crap. Wrong thread.

Summer: How do I delete messages?

Me: It’s okay. I know about the surprise party.

Summer: Hey birthday girl!

Bella: What party? I was quoting that meme.

Me: I know you’re throwing me a surprise, costume birthday party. Jonah accidentally let it slip when he kept insisting we make the house extra clean. That kid never cleans.

Summer:

Bella: Dammit.

Lucy: Can you at least act surprised?

Me: I mean, I can, but Jonah’s probably told all the kids that I know by now.

“Raven!” Sawyer’s voice calls out from downstairs, and there’s a hint of desperation in it that has me on edge. I push out of bed and hustle downstairs, pausing in the living room when I see him standing behind the couch.

“What are you wearing?” he rasps, as his eyes rake down my nearly naked body, covered in only his shirt.

“I’m wearing what I slept in because you yelled like you’d fallen and couldn’t get up. What the fuck are you wearing?”

He shuffles over to me, well as much as his ridiculous inflatable T-Rex costume will allow.

“I was gonna do a little dance for you on one of the poles in the basement, but I know you’re not a fan of going down there, and I underestimated my reach with these tiny arms.” He wiggles them at me in the most ridiculous way as laughter spills out of me. “That. That sexy fucking sound. That’s what I wanted.”

“You put this ridiculous costume on, so I would laugh at you?”

He takes a step closer to me. “Yup. My jokes might be lame, but they make you laugh. And I want to hear that sound every day. Just not when you’re looking at my dick. Also, I wanted to make sure the fan wasn’t gonna be too loud. Jonah asked me to be a T-Rex since they’re related to chickens, and he wants everyone to know that we planned our costumes together.”

My breath catches in my throat. “He’s claiming you.”

Sawyer’s smile is radiant as he tugs me close with one of his tiny dinosaur arms. “He is. Do you wanna claim me too?” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“Couldn’t let the sweet moment land, could ya, pervert?”

“Nope.” He grips my waist in both hands. It’s all his short arms will allow. “Seriously, though. You’ve let me top you. I think it’s time you have your way with me. We’re alone. The kids are with Bella.”

“What if I want to watch you humiliate yourself in that little costume?”