Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
DRAKE
Her lips are still wet against mine, her breath caught somewhere between her throat and my mouth.
“Em?” A familiar voice calls.
My stomach drops like a hot stone.
Flint.
Shit.
Ember freezes under me. She’s down to nothing but her knickers and the flimsy top she wore under her costume, hair wild, cheeks flushed. She clings to my t-shirt, my costume and dragon tail abandoned somewhere on the carpet.
“This better not be what it looks like, dragon boy.” His voice is deep and authoritative, as if I’ve just breathed fire over the town.
I drop my head, my eyes glued to Ember’s bright green ones, almost fluorescent under her living room light.
Boots thud closer, but I daren’t move, not wanting to expose Ember in her half-dressed state.
“Drake,” he shouts, cutting through the thick atmosphere like smoke filling the room and making it difficult to breathe.
Time stops. The pumpkin suit discarded on the floor like a crime scene, and I’m caught in the act.
For one insane second, I brace for him to rip me off her. But as I turn, still shielding her modesty behind me, Flint just stands there, his jaw tight, his gaze heavy.
“It’s… not what it looks like,” I stutter. My Adam’s apple bobs as I swallow the thick air and scramble off the sofa.
He crosses his arms over his chest as he glares at me. “It better not be. It looks to me like you’re taking advantage of my sister.” He takes off the overcoat covered in fake blood from his zombie costume and hands it to Ember.
She wraps it around her as she steps out from behind me. “Flint, what are you doing here?”
“I’ve just brought Seraphina home and saw the ladders out front. I wanted to check you were all right and not having any more crazy cat antics on the roof.”
“Well, I’m fine. Drake’s not taking advantage of me. You can go now.”
He shoots a look between us, his brow raised. “You’re an item?”
Fuck. I run a hand down my face, unable to tell him it was just gonna be a fuck. A one-night stand, but not because that’s what I wanted, but it’s all Ember was offering. “Yeah, we’re dating.”
Ember looks up at me with wide eyes. She’s gonna think I’m mental, but she doesn’t correct me.
“You’re an adult, Em,” he says finally, voice low. “You make your own choices.” His eyes snap to mine, hard as steel. “But you—Coleman—you’d better be damn sure what you’re doing. Because if you hurt her, you won’t just answer to me as her brother. You’ll answer to me as your Chief.”
The weight of his words lands heavy in my gut. My mouth opens, closes. I’d never intentionally hurt anyone. Ember squirms beside me, cheeks blazing.
Flint shakes his head once, mutters, “Sort the damn ladder out,” and disappears out the door.
Silence slams into the room. Ember’s breathing fast, her eyes wide.
I drag a hand down my face, heart hammering. “Well,” I rasp, trying for humour and failing. “That could’ve gone worse. He didn’t kill me.”
Her lips twitch, but she groans, burying her face into her palms. “I think I would have preferred if he’d killed me.”
I scratch the bristles on my jaw, still hearing Flint’s warning echo in my head. “Are you okay?”
“Just slowly dying of embarrassment.”
I pry her hands from her face, now covered in orange and green smeared paint, a speckle of gold glitter on her nose. “You look adorable when you’re flustered.”
She glares at me. “He thinks we’re dating.”
“Well, what did you want me to say? Don’t worry, Chief. I’m just fucking your sister tonight and then I’ll be out of her hair?”
“Is that what you were doing?” Her eyes swell with unshed tears.
“No, pumpkin. Because once I devour you, you’ll be begging for more.”
“Ugh.” She pushes at my chest. “This is a mess. The last thing I want is my brother in my business. He broke Richard’s nose and knocked a tooth out last time, and Richard threatened to sue.”
“Who’s Richard?”
“My ex-husband.” She walks around the room, picking up her costume and tights.
Best thing I can do right now is get out of Ember’s living room before I make things worse.
“Ladder,” I mutter, heading for the front door.
The night air slaps cool across my cheeks, a welcome relief after the furnace inside. I fold the ladder, giving myself a second to breathe.
A flash of movement zips past my boots.
“Oh, no you don’t.”
One of Ember’s cats—a tiny white fluff ball, eyes wide with mischief—shoots through the cracked door like a streak of lightning.
“Bloody hell.” I lunge, but the thing’s quicker than fire. It bolts straight across the lawn, tail curling behind it like smoke.
From next door’s front yard comes Flint’s low laugh, rumbling like distant thunder. “What’s the matter, dragon boy? Can’t handle a kitten?”
I scowl, jogging after the little menace. “It’s like chasing smoke with legs.”
The cat darts under the hedge, doubles back, then zips around my boots again as if mocking me. My lungs burn, and not from fire. “Come here, you little—” I cut myself off, shooting a glance towards Flint’s looming silhouette.
Seraphina’s beside him, swaying on her feet, giggling like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever seen.
“I think that one’s called Smokey.” Her gaze flicks back to Flint.
“Smokin’. Smokes. He’s a hot one.” She hiccups, grinning at the chief.
“I should call you smokin’.” She staggers on her feet, and the chief catches her by her elbow, mumbling something under his breath.
He’s not laughing anymore. He’s watching me with narrowed eyes as he props Seraphina up, holding her by the elbow, suspicion hard and sharp even in the dim porch light.
From inside, the curtain twitches. Ember’s pale face peeks out, framed by a halo of messy hair, her cheeks still flushed redder than her hair.
She watches me trip across the lawn after the little white devil, and even through the glass I can see her hand fly to her mouth—trying and failing to hide her laugh.
Our eyes lock for a split second, and she mouths something that looks a lot like “idiot.”
Then the cat darts between my legs again, and her shoulders shake as she ducks out of sight, the curtain falling back into place.
I finally manage to scoop the cat into my arms. It squirms, mewling as if I’m strangling it. “Got you,” I mutter, glaring into its smug little face. “Your timing’s bloody perfect, isn’t it?”
Flint calls across the yard. “If you can’t wrangle a cat, Coleman, not sure how you think you’ll manage my sister.”
The words land like a dare.
I meet his gaze, clutching the fur ball against my chest. “Don’t you worry about me, Chief. It looks like you have your own problems to deal with.”
His mouth curves into the faintest smirk. But his eyes are still watching. Still weighing me up, unmoving, as if he’s waiting to see if I’ll stay or get in my truck and leave.
Since he stepped into the room like a giant fire extinguisher, all heat is gone. I just need to check on Ember before leaving.
Carrying Smokey, Smokes, or whatever this white slinky guy is called, I find Ember in the hall wearing a dressing gown over her curvy figure.
She takes the cat from me. “I bagged up your tail and costume.”
I take the bag from her. “This isn’t how I planned on tonight going.”
“I know, but maybe it’s for the best.” She chews on the inside of her cheek. “My brother would knock your head off, and I kinda like your head where it is.” With a sad smile, she caresses my face.
I lean into her, inhaling her scent, and whisper, “I kinda like the idea of my head buried between your thighs, pumpkin.”
She sucks in a breath. “Stop with the dirty talk.” Her cheeks heat as she ushers me out of the door. “I’ll see you Monday, Drake.”
“You want to meet up Monday?”
“I meant at school when you drop Sienna off.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah.” Heat stirs low in my gut as I walk to my truck, Flint’s eyes still lingering from next door. Monday can’t come soon enough.