“Nah.”
I huffed and decided it wasn’t worth arguing over, but I did rush through my morning routine.
After showering, I changed into clean clothes, grabbed my dirty ones, and headed back. “Bathroom’s all yours. If you throw your dirty clothes out, I’ll grab them and ask Ker about doing laundry.”
Oakley grinned at me, and before I knew what was happening, they stripped off their shirt and threw it at me. By the time I pulled it off my head, a pair of pants were flying at me. I caught them and watched Oakley wink at me in only their boxer briefs before they turned on their heel and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them.
Holy. Shit.
They. Were. Beautiful. And so damn sexy. They were filled with lean muscles, defined abs, and very lickable pierced nipples. And their ass… holy fucking shit, it was so bubbly and perfect. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them.
I stood there, blinking after them and wishing I’d had my phone out so I could snap a picture and stare at it for hours. I was so engrossed in imagining them mostly naked that I didn’t hear the bathroom door open again.
A pair of bright blue boxer briefs hit me in the head, and Oakley’s laughter filled my ears.
I couldn’t help but sniff as I pulled them off, getting a big whiff of their delicious scent.
“Ewwww, don’t smell my underwear, you perv,” Oak said through the door, not even looking at me.
“I’m not!” I called back before inhaling deeply even though I had their clothes in my arms and not against my face like I wanted.
“Liar!”
I grimaced at that—they already knew me so well—and didn’t respond to the claim. “I’m heading out. Be back in a minute!”
“M’kay, Pervy McPervison.”
Shaking my head, I left the room in search of the washing machine.
Beshiro came out of his room as I headed down the hall, and he sent me a small smile. “Morning.”
“Good morning.” I held up the clothes. “Would you guys mind if I borrowed your washing machine? Oak and I don’t have many clothes, so I thought it’d be good to wash these.”
“Oh yeah, sure. I’ll show you where it is.” He headed farther down the hall. “When Anton realized just how much laundry Ker has to do all the time with the kids, he made a little laundry room on this floor so Ker didn’t have to go up and down the stairs a million times.” He grinned. “We’re all happy about that. It’s so much easier.”
“I bet.” I lived in a one-floor condo that had a washer and dryer in it, so I didn’t really know how that felt. Before I lived in the tower, washers and dryers didn’t even exist, so I really had no clue. But I could imagine what a pain that would be, especially when you had so many kids.
“Soooo…” His smirk reminded me of Jed’s, which was kind of funny since they weren’t blood related. Well, not in the human way, anyway. They were blood-related in the vampire sense. But from his and Jed’s expressions and gestures, I could tell they grew up together and spent a lot of time together. “You and Oakley, huh?”
I held in an eye roll. “Yep. Me and Oakley.”
“I’m so happy for you. Jealous too, if I’m being honest, but I’m seriously really happy for you guys. Oak’s a real cool person, so—”
My growl cut him off.
He let out a small laugh and held his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant in general since they’re my friend. And for the record, I think you’re a good guy, but just, you know, treat them right, yeah?”
When I realized what he was doing, that he was trying to protect Oakley in his own Beshiro way, I took a deep breath, settled my dragon, and gave him a nod. “Don’t worry. I’ll do everything in my power to make them happy.”
He grinned at me and slapped my shoulder. “I know you will.” He gestured to what looked like a double-doored closet, grabbed both handles, and opened it. “Here ya go. Detergent and everything’s on the shelf above the machines. Holler if you need anything else.” He started to walk away. “Oh, and Ker’s making breakfast, so you guys should come down soon. Food disappears fast around here with a billion teens in the house, so don’t take too long.”
“Thanks, Shiro.”
He waved over his shoulder as he walked down the hall.
He was a good guy. I didn’t know him as well as Jed, mostly because Jed was just loud and always the center of attention, but Beshiro definitely had some layers. When I saw him in a professional setting, he was almost as serious as his older brother, Phaeron.
But the times I saw him outside of work and actually spoke to him—since it was usually in a group setting—I could see a laid-back guy with a little bit of a playful side. Enough that I wondered just how much trouble he and Jed used to get up to together when they were younger. I had no doubt that Anton hadhis hands full with those two. And Kat was just as bad, if not worse.
