Page 54 of Shadow

“Still out in the woods. Once we get her ass calmed down, we’ll head back, but I was, uh, wondering if you’d be cool with Sirena staying with you tonight?—”

“Yes,” I said before he could even finish his sentence. “She’s always welcome with us.”

“Right.” Ashes cleared his throat. “Listen, man, I don’t have a lot of time to talk on account of Stitches currently fighting Cady, but I know you care about her?—”

“She is my entire world,” I corrected softly. “Everything begins and ends with her.”

He was quiet for a moment, and I heard Cady shriek again.

“Uh, yeah, man. Just… Church is having a hard time dealing with the whole Bryce thing right now. I guess all of us are. He’s not like us.”

“He’s more like you than you realize,” I murmured.

“Maybe.” Ashes sighed. “In the end, it doesn’t matter because it’s her choice. We want her to be happy. Church asks that it be taken slowly. No fucking.”

“That’s where the lines are drawn?” I raised my brows at that bit of information.

“Yeah. That’s the hard fucking line. So make sure that doesn’t happen. We want to make sure she knows what adding another person is going to be like. We want her to know that she’s absolutely committed to it because once someone is in, they’re in it for life. The only way out as a Watcher is death. Know what I mean?”

“I understand, but understand it’ll be more than Bryce. We are coming, too.”

Ashes sighed. “I know, man. You’ve won Stitches over already. And Sin.”

“Not you?”

Cady screamed in the background again.

“Damn it, I’m working on it. Church is ultimately the one to win over, and from what I understand, he doesn’t dislike you, but it's one bridge at a time. OK? I have to go. Cady just kicked Stitches in the nuts. I swear to god, Cadence. Get your shit together…” The line clicked off, leaving me in silence.

This was good news. No fucking. I could handle that. Based on Shadow’s nineteen-year dry spell, I was pretty sure he knew how to handle it, too.

I pushed the door open to find the pair watching TV together on the bed, neither touching. In fact, they looked like they weren’t even talking, which was rare for Shadow since he never shut the fuck up.

“You OK?” he asked, sitting forward as I stepped in and took off my winterwear. I hung everything up and turned to them.

Sirena took me in with those big fucking eyes of hers, and my heart clenched hard.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just needed some air.” I moved to my bed and wordlessly began shoving it to Shadow’s bed.

“What are you doing?” he asked, watching me move my bed until it was right next to his. Now it just looked like one big ass mattress.

“Well, unless you plan on being my fucking cuddle monkey, I’d say we need more room. Besides, Ashes called. Sirena is staying with us tonight.”

Sirena widened her eyes at me. She was wearing Bryce’s sweatpants and t-shirt because he’d blown his load on her pretty dress.Fucking novice.He and I were going to have a talk about premature ejaculation as soon as she was gone because there was no way I was going to fuck a girl with him if he couldn’t last more than thirty fucking seconds. I’d have secondhand embarrassment, and it would take me right out of the mood.

Once I had sorted the bed situation, I returned to my small kitchen area, grabbed the popcorn, and placed it in the microwave. I leaned against the counter, watching the pair continue to stare at the TV. I sighed, knowing exactly what was happening.

He was so embarrassed by his actions earlier that he wasn’t going to touch her.

Well, fuck that. I couldn’t have my time with her until he got his shit sorted, so I’d make sure that was handled sooner rather than later. I knew what was at stake, and I had to control myself. I could do this.

The microwave dinged. I grabbed the popcorn and tore the bag open before emptying it into a bowl. I took a bottle of water and returned to my bed, flopping back on it and ensuring I was so close to my forever girl that we were touching.

She looked at me, a tiny smile playing on the corner of her lips. I gave her a wink and dropped a few fluffy pieces of popcorn into my mouth before I put one on my lips and raised my brow at her.

All her innocence left because she closed the distance between us and brushed her lips against mine, snagging the piece from me. I grinned at her and did it again. And once more, she returned. This time, I tangled my fingers in her hair and kept my lips on hers for a moment, offering her a taste of what life with me could be like before releasing her.

Her cheeks flushed pink as she looked back to the TV.

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