Page 28 of Immortal By Morning
A moment of silence passed, and then Roberts said, “You two should go play a game, or watch TV or something in the living room.”
When Crispin turned to peer at him, his partner added, “I am taking the first shift guarding the tent. You might as well relax, Crispin. Besides, I am getting tired of looking at your hairy legs.”
Of course, those words made Abril look at Crispin’s legs. They didn’t look overly hairy to her. While there was some hair, his legs were also shapely and muscular from what she could see. And she was presently seeing quite a bit. Crispin had reclaimed his seat atthe island while she was outside, and his towel on this side had fallen away to hang down, leaving the one leg exposed very high up on his thigh.
Forcing herself to look away before she began to drool, Abril muttered, “I’ll go check the laundry and see how long it will be until the washer is done.”
She escaped the room without being stopped, and with only Lilith following her.
Eleven
“I noticed there is a sit-down arcade table for two in the living room,” Roberts mentioned as soon as Abril was out of the kitchen.
Crispin glanced to him in question.
“You should go play games with her on it,” he said. “You might both relax enough to actually talk.”
“What can we talk about?” Crispin said with a little frustration. “I cannot tell her who and what I am.”
“No, but you can tell her about some of the jobs we have had maybe, or talk about your family.”
When Crispin glanced to him askance, Roberts said with exasperation, “I do not mean tell her about your family’s origins. Just tell her you have brothers and sisters. And that your father has remarried and lives here in Canada, which is why you moved here seven years ago. To be closer to your father and his wife. Things like that,” he suggested.
Crispin nodded slowly as he considered that. Therewerethings he could talk to her about after all. And maybe if he told her about his family and such, she would be willing to tell him things about herself too. He’d really like to learn more about her.
“Go on,” Roberts urged. “Catch her as she returns from the laundry room and convince her to play a game with you and talk.”
Crispin eyed his partner with amusement and pointed out, “You know I am older than you?”
“Yes,” Roberts agreed, and then said, “And?”
“And yet you are the one giving me instruction on how to woo my woman,” he pointed out. “It is not as if you have any experience with life mates yourself. Do you?” he added, because for all he knew Roberts had found and lost a life mate before they’d ever met. The two of them were friends as well as work partners, and knew a lot about each other, but something like that might have been too painful to talk about.
“No. I have not yet had experience with a life mate,” Roberts assured him. And then, a wicked grin curving his lips, he added, “But I am also not trying to think when my mind is stuck between Abril’s thighs. So, my brain may be processing a little more clearly... and I am happy to help. But I expect the same in return when I find my life mate, if I am ever that lucky.”
“You will find her,” Crispin assured him as he stood up. “And I shall definitely return the favor.”
After checking the wash, Abril led Lilith out of the laundry room and down the hall to the living room.Once there, she told Alexa to set a timer for the time left on the washing machine.
Gina had an Alexa smart home hub, display, or speaker in nearly every room in the house. Abril had thought it excessive at first, but couldn’t deny they came in handy. She waited for Alexa to tell her the timer was set, then turned, intending to head back to the kitchen. But she stopped abruptly when she saw Crispin coming around the corner toward her.
“Roberts mentioned there was an arcade table in here somewhere and suggested we play a game to pass the time,” he announced, slowing as he drew near.
She half expected him to keep walking until he was almost on top of her and then kiss her again. That being the case, his words and the fact that he stopped a good three feet from her were both a surprise and maybe even a little disappointing. Not that she wanted him to ravish her, she told herself with sarcasm.
“How does that sound?” Crispin prompted. “Will you play with me?”
Abril’s mind was definitely in the gutter, because the images that popped up in her head at those words had nothing to do with an arcade game. She had to physically shake her head to get the sexy, naughty images that had assailed her out of her mind. In a bid to avoid looking at him, Abril turned to look at the two-seater arcade table instead.
“I’ve never actually used it,” she admitted as she walked around the couch and crossed the room toward the game. “I’m not even sure if Gina has. I think she bought it at one time because she used to enjoy playing games on an old one at a coffee shop near heruniversity when she was in school. But it was way before my time.”
“Then we will both be equally unskilled at it,” Crispin said lightly as he followed her. “Come on. It will be fun. And we can talk while we play.”
To Abril that almost sounded like a threat. Not that she would mind talking to him, but it seemed to be something they’d had trouble with up until now. The idea of scrambling to try to play a game she’d never played before, while trying to make conversation with a man she’d never yet been able to hold a conversation with was somewhat disconcerting. But when he turned on the machine and sat down in one of the seats, she gave in and took the opposite seat herself.
“There seem to be a lot of games on here,” Crispin commented as they looked over the starting screen. “Which one do we try?”
Biting her lip, Abril looked over the list until she saw a name she recognized. “I’ve seen the moviePixels, so how about we play Pac-Man?”
