Chapter Nine

Ever

“S hit, sorry. I think I’m tired, I got lost in my own world,” I reply, as I practically snatch the sweet-smelling treat.

“I love that when there’s a pastry around, you’re like a feral little gremlin.” Jensen grins.

I raise my eyebrow, “Gremlin? I look like a gremlin?”

I catch Rage’s gaze, and he smirks, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he looks toward the window to hide his grin.

“I er, no, of course not. Well, unless gremlins are beautiful? Are gremlins beautiful? You know I don’t actually know what they look like,” Jensen rambles, he looks around the car and adds almost desperately, “guy’s help a fellow boyfriend out?”

I only just manage to keep my laughter inside before he looks back at me.

“Oh no, you’re in this on your own,” Luc smirks.

“He’s right; you were stupid enough to insult our girlfriend,” Rage agrees, still looking out the window to hide his smile, although he has somehow made his voice sound completely serious.

“What!” Jensen exclaims, “What happened to solidarity between boyfriends?”

“I don’t think that’s ever been a thing,” Luc replies.

“But, I . . .”

“Jensen, gorgeous, I’m messing with you.”

His mouth drops open for a moment before he reaches over and starts tickling me; over the sound of my laughter, he replies, “I should know better by now.”

“You really should,” Rage replies, finally succumbing to his own laughter.

Jensen stops tickling me and grabs my neck, pulling me as close to him as he can in the confines of the car, and kisses me roughly; by the time that he pulls away, I can’t remember my own fucking name, let alone what the fuck we were talking about, and I just stare at him.

I am not even mad for his smug as fuck smile because, quite frankly, he has earned it; the man could ask me to do literally anything right now, and I would just nod and do it.

The car is silent, and as I glance around, I see all of the other's heated eyes watching me, even Luc, who should be focused on the road right now.

“Wait a fucking minute,” Jensen suddenly says as something occurs to him. His outburst has the others snapping out of their lusty thoughts.

“What?” Luc asks, his eyes, thankfully back on the road. The sun has now completely set, and I'm getting sleepy.

It’s not like Jensen, and I actually managed to get any sleep last night. We spent most of it in that giant house and walking through hidden tunnels. I will admit that there are worse ways to spend a night, hell, I have spent nights in worse ways, but it is catching up to me now and my bed is calling to me.

“You guys all knew that she was messing with me and instead of warning me, and helping me, you decided to join in?” Jensen questions sounding a mixture of offended and amused.

“Of course,” Rage replies with a smirk.

Jensen promptly flips him off and then points at them alternately, “Just you wait; I'm going to remember this; I’ll get you all back.”

Luc starts chuckling, “No, you won’t. As soon as you fall asleep, you will forget.”

Jensen frowns as he thinks about what Luc’s said and then replies, “You don’t know me.”

That sentence is so bazaar that it makes us all laugh, and Jensen eventually joins in and consoles himself with extra cakes from the bag. The drive home seems twice as long as it usually does, but I am determined to stay awake; I would rather get a full, proper night's sleep in my own bed than fall asleep in the car and wake up again to get ready for bed; it is just easier. At least I find it easier. I'm not the only one fighting sleep, Jensen is too, but he's just started humming to himself in order to keep himself awake.

He is doing it quietly, but I can’t place the tune, and it’s driving me crazy.

“Dude,” Rage says, turning around in the front seat and glancing at Jensen.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize I was doing it out loud,” Jensen replies immediately.

“No, I don’t mind,” Rage says, “but what the hell are you singing?”

Jensen smirks, “Erm, Thorn In My Side, by the Eurythmics , I went eighties for some reason.”

“Thank you,” I say dramatically, “I’ve been trying to place the tune for ages.”

“Me too,” Luc and Rage say at the same time, making me smile.

“I think I have that,” Luc says, and adds to Rage, “go through my playlists, I have an eighties favorites one, put it on, I’m in the mood for some good music.”

“On it,” Rage replies, Luc’s phone in his hand already as he starts to do as Luc asked.

For the rest of the car journey, we all sing eighties songs at the top of our lungs, and I am actually surprised at how well I know some of the songs. Ones that I thought I only knew one or two lines of, I know full verses of.

It is a lot of fun and keeps us awake for the rest of the drive home. When we finally arrive at home, with the music blasting, the guys in the other car raise their eyebrows.

“I think I was in the wrong car,” Cash says as he pulls me under his arm and kisses the top of my head.

“Oh, you definitely were; we had a blast,” I reply with a smile that quickly turns into a yawn. Spotting Peter still with them, I realize that they didn’t drop him off and ask, “Staying up here?”

“Yeah. I’m picking Shadow up from Lyric’s tomorrow, so I would be at home by myself since Eli’s on a job, and I don’t fancy that,” He explains unnecessarily.

“You know you and Shadow can stay with us until Elijah gets back if you want to?” Trick says, as he stretches out his back and then walks around to the Trunk, popping it open so we can grab our bags.

“Trick’s right, we love having you in the house,” Riot agrees.

