A slow, malicious grin rises on Sebastian’s face. “Then it’s settled. Let’s get this knocked out so I can pay Marco a visit.”
***
“We’ll meet you guysin a couple of hours.”
Slade shares several nervous glances with Kaige as he finishes buttoning his shirt. “Why would Hunter insist on you staying here with her and not Bo?”
Shrugging a single shoulder, I lean back against the wall. “I don’t call the shots. Feel free to take it up with him if you have an issue.”
Cin ties his shoe, rising to his feet and stretching. “Or you could go over his head and drag Sabrina into it. Welcome to the club, brother; sucks having someone bossing you around, doesn’t it?”
With a sigh, Slade looks toward the bedroom where Sabrina’s dozing and drops his voice. “I’m not going to wake her up for this, that’s ridiculous.” On his and Kaige’s way out the door, he grasps my shoulder. “They’ll be fine; Reid’s the best shot in the family.” Squeezing once, he strides past me, heading for the warehouse.
Cinjin, on the other hand, isn’t buying it for a second. Rather than call me out on my lie though, he mimes zipping his lips behind Slade’s back, amusement dancing in his eyes. Following them out, he smirks. “Take good care of our girl, Reid.”
Closing the door on his quiet laughter, I flip the pathetic lock that’s more for decoration than any form of actual security. As soon as I kick off my shoes, I head straight for the bedroom, climbing onto the mattress beside her. Still half-asleep, she mumbles, “Nap buddy, or did the warehouse explode again?”
Nostrils flaring, I bite back a groan. She’s absolutelydrenchedin the others’ scent, sweat and sex lingering on her skin. Every breath I draw in is a visceral reminder that she’s really ours, and it sets the beast in my chest off like crazy. While she’s clearly theirs, he and I are in complete agreement that everyone needs to know without a shadow of a doubt that she’s also ours.
Gently brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face, I press a lingering kiss to her forehead. “Neither. Hunter asked me to send the others to help out, but we should be good to test it out in an hour or two.”
She pries an eyelid open. “No he didn’t.”
Breaking into a smile, I kiss her bare shoulder, tugging the sheet down an inch. “No, he didn’t.”
Chuckling, she wakes up a little more. “Slade and Kaige I could see, but Cinjin actually bought that?”
Kissing a path down her arm, I slide down her body, dragging the sheet with me as I go. “Not even for a second. Even better, Slade and Kaige convinced themselves it was a trust exercise.”
She arches her back, stretching one arm above her head as I make my way down to her other wrist, kissing her pulse. “Any particular reason you decided to risk getting your ass kicked once they find out you lied?”
Sitting back on my heels, I slowly rake my gaze over her. Naked, tangled in the sheets, and dark hair a wild mess against the pillow. There’s a lightness to her completely at odds with the situation we’re trapped in, when she has more reason than any of us to be pissed off. She’s choosing to be happy regardless, finding comfort in the darkness instead of lamenting the oppressive weight of it.
“It seemed a fair price to pay to have you all to myself for a little while.”
Giving me a soft smile, she pushes herself upright. “Can’t go two steps without tripping over someone these days, can we?”
Humming my agreement, I skim my knuckles reverently over her cheek. “I’ll be sure when Slade is combing through real estate listings to mention that you want plenty of extra space.”
Her eyes narrow, but there’s a playfulness behind them that’s contagious. “I don’t think I even want to know how much money you guys are sitting on. But after cramming eight people into this room for a couple of days, I’ll admit that I actually am looking forward to having some breathing room.”
“Until then, how about we use up Kaige’s water supply for the day and sneak in a shower?”
Dramatically gasping, she slides away from me. “Skipping to the front of the line?” Though she clucks her tongue in mock chastisement, she wastes no time climbing out of bed. “I won’t even be offended that you’d rather use our alone time to shower than fool around.”
Following behind her, I yank off my shirt on our way to the bathroom. “On the contrary, it seemed the quickest way to replace their scents with mine.”
She pauses in the doorway, sending me a heated look. “I suppose if you’re going to get your ass kicked, we might as well cram in as many reasons as possible to make it worth it.” Backtracking, she rummages through our luggage, returning with one of Hunter’s shirts. Grinning, she backs out of the room. “I’ll needsomethingto dry off with afterward.”
“Are youexcitedto see them beat the shit out of me?”
Chuckling, she makes a beeline across the main room, and I shut the bathroom door behind us. “Don’t sell yourself short, I saw the way you obliterated that guy’s face the other day. If you let go a little, I’m sure you could break a few ribs before they knock you out.”
While she gets the water running, I finish stripping and snort. “You’re as bloodthirsty as the rest of them, I swear. And here I thought you cared about my wellbeing.”
Tossing Hunter’s shirt onto the sink counter, she chuckles. “Of course I do. Think of how much more it’ll annoy them when I’m oh-so-helpfully tending your wounds afterward and you get all of the attention. Pretty sure they’ll make it a game of pushing each other down the nearest staircase.”
“And that’s a good thing, why, may I ask?”
