Page 82 of Highball and Chain

He huffed. “You don’t have to be rude about it. You’re playing hide the sausage in my bed.”

“Go while you still have functioning kneecaps.” I made it to the door in three bare-assed naked strides, shoved him into the hall, and slammed the door.

“Big threats for someone with his cock hanging out.” Marco’s laughter echoed down the hall.

Shanna peeked from beneath the comforter. “You didn’t tell me this was Marco’s room.”

Snatching my jeans from the floor, I said, “It was his room when we were kids. None of us have lived here in years.”

She sat upright and tried in vain to smooth her hair. “Do you think he saw anything?”

Besides your tits?“I doubt it.” I planted a kiss on her forehead. “Gabe didn’t tell me Marco was returning today. I should find out why he’s here.”

“Go talk to Marco. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

I tugged on my T-shirt and grabbed my phone from the nightstand. No messages. Why didn’t Gabe give me a head’s up? What the hell is going on now?

She stood and stretched.

My mouth fell open. Had I not snapped it shut, my tongue would have lolled out like a cartoon dog. “You’re making it hard to leave.”

Shanna turned and settled her gaze on my crotch. “So I see.”

“You’re killing me.” Groaning, I adjusted my erection.

The little temptress crawled across the bed toward me. I’d seen videos of lionesses on the hunt with less predatory smiles. “You have three seconds to leave this room, or I will not be responsible for what happens next.”

Holy shit. Much more of this side of her and I’d become an addict. “I’ll go, but you have to promise to crawl like that again…and often.”

Laughing, she tossed a pillow at me. “Go.”

I made a break for the bathroom before she obliterated the remainder of my willpower. A few splashes of cold water helped to clear my head, but my cock refused to cooperate. Since I had no intention of speaking to my brother with a raging hard-on, I conjured up every disgusting image I could think of while brushing my teeth.

Big hairy guys. Leo dislocating his shoulder. Hazel’s broken wrist.

The memory of my assistant manager reminded me of the soup at Gabe and Maggie’s engagement party. Given the non-stop drama since that night, could the poisoned minestrone be related? Once again, Nico’s the common factor.

I found Marco sitting at the kitchen table scarfing down the remainder of Hildie’s gumbo. “She made that for me, you know.”

He glanced up and grinned. “I figured, but I didn’t think you’d be down in time to catch me.”

“Have you seen Hildie since you came home?”

“She said she’d be in her room if we needed anything.” He shrugged. “She looked like she had a cold.”

Hildie seemed perfectly fine when she’d gone out earlier in the day. I hoped her excursion hadn’t taxed her. The woman was getting on in years.

“Gabe didn’t mention you were coming home today.” I walked to the fridge and pulled out a couple of steaks. Shanna and I hadn’t seen food since breakfast. Not to mention, we’d worked up quite an appetite. We need carbs. Potatoes.

Marco hitched a shoulder. “I didn’t tell him.”

“That’s surprising.” That any of my siblings would wipe their ass without checking with the all-knowing and powerful Gabriel shocked me. That Marco had left the country without checking sent a cold chill down my spine. I retrieved three baking potatoes from the pantry and walked to the sink. “What was so important in New Orleans you’d risk it?”

He pushed the empty bowl away and looked me in the eye. “You, bro. I ran away from home to talk to you.”

I paused mid-scrub and pointed the potato at him. “Now I know you’re full of shit.”

Marco drew his brows together. “Is it that hard to believe I love you enough to cross an ocean to stop you from ruining your life?”

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