Chapter Eighteen
Echo
I wake up alone with my phone plugged in, a full glass of water on the nightstand, and my clothes no longer scattered across half the fucking room.
I stare at the neatly folded leggings over the chair.
Draygon.
Naturally.
Apparently the man can spend half the night ruining me and still remember I’m the idiot who lets her phone die at twelve percent.
My body gives me a very enthusiastic reminder of last night when I stretch, and I immediately regret it.
“Jesus Christ.”
The clock says a little after seven, which means I have just enough time to shower, make myself look vaguely employable, and pretend I got more than four hours of sleep before Andre starts yelling.
By the time I make it downstairs, most of the house is already awake, and the kitchen smells like coffee, bacon, toast, and something buttery enough that my stomach immediately reminds me I barely ate yesterday.
Bexley and Sayshen are arguing over whose plate has more food, Cece is standing at the counter trying to make coffee while Revel keeps leaning into her space just to annoy her, and Thorne is propped against the island with a mug of tea in his hand, looking like somebody personally offended him by allowing the sun to come up.
Draygon is at the stove.
I know he helped out at his parents’ restaurant sometimes when they need him, and I’ve seen enough of him in a kitchen back home to know cooking is one of those things he genuinely enjoys, and not something he does because he has to.
He gets weirdly focused about it too, like feeding people is somehow easier than saying whatever softer shit is going through his head.
His eyes lift when I walk in and the second he sees me, one side of his mouth tips up. Not his usual grin, but a cocky fucking smirk.
I stop just inside the kitchen. “Don’t you dare.”
He turns back to the stove like he has absolutely no idea what I’m talking about. “Morning to you too.”
“I know that face.”
“What face?”
“That smug one you get when you’re thinking something you absolutely should keep to yourself.”
He glances over his shoulder at me. “I’ve got a lot of faces like that. You’re gonna have to narrow it down.”
“See? That. Exactly that.”
A quiet laugh leaves him while he finishes whatever he’s doing, and I start toward the coffee machine because caffeine feels significantly safer than standing here letting him look at me like he remembers every sound I made last night.
I make it about three steps before he says, “Where are you going?”
“Coffee.”
“You can get coffee in a minute.”
I look back at him. “I’m sorry, did you just tell me I have to wait for coffee?”
“I said you can get it in a minute. There is a difference, pretty girl.”
“There really isn’t.”
“There is when you haven’t eaten yet.”
I fold my arms. “You’re being bossy awfully early.”
“And you’re being difficult awfully early, so I guess we’re both right on schedule.”
Sayshen glances over from the table. “He’s got you there.”
“Stay out of it.”
“I wasn’t even in it.”
“You inserted yourself. That counts.”
Draygon shakes his head, still smiling, then reaches for a plate he’s already put together and walks over to me with it.
I look down.
Eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, potatoes.
An actual fucking breakfast.
I look back at him. “What is this?”
He gives me a flat look. “Food, Echo.”
“I can see that, smartass. Why are you handing it to me like I’m five?”
“Because if I leave you to do it yourself, all you’ll drink coffee and call that breakfast.”
“That is breakfast.”
“No, that’s caffeine.”
“Same thing.”
“Absolutely not.”
I take the plate from him, mostly because it smells too good to keep arguing.
“You sleep all right?”
I narrow my eyes. “You know damn well I didn’t get much sleep.”
His mouth twitches. “Wasn’t what I asked.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Still didn’t answer.”
“I slept fine.”
“Good.”
The word comes out quieter than everything else.
Then, before I can think too hard about that, his hand settles lightly at the back of my neck and he leans down, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
It’s quick and easy. Like he’s done it a hundred times and its completely normal. My brain, unfortunately, reacts like he just dropped a live grenade into the kitchen. I stare at his chest for half a second before looking up at him.
“You’re getting bold.”
His thumb brushes once behind my ear before he lets me go. “You didn’t seem to mind bold last night.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.”
From somewhere behind me, somebody chokes.
I turn.
Revel has one hand over his mouth and Cece is staring at him like she’s deciding whether she can kill him with a spoon.
“What?” he says around a laugh. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Uh huh, sure,” I tell him.
Cece snorts.
Draygon chuckles, and just walks back toward the stove like he hasn’t done anything, while I take my plate to the table and drop into an empty chair.
“Morning.”
A mug gets set down beside my plate.
I look up and find Wolfe standing there with his own coffee in one hand.
I glance at the mug. Then at him.
“You made me coffee?”
“Yeah.”
I take a sip and its exactly perfect. I look back toward Draygon, then back to Wolfe slowly.
“Okay, this is starting to feel coordinated.”
Wolfe laughs. “What is?”
