Page 105 of Not All Himbos Wear Capes

To my delight, he got a little pinker, still peeking at me shyly, despite everything we’d done together. “I told off my father, by the way—when he shared the news of my engagement. I swore and everything.”

He says such sweet things.

I groaned and brought Butch in for a kiss, grinding against him through our suits. “What bad words did you say, baby? Will you whisper them in my ear when I bounce on your cock?”

“Xaaaaan…”he dropped his head back and whined, although his shoulders shook in laughter. “I swear, you better deliver the ride of your life for all this big talk you keep torturing me with.”

He just makes it so easy.

“Oh, I’ll deliver something big,” I cackled. “But let’s kick some ass first before I give you this ass. Sound good?”

He tried to protest, but I quickly distracted him with my tongue down his throat and my hand slipping inside his suit, finding him hard and ready.

Good boy.

Butch was desperately thrusting into my hand when my phone vibrated with an incoming call. I ignored the interruption, but whoever it was immediately called back—as if their minor emergency was more important than me making myinventuscome.

I am not above killing someone for that.

Because I was a pro, I kept stroking Butch while wrestling my phone out of my pocket with the other hand, bringing it to my ear when I saw Kai’s number flash on the screen.

“Someone better be on the brink of death, or so help me—”

“Well, that depends entirely on you, Xander. And my son.” A voice I now recognized darkly chuckled on the other end of the line.

Vortexio.

I swallowed hard, releasing Butch as panic flooded my veins. He tucked himself back in without question, focusing entirely on whatever was causing me distress.

Letting his solid presence ground me, I hit the speaker button, forcing my voice to remain steady. “Hello, Harold. What can we do for you?”

Apparently, Vortexio was in no mood for niceties. “You can both meet me at Dead Man’s Ravine in ten minutes,” he hissed into the phone. “Or your pink-haired human dies.”

CHAPTER47

XANDER

Kai stroking my hair. Kai camped out on my couch, binge-watchingTrophy Wives.Kai brattily demanding that I spill the dirty details from my hookups. Kai bringing me weird healthy soup when she heard me puking through the walls. Kai getting way too excited when I gave her fingerprint access to my apartment—as if I’d proposed. Kai cat-sitting, despite Meowson despising her. Kai tap dancing on stage during RHPS, stealing the spotlight with her joy.

Kai finding Butch for me.

My dread threatened to suffocate me as we raced through the air to Dead Man’s Ravine. There was no doubt in my mind Vortexio would kill Kai if we arrived a second too late. He might kill her anyway, even if we got there in time.

I didn’t know what I’d do if that happened. The thought of no longer being annoyed daily by a manic pixie dream girl made my blood boil with vengeful fire.

A gentle pulse of power washed over my skin as Butch attempted to soothe me from up ahead. I reminded myself that this was the kind of situation he faced regularly—no matter what else he was dealing with, and no matter how personal it was. As much as I relished being in control, the thought of Butch handling things instantly calmed me, allowing me to mentally prepare for whatever awaited us.

I need to let him lead this time.

The sun had set by the time we arrived, but between my supe-visionand the full moon illuminating the jagged cliffs, I spotted our target immediately.

“Just in time—how disappointing,” Vortexio casually drawled, glancing at his watch for effect. “I never understood the fascination with humans. Such weak, fragile creatures… although this one proved useful.”

He was hovering high above the ravine with a terrified Kai clinging to him. Her tearful eyes widened as she spotted us, but at least she looked relieved at the sight of Captain Masculine, even if she had no idea who was behind the mask.

I should have told her everything.

I should have kept her safe.