“I told you if you left it with me, I was going to eat it.”I shove the sticky treat in my mouth before she can snatch it from me.
Harper’s eyes narrow, and she climbs onto my chair, straddling me.
Surprised by her movements, my hand fumbles with the hot poker, letting it fall to the ground.It’s not like I need it anymore anyhow.The hand that held the marshmallow gets yanked away from my lips as she tries to grab for the fluffy treat, but it’s too late.It’s already in my mouth.
“That’smymarshmallow,” Harper seethes, her tongue darting out, tasting the gooeyness at the corner of my lips before closing the distance.
My mouth is completely full of hot, sticky marshmallow, and she’s clawing at me like a beast ready for her kill.
Damn, if I knew she had a thing for roasted marshmallows, I’d have teased her with them sooner.
Her mouth caresses mine, her tongue forcing my lips apart as she tries to steal a taste.The kiss isn’t soft and sweet.It’s rough and fueled with determination.She wants what’s mine.
I grip her hips with my hands, pulling her closer and tighter against me.Does she have any idea what she does to me?
“No one comes inside until Moreno or me tells you it’s time.Is that clear?”Dante’s voice echoes from behind me.
Harper immediately pulls back, but she stays on my lap, my hands trapping her against me.
When the hell did he come outside?
“We know,” Nova says with an exasperated sigh.“You already chased us out when we were making hot chocolate.”There’s a bit of a snippy tone in her demeanor, and I can’t say I blame her.
I’m always snippy with Dante.
There’s only one reason Dante would keep us out of the house, and that’s because trouble is brewing inside.
“I came out here to make sure the message was clear for everyone,” he says.
“Understood, sir,” Ashton says.
“Son?”
It pains me to hear him call methat.I wince.“Yeah, I heard you, Dante.”
He hates when I call him that.Dante is my biological father.It’s not as though he’s my stepfather, and there’s been more times than I can count that he’s scolded me or shouted at me for not giving him the respect that he deserves.I wait to embrace another tongue-lashing.He’s never physically abused me.He doesn’t have to for me to know that he’s a monster.
Dante shakes his head.“I don’t have time for your antics,” he mutters, heading back inside the compound.The sliding glass door slams with a resounding thud, and I can practically hear the curtains being shut from inside, keeping all prying eyes out.
Harper pulls back, but I keep my hands on her hips, holding her in place.She raises an eyebrow at me.“The girlfriend show is over; your father is back inside the house.Which, I might add, you forgot to mention he’s weird.”
“Why do you think I avoid him like the plague?”I grumble.
“Yeah, that’s why,” Ashton says and rolls his eyes.I shoot him a look to shut up.I don’t need to worry Harper or have her any more involved than she already is.The fact Dante came outside to tell us to keep the fuck out of the house tells me all I need to know.
They’re bringing in someone for interrogation.
My stomach roils just thinking about the poor soul who betrayed the Ricci family.Hopefully, they’re not a father or married.If they’re lucky, maybe no one will notice or care that they’ve gone missing.
It’s unlikely they’ll return home.
Moreno and Dante don’t take prisoners for entertainment.They interrogate because they require information, and when that information is obtained, those men are of no use to them.
“I can’t believe we got kicked out of the house during my own birthday party,” Nova says, groaning under her breath.
“Maybe they’re making you a birthday cake and don’t want to ruin the surprise by you seeing it before it’s ready?”Harper quips.
I brush a strand of hair behind her ear, my thumb stroking her cheek.“That’s sweet,” I whisper,but completely foolish.