“You people feeding me and bringing me coffee like I’m some kind of stray you found outside.”
“You kind of were.” Talon adds, standing up from the table with his plate and empty glass in hand.
“Fuck you.”
“I mean, if we’re being technical, you did show up half-feral and living in a motel.”
I point at him with my fork. “You’re one sentence away from wearing these eggs.”
“That’d be a waste. Draygon actually knows what he’s doing.”
From the stove, Draygon says, “Thank you.”
“Do not encourage him.”
Wolfe pulls out the chair beside me for half a second like he’s going to sit, then seems to change his mind when Thorne says something from behind him.
“Oi, you planning on blocking the whole fucking kitchen all morning, mate?”
Wolfe turns around. “You could move.”
“I was here first.”
“You’re leaning against a counter.”
“Exactly. Found my spot, didn’t I?”
Wolfe walks over to him, and there’s something so casual about it that I don’t really clock what he’s doing until his hand settles against Thorne’s side.
Then he leans in and kisses him.
Not dramatic or some big declaration.
Just a quick, warm kiss right there in the middle of the kitchen before Wolfe pulls back and takes another drink of his coffee like nothing happened.
The kitchen goes completely quiet as every set of eyes lands on Wolfe and Thorne, nobody even attempting to be subtle about it.
A few seconds pass before Thorne finally notices.
His gaze drifts around the room, taking in all the staring faces, before his expression slowly flattens.
“Oh, fuck off. Every single one of you.”
Revel lifts one finger. “I just want to say, as someone who has personally been bullied by this group for months—”
“No.”
“I haven’t even said it yet.”
“Don’t need you to, do I? Whatever smug little comment is loading behind your eyes, bin it.”
Revel looks offended. “That is such bullshit. You people have had commentary on my love life for months..”
Cece looks over at him. “Papi, you don’t have a love life.”
He turns toward her. “See? This is exactly the kind of hostile workplace environment I’m talking about.”
“You’ll survive.”
“I don’t know, mama. Words hurt.”
“You’ve literally fallen off of motorcycles. Crashed into walls...”
“And somehow you’re still meaner.”
Talon leans back in his chair, looking between Wolfe and Thorne with a slow grin. “Still, took you two long enough.”
Thorne’s head snaps toward him. “Oi, fuck off.”
“That’s what I’m saying,” Sayshen cuts in, immediately perking up again. “We’ve all been watching this painfully obvious bullshit for years”
“You have not.”
Revel snorts. “Dude, Stevie Wonder could’ve seen it.”
Cece laughs into her mug while Bexley’s grin gets wider, and even Draygon looks like he’s trying not to enjoy this too much.
Thorne glances around at all of them. “You’re all smug little cunts, you know that?”
“Yeah,” Talon says. “But we’re right.”
That gets Wolfe laughing beside him, completely unbothered, which only seems to irritate Thorne more.
I’m laughing too now, mostly because the tips of Thorne’s ears are going pink and he looks like he’d rather launch himself through the nearest window than admit any of us have a point.
He catches me looking and points at me. “Don’t you fucking start either.”
I lift both hands. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Your face is saying enough.”
That only makes me laugh harder.
Wolfe is standing beside him looking annoyingly amused, and Thorne finally turns his head.
“You’re enjoying this way too much.”
Wolfe’s grin only gets wider. “A little.”
“A little?” Thorne looks at him like he’s taking the piss. “Mate, you just kissed me in front of the nosiest bunch of bastards I’ve ever had the misfortune of knowing.”
Wolfe shrugs, completely unbothered. “Don’t pretend you didn’t like it.”
Thorne’s mouth twitches. “Oh, I more than fucking liked it. That ain’t the problem.”
That gets another round of looks from the table.
Wolfe laughs under his breath. “So what is the problem?”
“The audience, innit?” Thorne gestures vaguely around the kitchen with his mug. “Look at ’em. Bunch of fucking vultures. They’ll be dining out on this for weeks.”
“You embarrassed?”
Thorne turns his head slowly and gives Wolfe a long look, one brow lifting.
“Embarrassed?” He lets out a short laugh. “Mate, I’ve done considerably more embarrassing things with you than have a little snog in a kitchen.”
The room erupts.
I nearly inhale a piece of toast.
Revel slaps a hand against the table. “There we fucking go.”
Cece drops her head back. “Oh my God.”
Bexley is laughing so hard she has to put her mug down before she spills it, and Sayshen points across the table at Thorne like he’s just been handed all the ammunition he needed.
“See? You can’t say shit like that and then tell us not to react.”
Thorne’s expression immediately shifts into regret.
“Yeah, nah. Forget I said that.”
“Too late,” Revel says.