Kitty stills for a moment, then she nods almost shyly. “Family,” she says, as if testing out the word. Then she looks at Tommy sharply. “I told you.”
“In private,” he says mildly.
Eli, still seated at the dining room table and reading an actual newspaper — he had six delivered earlier by courier — sets his teacup into its saucer. With a noticeable clink.
Both kids glance over at him.
“Have you packed everything you want to take with you?” the earl asks.
“Yes!” Kitty bounces on her heels.
“Yes, sir,” Tommy says.
“Go double-check your bags,” Eli says. “We’ll all meet at the front door.”
Kitty takes off. She wears an adorable skirt-and-sweater combo today, a swirl of light blue and fuchsia pink, with three iridescent rhinestone bracelets on her left wrist.
Tommy, in jeans and a zippered merino top, bumps his shoulder lightly against mine before sauntering off after his sister at a more sedate pace. I touch his back as he passes.
Kitty’s voice emanates from up the hall that leads to the bedrooms, sharp and demanding. “The rest of us are all ready to go!”
“I see that,” Bolan says, sounding still half asleep.
“You don’t even have shoes on!” the young seer says.
“It’s Mirth’s plane,” Bolan says. “It doesn’t take off without the princess.”
Kitty huffs, then stomps away.
Eli is trying to repress a smile as he neatly folds his paper. He catches me eyeing him and smirks. “You know it’s because you’re perpetually pissed at Bolan, right? Kitty’s picked that up. Just like it’s going to take Tommy time to relax around Rian.Though that’s likely due to other male figures letting him down. The kids are yours, first and foremost. As it should be.”
Bolan wanders into the kitchen, black hair deliciously mussed, T-shirt untucked over his jeans, and yes, barefoot. Partway through making a beeline for the coffee, he spots me. A breath later, I’m pinned up against the kitchen counter and being thoroughly kissed.
When his mouth falls to my neck, which I helpfully tilt back and to the side for him to ravish, I gasp, “You were getting coffee.”
He hums contentedly, then whispers in my ear, “Did you sleep well, my Mirth?”
With his warm breath across my ear and his voice rumbling through me, my nipples tighten, and I actively suppress a groan. “Yes, thank you,” I say, just a little breathless. I spent the late evening with Rian. But wakeful, and after getting up to check on everyone else, I found Sully and Bolan in my bed in the early-morning hours.
Eli steps into the kitchen. His light-blue eyes are sharp yet still warm as he watches Bolan practically maul me good morning. He rinses his teacup and sets it to the side of the sink.
Bolan pulls away from me with a groan, then steps back to pour the last of the coffee into a mug. I gather myself, then remember to close the door to the dishwasher. The rock star lounges back against the counter, takes a huge swig of coffee, then nods toward Eli. “We’re not going to get a better moment,” he says.
Eli pulls a blister pack of pills out of the pocket of his suit jacket, holding it in the palm of his hand. “I researched this and picked it up yesterday. The side effects, if there are any, should be minimal, and it won’t interact badly with your current birth control.” He extends his hand toward me.
I flush. “I’m not due for my shot for another month.”
“That’s not entirely effective, Mirth,” Eli says.
Still flushed, I glance over at Bolan.
He shrugs and takes another sip of his coffee. “You know we haven’t been great with the condoms.”
Eli moves a little closer to me, lowering his voice. “Mirth. All of this is your choice, but I know the bond is overwhelming right now. I nearly fucked you on the dining room table without a thought about anything except that you asked for my cock, and I wanted nothing more than to give it to you.”
I lean against the counter for support because my legs are suddenly a little weak … at the earl’s utterance of ‘fuck’ and ‘cock’ … and the remembrance of him pressing me to the —
Bolan crowds against my other side, leaning close enough to pointedly breathe in my scent. “That’s not a helpful train of thought, Princess. Not when we have a plane to catch.”
