have to check in with Pike. Without anyone else around. Yesterday at dinner, with how distant he was, she figured he wasn’t interested in her as anything more than a friend, but as he refilled her coffee, he shared a sleepy wink.
Crap. A few days ago, that might have stirred a little flutter. Or she would have wanted it to. It could be a friendly wink, or was it a flirty wink?
Instead, she couldn’t help but wonder what Alexei’s actual favorite book was, or if he was like her and had too many to be able to choose just one.
Cassie granted her a reprieve from get-to-know-you questions, and Devon was content to listen to the others chatting. Like she thought families should do, pleasantly surprised to discover they enjoyed the light banter without tiring of each other, nor seeming to pass judgment.
Charlie came down a few minutes later. Her thick blondish hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and she wore blue yoga pants with an oversized sweater, making her way straight for the kitchen.
Standing up with her empty coffee cup, Cassie said, “Breakfast is pretty independent around here most days. There are bagels and cream cheese, eggs if you feel like making something, cereal.” She stopped before leaving the living room and pointed right at Devon. “FYI, don’t try to be polite. Help yourself to whatever, whenever. If it’s not marked, it’s fair game.”
Devon adored Alexei and Pike’s family already. Mandatory self-serve, so she wouldn’t have to politely wonder if and when meals were going to happen. Stomach growling, she grabbed her cup and headed into the kitchen.
Charlie was bleary eyed as she stared into the toaster. “Morning,” she said with a few twitchy blinks.
“Good morning,” Devon answered. She topped off her coffee, cut a jalapeno cheddar bagel for herself, and parked at the edge of the counter, waiting for the toaster to be free.
“Did you see Alexei yet?” Charlie asked.
“I think he went upstairs.” Think. Ha. Knew.
“Ah, I see. I headed right down after my shower. Honestly, if the sky fell down around us, I’m not sure I’d notice until after I’ve had my shower.”
“From the looks of things, it is falling.”
Charlie chuckled and looked out the windows, the sky growing to a bright white, not even the hot tub or covered furniture visible. “Apparently.” As soon as the toaster released the bagel to pop up, Charlie tossed hers on a plate and slid to the side. While she spread cream cheese over her blueberry bagel, she motioned to the jalapeno cheddar bagels. “Hand me one of those? I’ll get one going for Alexei.”
“Plans for the day?” Devon asked Charlie as she passed a bagel over. She had been dead serious about disappearing with a book, but when one was seen burying her nose in a laptop, fingers clacking over the keys faster than anyone might email or doom-scroll, questions began. And revealing her little side gig was much more personal than sharing her favorite book. But there was nothing like an isolated, snowy morning to write.
“I’d hoped to head into the village, and still might, but I’m not sure Alexei wants to lend me his truck in this weather,” she said, licking a dollop of cream cheese from her fingertips.
Pike wandered in and said, “You can take my car. Or I’ll head in with you. Finding your way around is probably a bitch in this visibility. If you don’t mind waiting, I was going to set up in the basement for a bit.”
“Sure, or I can see if anyone else is going into town today,” she answered. Charlie grabbed a napkin and picked up the bagel she’d fixed for Alexei. “Oh, hey, Devon. Are you planning on heading upstairs to eat?”
She nodded. “Want me to bring that to Alexei?”
“Please. He’s cranky if he skips breakfast.”
“Yeah, of course,” she said. She understood hangry too well. Diesel was a little hellion if she was late on his breakfast, chewing up everything in sight.
Alexei probably wouldn’t appreciate the comparison.
She stacked the bagels on plates in one hand and carried a pair of topped-off coffees in the other. The extra-long flight of stairs made things extra interesting, her quads burning from yesterday and doubling the intensity of the long climb to the third floor.
At the top, Alexei was curled up in one corner of the couch, an e-reader in his hands. He glanced up and instantly set his book down, popping up when he saw her armful of goodies.
Day was nearing full brightness outside now, and there was nothing but white circling in all directions, as if the wind brushed snow off the trees, caught it from the sky, plucked it off the ground, and swirled it all in the air in an unrelenting game of keep away.
