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I was expecting something short, friendly, but he held his lips there, like he wanted to continue, but wasn’t sure.

I opened my lips a little.

He dipped in again for a kiss, a little deeper, drawing me in.

I tried to want it, and I did, but my head wasn’t clear. I knew he was trying to distract me. He wanted to make me feel better.

I hated that I was concerned about Luke and not completely mindful of Nathan in this moment. I breathed in his leather scent. My mind pictured his handsome jawline and this blue eyes, even after I’d closed my eyes.

Still, in the back of my head, I couldn’t enjoy his kiss if someone else on the team was upset. I appreciated Nathan so much, but I couldn’t help my concern.

The sound of the back sliding door opening startled me, breaking us apart. I had a horrible feeling it was Nathan’s dad, or worse: Volto.

Nathan looked over my shoulder toward the back porch. “Gabriel?”

I spun around to see Gabriel leaning out the door. Still in jeans and the bright orange tank shirt. His blond locks framed his face, with the russet brushed back neatly. He put a long lean arm out and waved frantically, signaling us to get closer.

Nathan sighed, took my hand and guided me around the pool.

Once we were close, Gabriel spoke, his voice low through clenched teeth. He was glaring at Nathan. “Are you crazy?”

“What?” Nathan asked.

“Kota’s in the kitchen. You’re lucky I was in there playing video games. He could have seen you.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “So?”

Gabriel frowned and then looked at me. “Fucking shit, that hoodie is horrible.”

“She’s fine,” Nathan said. “Stop picking on her clothes.”

Gabriel’s crystal eyes flashed at Nathan. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you snapping at me?”

We could have said the same thing to Gabriel. Nathan started an eye roll but then rocked back on his heels quickly, looking at the ground. “Luke,” he said.

Gabriel straightened and his lips curved downward. “Thought he was up to something. He’s been acting funny.”

“Could be just Academy stuff,” Nathan said. “Long story.”

Gabriel stepped aside and curled his fingers at us. “Get in here. Explain it to Kota. Let me go through Sang’s clothes with her. That closet is looking a mess again.”

I didn’t particularly want to go through clothes, but I was grateful for a moment to think. Knowing Gabriel, he would go through the clothes on his own while I sat on the bed and watched.

Kota was in the kitchen, wiping off counters with a sponge, sweeping crumbs into his palm.

“You don’t have to clean,” Nathan said, going in and straightening some stuff on the counter, moving used mugs and spoons into the sink. “I was going to hit it tonight before going to bed.”

Kota shrugged. “I was just doing a little here and there. Couldn’t sit still.” He still wore the green sweater, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he worked. He rinsed the sponge in the sink, flushing the crumbs down the drain. He looked up, caught me watching, his green eyes brightening. “Any luck?”

I offered a sympathetic smile but shook my head. “Road block.”

“Come on, Sang,” Gabriel said. He grabbed my elbow and tugged, catching more sweatshirt than elbow. “Nathan can tell him. Let’s get you into something that doesn’t make you look like you’re wearing a tarp.”

I grimaced at Kota and he shared a tight, sympathetic smile. I could have protested, but Gabriel seemed to need some down time.

We walked into the hallway as Nathan started talking to Kota, telling him about leaving the diner. I didn’t hear much before I was in Nathan’s bedroom and Gabriel had closed the door behind us.

The room was actually cleaner than I remembered from that morning. The CDs on the dresser had been straightened, alphabetized. It looked freshly dusted. The laundry basket was missing, and as I listened, I heard a dryer running. How long had Kota been over here?

I immediately crawled onto the freshly made bed, finding a pillow, and sinking my head into it. My face still felt a little cold after being outside. I rubbed at my nose, and then took the pillow and put it over my face just to warm it.

I heard a gentle click as Gabriel locked the door. This wasn’t unusual when Gabriel had me trying on clothes and didn’t want the guys walking in when I might be undressed.

