Page 42 of Alive and Kicking
“You okay?” Cain asks Sloane.
My brows raise, unsure why Cain is asking him that. And Sloane’s eyes land on me before looking away quickly. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
Cain’s lips purse but he doesn’t argue with Sloane’s obvious dismissal. I don’t butt in either, because whatever it is, Sloane obviously doesn’t want me to know about it. “Okay, lets head back.” Cain looks around once more to be sure we’ve gotten everything taken care of.
“Can we get ice cream?” I ask, following after them.
“I don’t know how you could even stomach food right now,” Sloane says as he pulls me into his side.
“Ice cream doesn’t count as food. That’s why there’s always room for ice cream after a big meal,” I tell him firmly.
Sloane laughs, shaking his head at me. “It’s too late to get ice cream anyway.”
A disappointed sigh is my only answer to that. I’d forgotten that it was so late. Sloane opens the passenger door for me, making sure I’m all the way in before closing it, then Cain pulls out of the parking lot. When we’re closer to the house, he pulls into the parking lot of a twenty-four-hour fast food chain, and at the drive-thru window he only asks for one thing. An ice cream cone.
Damn, maybe I should decide to marry Cain… He can be sweet sometimes. When he hands me the cone, I grin at him, and before I can think twice about it I lean in and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Thank you.”
I’m not sure if it’s just the neon lights as we pull away from the drive-thru lane, but I’m pretty sure Cain is blushing as he mumbles out a reply to my thanks that I don’t quite catch. We get back to the house when I’m halfway done with my ice cream, and when I walk through the door Zane stops petting Psycho just to pout at me before turning narrowed eyes on the guys. “You never take me out for ice cream after a kill!”
“You’re not as cute as she is,” Nox tells him without an ounce of guilt in his voice. Not that it’s his fault because he wasn’t even there.
“True,” Zane agrees easily before throwing his hand up into the air. “I call helping Viv scrub her back in the shower!”
He’s so sweet, I hold out my ice cream cone so he can take a lick. He does and then spins me around to hold me with my back pressed against his chest. I lick my ice cream again before holding it out for Zane to take another lick. Sloane watches with his arms crossed. “That’s not really fair. If you shower with her nobody else can join. I think it’s more fair if Nox and I help Viv shower.”
My eyes slowly track to Zane. His teeth grit together and then he says something that shocks the hell out of me. “Nox can shower with Viv and me.”
I gape at him.
Sloane gapes at him.
Cain gapes at him.
I’m pretty sure the next door neighbor sits up in their bed just to gape in his general direction.
Nox however, just stands there like something monumental hasn’t just happened. “You’ll let Nox shower with you.”
Zane holds his hands up in the air like he’s warding off a persistent sales lady at the make-up store. “Don’t make it sound like that. Nox will shower with Viv while I just happen to also be showering with Viv.”
“But he’ll see you naked.” Cain speaks up finally, dragging himself out of his stupor.
My eyes swing back just in time to see Zane roll his. “Let’s not be juvenile. Nox is a boy to. It won’t even be the first time tonight that he’s seen someone else’s penis.” He pauses to pout at Nox. “I know you had a better view than I did earlier.”
“Come on. We can use my bathroom,” Nox offers.
“Hold the fuck up,” Sloane demands. “How come Nox can see you naked but we can’t?”
I glance at Zane over my shoulder. “Are you sure they’re not interested in sword crossing? They seem very jealous,” I whisper.
Zane laughs before nuzzling into my neck. Then the jerk leans forward and steals the last bite of my cone. “Nox has seen my scars plenty of times. Plus, he’s got cameras everywhere. I’m sure he’s developed quite the spank bank featuring Viv and me.”
Sloane and Cain don’t say anything to that. It’s probably because Zane is answering them seriously. Or well… seriously for him.
Zane pushes me toward Nox. “You two go get started, I’ll go grab us some clothes to change into.” He heads off toward the stairs.
A warm hand presses into mine and I look up at Nox as tingles race up and down my spine in anticipation. I’ve read a bunch of why choose books now and I have a back log of positions I want to try out.
Nox takes me back to the bathroom next to his room, and as soon as the door is closed I pull him in for a kiss. It’s soft and tentative at first as I slip my hands under his shirt to push it up his body.
