Elder Merrick’s lips curved. “I may be older than you, baby Zeller, but everything still works,” his grin grew, his striking gaze heating on mine, “just fine.”
My jaw clenched. I knew Ezra wasn’t going to like the name-calling.
Ezra didn’t disappoint, his chuckle sounding roughly. “Only one person calls me baby. It sure as f**k isn’t you,” he tilted, his face hovering directly next to Elder Merrick’s ear, “and it sure as hell isn’t in that context.” A quiet Vampire growl. “Now, get the f**k out of my way.”
Elder Merrick stiffened at the blatant order.
“Yes, please do.” I grinned. It was more of a baring of teeth. “My ice-cream’s melting.” I flittered a hand between us. “We could keep this up all night, you and me, since we’re both obviously strong, but honestly, I want my damn ice-cream too much.”
Elder Merrick smiled, mimicking mine, showing his teeth. “We wouldn’t want your treat to go to waste.” He and I blinked at the same time, turning our attention away from each other and mutually stopping our staring contest. I grabbed my ice-cream while he lifted and straightened as Ezra did, so that they were damn near nose to nose, since they were of the same height.
Elder Merrick smiled again. The same smile. “Don’t ever give me an order again,” he growled, “baby Zeller, or I won’t give a shit that I respect your dad, and I’ll kick your f**king ass.”
Ezra grinned, his fangs extended. “I’d like to see you try, old man.”
Antonio sighed heavily, sitting on a chair. “Cahal, do something about your son.” He flicked a hand at me. “At least mine diffused the situation.” Another hand flick, this time at Ezra. “Yours is only escalating it.”
Cahal merely grunted, also sitting down at our table.
Elder Merrick’s gaze flew to Antonio — away from Ezra. “Yours?”
“I raised her,” Antonio stated evenly.
Yanking my hand out from under Elder Merrick’s, I patted the seat. “Seat’s free, Ezra.”
Ezra’s eyes narrowed as he continued grinning. “Elder Merrick, you’re in my way.”
“Ezra,” his dad stated gruffly, obviously tired of his son’s antics. “That’s enough.”
Elder Merrick still watched Antonio. “That’s where you disappeared to.”
“Something like that,” Antonio murmured, taking a drink of his beer and running a hand through his hair. He nodded to the seat both he and Ezra had motioned for him to sit on. “You may want to take a seat before the Vampire you’re ignoring helps you onto it.”
Amazingly, Elder Merrick grunted and then moved, sitting on the proffered chair as Ezra slipped back onto his seat and tossed his boots onto the table right in front of Elder Merrick. I suppressed a chuckle. Ezra rarely had to exert any pressure to get people to do as he wished, so more than likely he was enjoying this little battle he kept egging on. Taking my spoon, I dug into my slightly melted ice-cream as Ezra sipped from his beer. Elder Jacobs, also sitting at our table, occupied the last remaining seat.
Antonio flicked a finger against Ezra’s boots, which Ezra didn’t remove from the table, and said, “We heard you two were in here,” he eyed us, “getting along.”
I chuckled around a mouthful of ice-cream — Ezra had picked strawberry and it was quickly vanishing — while firmly keeping my gaze away from Cahal. “We already had this conversation with the Kings.” I pointed my spoon at Antonio. “Did you have anything to do with our punishment?”
Antonio smiled. It was of pure mischief. “I may have put a bug in their ear.”
Ezra scowled, taking a swill of his beer. “I swear to God, I’ll never have a f**king brat.”
“Amen,” I muttered, then gave Antonio a fed up glance. “For someone who just loves children, you sure know how to push others away from them.”
Cahal snorted, glancing to Antonio. “You love children?”
“Currently? One,” Antonio retorted in a clipped tone. “Lily.”
I rolled my eyes. “You love to torture me.” I set my bowl aside, done wolfing my sweet.
“That too.” He grinned as only a dad could.
Cahal blinked, then asked, “What did you tell the Kings?”
Antonio snickered, watching us. “They’ll be on babysitting duty.”
“Again,” Ezra grumbled, handing me his beer when I slammed the shot and started coughing. After taking a few swigs from it, I gave it back, pounding on my chest from the burn. Finishing most of his beer off, Ezra glared at Antonio over its edge. “Don’t you think we’ve had enough of that?”
They stared. At us. Oddly silent.
Antonio quickly cleared his throat. “No, I don’t.” Once more, Antonio cleared his throat, harder this time, cocking his head, staring at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read, but I knew he was trying to communicate something.
They still stared.
I yawned. “What?” I wiped my mouth, wondering if I had dried ice-cream on my chin.
“Jesus,” Ezra grumbled, setting the almost empty beer down and picking up his coffee, glaring with tired eyes at the other occupants of our table. “What the hell did we do now?”
Cahal reclined on his chair, crossing his arms lazily. “You have no clue?”
Ezra’s eyebrows puckered, obviously as lost as I was. “Would you care to enlighten us?”
Cahal’s gaze flicked back and forth between us. “No, I don’t believe so.”
“Then quit staring,” Ezra muttered, gesturing at everyone at the table with his coffee mug. “It’s rude.” Still they examined us, their heads cocking, except for Antonio’s, but he just appeared exasperated. “Why are you all sitting here?”
“Ah yes,” Antonio stated loudly. “We wanted to discuss your combat training.”
Ezra sipped his coffee with a raised eyebrow, then yawned. “She and I train together.”
I rested an elbow on the table, my cheek on my hand. My tired gaze met Ezra’s. “Or, at least, we did before we got here.”
Ezra grunted. “We should start again.”
I nodded, feeling sleepy and ready for a nap. “If we could find a place suitable.”
Antonio tapped the table with his beer. “I believe I was speaking.”
We both blinked at him.
“Are you two stoned?” Elder Jacobs asked, gesturing to the many empty plates and drinks. “You two ate enough for six people, appear as if you’re about to pass out, and not to mention…” He eyed us, before glancing to Antonio and Cahal. “Or are they always like this?”