“Aw, Mom.” Deflated, the boy thumped back down as he was told.
Razor glanced at Willow, who’d gotten off the bed and was wrapping herself in the bathrobe. He thought she might be upset or embarrassed, but instead she was struggling to hold back a giggle.
“You should go join them,” she said. “I’ll clean up and come down in a few minutes.”
All the things he still hadn’t said to her lingered on his tongue. He stared at her in a heavy, awkward silence, trying to decide how to reel in the moment again so they could talk.
She tilted her head at him. “Is anything wrong, Razor?”
He abruptly glanced down. “No. Nothing’s wrong. I’ll see you downstairs.”
“Okay.” With a smile and a nod, she padded into the bathroom and closed the door.
Scrubbing his hand over his jaw, Razor stood there for another moment, then stalked to the door and headed down to the kitchen.
An attractive blond stood at the sink washing out a travel cup. He might have guessed her to be in her early thirties but her blue eyes had a world-weary quality to them, as if she’d lived and seen more than her share of hardship.
“You must be Razor,” she said, drying her hands on the dish towel. “I’m Shannon, Leni’s sister. I hope Riley didn’t wake you guys up just now. He’s really excited to meet his Uncle Knox’s brother.”
Razor shook his head. “No. It’s all good. Nice to meet you, Shannon.”
At the same moment, Leni entered the kitchen followed by Knox and the boy, who held onto the big Breed male’s hand as if they were the best of friends. Razor never dreamed he’d see the day his formidable Hunter brother might look so comfortable and relaxed. As strong as the impulse was to bust his balls a bit, deep down he realized he was simply happy for Knox.
If not a little envious.
Knox released Riley’s hand and nodded toward Razor. “I told you he’d be down quick enough if you went upstairs to say hello.”
Riley grinned.
Razor narrowed a look on his brother. “You sent the kid upstairs? I might’ve known.”
Knox chuckled. “Couldn’t let you sleep all day. I take it things went better than you thought they might last night?”
Razor cleared his throat. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
His curt response made Knox exhale a slow, understanding breath. “I hope you know what you’re doing, brother.”
He didn’t, obviously. Not that he had any intention of discussing the situation now. He glanced at the boy’s eager face, which was lit with fascination under his tousled blond hair.
“You must be Riley.”
The kid nodded enthusiastically. “Are you really Breed, like Uncle Knox?”
“Yep.”
Even though the human world had been aware of their vampire neighbors for two decades, it still felt strange sometimes to acknowledge his otherness so openly when fear and mistrust from mortals remained an issue that might never go away.
Riley seemed anything but afraid or suspicious. He stared at Razor’s forearms where hisdermaglyphsarced and tangled all the way onto the backs of his hands.
“You’ve got moreglyphsthan I’ve ever seen. Even more than Uncle Knox!”
Razor chuckled at his candidness. “I hear you’re pretty clever with computers.”
Riley nodded. “I brought you one of mine. It’s in the other room. If you want, I can show you how to use it.”
“I think I can figure it out. Thanks for letting me borrow yours.”
“Sure,” he said, beaming with pride. “I got two, so you don’t have to give it back until you’re done.”
