Chapter 15

T he level of comfort oneiros craved meant Matty had the largest, plushest couch and the softest pillows. His apartment was the natural choice for movie nights even before Josie moved in with Carter. We had a few configurations us Marys used to ensure maximum comfort without crowding one another. The ideal position meant we could stretch out but not touch. Even as adults, we had broken into plenty she (or he) is touching me fights.

But, with Kierce joining us, I strove to be more mature as I staked out our cushion for the evening.

Using the spinner from a game we had lost forever ago, Matty flicked the arrow and waited for it to land on a letter. The spinner was our secret weapon, the key to our eclectic taste. Mostly because none of us liked to watch the same thing, and it saved time and drama to let fate select for us.

“Looks like we have an R .” He scrolled to the menu on our favorite streaming app. “ Racing for Love. Red Moon Rising. Rate our Date ?—”

“That one,” Josie and I said together then grinned at each other.

“It sounds horrible.” Matty smiled back at us. “I’m in.”

Once I was snuggled into Kierce’s side, he tapped my arm. “The goal is to find the worst option?”

“Not really but yes.” I chortled at his confusion. “Half the fun of having siblings is tormenting them.”

“No one wants to watch drop-dead-gorgeous twentysomethings date other drop-dead-gorgeous twentysomethings.” Josie, who had been in charge of snacks, flopped beside me. “Unless they’re sadists.”

“Or masochists,” Matty interjected. “The suffering we inflict on ourselves, hour after hour, by watching pretty-girl and pretty-boy problems play out on screen is more rewarding than the show.”

Kierce made a thoughtful sound but settled in to watch with Badb on his shoulder.

Partway through the first episode, Kierce asked, “Why do they call it reality television?”

“That’s the million-dollar industry—I mean question—isn’t it?” Matty shook his head. “It’s so scripted.”

“Are you trying to tell me that Trish doesn’t really want Logan to give her a pink carnation?” Josie sucked in a shocked breath. “Just because she was making out with Andy in the closet five minutes ago and had a heavily implied threesome last week—complete with night-vision footage of three sets of toes rubbing one another—doesn’t mean her love for Logan isn’t real.”

“How can you tell any of them apart?” I tossed Badb a piece of popcorn she caught in her beak. “Trish and Andy could be identical twins. The whole female cast is interchangeable. There’s more variety in the guys, but that’s not saying much. And who’s cleaning the furniture? They never wear shirts, and their abs are always glistening. You can’t tell me that’s not oil. Do they budget for new furniture weekly or what?” I noticed everyone staring at me. “What?” I munched grumpily. “I have questions, okay?”

“You’re focusing on the wrong things.” Josie hit me between the eyes with a piece of popcorn. “This isn’t a show about oil, furniture, or even love. It’s about abs. Boobs. And more abs. And then more boobs.”

“She’s not often right,” Matty allowed, “but I’ll award her the point this time. Frankie, you’re putting too much thought into what’s supposed to be mindless television. Watch the flexing abs and the bouncing boobs and enjoy yourself.”

When Kierce rested his arm across my shoulders, the brush of his hand over my nape could have passed as accidental, but the slide of his fingers under my hair proved the touch was intentional. A slow twirl of his fingers and a slight tug tipped my head back, and Kierce leaned down to brush his lips across my ear.

“You could watch me instead,” he murmured, his grip tightening, and my stomach tumbled at his tone.

Resting my head on his chest, I stared up at him, watching the gray in his eyes glimmer into silver.

We sat like that for an eternity, until Badb pinched my finger in her beak. On accident. Probably. I jerked up to find my popcorn eaten, and her stomach as round as a beach ball. The last kernel rattled in the bottom, trapped under my thumb, which I had been using to balance the bowl on my lap.

As I sucked the drop of blood off my skin, I became aware of eyes boring into me.

Matty and Josie sat shoulder to shoulder. Having abandoned all pretense of watching the show, the two of them stared at Kierce and me while polishing off their snacks. Neither exhibited a lick of remorse over being caught. They just grinned, their chipmunk cheeks stuffed with popcorn.

“Kierce and I should get going.” I cleared my throat and fed Badb the final kernel. “Good night, siblings.”

“I told you watching live reality TV wouldn’t work,” Matty said to Josie as I nudged Kierce ahead of me.

“We were just getting to the good part,” she called after us. “Hair pulling always leads to?—”

“Ick.” Matty made gagging noises. “You told me that part would fade to black.”

“I lied.” She cackled with glee. “Sucker.”

Leaving them to it, I shut the door behind us with a bang then slumped against it. “I’m so?—”

Warm lips descended on mine, crushing my apology between us. Kierce braced a hand against the door, leaned in, and pressed his body into mine. Legs turning to jelly, I gripped his collar, holding on for dear life as he devoured me. I was breathless and trembling, plastering myself against him, eager to see how far this burst of hunger would take us, when I tumbled backward into nothing.