She slid the plates onto the coffee table, and he grinned as he took his cup from her hands. “Thanks,” he said, gulping a hefty portion of the dark brew.
“So,” she said. drawing out the O as she wandered to the window, too wired to settle until she could see where he was at on their useless reset system, especially after last night’s not-so-accidental snuggle.
“So,” he answered, matching her long O and moving to stand next to her by the window. “Sleep well?” Over the rim of his mug, he watched, waiting, as if following her lead.
Cradling her coffee in her hands, she looked over at him, meeting his look for a millisecond… then again, longer, finally looking away and staring out the window. Safer. Finding her voice, she said, “After yesterday? I slept amazing. Although I’m not sure that I’m ever going to walk fully upright again.”
He laughed softly, joining her in watching the snowflakes. “Fuck, I know. Clearly, my ass needs more exercise.”
Nope. Perfectly fine ass. More than grabbably adequate. She choked a tiny sip of coffee and muttered, “Same.”
She glanced sideways and saw the corners of his lips curve up wickedly. He glanced her way, then back to the window. Both avoiding eye contact, he said, “Hey, I’m really sorry if my family is overwhelming you. We can be… a lot.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “No, it’s better than okay. You’re all so in tune with each other. You like each other. It’s nice to see.”
“Yeah. They’re pretty great. But they can be overwhelming, even for me.”
“I confess, I am grateful we have a whole floor I can escape to.” Weight shifting to one leg, she relaxed nearer to him, shoulder almost touching his arm, and finding him doing the same until not even a sheet of paper would fit between them.
“And even that bedroom if you’ve had enough of me.” Damn, those lips were pure torture, revealing so much in such a small gesture. His pale blue eyes sparked to match the grin, egging her on.
“But I’ll know you’re out here, crashed out on that sofa in nothing but your underwear. With that tattoo.”
Backing away, he shook his head and dropped to sit on the sofa. He seemed to remember breakfast and slid his plate in front of him. “Seriously though. Anytime you need to sneak away, this is your space as much as it’s Pike’s and mine.”
Stomach finally relaxing enough to eat, she moved to the coffee table and sat on the floor, feet tucked under her, lifting her bagel. She sank her teeth into her bagel, warm and crispy, soft, spicy, crispy, gooey, repeat. With her thumb, she wiped a stray dollop of cream cheese, then shifted around her plate until she found her napkin underneath. The world in silence around them, they ate quietly.
Alexei downed the last of his bagel before wiping off his hands and leaning back. “You, uh, talk with Pike… I mean… have you seen much of him?”
“Nope,” she said, drawing out the P.
“K,” he answered, scooting back on the sofa and grabbing his book again. “Me neither.”
After swallowing her final bite of bagel, she glanced around. Still quiet. Nothing happening.
Perfect opportunity. Well worth the risk. Nothing stimulated a story like a blizzard. Of course, thinking about Alexei’s mostly naked, sleepy arousal—that now ruled her imagination—stirred the need to spice up that dirty scene she’d been working on.
She washed up before ducking into her room to grab her laptop. Without a word, she curled up on the opposite side of the L-shaped sofa and opened her latest draft. Seventy thousand words done. At the climax, and the werewolf’s fate was looking doomed, no hope of reconciling with her human lover, a future together impossible, even if they learned to trust each other. Of course, they were still content to get it on, and this was perfect timing for them to realize that love conquered all.
Naturally, this was a romance, and what they didn’t know yet, was that they were going to live happily ever after. She just hadn’t figured out how. It would come to her, even if she had to table the draft for a few weeks to think it over.
An hour passed, maybe three or four. When she was in the zone, she only knew the time by the pressure in her bladder and the changing light outside the window. Accepting that she may never be rich, famous, or even successful, she nevertheless craved the solitary indulgence that her side gig offered.
At one point, her empty breakfast plate disappeared, and her coffee was magically full. And she subsequently drained it again.
