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“Shouldn’tIring the doorbell?” Lucius asks, staying me with a large firm grip on my shoulder.
I bite off several sharp words at myself, for being so preoccupied I forgot the most basic fucking rule, and I step behind my brother but stop at the base of the steps to her porch, at least ten feet from her door, while he goes all the way.
The loud doorbell echoes through the big old Victorian-style villa she bargained for in her contract with Jack, coming right back to us through the large open windows.
“Coming,” she calls from somewhere deep inside the house.
I run my hands over my hair, brush at my T-shirt, wipe my palms down my jeans, and take a deep breath.
The door opens, and Kira steps onto the porch.
“Fuck.” I automatically take a step back. Then another, for a bigger safety margin, because if a single hair on this beautiful woman’s head is harmed, I could slaughter this whole fucking town with my rage.
Her sundress is made of such a thin, floaty fabric, it’s practically translucent. There’s only a slight breeze, but it’s enough to blow the light material into her, defining every curve beneath it. I want to cover my brother’s eyes, so he can’t see her too, but when I glance at him, he’s on his way back toward me.
He gestures to his face, makes a goofy expression, and then points to me. “You need to fix whatever that shit is before the little one—”
“Quin.” Curty rushes past Kira and launches himself off the porch, at me.
I catch him and swing him away from the house, before pulling him into a hug. “Hey, little man. I was going to ask if you’re excited, but that seems kind of pointless after you flew at me like that. I’m surprised it took you so long, to get out the door.”
“Mom said I had to finish picking up my Lego first.”
“Did she, now?” I glance back at Kira and smile. “And did you do as she said?”
Curty scrunches his nose. “Mostly?”
I utter a soft laugh and set him back on the ground. “Best you go finish the job, then.”
“But—”
“Nope,” I say firmly. “If you do a job, you do it properly. Go take care of your responsibilities. I’ll see this tree of yours when you’re done, and not a moment before. Go on.” I gesture for him to head back inside, and he obeys with his head hanging low.
“Mom’s word is the law, kid,” I call after him. “Follow it, and she’ll continue feeding you while keeping you up to your eyeballs in Lego. Half-ass it, and you’ll see her scary side.”
Curty giggles. “She doesn’t really have one.”
Kira’s eyes grow wide, and she throws her arms up, like a monster and chases him back inside while he shrieks.
Lucius shoves me in the shoulder. “Your face is doing that gooey love-love thing again.”
I lose my dopey grin, shake him off, and walk away. “They weren’t looking. I’ll get a fucking handle on it when they do. I know what I’m doing.”
“Are you sure?” He follows me like a shadow when I move toward the side of the house, hoping to get a glimpse of the back yard I haven’t seen.
“It’s a big yard. We’ll be fine.” I turn back, to see Loosh with his arms folded over his broad chest and a look of disbelief on his face.
“I won’t even go inside,” I say, looking back toward the big house and adjoining garage. “So, as long as I can see ten feet in every direction out here, I’ll be fine.”
“What if you need to take a piss?”
I squint at him. “We’re outside. I can pee anywhere the fuck I want.”
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Kira says from the porch. “My kid has to play out here, ya know.”
My face flushes with heat, and I lower my gaze. “I didn’t mean I would. I was only…” I gesture at Loosh, who’s laughing silently.
“There’s a bathroom in the garage you can use without worrying about anyone going near you,” she says, as Curty skips back down the steps.
