“Goodness, Haven. I’m your mother. Is this really necessary?”
“Sorry, Mom. I’m almost done,” she says, and then looks at me. “What are you waiting for?” she whispers, gesturing toward the open window.
“We’re on the second floor.”
“Well, you’re a dragon shifter, right? Just use your wings.”
“I can’t just grow wings. It doesn’t work like that,” I growl back.
She sticks her head out the window and looks down, as if to verify that we’re actually on the second floor. “The drop doesn’t look that bad. And there’s snow down there to cushion your fall.”
I scrub a hand down my face and then climb through the open window, feet first. I’m about to slide the rest of the way through when she drops a quick kiss on my mouth.
“Thanks for checking up on me,” she says, a smile on her face, both dimples visible.
My blood immediately starts to heat. “Anytime,” I say, meaning it.
“I’ll bet,” she says with a giggle. “Now get out of here.”
She yanks the curtains shut behind me, hiding the open window from view, but I’m still leaving an obvious bulge in the heavy fabric.
Scooting out the window, I have to flip mid-way through so I can grasp the window ledge. I’m almost all the way out when I hear the door open and her mom ask, “Are you okay? You’re all flushed.”
“I’m just, um, still hot from my shower.”
I have to hold in a snort as I lower myself, dangling by my hands out the window. I glance down the best I can from this position, knowing that even with the snow to break my fall, this is going to hurt.
I’m about to let go when I hear, “Now that we’re alone, I just wanted to check and make sure everything went okay with Becks the last couple weeks.”
Keeping my grip on the windowsill, I strain to hear Haven’s response.
“I’m still alive, so I’d say it went all right,” she answers with a light laugh.
“Yes, of course, and for that we’re very grateful to him, but you spent a lot of time with him . . . alone.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Well, your dad and I just wanted to make sure that everything, you know, went all right.”
“No, I don’t know,” Haven says, clearly not picking up on the subtext like I am.
“We know you’re an adult, but it’s just that we also know you don’t have much experience with boys, and to suddenly spend that much time, alone, with a very handsome one. I realize we were in a life and death situation, but we’re just concerned?—”
“Mom, stop, please,” Haven says, sounding absolutely mortified. “Everything with Becks went fine. Completely appropriate. He saved my life a couple of times, and those are pretty much the only notable incidents. Nothing to rehash. Can we please be done with this conversation?”
I bite back a laugh, shaking my head. Completely appropriate, huh?
Pretty sure kissing me senseless in the snow doesn’t qualify. Neither does the amount of times I walked around shirtless to watch her squirm, or the night we had to share a bed in the motel—though to be fair, up until tonight I was completely hands off. Mostly. But if her parents knew, I’m not sure they would give me points for that.
“Are you sure there isn’t anything you want to talk about?” her mom asks.
“Yep, positive.”
“All right, but I want you to know your dad and I are here in case you change your mind.”
“Okay, Mom, but not going to happen. Thanks anyway. Was that all?”
There’s a short pause, then, “I also wanted to talk to you about your sister, but it’s glacial in here.”
