She could still belt out a Prince song just like Julia Roberts.
Chapter Thirteen
Magnus was in an absolutely shitty mood when he returned to the hotel room. The worst thing about conventions was that he had to constantly be in “on” mode. He couldn’t be rude to a fan who stopped him for an autograph, because they didn’t know that his brother had bailed on him or that Levi had insulted his girlfriend and Magnus had dragged her all over the convention without thinking about her knee. They didn’t know Magnus was weeks behind on his projected schedule and that all he wanted to do was go upstairs and fuck Edie until she screamed his name. They didn’t know he’d signed thirty autographs five minutes beforehand. A fan wouldn’t know any of that, so he did his best to be gracious and friendly, because he remembered what it was like to be shut down without being heard.
But today wasn’t his best day for a con. It had started out promising enough. He had Edie to himself for a few days, with no cats and no juggling of schedules. He’d been looking forward to hanging around the conference with her, seeing what fans were excited about, hearing feedback from peers and fans both, and getting his head back into the game. Nothing was better for the creative juices than a long weekend surrounded by other people buzzing from the same geeky vibe. He’d hoped the conference would recharge Levi’s interest, too.
He should have known better. Levi had been full of excuses from the start, and when he’d not shown up for the panel, Magnus was fucking embarrassed. Levi was one half of Sullivan Games. He was a representative of who they were. And he’d flaked out because, as he’d texted Magnus, he wanted to sleep late. And he was a billionaire now, so he could do that, couldn’t he?
Levi just didn’t fucking get it. It infuriated Magnus, which was why he’d lit into Levi the moment he’d gotten his brother away from the entourage of fans he’d surrounded himself with. They’d sat down in a quiet booth at the hotel restaurant, and Magnus had hoped they could hash out a schedule for the weekend if nothing else. But instead, Levi kept trying to turn the tables on Magnus.
Why are you here with Edie? he’d asked, as if it were more important than Levi disappointing him again. Bianca doesn’t know.
I don’t give a fuck about Bianca, Magnus had told him.
But . . . you’re just supposed to lead Edie around. Make her think you like her. You’re not supposed to sleep with her.
At which point, Magnus had been so infuriated that he’d gotten up, thrown money on the table to pay for the bill, and stormed away. His mood had gotten blacker every moment that he had to stand and wait for the goddamn elevator, so he’d hauled ass up the stairs instead, mentally kicking himself for suggesting it to Edie earlier. She’d been so incredibly indignant at Levi’s boneheaded suggestion, that he knew her feelings had to be hurt. She always covered with a few choice words, but he knew his Edie was a marshmallow on the inside.
He’d just have to make it up to her.
He seemed to be making up for Levi’s failings a lot lately.
Magnus paused at the top of the stairs, realizing he’d thought of her as “his Edie.” When had that happened? He thought back. . . . The gardens at Buchanan Manor. She’d flipped up her eye patch and thrown her arms around him to kiss him, and he’d been claimed just as surely as she’d claimed those cats of hers. The thought of it made him smile.
Even if his weekend was fucking shit and his brother was ruining their new project, at least he had Edie. Magnus put his hand on the door handle to the room and paused.
Something inside was wailing. His heart stuttered in his chest as he pushed the door open. Was Edie crying? Was she so upset that she’d been sobbing all this time? But as the wail trilled up to a higher note and started to make smacking noises, he realized it was . . . singing.
Sort of.
Splashing accompanied the wailing, followed by more smacking noises. This he had to see for himself. Magnus headed for the bathroom and pushed open the door.
And laughed.
Edie was in the bathtub, bubbles up to her breasts. She still had her hair in her braids, and her cat ears were on her head. Tiny empty bottles from the mini-bar lined the edge of the tub, and she picked up a handful of bubbles and tossed it into the air, still singing that screechy song.
It was so fucking adorable that he thought his chest would burst. “You need a refill, cat lady?”
She looked over at him and gave him a dopey smile. “Actually, yes. I’m having a Pretty Woman moment. You want to join me in the tub? Wait.” She paused, tilting her head. “I don’t know if that was in the movie or not. Never mind.” She waved a hand at him, dismissing him, and suds flew everywhere.
He chuckled. “How come you’re drunk?”
“Because I was mad earlier and there was no one to get mad at.” She stuck out her lower lip and then sank down into the bubbles again. “But now I’m not mad, I’m just drunk. Oh, but your brother’s still a huge douche.”
He shook his head and sat down on the edge of the tub. “Don’t remind me.”
“I won’t,” she said merrily. “But I just thought you should know. I don’t like the way he treats you.”
Was she mad on his behalf, then? Not over the wheelchair comment? “I don’t like the way he treats me, either. I don’t know what to do with him, but we’re partners. I can’t move ahead without him.”
She snorted, the sound so exaggerated it came across as horse-like. “Some partner. My vibrator gets more done than he does.”
Magnus’s eyes widened. “You’re very drunk, aren’t you?”
“So?” she said defensively. “I thought I’d have a good time myself if you were going to stay downstairs and sign boobs.”
“I didn’t sign boobs. I promise.” Not that he wasn’t asked. “I told everyone that my girlfriend was with me and she didn’t like that sort of thing.”
“Everyone but Levi,” she pointed out. “To him, I’m just your cat-lady consultant.”
He inwardly winced. So she’d picked up on that and was stewing over it, was she? “It’s a different scenario with Levi.”
“Different how?”
“Different enough that I probably shouldn’t try to explain it to a drunk woman.” He leaned forward and tweaked one of her short braids. “And I’m sorry if it hurt your feelings. That was never my intention at all.”
“Apology accepted,” she told him with a brilliant smile, then launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck. “Let’s have sex now.”
He helped her get to her feet, noticing how she was favoring her bad leg. “No sex right now. You’re drunk and I’m way too sober.”
“Then get drunk with me,” she told him. “It’s fun.” She gave him a hopeful look. “How about that blow job we mentioned earlier?”
Magnus grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around her. “How about we get you sober first?”
“Fair enough,” she agreed, and clung to his neck, all of her weight leaning on him. “Carry me?”
He laughed again, but he hauled her into his arms, careful of her knee. “You are way too drunk. Let’s get you to bed.” He carried her out of the bathroom and into the suite, then toweled her off while she drunkenly spouted nonsense. Then, still naked, he tucked her into bed.
She curled up amidst the pillows and then patted the empty mattress next to her. “Come snuggle?”
It was hard to resist her when she looked that cute. He got into bed next to her and lay down. She immediately put her arms around him and tucked her head into the crook of his shoulder, and then yawned right in his face.
And he didn’t even mind it.