Page 33 of Heat Transfer

“Don’t worry about them.” He wrinkled his nose. “I tend to fade into the background anyway.”

I arched a brow. “Now, that’s a goddamned lie.”

Cor shook his head. “They were just having fun teasing me when you met them. Normally, the rest of the family has bigger shit going on. Rory going into dramatics or Ollie fumbling into trouble. Or Declan missed some cues again and pissed off Ais. With how lively everyone else is, it’s easy to become wallpaper.”

“Don’t know how.” My chest burned in irritation at the shit way he saw himself. Just because he was a quiet, relaxed guy didn’t mean he fell into the background. “Every time I see you, you’re front and center.”

My heart thudded a little harder with the admission, which was too real for whatever was going on between us. I opened my mouth, then shut it again.

“Well, you’re pretty rare, Ruiz.” With that simple statement, he parked, turned off the car, and opened his door. Cor gave a glance back. “You joining me?”

I bobbed my head and grabbed the handle, even though my brain still processed his statement. My cheeks flushed from his genuine intensity, at the warmth flowing through me from head to toe. I sucked in a sharp breath and hopped out of his truck. My feet hit the asphalt of the driveway, which happened to be filled with cars.

The cape-style house held a lot of charm, with cranberry shutters and the same shade door. A stone pathway wound to the front door. Cor cut strides across the manicured lawn. Based on the set of his shoulders and his hands jammed in his pockets, he brimmed with the same nerves I did. I quick-walked to catch up with him and tugged one of his hands out to intertwine with mine.

Cor’s shoulders relaxed, and I bit my lip, ignoring the giddy swoop inside. I’d done that, just from a simple touch.

“Ready to deal with my family?” he asked, even as he didn’t let my hand go.

“They weren’t that scary,” I teased, even though they’d been the chaos bomb Cor warned me about. I didn’t mind that though. Random questions lobbed my way didn’t grate on me like getting treated like I was incapable.

He opened the door, and a wall of noise descended.

“I don’t care how popular piercings are. I’m not getting one,” Mrs. Brannon said to her youngest son…Rory? “You have hordes of loyal customers to jab needles into.” She walked up to us, sweeping her arms open for a hug. “Cor, Felix, good to see you both.”

Cor leaned in and gave his mother a hug, and I jumped in second, not sad in the slightest about how easily they’d welcomed me in. A little guilt throbbed through me that this wasn’t real, but I was aces at self-delusion.

“Cor, you didn’t tell me you were bringing Felix,” his mom said a bit accusatorily, even though her eyes danced with amusement.

“I’ll take another piercing,” Aislin said to Rory from one of the couches on the opposite side of the room. Rory stood in front of a mirror nearby, fiddling with his ear—most likely a piercing, if I had to guess.

“Same here,” I said.

Cor’s brows raised, and I didn’t miss the way he laser-focused on me. We’d barely stripped down the other night, so he hadn’t seen my nipple piercings. I winked at him, soaking up his slow perusal. Something about the deliberate way he watched me had my body sparking to life like nothing else.

“Cor, this one’s a keeper.” Rory whirled around. Unlike Ollie and Cor, who were both massive, Rory was more my size.

“You just want more guinea pigs for weird piercings,” Cor muttered, even though he passed me an affectionate look. I downright preened.

Declan peeked around the corner from another room. “Can someone help us carry dishes in?”

“Where are Ollie and Liam?” Cor asked.

“On their way,” Aislin said, already walking in the direction where Declan had disappeared. Rich scents wafted from what I assumed was the kitchen, and based on the fragrant spices, a roast. I couldn’t help but wonder how Cor would do with my mom’sasopao. To my surprise, the idea of bringing him around my family didn’t bother me. Normally, introducing a partner to my family had me breaking out in hives.

Except Cor didn’t trip that radar. Maybe because of the sheer comfort between us already or because I wasn’t worried about his perception of me changing after watching my folks fret left and right.

That in and of itself was rare.

“You know they’re probably banging.” Rory threw himself onto the sofa.

Mrs. Brannon shook her head and stared up at the ceiling. “Why? Why do we take it there?”

“Come on.” Cor wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go help Dad and Declan.” My heart thudded a little harder at the physical contact, at how easily we meshed together.

Cor’s phone buzzed in his pocket a little erratically as if he was getting bombarded with texts.

“You need to get that?” I asked, arching a brow.

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