Turning, I walk away from my mom, heading toward my truck. My phone beeps as I get in, and I flick the message from Jake open.
My mate points down at the game board, everything set up and a bright grin on her face. Her hair is scraped up in the bun that never quite contains all of her hair, some of it tumbling down her back. And—
I zoom in. She’s wearing the black t-shirt I was hunting for this morning while she lay on her stomach across my bed, helpfully suggesting different places to look.
I knew it.
Jake messages again.Kenny says you forfeit if you don’t get home in the next thirty minutes. She ate seven tacos. I think she saved you some, but she’s refusing to tell us where she put them in case Max eats them. And pick up more popcorn.
Whistling, I pull away from the curb, flicking the radio on and winding down the window.
It’s a beautiful day.
Kenny
Hummingundermybreath,I lean back against Jake’s chest, my eyes at half-mast as I flick through movie choices. His breathing is steady against me, his head tipped back and his eyes closed. Fast asleep.
“What about that one?” On the other end of the couch, Max massages my feet. I wiggle my new socks at him in appreciation. For both the movie choiceandthe socks.
I mean, they have little snakes on them. Unconventional, maybe, but I love them anyway. Grinning, he tugs on my little toe. “You have the strangest taste. I love it.”
Shrugging, I pick up a piece of popcorn from the bowl in my lap and toss it, hiding my smile with a feigned focus on the screen. Biting my lip, I watch as it bounces off the side of Oscar’s face. He looks up from his analytics textbook, his brows scrunching together. He doesn’t evenlookat Max. Dark eyes narrow on me as I feign innocence. “You okay? Did you just… throw a piece of popcorn at me?”
I point at Max without missing a beat. “Wasn’t me. Do you want to watch the movie?”
He’s not close enough, even though he’s less than six feet away. I want him next to me. In fact, I want all of them next to me. “It’s really warm in here. Can we turn the heating down?”
The back of my neck feels damp when I press my fingers against it. All of me feels too warm. Almost overheated. Even my stomach, weirdly. Grimacing, I pull off my sweatshirt, leaving me in a thin tee and leggings. But it doesn’t help. I tug my top away from my damp skin, fanning it. “I think the heating is broken. Or the tacos Theo made were off.”
“They weren’t off. They were excellent tacos. You ate four of them.” I relax as his hand brushes my cheek in gentle reassurance, tilting my head to grin up at him. But he doesn’t smile back. His forehead dips, pulling together into a frown. “You do feel warm. We need to check your temperature.”
It’s barely even Spring. It shouldn’t be this warm in here.
Twisting, I reach for Max. He leans forward immediately, our fingers lacing. “What’s the matter, baby?”
Frowning, I focus on his face. “I need…,”
Something.My abdomen clenches, and I suck in a breath. “I don’t think I feel very well.”
He glances down at my hand. Back up. “You’re burning up.”
Burning.
It almost feels like a signal going off in my head. My stomach twists, flips, clenches in a surge of need that has me folding over, gripping my belly. Jake jerks beneath me, instantly on alert. “That’s…,”
“My heat,” I whisper. Panic threatens to flood my veins as I curl up. “This is my heat.”
Oh, god.
I’m not ready for this.
“Kenny.” Oscar is kneeling beside me. “We prepared for this, remember? Everything is ready in your nest.”
A rough, needy sound pulls from my throat.
“That’s it,” he coaxes. “We’re taking you to your nest, right now.”
Jake’s hand wraps around my stomach, stroking the skin beneath my tee. And I arch into his touch, my neck stretching wide. “More.”
