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Not that I’d understand any of it.

Science and chemical interaction weren’t my favorite things to study. I did what was necessary to pass all my classes, and only that.

But if what Cassius said was true, I’d likely be combatting spells with my own magic. Which was the entire reason Phillip said it’d be necessary to know both sides of how spells were employed and countered. To be honest, I wasn’t terribly sure how we’d fit years’ worth of training into a few weeks, or maybe a month or two if we could manage it. I didn’t want to be a downer, so I chose not to voice my apprehensions.

The entire evening passed in a blink of an eye, and not once did Phillip mention the club. Something told me he didn’t plan to unless forced. So, in light of his evasive nature surrounding that night, I didn’t bring up anything having to do with it.

Phillip started out pretty salty, but his sour mood quickly melted away. Something about Sloan made the usually sardonic and cynical Hunter let his guard down. And after a bit of time passed, I finally asked about their history. The two were close, that much was clear from the way they talked about their past together and practically finished each other’s sentences.

It was too damn cute.

I learned Sloan was the same mutation as Phil—and me before we met Cassius—and the Austrian discovered him somewhere along the road. They’d worked closely on a few things, but otherwise stayed relatively separate. Then Sloan was assigned to be Kris’s partner in Phillip’s stead. Details weren’t given, and I wanted nothing more than to ask, but I didn’t get the opportunity to. From what I could gather about Phillip, it likely had something to do with why he never kept anyone close. A few times he mentioned the people close to him dying, and I’d gathered it had everything to do with why he ended his partnership with Kris.

Phillip wasn’t the terrible dude he pretended to be. I’d seen the softer, more vulnerable side enough to know he was scared like the rest of us. Two hundred plus years couldn’t dissolve fear. Probably made it worse, honestly. Just the thought of it put weight in my stomach and made my throat burn. I wanted to comfort that part of him, but I barely managed my own emotions these days. I wouldn’t be any use if I suffered the same fears.

And while the two men reminisced about their adventures together, a boyishness shining in their expressions, the pang of envy reached my chest.

I missed Grams. I missed my friends. I missed a life that was fairly normal compared to the train wreck I was living now.

But I wasn’t sad for long.

Two full-grown men spent all evening giggling like they’d found their first nudie magazine. Like they’d rang their neighbor’s doorbell and dashed off before getting caught. It was quite literally the most adorable thing I’d ever seen.

“You seem tired,” Phillip commented, wiping a wet dish with a towel. “I’ll clean up here. You go rest.”

Eyebrow raised, I snatched the plate and put it away with the others. “For how much of a player you are, you sure say a lot of rude things that’d get you smacked.”

Snickering, Phillip carefully dried one of the cups from our late-night meal. “Would you prefer if I’d asked you to be a good girl and go wait for me in bed?”

I scoffed despite my racing heart. “That’d definitely get you smacked. Maybe even a knee to the groin. Depends on how out of left field it was.”

Phillip offered me the cup before I could snatch it. “I only thought you’d prefer the bed to the dining room table.” His glittering blue eyes lifted to meet mine, his jaw clenching before he spoke again. “Because once I’m done with this, I promise you, I’ll finish what we started earlier. You choose: bed or table. But youwillchoose.”

The low growl of his voice did things to me I couldn’t hide, and I shut my eyes, digesting his seductive demand. “I—”

“You flirted with Sloan all night. It’s my turn. Choose, pet, but make it quick. I’ve only got one more dish, and once it’s dry, I’m going to fuck you in whatever room you’re standing in.”

Anyone else would be scared, but Phillip and I spoke at length about the rules of the bedroom and how much dominance he could have over me inside of it. Granted, I was stronger than the other Hunter and could easily overpower him in a second. But Phillip insisted, so I’d chosen a safe phrase after our first night together, and I could end things whenever I wanted.

One phrase: goblin goo.

Phil promised the minute I said it, we stopped, no questions asked. He didn’t look the type, but Phillip was strict about consent in a sexual relationship. Seeing how he’d probably been with enough people to fill a small country, it made sense he’d have strict rules for the bedroom.

So, sexually, I was the safest I could be with him, and something about being subservient in the bedroom and a total badass on the battlefield really turned me on.

Opening my eyes, I didn’t stand a chance against the look Phillip gave me. It was all bedroom, and the dominance he maintained with one stare could only be matched by a king.

A strong shudder took me hostage, and I stopped breathing. “B-bedroom.”

“Go on, then,” he whispered in a husky tone. “I’ll meet you up there. Do well and I won’t keep you engaged all night.”

From past evenings, I knew better than to second-guess his skill to keep at it all night. And because I was definitely a compliant party to the idea, I hurried up the stairs to get ready for what I knew was coming.

A few days of shit and an impromptu visit from a gorgeous Hunter faded into the background. Nothing mattered anymore but Phillip and what he promised he’d do to me.

I need this.