"Do you like that boy? Huh? Such a good boy!" She kissed his nose and wrapped an arm around him.
"Thank you Colton, I feel better now." She yawned and went back to sleep.
*****
"One reason. Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn't kill him!" Meryn heard Aiden's angry voice and popped up in bed. He had Colton by the scruff and the wolf swayed from his grasp. Gavriel had a steadying hand on his arm.
"Because he is your best friend, because he is your third in command and because he would never betray you, not that Meryn would." Gavriel explained in an even tone.
Meryn jumped out of bed, dressed in only in her Voltron sleep tee-shirt and underwear. She pulled Colton out of his hand. Colton dropped down on all fours and sat passively. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Leave my puppy alone!" She yelled up at Aiden. He froze.
"Your what?" Gavriel asked as he and Aiden blinked down at her.
"My puppy. I've never had a dog before, so I'm adopting Colton." She rubbed the top of Colton's head. She had to swallow a smile when she saw that Colton was playing it up for all that it was worth. He rolled around on his back exposing his tummy for a belly rub. Grinning, she scratched his belly. She glared up at Aiden.
"Apologize to the both of us. Because Gavriel is right. Neither one of us would hurt you like that." She stood and put her hands on her hips. Colton stood, growling in a low rumble beside her.
"I am sorry, I didn't mean to imply that either one of you would betray me. But dammit! I walk in to see Colton's clothes on the floor and the two of you snuggled up together." Aiden threw his hands in the air. Meryn thought about it.
"Good point. Next time fold your clothes and put them on the dresser." She said looking down at Colton.
"That's not the point!" Aiden yelled.
"Colton take your clothes into the bathroom, shift back and get dressed. Breakfast is almost ready. The sooner we go downstairs the sooner Meryn can get dressed." Colton grabbed his clothes in his mouth and darted into the bathroom. Gavriel's eyes were laughing yet he never broke a smile. Meryn looked up and saw the vein in Aiden's temple was throbbing. That couldn't be good, even for a shifter.
"You ... you ..." He pointed at her shirt.
"What? Voltron kicked ass!"
"I can't do this. I'm going downstairs. We'll start this morning over at breakfast." Aiden turned and slammed the door behind him. The bathroom door opened and Colton dashed out not even looking in Meryn's direction. He swung the door open and bolted down the hall.
Gavriel stared down at her waist. Meryn pulled her shirt down. Was he staring at her crotch?
"What?"
"You're off by a day." He pointed out. It dawned on her that he was talking about her day-of-the-week panties.
"My OCD had a bit of an issue with that. When Aiden kidnapped me, my days of the week got off track. I was supposed to start a new week the day I was taken. I was relieved that the pervert who wrecked my apartment didn't mess with this set, it's my favorite. When we picked up my stuff I couldn't decide if I should still wear them in order or skip a few days and have them correctly correspond with the current day. If I skipped days they would wear out at different times." Meryn explained. Gavriel nodded seriously.
"What did you decide to do?"
"I'm wearing this one until noon, then changing, I should be caught up and back on track later today."
"I can't believe I understood that. See you at breakfast Meryn." Gavriel gave a salute and closed the door behind him.
Meryn decided to take her time. She got her shower and reviewed her tee-shirt selections carefully. Today she was definitely feeling like Doctor Who. She yanked on her TARDIS tee and dug around for her blue Converse in her suitcase. Her long multi-colored scarf completed her ensemble. She grabbed her hoodie and her Mac Book Air and headed for the door. Nodding in the mirror, she winked at herself as she walked by.
"Allon-sy!"
She hopped down the stairs all the way down, eying the long wooden banister. Not today. But soon. She was going to try sliding down. The highly polished wood was practically begging for it. She walked into the dining room and sat down next to Aiden. She noticed that Keelan, Darian and Aiden's brothers weren't there. She dropped her hoodie and laptop beside her chair on the floor.
"Where is everybody?"
"Adam is back at the clinic. Adair had early morning classes and Darian and Keelan started morning drills with Ben's unit." Aiden answered before kissing her soundly on the lips. She kissed him back enthusiastically until she smelled something that had her mouth watering. Her nose twitched.
"What is that yummy smell?" She looked around.
"I remembered your espresso machine this morning. We both left it in the back of my car yesterday. Marius has been perfecting his espresso shots since I brought it in." Aiden took a bite of bacon.
"Speaking of cars. Where is mine?" She demanded. Aiden shuddered.
"You mean your death trap on wheels? At the Alpha Unit's barracks."
"You be quiet about Serenity. She has served me well."
"You named your car?" Colton asked.
"You don't?" Meryn was surprised. She thought everyone did. The doors to the kitchen opened.
"I think I have it just right. If the strength isn't to your liking, please let me know." Marius brought over a small ivory cup capped in white foam. Meryn reached forward with eager hands and picked up the stylish cup before bringing it to her nose.