Page 43 of How to Flirt with a Hellhound
Dex gave a low growl, looking at my body with heat in his gaze. I was so here for that rumbly, sexy sound he made.
Focus, Toby. Food.His guests.
I waited, and he apparently got himself under control, because he answered, “You want to come over? We have food and can make brunch.”
I flushed, because, yeah, I probably didn’t have much in the way of food, and no one wanted me cooking. I nodded then, asking, “When do you want me?”
Dex growled again. “Always, Toby. I always want you.”
Fuck. He was gonna kill me with sweetness. I was not gonna survive this man.
I promised to be over in an hour or so, and I did not shower again after Dex left. I thought he would have happily had me go over right at that moment, but I had a few author things to take care of. I wasn’t going to get any writing done, but I did need to catch up with my cover designer and check in with Amy. I also needed to get dressed and look presentable. Sure, Dex had seen me in pajamas and sweats and nothing at all, but I could still make a good impression.
Yesterday I didn’t even know what to call him, and today I was meeting my boyfriend’s family. Well, I’d met them already, but this was, like,reallymeeting them. I tried to take a deep breath. Dex liked me. Dex was sweet. His brothers seemed nice. Everything wasfine.
With that thought, I stepped out my door. I realized as I did so that there wasn’t a package on my porch. Huh. Dex hadn’t brought anything in with him when he’d knocked on the door, either. I wonder what the deal had been with the truck? I’d have to ask Dex.
I walked over, nervously thinking about what I was gonna say. I might have been mumbling a bit to myself, and I flushed when the front door opened before I even made it up the last step.
“Toby!” Dex called, coming over, grabbing my hands, and kissing my forehead.
Fucking.
Swoon.
Worthy.
He led me into the house, where Jude was perched on a kitchen island stool and Corbin was working over the stove. I looked around. His house had a pretty similar layout to mine, which made sense since they were built at the same time. I think Patricia’s house had been the original one on the property, andthe first owner had sold off chunks of land and these two houses had been built.
The layout was similar, but my house was definitely more… crowded. I’d lived there for longer than Dex, so that made sense, but he also seemed like he just didn’t collect a lot. The walls were pretty bare, but he had furniture, and everything was clean.
“Hey Toby!” Jude said, eyes bright with a half a smile on his face.
“Don’t say it,” Dex warned me quietly, but Jude only stared at me expectantly. It took me a second, but I remembered him listening to the Beatles as they had driven up. I smiled back and said, “Hey Jude. Don’t make it bad.”
Both Corbin and Dex groaned at the same time, but Jude laughed happily. “That never gets old,” he said, winking at me.
“I assure you, it does,” Corbin said, his back to us. He opened a cabinet, took out some plates, and turned to hand them to Jude, who walked over to the table to start setting it.
“Can I help?” I asked, and Corbin handed me the silverware next, then grabbed a roll of paper towels to hand to Dex.
I was totally ready for awkward, but the guys didn’t let it get that way. They just sort of carried on and included me in the preparations, joking about music and teasing each other good naturedly. If I had any doubts about their relationship, it was definitely put to ease through the preparations. They interacted just like family, and I didn’t sense any underlying sexual tension between them. Not that I doubted them when they’d said they were brothers, but hey, I’d read my fair share of adopted brother romances. (What? Taboo was hot when done well!)
They seemed to switch off who was at the stove, but somehow I never ended up there (thank goodness). By the time we all sat down, there was a spread of bacon, eggs, sausage, rolls, butter, jam, juice, and potatoes. It looked like enough to feed an army, but once the guys started eating, I reassessed that.
They couldeat. I guess all those muscles used a lot of calories.
We chatted easily as we all ate, and by the time the food was gone, Jude was finishing a story about Dex trying to ice skate. Everyone at the table was chuckling, and it was just… nice. I figured out that there were five brothers in all—Dex, Corbin, and Jude, obviously, and then Liam, who was apparently a computer genius or something. Atlas was the fifth brother, and they didn’t say too much about him, other than that he was a loner. I sensed there was a story there, and I tried not to fill one in with my imagination.
“Do you have any brothers?” Jude asked me.
“No. Only child, and my parents and I… Well, we aren’t close. We talk on holidays,” I said.
“Yeah, most of us grew up as only children too, but when Wilder adopted us we got a whole mess of brothers out of the deal,” Jude said. “I’m obviously the cute one,” he added, winking.
Corbin rolled his eyes, Dex growled, and I couldn’t help laughing.
“Obviously the troublemaker,” I joked, adding, “Dex is the cute one.”
