Something warm lights up in me. “You do it?”
She rolls her eyes. “Of course, I kiss you before I leave. I don’t sneak out because I want to annoy you but because you work too hard and deserve the rest after our nocturnal activities. Don’t you think I’d rather wake you up and banter with you while we’re having breakfast?”
I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense. My schedule isn’t as tightly monitored as hers, so I usually decide on my own hours. As long as I get the job done, it doesn’t matter when—except when I have a tattoo session. But if the roles were reversed, I might let her sleep as well.
“I forgive you, then,” I say as I return her into my arms. “Do wake me up, though. I’d rather have the bantery breakfast than the beauty sleep.”
“Alright.”
When I lower to kiss her again, she avoids it and slithers out of my hold. “No, that ship has sailed. I’m the one withholding the sex now,” she says with faked authority.
I stand there as she walks around the place, analyzing my stuff scattered around. Something catches her eye on the desk, and she reaches into the cup holding a few pens there. She smiles as she pulls out a hair stick—the one I stole during our first night together.
“I know this,” she says with amusement.
“You never asked to have it back, so I reckoned you weren’t missing it.”
“Has it been here for long?”
“I found it in my jacket the morning after, and I dropped it in there.”
Somehow, I expect her to reclaim it, but she surprises me when she drops it back into the cup. She likes the idea of it being there as much as I do. Still smiling, she continues her inspection.
“I love that you get to have Mulli in here,” she notes, gesturing at the round bed on the floor.
“She was being lazy this morning, so I left her upstairs. I’ll have to walk her before we head to The Devil’s Court. Or maybe I’ll take her with us.”
“Yes, take her! I love spending time with Grubsy girl, but her selfish dad takes up all of my free time.”
“She’ll get more of you when I’ve had my fill.”
Gen has gone full circle, and she’s back with me. She looks up to meet my eyes, plastering her front to mine in a seductive way. “Which I hope will be never.”
“You can bet your sweet arse on that.”
I’m about to kiss her again when she escapes me once more and opens the door to the corridor. “I need to make sure Hana is planning something good. See you in a minute, wombat.”
I can’t even be mad about the blue balls. Not when I lean on the door frame and watch her walk that perfect bum back to her best friend. Thank fuck Eli and Kill aren’t here to witness the idiotic smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.
The Devil’s Court is much morelively at this hour. We’re all settled in the main room around a barrel table with high chairs.
Gen, Hana, Eli, and I are here. Mulli is quietly lying down at my feet, and Kill sometimes pays us a visit when he gets a break at the bar.
Hana ended up deciding on a tattoo to honor her son. In half an hour, Zack drew a beautiful piece based on the birthmark Hana’s baby has on his back—a brilliant idea she had. The delicate outline of the mark will become the background for a bouquet of lilies, which are Hana’s favorite flowers.
“This place is incredible,” she shouts over the table to be heard despite the band, Blood Red Shoes, on the stage. Kill did a great job finding them.
“Isn’t it?” Gen adds. “We often have a few drinks here before we head off to Jake’s. I love handing them their asses whenever we play pool in the back room.”
“They keep playing with you? Don’t they know you won state championships at Harvard?”
“They didn’t until now, no.”
Eli’s jaw drops as his eyes dart to Gen. “Hey, not disclosing that is basically cheating! You owe me, like, a hundred bucks!” he shouts, apparently remembering those times they played for money and he lost.
“It was your idea to bet on itfivetimes, sweet summer child,” Gen taunts.
“You don’t want to mess with a lawyer on this one, mate,” I tell my friend before turning to Gen. “I, however, need to have a word with you, Miss Kensington.”