“What are you working so hard on over there?” Alexei asked, a soft rumble to his voice as he set his book on the coffee table, stretching as if he’d neglected himself while finishing a page turner.
“Nothing much,” she answered. And this was why she should have hidden at that cute desk in her bedroom. But the sofa was so much comfier. As was the company, quietly snuggly, even without physical contact.
“Seriously. I think your face has shown every expression in the last three hours.”
Ah, so it had only been three hours. Not bad.
“At one point, I thought you were going to laugh out loud, then I worried you were genuinely upset about something. I mean, not that I was staring in a creepy way or anything, just when I looked over at you. Which, I admit, was more often than it should have been.”
Flutters jumped erratically in her chest as he blushed a grin. Without pretending he was an emotionless, toxically masculine badass, he flirted with a self-effacing honesty that, quite frankly, shocked the hell out of her. And sent her cheeks—and places much lower—on fire.
She bit her lips together as she silently laughed inwardly. The romance novelist who could write all the dirty details when she wanted, but in her own life, even in her head, she stuck to innuendos and vague terminology. Books could be so much sexier than reality.
“I, uh…” She set the laptop on the sofa and slid her feet up, turning to face him. “You know, sometimes you get really into something, and it gets to you.”
“I don’t want to push, of course, but I’ve got a few theories going on what could possibly keep you so enthralled, typing like the bogey man is hot on your heels. Or knuckles anyway.” And that slow smile again. Melty blue eyes locked on hers, hair spiked chaotically from the snuggly read, and as he centered his breathing, studying her, the smile grew wider, filled with an honest curiosity.
An ache brewed in her gut, radiating out until she wondered if she was coming down with something.
Something about that look, and she wanted him to see this side of her, so personal, so wholly a lifeforce that had kept her going when others had let her down. Something told her he’d be cool about it. And that he was worth taking a few risks for. “Can you keep a secret?”
“You know I can,” he said, squinting as his smile softened. As if he knew how much she was about to share.
“And pass absolutely zero judgment?”
“No one should ever promise that, but I will be open minded and grateful you shared with me, if that helps.”
Shit. Okay. This wasn’t the scariest thing she’d done. Sending her heart and soul out into the world every time she published something was terrifying. Or, worse, getting a dream promotional slot and awaiting a wash of new readers ready to pass judgment en masse with a click, rating her with a subjective system of stars that could send her work soaring or crashing.
Okay, so there was that insecurity banging around in her skull again like someone shook a champagne bottle and opened it inside her body, the wild and surprisingly hard ball of cork slamming into random bones and organs. At present, said cork was bouncing back and forth between her heart and her throat.
Wool socks touching down to the floor, first the tips of her toes, sinking to her heels, and she reached to take his e-reader from the coffee table. Flashing him was one thing. Spilling her soul out was entirely another.
He waited. Quietly, watching, trusting.
Powering on the e-reader, she glared as she decided which one would strike a note for him. The dialog in her paranormal series was snappy, the action scenes pretty edgy—if she said so herself—but the steamy scenes were… well… something about in for a penny.
Choice made, she typed in her pen name and downloaded her free-first-in-series. Without a word, she extended the e-reader back to him.
Alexei waited, a curious gleam in his smile as he sat up and reached to take it.
She bit her lip as she slowly handed it across.
He slid the e-reader from her hands, seeming to know how much of herself she was sharing. Something in his look, his lips slightly parted in a subtle, open-mouth smile, his eyes on her as he accepted the book, and she knew it would be okay.
Releasing it into his hands, she bit her lips together and leaned back to her corner of the sofa. “Not a word,” she said.
“Never,” he promised, his grin sweetly wicked as he looked down at the page, the genre obvious from the cover.
Refusing to look in his direction while he read, she wished she had those blinders like horses wore, so she could only look forward. Fingers on the keys, she glared at the black on white of the page. Hmm. If the werewolf could accept that her lover trusted her with his whole heart, maybe she could find the courage to trust him with hers…
Yeah. That was it. The words began to flow onto the page.