Page 63 of How to Flirt with a Hellhound
When we were done, I shut the shower off and dried us off. He stayed huddled into me, which made it slightly difficult, but I wanted him to stay exactly where he was—pressed against me.
When we were dry enough, I carried him into the bedroom and lay on the bed with him, wrapping him in my arms and nuzzling into his neck. Our hands traced over each other’s bodies, and we just touched and lay together, breathing and calming down.
I don’t know how much time passed, but eventually I heard the sound of a car coming towards the house. I almost tensed, but I could hear the music as well, and I knew it was Jude and Corbin. No one else would be blasting The Beatles coming up the driveway.
The music shut off, and I heard two car doors slam.
“Dex,” I heard Jude call out.
I sighed, and Toby lifted his head to look at me.
“Are you ok?” I asked him.
“Are your brothers here?” he asked. He must have heard the car doors as well.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“You need to go talk to them and find out what’s going on,” Toby told me. “It isn’t really over. That guy is in your basement. And I don’t wanna know what you do to him, but I wanna know when he’s taken care of. And I need to call Amy to know that she’s safe, too.”
“Can Jude and Corbin sit with you? I don’t want you alone,” I commented, kissing his forehead. I smelled a pleased, happy smell from him, and it was a welcome scent after his fear.
“Yeah. But maybe we can get dressed and meet them downstairs?” Toby suggested.
“Yes. And you need to eat,” I added. Humans could go into shock, and I should’ve fed Toby and gotten him some hydration before now.
“Yeah. I’m ok, but I do still feel shaky from the adrenaline, and you’re right that some food will help,” he agreed.
We got up and dressed, heading downstairs to meet Corbin and Jude. They had let themselves in, and Corbin was already at the stove cooking. Jude was out on the front porch, waiting to talk to me, I was sure.
I pulled Toby in for a hug and gave him another kiss on the forehead.
“I love you, Dex,” he said, hugging me tightly.
I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I had never had anyone tell me that before. I had never said it, either, but somehow the words flowed easily off my tongue. “I love you too, Toby. More than life itself.”
He smiled and nodded against me, then he gave my butt a playful swat and pulled away, putting on a smile as he turned toface Corbin. “Thank god you’re cooking, because I suck at it,” he joked.
Corbin looked over and smiled, and a crow flew down from who knew where and left a shiny, smooth pebble on the kitchen island in front of Toby, hopping back and forth on the island. Toby looked enchanted by the gift, and he sat down, watching the crow.
“I get shit on, and he gets pretty pebbles,” I muttered.
Toby laughed, and I walked over to kiss him again before I headed toward the front door. “I’ll be right next door. You just yell if you need me,” I said, and Toby nodded and smiled at me.
I turned and walked away, and I had to fight down my flames. Just thinking about that fucker…
“Whoa there, killer,” Jude joked when I got to the front porch. He talked quietly enough that Toby wouldn’t be able to hear us.
“Is he dead?” I ground out.
“He’s in the basement with Atlas. He was waiting on you,” Jude commented. “Did you check your texts?” he asked.
“No. We were sleeping, then he shot me in the head,” I added.
“Too slow to duck, old man?” Jude joked.
“I was afraid the bullet would hit Toby,” I answered, and Jude sobered instantly at that.
“Yeah, well, one of the guys was evil but not our guy, and Corbin took care of him while I checked out the others. The second guy was an innocent, so I left him alone, and the third guy was in the wind, which was what I texted to let you know. I’m assuming that’s our guy who is currently being held downstairs.”
