Page 127 of Black Bird

Athan shrugged slightly as he leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed one foot over the other.

Don’t know. This is new to me, too.

He broke his gaze from her eyes and swept them over her exposed arms and her skin-tight tank top. Sarah shifted around, repositioning herself on the couch.

Is this you, giving me space? Pervert.

He chuckled through his nose and crossed his arms, locking eyes with her again.

You never told me I couldn’t look. Besides, I’ve caught you several times this evening doing the same thing. Not to mention … you and Red aren’t as stealthy as you think.

Sarah’s cheeks flushed, and so did her inked chest.

That was her fault. I’m sorry.

He twitched his mouth and shrugged again.

Don’t be. I’ll try to keep my eyes to myself.

He could almost hear her swallow from across the cabin.

I don’t want you to.

His heart thudded and before he could think of how to respond, Rhaena snapped her fingers in his face.

“Hey!” she bit, leaning in and breaking their concentration. “Did you hear me?”

He looked at her, confused. “No?”

Rhaena rolled her eyes and pointed out the kitchen window. “Did you bring in the logs you cut today? We need them.”

“I didn’t,” Athan responded under his breath, turning to peer out of the glass. The wind was howling, and the clashing of narrow pines sounded beyond it. He gathered her urgency as his cue to go outside and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair.

The wind cut through him like a knife when he crossed the backyard. He could smell ice on it, and cursed when he’d realized that Rhaena was right earlier today. Without their phones, and shit for TV channels, they didn’t have much of a way to check the status of oncoming weather. Athan wheeled the firewood to the front of the cabin and picked the entire wheelbarrow up with one arm, lugging it onto the covered porch. If it snowed tonight, they wouldn’t have to go far to get more. He took two armfuls into the house.

“Well, you called it.” Rhaena fanned herself against the wall by the kitchen doorway when he glared at her. “It’s fucking freezing.” Athan made his way over to the small fireplace and started stacking the wood up in the copper bin next to the hearth.

“Will it be too cold in here for you tonight?” Sarah asked from behind him as he added a couple logs to the fire.

“I’m kind of dead, love. I don’t think it gets much colder than that.” He smirked over his shoulder. “I’m kidding. Truthfully, I’ll probablyfare better than you three in that bedroom. Wecouldall camp out in here tonight.”

“I’m not,” Rhaena scoffed, heading toward her bedroom. “I need the chill.”

“Warm bodies. I’m bunking with her,” Wren added, standing up from the couch. “What aboutyou?” She smirked and narrowed her eyes at Sarah who remained glued to her spot.

Sarah glanced over at him. “I—I dunno.”

“I can take the floor,” he offered. “If you’ll be okay parting with a couple of the back cushions.”

She thought about it for a moment and looked back over to Rhaena and Wren. They both gave her looks that were obviously meant to coax her into staying in the living room, for reasons that nobody needed help deciphering. She returned her face to him and nodded. “Alright. I’m gonna go change. Just take whatever you need from the couch.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he cut Rhaena a glare, and wished he could cuss her out with his mind. Her responding expression told him that it wasn’t necessary, and she raised her brows in triumph as she turned into the bedroom. Wren did the same and followed behind her while Sarah went last, closing the door softly behind her.

Athan made quick work of setting up a spot on the floor near the fireplace. He opted to lay himself along the width of the hearth and came out of his jacket and t-shirt, leaving only his usual black sweats. He fished out a couple of extra blankets from under the hutch where Poe was surprisingly not making any racket and laid one on the couch to replace the one he’d taken for the pallet. He had just laid himself back against a stack of cushions and pulled the blanket halfway up his body when Sarah emerged from the bedroom.

God help him.

She padded across the floor in nothing but an oversized black band t-shirt with long sleeves that she’d cut thumb holes into. As simple as it was, she might as well have been wearing the vampire outfit that he’d seen her in on Halloween. If she was wearing anything under it, he couldn’t tell. He swallowed and did his best to tear his eyes away from her and look atanythingfucking else but those slender bare legs. He decided the ceiling looked the most interesting. She pulled her long hair to one shoulder and slid underneath her blanket on the couch before laying on her side and facing him while she tucked an arm under one of the pillows.

---