The Cambion's Hoard
Chapter 32- Rose

The stairs creaked as I hurried down them. Sly was meeting me at the mall for a bit of a shopping excursion. It had been lonely without Thatcher home, and he only made it worse by extending his trip. He'd simply said he wanted to fortify his secondary hoard. Whatever that meant.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Henson clicked off the tv.

"I'm going shopping with Sly. Well, she's shopping. I'm browsing." I grabbed a bottle of water from the counter and stuffed it in my purse.

Henson stood and stretched. He wasn't as tall as the twins, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in bulk. Even though he was short and stocky, Hen was attractive. He kept his hair longer, too, primarily to hide his horns.

"Can I join you guys?"

I paused. "I mean, if you really want to. Sly won't mind."

He smiled. "Awesome. Let me get money."

Henson walked past but stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "Biggs, give me your credit card. I'm taking Rose shopping."

Their bedroom door opened, and Biggs came around the banister. He took the stairs slowly. It was achingly attractive for some reason. Biggs's expression was somber yet clearly annoyed at the same time. I couldn't figure out how he could pull off two expressions simultaneously.

He opened his wallet and pulled out a card. When he went to hand it to Henson, he pulled it back. "Don't go crazy, Henson."

Henson crossed his arms over his chest. "Let me spoil Rose. I'll get her cute clothes, shoes, and maybe a manicure. I bet I could even get her to get us something lacy and see-through."

Stepping forward, I grabbed Henson's shoulder. "Now, you don't have to buy me anything. I have a little money to spend on myself."

Biggs finished coming down the stairs. He tucked the card against Henson's chest, then reached past him. Taking my chin in hand, he lifted it, running his thumb against my lower lip.

"Let us buy you things, Rose." He leaned down and kissed me.

Kissing Biggs was different than kissing Thatch. Thatch waited for me to give him permission and followed my lead. Biggs felt in control, even with such a gentle kiss. He demanded obedience even with something so sweet.

"Fine."

He smiled. "That a girl."

Biggs turned back to Henson. "Just because you're spoiling her doesn't mean you must go overboard. Your purchasing limit is going to be hers as well."

Henson pushed the card into his pocket. "Like I can spend the same amount on her as I'd spend on myself? Not I have to split my amount with her?"

"Right. If you spend a hundred on yourself, you spend a hundred on her." He took Henson's face in hand. "I'm serious, Hen, don't scare her with your spending."

Henson backed away from him and grabbed me around the waist. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine. Besides, this is how you show affection. She needs to see your affectionate side."

Biggs looked back at me, and I could feel what he was feeling. He was still in turmoil from what had happened the month prior. Yet, he felt brave enough to kiss me. The hunger that reared up in my belly was enough to make him groan. He was feeling his desire through me.

"Get out of here before I do something I may regret." He kissed Hen on the cheek and edged past me. Making sure that he didn't touch me again.

"Okay, see you later!" Henson ushered us out the door. Not fast enough that I didn't hear Biggs choke back a sob.

----

Sly clung to my arm as we did our first lap around the mall. We liked to figure out where we wanted to shop before we bought anything. Henson walked on my other side but didn't try to hold onto me.

He did bump my shoulder. "So how about we start with mani-pedis and then go into a shop you'd never go into because you don't think you can afford it?"

Sly squeezed my arm excitedly. "She has always wanted to shop at Blythe's Lingerie. They specialize in plus-size lingerie. But the bigger the clothes, the more they cost. Since she pays for school, she doesn't allow herself little expenditures."

"Nope, I'm not letting him buy anything from there for me. Besides, that stuff isn't a little expenditure." I shook my head. I was determined to keep him from spending a small fortune on me.

Henson grabbed my hand and pulled us to a stop. He stepped closer and wrapped an arm around my waist, running his hand down to rest on the small of my back. "Now, Rosie, you wouldn't want me telling Biggs that you wouldn't let me spoil you?"

I couldn't help but pout and turned away. "You're going to make me let you buy stuff, aren't you?"

Henson turned my head back. "Trust me when I say Biggs can afford to buy you a simple piece of expensive lingerie. He can afford to buy you multiple pieces of expensive lingerie."

"Alright."

He kissed my forehead. "That's the spirit. Let's go get our nails done, then we can go wherever you haven't been able to buy things before. Biggs treat."