The Puppet Assassin [TTR sequel]

The Puppet Assassin - Ch 32 [win some, lose some]

Connor walked out first and Larkin waited for me, draping his arm over my shoulder. He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek behind his father’s back. I still blushed.

“You look confused, puppet,” he said in a low voice.

“It’s probably because we’re talking around her, rather than to her,” said Connor, glancing back. He looked pleased to see our closeness.

“The way you just did,” Larkin said wryly. “Sorry, Diz. My father and I aren’t used to people keeping up with our conversations so we tend to talk like we’re the only two in the room.”

Suddenly, Larkin removed his arm from my shoulder and pulled his vibrating wire from his pocket. “Larkin,” he said upon answering. He listened for a moment and then grinned. “Dad’s here. He just got in… No, we weren’t interrupted by him, yes, you can come over. Is Luke coming? …No, I need to talk to him… Yeah, I figured. Just tell him that I have to talk to him, preferably tomorrow if he can’t make it to dinner. Cheers Garth… Yep. Bye.”

He shoved it back in his pocket. “Garth’s coming back here with a meal from Luke’s cook. He’s just getting extra for you, Dad, and then he’ll be along.” He ushered us into the kitchen and took his usual position at the counter. “Want a beer, Dad?”

Connor gave the affirmative and Lark took out two bottles and a can of soft drink. He tossed the can to me and I placed it on the table in front of me. I would actually prefer water at the moment, I was nervous and that combined with gaseous liquid made me burp, but knowing Larkin, if I said that he would probably come up with some reason why soft drink was the better option for me. So I simply left it where it was and hoped that he wouldn’t notice me not drinking anything.

He pried the lids off the bottles and came to sit by me at the table. It comforted me but, when he casually rested his hand on my leg, I was also uncomfortable. And the fast paced conversation that Lark and Connor started up did nothing to help that fact. I was relieved when Garth returned.

“Honey! I’m home!” he called out as he slammed the front door.

“Then come in here so I can give you a great big kiss, ya Pommy git!” Connor called back.

Garth came into the kitchen with his arms full of cardboard containers holding food, the scent hitting me and making my mouth water.

“You picked the right day to arrive, old man,” he addressed Connor. “We’ve got Luke’s cook’s specialty of marinated steaks and a side of roasted vegetables.” He plonked the boxes onto the table and began to open them. The smell alone was sending me into heaven, I couldn’t imagine what the meal would actually taste like.

“So, I’m presuming by the way you’ve still got your paws on her that Garth knows about your relationship.”

I wondered if it was healthy to blush so many times in one day. Larkin massaged my leg gently and shrugged. It was Garth that answered.

“I think I knew it before they did. At least, before Dizelde did anyway.” He smirked and sat down across from us. “It won’t be long before everyone knows because the way Lark looks at her is a very public display of affection.”

“Can’t help it,” Larkin said easily and took a sip of his beer. He shared out the boxes, each coming with a serving and cutlery. I took my first bite of the meat and it all but melted in my mouth.

“I’d kill Luke for his cook,” muttered Connor as he swallowed a portion of crisp pumpkin. There were mutters of agreement from the guys. I didn’t understand why Luke couldn’t have arranged it so that I lived with him. Although, with this kind of quality of food every day, my fitness would deplete a lot faster than it had.