Page 29 of Thick as Thieves
“You don’t have to worry about it, about him. He’s all in, Kitten. I love how he is now, with you. So happy.” My voice is gentle, but confident. She needs to know how in love he is.
Changing the subject again, she asks, “So what are you getting him? What has he asked for? What does he usually ask for? And what do you usually ask for? Is it the same things each year or different things?”
“Wow. Questions, questions, Kitten.”
I’m stalling, but she sits waiting for an answer, so I shrug. “Samey,” I hedge.
“You’re being very cagey all of a sudden, Xan.” She narrows her eyes at me. “Is it other women?”
Her voice wobbles and I instantly look at her and shake my head vehemently. “No, definitely not. No way. No.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
I shake my head again. Fuck. I want to. I get this urge to tell her, just fucking tell her, but I don’t. I sit, staring at her, with no words.
She shakes her head at me with a small smile. “Have your secrets. I’ll let you for now.”
I smile as she says it, long and slow, deepening her voice as she does. She pushes at me and I grasp her around her neck and pull her to me.
“You smell good enough to eat,” I tell her, breathing in her scent.
“It’s this new body wash. Do you like it? More flowery, found it in Brazil. We’re going to export to the UK. Well, I’m going to try anyway. All organic plants. It’s just, not sure how green it’ll be by the time we get it in the UK. But we can try.” She’s sniffing at her skin.
I kiss her temple, and she rests her head on my shoulder. I move my hands down to touch the skin on her bare shoulders and onto her back, moving my thumbs in circles, feeling her soft skin and spreading her scent further around the room. Fuck. My brain is stuttering. Do not touch, don’t fucking do it.
“Xander,” she starts quietly, tentatively, “the other week when you fell asleep on me, when Kellen came in, and?—”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Betty says primly as she walks into the room, not looking sorry at all.
Evie doesn’t move, nor do I. She can fucking deal, the nosey bitch.
“The boys are asleep. Did you get some nice clothes?” Evie asks, ever polite.
“Yes, I’ll just put them away and wait for the twins to rise.” She looks pointedly at us both. With Evie virtually in my lap in not many clothes, I feel the sneer rather than see it. I look at Evie, who’s regarding her back.
“I’ll never move if she comes in. Don’t ever let me, Xan. I won’t apologise for who we are, how we are as a family.” Determination rings in her voice.
“You don’t have to, Kitten, you should never have to. Fuck her, fuck everyone.”
She laughs. “You two are so funny. Zero fucks, whilst everyone else is crippled by comments, or lack of comments, or even likes.” She smiles up at me. “Don’t change, Xander. And make sure Kell doesn’t either.”
I reply quietly, “I promise,” and look into her eyes. I’m not smiling now, I bend my head down and put my lips gently on hers. She closes her eyes and I ease my lips off hers infinitesimally, letting my tongue move to touch her lips in the gentlest of licks. It may as well have been a thunderbolt to my heart, it has the same effect.
“Oh my God,” I hear Betty yell out behind us.
We move away from each other slowly, and Evie touches my face.
“No changes,” she whispers, and stands up, looking at Betty.
“Ready to get the boys up?” She’s all business, smiling at the intruding woman. “They’re getting into this routine. Shame we’ll be going home in a few days and have to start all over again. The issues of jet-setting babies.” She continues to smile at the woman, who stands there, staring open-mouthed at Evie and then incredulously looking at me.
I grin and sit back on the settee. “Fetch me my boys, woman,” I shout at Evie. Fuck everyone, might as well muddy the waters a bit for the lovely Betty.
True to her word,Evie’s heading back to the UK, and I’m literally crying at the hotel. Marcus is kissing his babies, he can’t put them down, and he keeps asking her not to leave.
“Honestly, you’re both terrible.” She wipes under my eyes, kissing me on the lips and then goes and hugs and kisses Marcus. “You’ll be back in a week or so for Scotland. I’ll see you up there. Tarron asked me to bring the twins, so we’ll all be there for you.”
“I don’t want you to go.” Kell’s whining, his bottom lip practically dragging on the floor. He’s hanging onto Sorley, while I’ve got Lochi. “If we hang onto these two, you can’t go,” he tells her.
