Page 4 of King’s Kismet

Not that I didn’t think they were sexy, or they didn’t work hard at their jobs.

This was a little different, though. Novak didn’t know what the fuck he was doing, only that he wasn’t going to follow instructions. And Palmer wasn’t keen on getting dirty.

Briggs was attempting to explain how to apply the drywall compound, but it wasn’t going very well.

There were so many dips and creases in the mud that I physically cringed. I stood in shock, nail gun forgotten in my hand, as I suppressed the urge to send them away, to do it all on my own. York was helping me put in the new French doors, and even he had stopped to watch the train wreck in progress.

“That’s an understatement,” York’s humor-filled voice echoed in my mind as he caught my thoughts. “I can’t decide who will crack first. You or Briggs.”

He was right.

“You can’t leave it like this,” Briggs bitched, going behind them to fix their mistakes.

“We’re going to sand it down, anyway,” Novak commented under his breath. “It doesn’t need to be perfect.”

My wolf rubbed his forehead with his middle finger, leaving a streak of dust-free skin. “That’s not the point.”

“What is the point, then?” Palmer asked. “Why does it matter?”

“When you leave dips in the mud, we have to go back and fix it,” Briggs snarled, then took the deepest fucking breath I’d ever seen to calm down. “You’re adding more work to our plates instead of helping us.”

Novak snorted, sarcastically replying, “I didn’t ask to help.”

We didn’t have time for his attitude… But if he wanted to be a dick, then I would gladly return the favor. I glanced from York to Briggs, to the nail gun in my hand.

Then I pointed the pressurized gun at my vampire, held my fingernail against the safety mechanism, and pulled the trigger, shooting a two-inch nail in his calf.

“Ouch,” he shouted, frowning at his leg before giving me a wide-eyed warning, “Fuck. Be careful with that.”

I shrugged. “Be careful with that mud.”

Novak’s mouth popped open, though his silence couldn’t hide his disbelieving grin. “You shot me on purpose?”

“Aye.” Palmer chuckled. “She was careful, all right.”

“That fucking hurt,” my vampire growled, pulling the nail from his leg.

I nodded. “I’m sure it did. Fuck up my wall again, and I’ll shoot you somewhere else.”

My mage scoffed, then shook his head as he watched me. I didn’t even think about my actions as I aimed at his thigh.

“Don’t you dare.”

I pulled the trigger, cackling as he jumped back. He really should have known better than to challenge me like that.

“These are my good khakis,” Palmer ranted. “I don’t want to mess them up in—”

The air compressor whirled to life as the click-pop of the nail gun once more echoed in the empty dining room. I grinned when he dodged my shot.

“Sloane,” he snapped.

“Palmer,” I replied, raising a brow.

“This is workplace abuse,” Novak muttered.

I shot at him again, too. But my vampire hopped to the left, using Palmer as a shield.

My mage shrugged Novak’s hand off his shoulder as he glowered at me. “You’re just adding more holes to your wall.”