“One of my Instructors at the Covenant has a tattoo of it on his arm.” His lips pursed. “Minister Telly has one on his arm, too.” “How in the world do you know that?” We cut across the frost- covered lawn to one of the covered walkways connecting smaller buildings to the main one. “Have you been sneaking into his room and cuddling with him, too?” “Don’t be jealous. You’re my only cuddle bunny.”

“Seth threw me a mischievous grin. “I can’t have Marcus just walking in on us. What if I want to snuggle on these cold New York nights?”My frown increased. “We don’t snuggle.” He dropped his arm over my shoulder, and the scent of mint and something wild tickled my nose. “How about we cuddle?” “We don’t do that either.” “But you’re my cuddle bunny. My little Apollyon cuddle—” I punched him in the side.”

“His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?"No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.”

“Blake and Beckett touched tattoos in greeting. Beckett turned his other arm over to show Blake his bandage. Blake lifted one eyebrow, and Beckett peeled the tape back to reveal his new Sorry tattoo, a perfect replica of his brother’s.“Cole got one too,” Beckett said.Blake looked off in the distance as his eyes filled with emotion.Beckett pulled Blake’s face back to look at him and held it in his hand. “Never alone, bro. You’re never alone as long as I live.”Blake nodded. “Thanks.”

“One corner of his mouth crooked up, then the quirk vanished in a thoughtful pursing of his lips. "He's bisexual, you know." He took a delicate sip of his wine."Was bisexual," she corrected absently, looking fondly across the room. "Now he's monogamous."Vordarian choked, sputtering.”

“Patrick leaned forward in his chair, a serious expression washing over his face. “So are we not going to talk about the white elephant in the room?”Emma cut her eyes over to him and grinned. “You mean the fact that one of the prizes is an enema bag?”Crossing his arms over his chest, Patrick huffed, “That is not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”