The bed shifted as he climbed onto it, and then walked over me on his hands and knees, until he was hovering above me. I could see a little of him from under the pillow. He lowered his head until his lips pressed to my shoulder, lightly kissing it through the black cloth, and then brushing his cheek against it. The coarse hairs on his jaw snagged the cotton material. “Trouble,” he said softly. “Sweetheart…”

I swallowed, feeling strangely emotional at his words. I turned slightly, pushing the pillow aside. It fell to the floor as I reached for him.

He settled in beside me, and wrapped his arms around my body, pulling me close. I snuggled into him, relaxing. He smelled faintly of roses.

He kissed my forehead and then kept his face pressed against my skin. “What happened?” he finally asked.

I didn’t know what to say. There was too much going on for me to sort through.

I couldn’t keep it to myself, though, and I didn’t want to keep secrets.

“Meanie,” I said, my face pressed into his chest, the ribs of his tank shirt making lines against my skin. “Do you think Luke’s not…not into the thing we learned about?”

He rubbed my back with his warm palm. “I don’t know.” He was quiet for a long moment. “Is Nathan? I thought he was, but then the way he…outside. Or am I reading into it too much?”

I backed up a bit so I could look at him. His crystal eyes fluttered open, the dark lashes striking beside the light blue color. He did have pretty lashes. “I don’t know where anyone is with this. And it’s making me paranoid.”

“No shit,” he said. “I thought I’d have a heart attack if Kota had seen that. He doesn’t know yet, but North wanted to talk to him, and he’s waiting for something. I guess Mr. Blackbourne told him not to talk to anyone without him, and to not even start unless something significant happened. We jumped the gun on learning about it. We weren’t supposed to yet according to their plan.”

I groaned, tilting my head back and rolling it a bit back to put some space between us. I wanted to be able to look at him and not hurt my eyes with him so close.

Gabriel reached for the pillow that had fallen and picked it up, flattening it out and offering it to me. He and I stretched out on one side of the bed to share it.

I studied his face, noting the orange crystal studs in his ears. “Maybe we did learn about it too soon,” I said.

“We can’t help it now,” Gabriel said. “It’s not going to do us any good just wishing we’d waited. How were we supposed to know?”

“North said he wants to, but he’s hesitant, because he’s not sure if I want to.”

Gabriel reached up, taking pieces of my hair that had fallen across my cheek and pushing it back behind my ear. “This isn’t like what Lily went t

hrough. She didn’t even know until all the guys had decided. Even then, she had to be convinced that it was what they really wanted. She thought it was selfish to want it.”

“That’s how I feel,” I said, suddenly very eager to talk about my feelings, which had been weighing on me a lot. “It feels completely selfish. I don’t…I couldn’t…” I coughed as I stumbled over my words, trying to get too many syllables out at the same time and couldn’t finish the thought.

“Hey, don’t get sick on me,” he said. He covered my mouth and nose with his palm, not smothering, just covering while I coughed.

I finished but when he glared at me like he didn’t trust that I was done, I reached my tongue out, licking his palm.

“You licked it, you bought it,” he said and then wiped his hand on my sleeve.

Wanting to talk more about how I was feeling, I forced myself to be serious. “Earlier today, when we did the marker thing...”

“Yeah, I remember. You still have the heart on your ear.”

I gasped and then reached up. It must have been showing now that he’d pushed back my hair. I’d forgotten.

“I’ll let you keep that one, fucking shit girly desire to keep everything cute…”

I smiled wide now, trying not to giggle, and covered my own mouth with my fingers to hide it.

He smirked, his lips protruding out, his crystal eyes smoldering. “What were you going to say?”

I kept my fingers over my mouth, but just pulled them back a bit so I could talk. “Luke had a phone number on his arm. Some girl wrote it on him. It…I didn’t like it and he scribbled it out.”

“Then that’s a good thing,” Gabriel said. His eyebrow arched, almost disappearing behind a blond lock hanging over his forehead. “Right?”

“Well, it’s the same worry,” I said. “It’s okay for me to be jealous, but I’m asking you…and him, and the others not to act the same way?”

Gabriel sighed, and did a partial shrug since he was on his side. “I don’t think it’s like that. I’m still jealous. A little.”

I pulled my hand away from my face, letting him see my pout. “But I don’t want anyone to be.”

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