Chapter 19
“Waaaakkkke!” Carnage shouted as he pounded on the door of Boon and Angelle’s home again.
He’d been knocking for almost five full minutes, and so far, he hadn’t even heard anybody moving inside.
Carnage stepped back and looked at the door with his hand on his hip.
He tucked the basket of fresh buttered biscuits, a jar of blackberry jam, and a small plate of ham inside it under his arm and started around the porch.
He pressed his face against the windows of the family room and seeing no one there, he went to the next window, which was a bedroom.
The curtains there were drawn, so he couldn’t see in, so he continued on.
When he got to the door at the back of the house, he pounded on it.
“Waaaakkkke!” he yelled again, then completed his trip around the porch of the house, by beating on the front door again.
Angelle lifted her head and looked blearily around the bedroom. “What is that noise?” she asked.
“My father,” Boon said, his voice muffled because his face was pressed against her neck and covered by most of her hair.
“Why is he so loud?” she asked.
“He wants us to wake up. He’s been knocking for a while now.”
“Well, let him in!” she said.
“Why?” Boon asked.
“So he’ll stop yelling. It’s too early for all that,” Angelle said.
Boon sat up reluctantly, considering his options.
Then his father yelled again, and started knocking on the windows.
“He’s going to break the glass,” Angelle said.
“Probably. I’ll go let him in,” he said, walking completely nude over to their dresser to dig out a pair of underwear to put on.
Angelle sat up as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Oh!” she exclaimed, hunching in on herself as she tried to push herself up and off the mattress.
“What is it? Did I hurt you?”
“I’m so sore,” she said, attempting to sit back on the bed again. “Nope. Can’t do that,” she said.
“I knew I was too rough,” Boon said, angry with himself for hurting her.
“No, I think it’s just that I’m not used to it. I’m not hurt, just really sore.”
“Waaakkkke!” Carnage yelled again.
“Damn it!” Boon cursed, his gaze shooting toward the front door as though he could see through the walls.
“It’s okay, go let him in and I’m going to try to get to the bathroom. Maybe a hot soak in a bath…”
“That’s a good idea. Wait here. Let me take care of him, then I’ll help you get in the bath.”
“That’s okay, I can manage.”
Boon leaned over her, so he was eye level with her where she sat, leaning to one side. He took her face in both hands and kissed her lips. “Wait for me, please. I want to help you.”
Angelle melted at his obvious worry for her. “Okay.”
He grabbed his jeans from where he’d thrown them the night before and pulled them on as he left the bedroom, headed toward their front door. He hurried to get there, then unlocked the door and yanked it open. “What?!” he demanded.
“Waaaakkkke ahp!” Carnage yelled, irritatedly.
“My mate and I are sleeping in! What do you need?” Boon snapped.
“Mom say eeet’” Carnage said, shoving the basket at Boon and stepping into the house past Boon as he pushed him out of his way.
“I didn’t say come in,” Boon said, following his father into the kitchen, still clutching the basket his father had just given him.
“Coffeee,” Carnage said.
“We aren’t up. We haven’t made any.”
“My doo eet,” Carnage said, flashing a grin at Boon.
“Papa…” Boon started.
But Carnage wasn’t listening. He’d noticed a scent that was unfamiliar.
Carnage’s nostrils flared as he scented his son from the other side of the kitchen island.
Carnage realized what it was, but couldn’t help teasing Boon, because he was still after all, Carnage.
He raised his face into the air, noisily sniffing.
He turned his face first to the left, then to the right.
Sniffing the air more obnoxiously than before as he pretended to follow the scent around the kitchen island to where Boon stood, watching him, his lips pressed together, completely unimpressed.
Carnage waved his hand up and down, indicating Boon’s entire body, then he waved his hand in front of his nose. “Pshew!”
“Pshew. What do you mean pshew?” Boon demanded.
“Nooo smell Booon. Smell,” Carnage hesitated, his eyes sliding left and right as though he was considering what it was he was smelling, “’Gel. ‘Arnge smell ‘Gel.”
“Of course you smell Angelle. She’s my mate. We’ve bonded. What you smell is our scents together, like it will always be from now on.”
Carnage started snickering, nodding his head.
“But you know that. You’re just giving me a hard time.”
Carnage laughed, nodding his head emphatically. He grabbed Boon and hugged him roughly, pounding him on the back. “Lub Booon. Lub ‘Gel. Hahpee Boon, ‘Gel.”
“Thank you, but I really need you to go. We’re just now waking up.”
