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Because she wasn’t alone with Theon or Luka.

Which was just fucking perfect.

“Master,” she called with faux sweetness dripping from her tone. “You have a gentleman caller.”

The male’s brows rose in surprise, and amusement filled his features.

Theon came into the room shirtless, and Tessa felt her stomach dip and curl in all sorts of completely unacceptable ways.

This fucking bond.

He wore jeans that hung obnoxiously low on his hips showcasing the muscles that tapered and dipped below his waistband beautifully. He was toweling his hair dry, and his attention went to her first before shifting to the newcomer.

“Axel? What are you doing here?” he asked, coming to a stop in the doorway.

The male’s gaze shifted from her to Theon. “I ran into Luka a bit ago. He wanted to get some air and asked if I could bring these to you.” He walked further into the room, setting the boxes on the dining table.

“I’m surprised it’s taken you this long to show up here. Pen said you returned two days ago,” Theon said with a grin, tossing the towel across his desk chair and striding forward.

“You could have invited me sooner, jackass,” the male said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the table. “Apparently I should have waited longer. Things have clearly not settled into place here.” An amused smirk tilted on his mouth again as his gaze shifted back to Tessa.

Tessa felt her cheeks heat under his scrutiny. Theon was going through the packages and glanced up at his words. “It’s been…interesting,” he said tightly, setting a small box back down. “Tessa, this is my younger brother, Axel. Axel, Tessa.”

Brother. That made sense. She’d forgotten all about the fact that he had a brother.

“Pleasure,” Axel said with a dip of his chin in her direction.

When Tessa didn’t reply, Theon said, “Tessa, you can call me Theon in Axel’s presence as you can when Luka is around.”

“How generous of you,” she snipped in response, turning back to the window and continuing to eat her fruit.

A chuckle came from Axel. “Oh, she is a delight. I think I like her.”

“You would,” Theon remarked. “You will have to excuse her. She’s been in a mood the last several days.”

“That will happen when you have magic shoved into your body, spend days in excruciating pain, and then be denied the pleasure of doughnuts and pizza,” she called out sardonically.

“It also happens when you do not get adequate sleep and become obstinately stubborn,” Theon retorted through gritted teeth.

“Obstinate and stubborn mean the same thing. Pick a different adjective,” she shot back.

Axel fell into a fit of laughter as the door opened once more, and Luka entered.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, look. Asshole number two has returned.”

Axel’s laughter only increased.

“Tessa, I see your mood has improved from unruly to bratty,” Luka said in greeting.

She flipped him off over her shoulder.

“Maybe if you gave her some doughnuts, she’d be nicer,” Axel suggested when he was able to form words again.

“Doubtful,” Theon muttered.

Axel pulled a chair out from the dining table and took a seat, relaxing into it. “I hope you’ve warned her to keep her delightful comments to herself at dinner tonight? Could you imagine Father’s face?”

At the mention of Valter and dinner tonight, Tessa whipped around to face Theon. “What is he talking about?”