Page 88 of Rage

“How can I make it up to you, Daddy?”

Chapter Eight

Hendrix

Air blew through Thea, a desperately loud huff forcing its way from her tiny body. It was her third exasperated sigh in as many minutes. Whatever was bothering her was now my problem. She lay sprawled across the couch, her feet in my lap, and I glanced at her, hands pulling at her toes.

Another huff escaped, and I swore if she continued, she’d blow away my last thread of patience.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She dropped the book from her hands, looking over at me. “Hmm?”

“You’re making a lot of heavy breathing noises. Everything okay, kitten?”

“Oh. Yeah,” she said, wiggling her toes. “I’m just bored.”

My brows drew, and I rubbed her feet, kneading my knuckles into the arches of them. We’d all heard just how bored she was the other night while she and Calder fucked and left us on the outs. Sure, Shane had joined in halfway through, but he was mostly just checking on Thea’s mental state.

The other night had been the first night any of us tried to have sex with her, and Shane was the most protective. When he didn’t return, Parker and I both knew why. As much as I knew Ishouldn’t be, I was jealous. Not because she’d slept with Calder first, but because I knew that he was exactly what she needed to break the ice.

She didn’t need me because I was always the gentle one. I’d always known that Calder was the best at bringing her back to us. He always had been–this wasn’t any different. And I was thankful she had him to lean on.

He liked to play the tough guy who didn’t give a fuck, but deep down, that soft heart melted for Thea and Paisley Rose. It always would. So I shoved my jealousy aside because it meant we were getting our Thea back.

This morning she’d been humming while she cooked breakfast, and even now, she seemed to have a mischievous glint in her eyes that wasn’t there two days ago. I tapped her legs, and she moved them from my lap so I could stand.

“You want to have a snowball fight?” I asked.

Her eyes widened. “That depends. What are the rules?”

“The rules are ‘there are no rules’.”

She shook her head, standing too. “I think we should havesomerules.”

“Like what?”

She chewed on her lip. “Like no headshots. You throw pretty fast and I don’t want a hardball to the face.”

I chuckled, stuffing my hands in my pockets. “Fine. No headshots. First person to get five hits in wins. And how about we get a five-minute start to collect a stockpile of snowballs?”

She grinned, clapping her hands together. “Perfect. Let me change into something warmer.” Standing on her tip-toes, she pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Meet you outside in ten?”

“Yeah.”

Thea skipped up the steps, me following her. She disappeared into the master bedroom, while I went into thesmaller guest room that I slept in with Parker to grab warmer clothes.

Parker was still asleep, curled into a ball with the blankets drawn to his chin. I grinned, heading for the bed we shared last night, and pressed a kiss to his ear. He snorted, stirring a bit before he slowly opened his eyes.

“Hey,” he said sleepily. “How’s Thea?”

“She’s bored,” I said, rolling my eyes dramatically. “I’m taking her out for a snowball fight. Want to join us?”

Parker brushed away a few black strands of hair that had fallen out of his hair tie and into his face. The Asian-inspired dragon tattoo on his bicep caught my eye. The colorful design was beautiful against his golden skin, and I always found myself admiring the work. He’d gotten it for his mom when she passed. She’d been proud of their Korean culture, and Parker felt it was a good way to always have a piece of her with him.

“No,” he said, closing his eyes again.

My brows furrowed. He hadn’t been himself lately, and even though we were sharing a bed, we hadn’t had sex together without Thea since she lost the baby. He wasn’t himself, and I still had been unsuccessful in pulling out any information from him on how he was feeling.

---