Strong arms snaked around my waist, catching me before I cracked my skull on the floor in the entryway of Matty’s apartment. As I clung to Kierce for a wholly different reason, my heart attempted to climb out of my chest. Hanging off Kierce, I glared upside down at Josie, who had fallen on her butt in shock.

Below us, a horn honked, and I grasped the situation.

Carter came to fetch Josie and drive her home, Josie burst out the door, phone to her ear, and I got caught making out with my boyfriend, who had decided to ravish me on the landing.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she ventured. “Carter is in a rush, so I didn’t look where I was going.”

“It’s our fault.” I let Kierce tug me upright. “We were, um, blocking your path.”

“Let me help.” Matty hooked his hands under Josie’s arms and lifted her onto her feet. “No running.”

With her gaze already latched on Carter, she didn’t even pause to embarrass me. Just hugged Matty and me then skipped down the stairs. She ran to the truck, blowing Carter a kiss as she walked in front of the headlights, then climbed in while Carter pretended to wipe off the kiss then throw it out her window.

“I am going to bed,” Matty announced then shut the door in our faces.

“I should apologize.” Kierce threaded our fingers. “But I’m not sorry.”

“That makes two of us.” A laugh bubbled out of me. “You always surprise me.”

“I surprise myself.” He led me down to my landing. “Is that all right to confess?”

“That I cause you to burst into spontaneous kissing frenzies?” I was delighted to have that effect on him. “Who doesn’t want to hear that from their boyfriend?”

Boyfriend. I had a boyfriend. Me. I couldn’t remember the word ever making me so giddy.

“It’s coming back to me.” His thumb stroked my knuckles. “The wanting.” He raked his free hand through his hair. “It’s overwhelmed me twice now.” He opened his mouth, then shut it. “I don’t think I would have stopped.”

A kiss, even a heated kiss, was a long ways from having sex against my brother’s front door standing on a metal staircase in clear view of the road. But for someone unused to the rush of hormones whispering bad ideas in their ear, I understood why Kierce worried he might be moving too fast for me. Or maybe it was too fast for himself, but he hadn’t quite interpreted the signals from his lust-addled brain correctly.

Which, go me. Much like most of my new powers, I had never wielded that one before.

“I would have stopped you if you did anything I didn’t want.” I bit my bottom lip. “You’ve got to promise you’ll do the same if I overstep.”

Each time my brain attempted to slip me an intrusive thought about how hard he had been against me, I got twitchier. I was horrified to admit I might have orgasmed from a single thrust of his hips through our layers of clothes if we had gotten that far.

Heat sparking in my face, I considered blaming my new demigodhood for my raging hormones.

Several long seconds later, Kierce rumbled, “I don’t think I would have stopped you either.”

“Don’t say things like that.” I groaned as possibilities filled my head. “I haven’t been with anyone in…”

“…a long time?” The edges of his smile curved. “Are you saying I tempt you?”

“You’ve tempted me since the moment I saw you walking the cemetery at night like you belonged there.”

Like he might belong with me too.

On a low growl, his forehead came to rest against mine, and I held still while he gathered himself. “It shouldn’t hurt so much. This wanting.”

A shiver danced down my spine as we stood on the stairs under the moon. As if he had spoken those words to me before, in another life, in another time, in another world. As if they rang through our histories, echoing in the present.

I blamed that on the demigodhood thing too.

A blur drew my attention down to the office where Johnny skidded to a stop as he noticed me.

“Hey.” I crossed my fingers my earlier gambit had paid off. “Got news for me?”

“Hey yerself.” A flash of blue light, and he stood next to me. “Me and the boys sat in on that meeting.”

“You sent the Buckley Boys,” Kierce said slowly, “to the Grandview Women’s Club meeting?”

“Yep.” I focused on Johnny enough to tousle his hair. “What did you learn?”

“The club’s a ruse.” He tapped under his eye. “They don’t knit or crochet or read them steamy books.”

“Okay.” I leaned against the railing. “What do they do then?”

“They figure out how to hide women and kids who’re getting walloped at home.”

“They aid domestic abuse survivors,” I murmured, sharing a glance with Kierce over my shoulder.

“That’s what I said.” Johnny huffed. “They was all hyped about some new place to live where there was room for everyone.” He rolled a shoulder. “There was some kind of problem there, but they didn’t know what. Mostly they answered calls and told people everything was going to be okay.”

“I don’t suppose you heard any names?”

“I heard ’em say Rosalie Morgan.” He scratched his head. “And Patricia Morgan, I think.”

“Sisters?”

“Yeah. Twins.”

“Thanks.” I could pass the names on to Carter if the internet failed me. “I appreciate the help.”

“We’re happy to help, ain’t we?” He grinned. “I’ll add this to your tab.”

If I wanted a life outside of reading to the boys, I might have to invest in audiobooks and a sound system.

Quick as a blink, he zipped away in a smudge of blue light, leaving Kierce and me alone.

With an idea I hoped our lanyards would excuse if we got caught.