“Noo,” Carnage said, turning his back on Boon and grabbing the coffee pot off the back of the stove. He dumped out the coffee from the day before, and started rinsing it out, setting up to make fresh coffee.
“What do you mean, no? We’re just getting out of bed. We need some privacy.”
“Dahn com feesh. My waait.”
“Go!” Carnage said, using his hands to shoo Boon out of the room. “My staay coffeee,” Carnage said.
“Do not leave this kitchen!” Boon ordered, setting the basket of biscuits on the countertop.
Carnage snapped to attention, saluting his son with an arm slapped across his chest.
Boon shook his head as he started back to his bedroom. He tapped lightly on the bedroom door as he opened it. “It’s me,” he announced. “Apparently our fathers are going fishing this morning and they decided to meet here. Mine’s here first and won’t leave.”
“Great,” Angelle said, having decided to lie back on the bed rather than remain sitting.
“My father is in the kitchen, I told him to stay there. Let’s get you into the bathroom and get a hot bath drawn.”
“I’d love that,” Angelle said.
Boon scooped her up, cradling her close to his chest. “Good morning,” he said, as he smiled at her.
“Good morning,” she answered, beaming happily up at him.
Boon opened their bedroom door, then leaned out to make sure no one was within eyesight of them. He quickly crossed the hall and went directly into the bathroom, setting Angelle on her feet so he could start running her bath. “You good to stand here?”
“Yes. I’m not injured, just really sore.”
“Next time we’ll be more gentle,” he said, his back was turned to her as he adjusted the water flowing from the faucet. When she didn’t answer, he glanced over his shoulder at her. “What?” he asked, when he realized she was eyeing him doubtfully.
“You will do no such thing. We’ll do whatever we feel, and eventually I won’t be new to all of this and I won’t get so sore so easily.”
“We’ll see. I don’t like that I hurt you.”
“But you didn’t hurt me hurt me, you just hurt me enough.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but instead just started laughing. “What does that even mean, and why do I understand it?”
“Lahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlahlah…”
“What is that?” Angelle asked, trying to figure out what she was suddenly hearing.
“My father,” Boon said with a sigh. “He’s probably standing in the kitchen with his fingers in his ears singing at the top of his lungs to drown out our conversation. Gargoyles have an uncanny ability to hear even the slightest sound.”
“Bekfus!” Carnage yelled.
“Did he just say he brought breakfast?” Angelle asked.
“More or less. Told you he could hear.”
“I think I’ll live in this bathroom until he leaves.”
Boon laughed. “You know what? It’s our home. He shouldn’t have been here if he didn’t want to hear our conversations.” Boon stood up and kissed her again. “I’m going to go get rid of them, and send the biscuits he brought with them so they have no reason to come back in here.”
“Your dad really brought breakfast? Biscuits?” she asked, her interest piqued.
“Yes. And it smelled like ham, too, and I saw a jar of jam.”
Angelle shook her head. “Keep that for us. But make them go.”
“Done,” he said. He pointed toward the water. “Is it okay, too hot?”
Angelle leaned over and held her fingers beneath the water’s flow. “No, perfect.”
“Let me help you get in,” he said when he saw her wince as she tried to lift her leg to step over the side.
“No! Just go take care of your dad, and mine when he gets here. I want to soak here for at least an hour.”
“I’ll bring the biscuits back with me,” he said, leaving the bathroom and pulling the door closed behind himself.
The minute Boon closed the door, Angelle hurried to use the toilet, hissing in discomfort when she did, but doing her best to keep it to herself so he didn’t come rushing back in.
Once that was done, she eased herself into the tub, relaxing against the slanted back and letting the heat of the water begin to sooth her aches.
It was only about ten minutes before she heard a tap on the bathroom door. “Angelle?” Boon called.
“Yes?” she answered.
“I’m coming in.” The door opened and Boon came in carrying a tray.
He set it across the sink, then took the sun-dress hanging over his shoulder and draped it from the handle of the linen closet the towels were stored in.
“I thought a dress might be more comfortable than pants today. I just picked one that looked like it had been worn more. Figured it might be a favorite. But if you want pants I can go get those too. Brought some under things as well,” he said, digging a pair of her panties and a soft sports bra out of his pockets and lying them across the edge of the sink.
“No, you did good. That’s one of my favorite lying around the house dresses. How did you know that?”
He flashed her a smile. “It’s my job to know that. You hungry?”
“Starved.”
He picked up the tray and placed it in front of her. It was just wide enough that its outer edges extended beyond the sides of the tub. “There you go. And there’s a cup of coffee, too. Lots of milk and lots of sugar.”