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“Oh my god.” I croak and press a hand to my mouth.

“That’s good stuff.” Evie licks her lips.

“Seriously?” I gawk at her.

“I come from a long, illustrious line of drunks. This is child’s play.” She shrugs and proffers her glass to Wyatt.

My stomach warms, heat floating through me, and my head begins to get light.

“Another.” Wyatt hands my glass back to me.

“Umm. I shouldn’t.”

“Should.” Evie bumps her arm against my leg. “Let’s forget all of it. Just for a little while.” She raises her glass. “To forgetting.”

“Here, here. Forgetting!” Wyatt lifts his glass in toast.

I shake my head, but I lift my glass along with theirs. “Forgetting.”

* * *

“This is unexpected.”Valen’s voice.

I’m in a dream. One with a dark, stormy sky overhead and orange kittens roaming a meadow far below me. Something smells good. Like soap and woods and pleasant warmth.

“At least it wasn’t the cheap stuff.” He sighs.

Jolting awake, I blink against the darkness of my apartment. “Wha…” I blink hard, my brain sloshing around in a sea of amber liquid.

I’m on my couch. Valen sits beside me, his arm around me. My head is on his shoulder.

I pull back and instantly regret it as vertigo crashes through me. I put my head back where it was, the disorientation receding slightly.

“How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to know you talk in your sleep.” His voice is low, smooth.

I close my eyes and realize the pleasant scent was him. “What did I say?” My words slur slightly, and a tiny giggle bubbles from my throat.

“Nothing earth-shattering, I’m afraid. Something about a kitten.”

“Orange kittens.” I sigh. “So cute.” I press closer to him, my nose at his throat. He’s so damn warm.

He shifts and pulls me into his lap easily, draping me across him. I should protest, but I don’t. It feels good. Actually, it feels amazing to simply be hugged, to be touched by someone. Even if it comes with strings. Even if it’s by a monster. God, I miss touch. How could I have forgotten how good this feels?

“Injured?” I mumble, my mind sparking with memories of how he often arrives half-gutted.

“Not tonight. It was more of a fair fight than I’m used to. Only a dozen or so at once.”

Another giggle skips from my lips. “Lies.”

“Afraid not.” He tucks my head under his chin.

If I could purr, I would. But I can’t, so I don’t. I simply sink into him, letting myself go when I should be on my guard.

“What is this?”

“Existential questions at this juncture? Seems a bit much.” He rests one hand on my thigh, the other at my hip. His embrace is as delicious as it is poisonous. I want more. “No, I meanthis.” I breathe out against his neck.