He was smitten, and not inclined to fight it.
But the doorbell rang again, and the shrill noise turned into a nagging feeling that sank into his pleasure-addled brain like a brick. “Shit,” he muttered against her lips, then pulled her even closer.
She was pliant and glowing and happy, and he’d had no intention of moving except to feed her or fuck her again. “Shit.”
“What?”
“My friends. They’re here. We had plans.”
She gave him a sleepy, wheel-spinning look. “Are you happy about that?”
“God, no.”
She smiled, and his heart leaped in his rib cage. He could do even better. He could make her fucking laugh, with some practice and lots of luck. “Could you pretend not to be home?”
“They have a set of keys.”
“I see.”
“And they’d have seen my car outside.”
“True.” She nuzzled under his chin, just as reluctant to move away. “Looks like you’re going to have to interact with them.”
He groaned in her hair, unable to let go of her, this woman who despised herself for wanting him. Had he ever felt this way before? He must have. Just couldn’t remember.
“Should I sneak out of the window?” He gave her a puzzled look, so she continued, “I have no issue with walk-of-shaming out, but maybe you do?”
“Please, don’t tie my sheets in a rope.” He extricated himself from her, and the skin of her shoulder immediately rose in tiny goose bumps. He traced them with his thumb and forced himself to say, “Just come down when you’re ready.”
“Okay.”
He got up and watched her close her eyes and stretch sinuously on the sheets, fisting his hands to his sides to prevent himself from getting back into bed. He washed up haphazardly, put on a worn flannel and a pair of jeans, and by the time he was downstairs, Minami and Sul were already on the couch, cuddling Tiny as though he were the baby they were not so secretly trying for and taking advantage of Eli’s HBO subscription.
He leaned against the doorjamb and tried for an irritated look, but Minami wouldn’t have it.
“Well, well, well. Look who’s finally up, bright eyed and bushy tailed. How was your napper, champ?” Minami grinned. Then frowned. “Since when do you nap?”
“Since never. I have someone over.”
Her eyebrow shot up. Even Sul, Mr. Mountain of Impassivity, stared wide-eyed. “In the middle of the afternoon? Or from last night?”
“What do you think?”
She pursed her lips, twice. No sound came out, twice. Sighed. “Sul, could you whistle suggestively for me? I’ve been practicing, but it’s so hard.”
Sul obeyed—quite skillfully—like the whipped lovesick idiot he was.
“Thank you, babe. So we interrupted you, Eli?”
“Yup.”
“Sad.” A pained nod. “But whose fault is it for not canceling today’s dinner in advance?”
He gave her the finger just as Hark let himself inside. “Hey.” His hair was coated in tiny droplets of rain. “Did your sister finally get a new car? High time.”
“Nope.”
“Then whose Kia is in your driveway?”
“Eli has someone over,” Minami singsonged. “He’d forgotten that he was supposed to make us risotto.”
Hark’s eyes were outraged as he held out two bottles. “Does this Verdicchio I extensively researched and bought to pair with it mean nothing to you?”
“Less than.”
“Fuck off,” he said mildly, glancing at Sul and Minami. “I’m going back to my place and ordering pizza.”
“Leave the Verdicchio,” Eli ordered.
“As I already mentioned, you can fuck right off.”
“It’s okay. I’m leaving.”
They all turned toward the new voice. Rue was coming down the stairs, one hand on the banister as she stood on the landing.
Eli’s heart thudded. His brain couldn’t compute.
After their shower, her dark hair had dried in wilder curls than he was used to. Barefoot, heavy-lidded, and with no makeup and a blue-tinted mark that Eli had definitely sucked on her throat while coming inside her, she was absolutely breathtaking. Lush and full and so deeply fucked and fuckable.
You’re not. You’re not leaving. You’re staying till I’ve had my fill, and a little past that.
But her eyes were guarded, and the silence tense. It occurred to Eli that he’d never told her that his friends would be from Harkness. And they had not expected the woman upstairs to be Rue.
Minami was the first to recover, shooting to her feet with a wide smile. “Rue! It’s lovely to meet again.”
Rue descended the stairs. “Nice to see you, too.”
Minami leaned forward to hug her—a bit of absurd comedy, considering that Rue was nearly a foot taller, and clearly unsure as to what was happening. He watched her stiffly reciprocate, debating between being amused and going to her rescue, but Minami kept the matter brief. “Don’t leave—let’s all have dinner together! It’s always the four of us. I’m bored to tears with these three.”
Eli’s muttered “wow” came at the same time as Hark’s snorted “harsh” and Sul’s stoic “we’re married, but okay.” Minami’s smile held a let’s be friends invite, but Rue seemed uneasy and replied, “I’m not sure it would be appropriate.”
The atmosphere thickened. Suddenly, the room wasn’t populated by Eli’s friends and the woman he was seeing, but by Florence’s protégé and those who sought to take over Kline. Rue against the world, out of place and alone and uncomfortable.
She often looked exactly like that, and as long as Eli had any say in it, she was never going to be made to feel that way on his watch. “If anyone’s leaving, it’s them,” he said firmly. His eyes held Rue’s, until Hark added gruffly, “Thank you, asshole. Rue, we should all have dinner together. It’s obvious that Eli wants you here. He’s the birthday boy, after all.”
“It’s your birthday?” Rue’s eyes widened. “It is your birthday,” she said, maybe recalling his driver’s license. “I . . . Happy birthday, Eli.”
His heart skipped a beat, then thumped loudly in his chest. If they’d been alone, maybe he’d have told her, Thank you, Rue. You gave me the best birthday I’ve had in a decade. Or maybe not.
“Eli doesn’t like people to acknowledge his birthday in any way,” Minami warned. “We may gather to celebrate it, but we may not admit to why we’re gathered.”
“And it doesn’t have to be weird,” Hark added gruffly. “Our counsel would advise us not to talk about anything Kline related, anyway.” Rue remained quiet, so he added, “Besides, I parked behind your Kia, and you’re going to need some crazy maneuvers to get out. Are you good at that stuff ?”
She winced. “Absolutely not.”
“Then you really need to stay. You can’t make me move my car; it’s raining and Eli fixed the cracks in the driveway by himself. It’s quicksand out there.”
Minami laughed. Sul smiled, and so did Hark, this time sincerely. Rue just looked at Eli, as if asking for guidance. “Stay,” he said in a low but audible tone, and after a long pause she nodded.
“Okay. Thank you for having me.”
Relief rammed hard into him. “Let me go make this fucking risotto you dickheads ruined my Saturday for.”
“Gotta love a warm welcome,” Minami said, before chatting Rue up. Eli couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he trusted Minami to be decent. Unlike Hark, who followed him into the kitchen with a deep scowl.