He glowers at me. “I’m not sweet.”
I slink over to him, trailing one finger up his chest. His heart thuds underneath it as I wink. “Sure you’re not, teddy bear.”
The temperature seems to go up a few degrees as our eyes lock, the ringing of the doorbell pulling us out of our sexy staring contest.
“To be continued.” His voice comes out in a low rumble.
“I’ll hold you to that,” I say, all my thoughts of manicures are quickly replaced by the prospect of his strong hands giving me a very thorough full-body massage.
In the hallway, I find that Luca has already answered the door, guiding the Stellas inside. Naturally, they’re all wearing the same matching Stella House pink robe as I am.
Delilah balances what looks like a tower of three boxes of cheesecakes in her arms. Her dark curls are piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she’s wearing loose harem pants with cute little cupcakes on them.
Drax rushes to help her. “Let me take those from you.”
Delilah smiles gratefully. “I baked a few extra so Sabs won’t have to share hers. I know she’s very possessive about her cheesecake.”
“I managed to get a forkful the other night,” Drax declares proudly.
“Oh, really?” Kady arches one eyebrow. “It sounds like things are going well, then.”
“I’ll leave Sabs to show you around,” Luca says. “We’ll finish getting things straightened up in the kitchen.”
“They seem to be making a real effort.” Faye nods in admiration as my guys file away.
“They told me to stay in the nest while they got everything ready for tonight.” I grin, savoring the pride and gratitude flooding through me. “I’d have been happy with a bowl of popcorn and a movie, but who am I to disappoint four sexy alphas who want to dote on me?”
“As they should,” Kady responds in approval. “You deserve to be spoiled.”
Underneath her robe, Kady’s wearing red and baby-pink-striped button-down pajamas and is clutching her laptop case in her right hand.
“You brought your laptop to a party?” I shake my head in horror. “You need to learn to unplug.”
“I know, I know.” She rolls her eyes. “But I promised Devon I’d have a quick look over his column before it goes live. It’ll take five minutes, I promise. I would have done it earlier, but…” Her pale cheeks flush.
I wag my finger at her. “Are you saying you’re behind on a deadline?”
“N-no!” she flounders. “I’ve just been a little… busy.”
Delilah snorts, and Faye giggles behind her hands. Seeing Kady flustered is always comical because she’s the most organized person ever—well, usually.
“Too busy getting knotted to complete your work on time?” I raise my hands. “No judgment here. I love that for you.”
“No one said anything about knotting.” She presses her lips together while obviously fighting the urge to grin.
“Whether there was knotting or not, you don’t need a face mask with that glow you’ve got going on.” I point at her face.
“Speaking of face masks…” Faye holds up a basket with pots containing what look like mashed-up green fruit. “I made some fresh today. The avocado one is incredible.”
Delilah peers at the jar. “It looks like it’d make a good nacho dip.”
I snort and splay my hands. “Welcome to the Strike Pack mansion!”
“I never knew this place existed.” Kady’s gaze ping-pongs around the entryway, studying some of the trophies before eyeing the fox statue with curiosity. “It’s very… interesting.”
“This guy is basically our house pet.” I pat Fred’s bronze head. “It needs a few more homey touches, but I’ll give it the Sabs sparkle in no time.” I eye the faded hockey trophy. “Unfortunately, all the hockey memorabilia has to stay.”
The girls “ooh” and “aah” at various sights as we head through the house. In the living room, the guys have finished setting up, including a snack cart stuffed with popcorn, pretzels, and an assortment of candies.
