My ribs start to ache as I walk into the house, dropping my keys on the bench.
"Guys!" I yell out. Mason puts the Thai boxes down while Maverick pulls out some plates.
Jace and Luc come in from the verandah. J's smile drops when he sees the look on my face.
"Ro?" He questions. "What's wrong?"
"Someone tried to follow us home," I tell them and their faces grow dark.
"We managed to lose them at an intersection and we drove around for a bit to make sure no one else was following us.” Maverick gives them all the details.
Jace sighs harshly and curses under his breath. Luc puts his hands on my shoulders, his eyes travelling down me with deep concern.
I grab a pen and a piece of paper from Hannah’s titled ‘messy drawer’ and write out everything I can remember about the car. I hand it off to Luc, telling him my idea.
"Are you okay?" Luc asks, before giving the twins the once over.
"My ribs are a bit sore," I tell him.
"When did you last have painkillers?" Luc asks.
"I don't know, maybe the day before yesterday?" I say, trying to remember when I last took anything.
Luc's eyes widen. "Butterfly, you can have them more often than that."
I don't say anything. He sighs before going to the kitchen and getting two tablets from the box. Luc fills a glass of water and slips his hand into mine, pulling me away from the group.
He hands me the tablets and the glass of water. He watches me struggle to swallow them. I drink the rest of the glass and he takes it from my hands.
"Rory, why haven't you been taking them more often?" Luc asks, concerned.
I put my back to the twins and Jace, remembering J's gift at lip reading. He was great at it when we were kids. It's how we used to listen in on all the grown up's conversations.
I struggle starting. "When I first came here, I made a joke wanting drugs and…you looked terrified, Luci."
My eyes flick down to the hardwood and I bite my bottom lip before releasing it. I see him step closer, his hands resting on my waist.
"I thought there had to be a reason and I didn't want to scare you. Then you told me about your parents and—"
I gasp when Luc’s mouth crashes onto mine. He kisses me into oblivion, effectively cutting off my rambling.
He encourages me to respond, nibbling on my bottom lip. I slowly rise up on my tip toes, my arms going around his neck, gently pulling him down to my level.
He squeezes my waist, one hand cupping my cheek, his lips moving across mine.
I must make a noise because he growls against my lips. Fuuuuck. The vibrations travel through me like a lightning blast, electrocuting me.
Clapping in the background breaks us out of it.
My eyes open, meeting his bright moss green irises, heat glowing in them. Luc places a soft kiss on my swollen lips before leaning his forehead on mine.
"It's like they just can't help themselves," Luc murmurs and I laugh.
I remove my hands from his broad shoulders and he sighs before pulling back.
"Thank you, Butterfly," he says softly.
Ummm, for what?
