But all she could think about…
His teeth grazed her lower lip before biting down, just enough to make her gasp, while his fingers pinched around her nipple.
She squeaked, high and breathless.
Stars above.
Shesawwhat was coming next—feltit unfurling in her mind's eye like a prophecy etched in heat—and the anticipation alone nearly tipped her over the edge.
“Aimee,” Kazuma panted into her mouth, the syllables torn from his throat like they hurt to say.
“Miss Aimee!”
The other voice shattered the spell like a hammer through glass.
She froze.
“Miss Aimee!!” the boy called again from outside, more insistent this time.
Kazuma groaned like someone had stabbed him, a mix between a snarl and a sigh as he dropped his forehead to hers.
“It’s going to be something sharper than a pipe next time, squirt,” he growled at the window.
“You wouldn’tdare!” Shinka’s voice shot back.
Aimee’s eyes snapped to the door as small fingers curled around the edge of the rawhide flap that served as their front door.
“Shit!”
She shoved Kazuma, rolling him off of her with enough force to send him tumbling over the side of the bed. He hit the floor with a loud grunt, limbs sprawled, hair tangled, gloriously naked.
“One second, little dude!” she yelped toward the door.
Kazuma propped himself up with one hand, rubbing the back of his head with the other.
“You’re a savage,” he muttered, just as a pair of yesterday’s pants hit him square in the face. “Hey!” he barked, peeling the clothing off his head.
“Get dressed!” she hissed, already scanning the room in a frantic sweep for her own clothes.
She bolted across the room, grabbing her loose red pants from where they’d been discarded the night before. Her head whipped back toward the door.
The flap peeled open another inch.
“I said give me aminute!” she yelped, wrenching the pants over her hips before her hands flew to the discarded leather wrap and dragged it up over her front just as the flap fully opened.
“Shinka!” she hissed as dawn filled the room, only to freeze as she registered the much taller shadow looming just behind the boy.
Aimee’s gaze shot upward, catching the tall silhouette of a woman standing at full height, holding the flap open with one hand.
“Mira!” she blurted, this time a full octave higher. “Ah—I didn’trealize you were…there.”
Her fingers scrambled to finish the knot over her sternum.
Behind her, Kazuma had already managed to get on his pants. Loose, dark fabric slung low on his hips, the tie at his waist dangling undone. He was barefoot, seated with one knee pulled up and the other stretched out across the mat, looking maddeningly unbothered. His long, ink-black hair spilled over one shoulder in silken waves, catching the morning light and framing the lean muscle carved down his pecs and stomach.
Still on the floor.
Still not moving.
