His lips press against the inside of my neck, his face burying there as he exhales. It distracts me momentarily.
"Okay! You heard the lady!" Luc shoos the twins out of the kitchen since he's already in his pyjamas. Fuuuck. Why is he never wearing a shirt?!
He didn't tell me anything about the scars on his body but I recognise a few of them as my own. I never get a good look at them. He’s always moving about or doing something but he doesn't seem bothered by people seeing them.
It's really good.
Jace reluctantly releases me from his hold so I can shower. I’m glad we got that out of the way because I don’t want the pain and hurt of him thinking I was mad at him still to fester and grow inside him.
We meet back in the kitchen once we’re showered.
"Mum's recipe." Jace hands me a piece of paper. I smile at Helen’s handwriting and give it back to him.
"She taught me how to make it. I remember everything." I smile at the amazed look on his face.
"It took me three years of begging to get that! She only gave it to me because we were moving here and she couldn't cook for us!" Jace whines and I grin in response.
"Get over it, J." Dominic comes up behind me, playing with my hair.
The movement makes my shirt slip off one shoulder. He leans down and kisses my bare shoulder. I glance up, smiling softly at him, his dark chocolatey eyes dancing with mine.
Jace is smiling happily and Alec's giving me a look that I finally understand now.
Hope.
His lips curl up in that secretive smile when he sees me watching him.
"Maverick!" I squeal when Mav scoops me up into his arms and I scramble to hold onto something, clutching his shirt tightly. He chuckles deeply before setting me in the centre of the bench.
"Tell us what to do, baby." Maverick stands between my legs. I meet his ice blue eyes and smile at the warmth in them.
We work together making the taco mix, Helen’s own recipe. Maverick doesn't let me help—only instruct—from my place on the kitchen island.
Jace makes me something called a baileys which is really yummy. I think I'm addicted.
The twins are making a salad,at Alec's request, while the taco mince is cooking in the frying pan Jace and Luc are sitting on the bench with me and Alec is cutting up tomatoes. Luc puts his arm around me and I lean into his warmth as a cool breeze travels in through the open kitchen window. Winter is definitely coming.
Dominic turns around, giving me a view of his back. In a large gothic style block writing is a tattoo that has my eyes watering.
I jump down off the table, despite Maverick's objections and reach up to touch the bold letters between Dom's shoulder blades that read my brother's name.
Dominic tenses. My fingers trace over the letters, brushing away the tears that pool in my eyes, keeping me from seeing.
Dom slowly turns around after giving me a chance to stare at it.
"When did you get that?" I whispers, my voice breaking.
Dominic curls some of my stray hair behind my ear. "His birthday. Last year," he says roughly.
I see he has a few other tattoos on his arms and chest but I don't focus on them.
"We all have it, in different places." Alec breaks us out of our silence.
The twins turn and lift their shirts to show me the writing just above the waistline of their sweatpants on their backs.
“We didn’t tell our parents because of our age. We’ve kept them hidden,” J tells me.
Jace's is on his arm, up the side in a similar font to Dom's. Alec and Luc's are on the inside of their wrists in a swirly cursive font. I notice another symbol on Luc's other wrist but I don't ask about it.
