“That’s what she said,” Knox confirms, pulling his own mask over his head.
I slip mine on, and through the window, I can see Leila climbing out of the truck. She’s wearing dark jeans and a Gravepoint hoodie, not one of ours specifically, just one with the school logo, but it’s enough to make something warm spread through my chest. She looks up at the house, and even from here, I can see her smile.
“Positions,” Jagger says, and we scatter. Knox takes the living room, I head for the kitchen, and Jagger goes upstairs. The front door isn’t locked—I made sure—and within seconds, I hear it squeak open.
“I know you’re all here,” Leila calls out in a cheeky tone.
I watch from the kitchen doorway as she steps inside, closing the door behind her.
Knox moves first, stepping into view from behind the couch. She spins toward him, grinning.
“One,” she counts.
I step out next, and her gaze snaps toward me.
“Two.”
Footsteps on the stairs make her look up at Jagger. He stops halfway down, leaning against the railing.
“Three,” she finishes. “Now what do you want me to do?”
“Run,” Jagger says.
She smiles and runs around Knox. He reaches out to grab her, but she vaults over the arm of the couch. Knox lunges for her again, but she spins away with a laughing taunt of, “Too slow.”
I cut through the kitchen, trying to head her off at the dining room, but she’s already pivoting, heading for the hallway that leads to the back of the house.
“Bedroom,” Jagger shouts from the stairs behind me. “Block the guest bedroom!”
But she’s not going for the bedroom; Leila doubles back, heading for the stairs. Jagger is still there waiting, and though she tries to duck around him, he’s too big.
His hand catches her wrist, then he stops and reaches up with his free hand to rip his mask off, tossing it aside. His chest is heaving, and his rusty-brown hair sticks up at odd angles. All the while his eyes are locked on Leila. “Fuck this,” he growls out. “No more hiding behind masks.”
Before she can respond, he bends down and lifts her, throwing her over his shoulder in one smooth motion.
“Jagger!” she yelps, her hands bracing against his back.
“I want you naked. It’s been almost one hundred hours since I saw you last, and I don’t want to wait any longer.”
Knox and I pull off our masks, following them upstairs. Jagger doesn’t stop until he reaches his bedroom door, shouldering it open and stepping inside. The room is surprisingly clean; his bed is made for once, and his clothes are actually in the hamper instead of on the floor. He sets Leila down on the bed, and she looks up at all three of us.
“No more hiding. Just us,” Jagger says, dropping to his knees in front of her.
“Just us,” Knox echoes, moving to stand beside the bed.
I close the door and lean against it, watching Leila’s eyes move between the three of us.
“Just us,” she agrees softly.
Jagger doesn’t say a word. He surges forward, catching her face in both of his hands and kissing her like it’s been tearing him apart not to.
She gasps as her hands fist his shirt. Her spine arches when he pulls her closer.
I step forward, slipping my fingers under the hem of her hoodie and trailing them up her side, causing her to shiver. Knox is right beside me, his palms sliding down her arms, his mouth brushing her shoulder over the fabric as he whispers something low that makes her tremble.
Jagger finally breaks the kiss and pushes up to his feet. “Take it off,” he tells her.
She lifts her arms, and I’m already helping her out of her shirt while Knox unhooks her bra from behind.
