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I rock back on my heels and roll my eyes. “Chill out, Daddy St. James. You're still the alpha here. But seeing as Bingo is a rather new obsession for him, I thought I'd save you a trip if he wanted him too. And pants, please. And my phone. Oh, and maybe a sweatshirt.”
His gaze travels along my face, down my neck, and over my chest to settle on my very clearly hard nipples. “Clearly.”
I almost hate how my body betrays me under his attention. They harden further, and I resist the urge to cross my arms to hide them. I'm not ashamed of my body's response, and if he would just stop looking at my tits like that, they would stop aching for him.
“Hey it's not my fault you keep it at the arctic setting down here.” As far as clapbacks go, it wasn't my best. But to be fair, it's like three o'clock in the morning.
“Maybe you should sleep with more clothes on then,” he says, though it sounds more like a grunt.
“I can't sleep with pants on. I don't like the way the fabric tangles around my legs,” I say, shifting my weight. “Also, you're literally shirtless right now, so I don't really feel like you have any room to talk about nipples.”
He steps into me, his hand covering my mouth so quickly I don't have time to react. “Will you keep it down? That filthy mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble.”
I grin behind his hand, swiping my tongue out to flick against the base of his finger. I expected him to pull away, but he only grunts. We're on the other side of the basement, I'm not worried about Hunter overhearing us.
“Oh good. You're already down here. I brought my emergency kit,” Dixie yells from the top of the basement stairs.
Silas stares at me like he's trying to communicate something, but whatever it is, it's lost on me. I don't understand his quiet demands yet.
“I've got my own emergency kit, Ma. You didn't need to bring it,” Silas yells over his shoulder, never tearing his gaze from me.
He drags his hand from my mouth, his fingers lingering on my lips too long to be anything but intentional. My breath picks up inside my chest, and now I'm the one silently communicating to him. I don't know what I'm saying exactly, but I'm certainly feeling all sorts of things.
“Everything okay, sweetheart?” Nova asks, standing behind Dixie.
“Everything is fine,” Silas snaps.
I move to the side, and it's like the movement snaps Silas from whatever trance he was in. He spins on his heel and jogs up the stairs.
I switch my gaze to Dixie. “Need any help?”
“I'm fine, honey. How's my grandson?” she says, moving down the stairs slowly, one arm in a sling and the other on the handrail.
“He's a little freaked out, but he's okay,” I murmur, waiting for them on the bottom stair.
The three of us walk together back to the rec room, where Hunter looks half asleep, still snuggled up in a fluffy blanket. Dixie sits on one side, tugging Hunter into the open space underneath her good arm.
As I go to sit on Hunter's other side, Nova slides in first, causing me to land on his lap. He wraps his hands around my waist immediately, and my sleep tee rises a little. I'm not about to flash his mom and his nephew, so I wiggle in his lap to shimmy the fabric down.
His hands fly to my thighs, holding me still. “Stop moving like that, sweetheart, or the power outage is going to be the least of our worries.”
I turn my head away to hide the smirk forming. “Are you flirting with me during a tornado warning?” I keep my voice low, angled away from Hunter and Dixie.
“You love it,” he murmurs against my hair, his nose dragging down the curve of my neck.
I hum, nodding a few times and leaning back into him.
Dixie whispers soothing words to Hunter as he asks for his bunny again, and Nova checks his phone a few times. But with every minute that passes without Silas and Bane, my unease grows.
The air conditioning continues to pour over me in a steady wave, goosebumps taking permanent residence.
Finally, when I can't take any more air or waiting, I slide off of Nova's lap. “I'll be right back.”
“I'll come with you,” Nova says instantly, moving to stand.
I set my hand on his shoulder, halting his movement. “No, stay, I'm just running up to my room to grab something quick. I'll be right back.”
“Can you get Bingo, Eve?” Hunter asks, his arms wrapped tight around Dixie's free arm in a sort of hug.
