Page 62 of Blood Magic (Ariel Kimber 3)

I fought the urge to lean down and bury my face somewhere in Abel’s big body. They weren’t trying to be mean or embarrass me, I had to remind myself that. I didn’t really have anything to hide from.

“Coffee would be nice,” I stated loudly, trying to make the situation a little easier. And anything that brought me closer to caffeine in the morning was a blessing for me.

“I’m only making coffee for you, gorgeous,” Damien grumbled. “The rest of them can get their own goddamn coffee. I am not a waiter.”

I bit my lower lip to keep my laughter inside. I succeeded but my body still shook because half of my body was on top of Abel and his body was shaking with hilarity.

Good grief.

Why did they always have to put me in these absurd situations? Yes, I knew I had put myself in this one, but it still sucked and I wanted to blame the rest of them for it.

“Do you think you could get Damien to make us breakfast while he’s in the kitchen,” Addison asked from behind me and I could hear the laughter in his voice as well.

“She sent Damien off to fetch her some coffee,” Abel choked out. “Can you believe that, twin? And he actually ran off to get it for her. Unbelievable.”

On either side of me the twins erupted into hysterics and I was beginning to feel really bad for Damien. I didn’t want him to come back and hear them making fun of him and then feel bad about getting me my coffee. That would make me feel bad for asking in the first place.

“You guys,” Julian said in a quiet voice filled with warning.

I understood his warning, Damien was on his way back to us. Time to get serious before there was damage control to dish out. I didn’t think I was capable of handling damage control at any given time, certainly not before coffee. It seemed a job better suited for Quinton or Julian.

Big, warm hands tugged on the hem of the tank top that had bunched up high on my middle, below my breasts. It must have ridden high on my body while I was sleeping. Because I moved around a lot, my clothes sometimes got all out of whack. Addison pulled it down my stomach, putting it back into place where it belonged.

“Thanks,” I whispered in an embarrassed voice.

Abel shot me a soft smile before sitting up, taking me with him. I gasped in shock as his face was suddenly in mine and his arms wrapped around my hips. He leaned in and rested his forehead against mine. He brushed the tip of his nose against mine before pulling back and away from me.

His green eyes held a promise I couldn’t quite read in them and wasn’t so sure I wanted to.

“Next time, pretty girl.” He promised me in a quiet voice.

I didn’t want to know what he thought we would be doing next time and didn’t care to ask. I was sure I would find out “next time”. I could guess and that was more than enough information for me at the moment.

Abel put his hands into my back and pressed me into his body. My front fit into his and I rubbed the side of my face against his shoulder. He scooted us over to the edge of the blanket bed and placed his bare feet onto the floor.

He stood up, taking me with him. I held onto his shoulders tightly as my feet dangled above the floor. I was wrong in thinking he’d set me down. Instead, he walked around the makeshift bed until we were on the other side of it. Here he dropped me down to my feet. His hands moved from my waist around to my shoulders. He put pressure on my shoulders and I felt myself falling backwards. The backs of my legs met with the couch as my butt met with the cushion.

“Addison and I are going to go upstairs and shower, then get dressed in your room, if that’s alright with you?” Abel asked.

I stared up into his eyes and nodded. If Dash didn’t care that they were staying over then I was sure he wouldn’t care if they used his shower. For all I knew they did this all the time. And if Julian had already gone through my personal belongings what did I care if the twins did it as well. I had nothing to hide from them. Not when they’d already seen the box I’d found in Vivian’s closet.

At my nod, Abel moved away from me. Addison was already picking up blankets from the pile and folding them up. The sleeping bags were rolled up.

I went to get up to help them, but Abel turned back around and put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from standing fully. He pushed me back down and muttered, “Stay where you are. We can take care of this. We will put everything away then head on upstairs. You stay right where you are. Drink your coffee then, please, pretty please, eat something fattening for breakfast. By the time you’re done with that, my twin and I should be done upstairs. Head on up when you’re done with breakfast and take your own shower. Dash has probably been up for hours already and who the hell knows when Quint will be over and what he has in store for us today. I’m sure he figured out a way to find your dad and we should be prepared for whatever he has planned for us.”

I sat there and watched them take care of our blanket bed. With the two of them working together it didn’t take long.

Julian and Damien watched them in silence from the doorway. Julian looking mildly amused and curious. Damien with a cup of coffee held between his hands and a brooding look on his handsome face. Neither looked at me. Both watched the twins as if they were fascinating animals behind glass at the zoo.

I could hardly blame them. I imagined I sometimes looked at the twins in much the same way. They fascinated me. They baffled me. Sometimes, I even thought they were a little bit insane. They were always very sweet, though, and I didn’t know what I’d do without them. Ty needed to up his game because my Salt and Pepper twins were creeping up on him, wanting to take over his role in my life as my bff. And, yeah, I counted the twins as one. They would have been pissed otherwise.

Abel and Addison left the room with identical condescending smirks on their faces and neither were directed at me. Julian ignored them both entirely. Damien did not. He stared them down, not bothering to hide his frown or unfriendly eyes.

I shook my head and gave Julian a small smile as he sat down on the couch on the left side of me.

The couch moved on the right side of me and I turned to see Damien had sat down beside me as well.

“Good morning,” I murmured when neither said anything and looked like they weren’t about to any time soon.

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