AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I came down here to get away from students. If one more tries to get me to check their study guide outside of my office hours, I’ll throw them out the window no matter how short the skirt they’re wearing is.” My lip curls as I think about the girl who came into my classroom.
Nox cringes. “Someone trying to proposition you?”
Viv’s eyes swing to me, and she blinks up at me innocently. “Oh, that’s just fine. Want to give me her name? It’s been forever since I’ve had an excuse for some light maiming.”
Zane laughs, pressing his nose into her hair and winking at me. “That might be going a little far,” Nox says softly.
Zane pouts at him. “Don’t discourage her. I haven’t gotten the chance to see Enzo’s teaching in use.”
Viv grins up at him like being excited to watch someone torture a person is adorable. I can’t even really disagree with him since it’s something I would be interested in seeing too. “It’s not that big of a deal. I think she got the hint that it’s not going to happen.” My nose scrunches up at the memory of her eyes on me.
Viv sighs in disappointment. “Just try not to be alone with her again. You don’t want to deal with her claiming something happened when it didn’t.”
Nox nods at that and I frown, not liking the idea. While it’s true that if she claimed something happened, it would be her word against mine, and while uncommon, false allegations could ruin someone’slife. “I’ll be more careful to avoid situations like that in the future.” I nod my head at her and pick up my cup. “I’ve got a class in twenty more minutes, so I’ll see you guys later.”
I tip my cup toward them before I head out of the door. I’ve known the guys for a while and I’ve gotten comfortable around them. Having Viv join in on things should feel awkward, but for some reason, talking with her feels as natural as talking with the others, but I’m still having a hard time letting her in. Although this time I managed not to say anything rude or infuriating to her, so that’s a win. I’m going to need to work harder if Zane’s plan is ever going to come true. I shouldn’t want this, but I do. She’s eleven years younger than me and that in and of itself should be enough of a deterrent to stay away from her, but staying away is getting harder and harder every day.
Viviana
“This is really all you have?” Sloane asks as I pull my duffel bag out of my back seat.
I nod, patting the bag as I sling it over my shoulder. “Yep. I didn’t take much when I left. Just clothes and some weapons.”
Zane snickers. “Some? Pretty sure you’ve got a whole arsenal in there.”
I reward that slightly accurate observation with a pout. Nox shakes his head at us and walks over to me, holding his hand out. Two keys dangle from his fingertip, and I take them from him with a gentle smile. “The bigger one is to the front door of the house and the smaller is for the private entrance to the upstairs apartment.” He points to a door off to the side of the house that we can barely see from the driveway.
My arms shoot out as I drag Nox in for a hung. “Thank you. I really appreciate you letting me stay here.”
Nox’s arms wind around my waist as he pulls me in tightly against him. One palm presses between my shoulder blades and I lean my head back to grin at him before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips. It’s short and sweet. Zane slightly ruins the moment by audiblyawe-ing in the background. Nox’s cheeks turn pink when I pull away and I give him a shy smile.
“Okay. Enough with the PDA. Let’s get this done with. I’m hungry,” Cain grouches from where he’s leaning against the side of the house.
Nox rolls his eyes, and I have to suppress a giggle. “Come on. After you get unpacked, you can help me with dinner, if you want.”
A broad smile stretches across my face. “I’d love that.”
His arms fall away and he pats my ass with a smirk. “Get on with it. I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re done.”
My lips are still in the form of a smallofrom his act of confidence as I give him a small nod. Hurrying to the private door, I rush into the house and up the wooden staircase to the apartment upstairs. It’s the same as I remember it from last time, though I think someone came through and tidied that place up.
It only takes me thirty minutes to unpack my duffel and stash some weapons around the apartment. It’s only a third of what I have thought since I plan to stash some around the guy’s living spaces too. You can never be too careful or prepared. That was one of the first lessons Enzo taught me.
Ifind Nox in the kitchen where he said he would be. He’s got a bunch of ingredients spread across the island as he waits for me. He gives me a soft smile when I come into the kitchen through the same door he took me through to show me the apartment in the first place. “What are we making?” I ask, looking at the items set out.
He grins at me. “We’re making pizza,” he says, pulling a bag of flour toward him.
I take a tentative step toward him and he points over to the sink. “First step of cooking is to always wash your hands.”
I do so, washing my hands thoroughly in the sink as Nox organizes some of the ingredients around him. When I finish and dry off my hands, I watch as Nox pulls a large tan circular disk out and placesit in the oven and sets it at five-hundred degrees before he comes back over to me.
He hands me a whisk and pushes a bowl toward me. He adds warm water, yeast and sugar to the bowl and I mix it together well until everything is dissolved. “Now we let that rest for five minutes.”
I watch as Nox starts to slice a hunk of pepperoni into small rounds. After I’ve watched him do it for a while, he offers to let me try and I accept. Being experienced with knives helps, since I’m confident in my abilities with a blade and I easily fall into the rhythm of slicing the meat. Nox grabs another cutting board and starts cutting mushrooms and heats a pan to sauté the sausage.
I’m completely in the swing of things as he teaches me how to roll out the dough into a large circle with cornmeal. Apparently, it gives the crust a good flavor and makes it crispier or something. Once the dough is rolled out into as close to a perfect circle as we can get it, he grabs a small jar of tomato sauce. “Usually, I make my own sauce, but I’ve been meaning to try this one.” He pops the top open and hands me a spoon. I stare at him until he grins. “We’ve got to put this on the crust before the cheese.”
I nod my head in understanding, already having come to that conclusion. I spoon some out into the middle of the dough and try to coat it as evenly as possible. I add a bit more sauce before setting the jar aside.