Peter smiles, “Thanks, guys. I hate being in the house without Elijah. I was not made for being on my own. I would definitely prefer to stay up here, so long as you are sure it is, okay?”

“Of course,” I say, heading up the steps to our front door with my bags.

“Great, thanks, guys,” he replies, following me through the door.

“Does anyone want a snack or anything before we head to bed?” Rafe asks.

“Yeah, actually, I think I might have a snack. I’m hungry,” Atlas says.

“Me too,” Trick agrees. I need to go over a couple of things anyway.

I nod, “Don’t work too late. I'm exhausted, so I’m heading up to bed.”

“I won’t, don’t worry,” Trick replies, as he gives me a tight hug and kisses me goodnight. “We are taking it easy tomorrow. Hopefully, we will get the file sent through so we can go over it properly. While we wait we are going to go over the footage and see if we can find the guy who was already in the safe room when Sandy went in.”

“Sounds good,” I smile and add, “so you know, I’m wearing pjs all day.”

“I thought that was the plan anyway.” Peter smirks, “Night Ever.”

“Night, bestie.”

I go around the room saying goodnight and then head upstairs, noticing that even though only a couple of them said they’d stay downstairs, all of them are now in the kitchen rooting around for snacks, and from experience, I know that there’s only about five minutes before Rafe’s had enough and ends up cooking something. Even Jensen is still down there, and he has had as little sleep as I have.

As soon as I walk through my bedroom door, I take a deep breath. The familiar feeling of home that I got when I walked through the front door intensifies now that I am in my room, surrounded by my things. I gaze at my bed longingly, I really want to just forget everything else and fall headfirst into it, but I also want to have a shower and get into my PJs. I walk over to my dresser and pick out my coziest and most favorite pyjamas, turning and launching my phone on my bed so I don’t forget to charge it again I then dump my bag on the floor and make a mental note that I really should set a reminder on my phone to unpack it tomorrow and repack it, especially since we’re most likely going to be leaving again soon, and if I pack my bag last minute, I end up forgetting things. I'm already in the bathroom by the time that this thought has finished though, and my phone is in my room.

I will set the alarm after my shower. I wince at my own thoughts, knowing that I am most likely lying to myself.

“Ever?” I hear Trick call out as the warm water cascades down my body, and all of my tiredness melts away.

“In here!” I call back. “I thought you were hungry and had some things that you needed to go over?”

“I wanted to check on you first,” he replies, his voice muffled.

I giggle as he walks through the bathroom door, his shirt already halfway over his head, as his eyes travel the length of my naked body and leave a trail of blazing heat in their wake. I never knew that was possible until my men made me feel that way. The way that Trick looks at me makes me feel sexy and powerful, and I fucking love it.

I greedily watch Trick undress, admiring the hard lines of his chest and grinning when his already hard cock springs free of his boxers. I know that I was exhausted, but right now, my mind and body have other ideas, and that has got a lot to do with fucking Trick until we are both screaming in pleasure.

“If you keep looking at me like that, then we won’t just be showering,” Trick says, heat in his voice as he steps in front of me, his hands gently caressing my waist.

I smirk, “Who said I only wanted to shower?”

“God, I love you,” Trick mutters as he pulls me closer.

I burst out laughing, “Because I want sex right now?”

He kisses my neck, “No, because you are fucking perfect. Kiss me.”

“Yes, Sir,” I reply, my words coming out more of a moan than a reply.

He lifts me as I kiss him, my tongue stroking against his, as my legs wrap around his waist. My hands weave into his hair as he grips my ass, and he takes a step forward; I hiss as my back hits the cold tile of the shower, but he nips my lip making me moan, and returns the favor. I am soaked for him, my pussy clenching as the friction of our bodies presses against my clit. With an ease that turns me on even more, he lifts me, lining his dick up at my entrance and then plunging inside in one smooth stroke, I rip my lips from his as I cry out in pleasure, and he buries his head in my neck as he groans, his hands clenching on my ass.

My pussy clenches, and he nips my neck soothing the sting with his tongue; he kisses up my neck until he can whisper in my ear.

“How do you want it, Sweetheart, hard and fast, or do you want me to take my time,” Trick’s voice is like fucking velvet.

“Hard and fast,” I practically beg.

I am all for him taking his time, but if he pulls out of me now, I’m going to lose my goddamn mind.

Trick clearly likes my decision because he hums in approval, which quickly turns into a growl as I clench my pussy and shift my hips, my nails digging into his shoulders.

Using the leverage of the wall, he starts to move, pulling out slowly and then slamming back in; he picks up the pace as I hold on for dear life, my orgasm slowly building; I practically whimper like the needy bitch I am when he pulls out and unwraps my legs from around his waist, that is until I realize what he wants and I bend over, putting my hands on the bench that’s built into the shower cubicle and forever grateful that it exists.

I feel his dick nudge my entrance before he slams inside, making me cry out again as his hands grip my hips tightly, and I push my ass back. One of his hands reaches around me and slips between my folds finding my clit with ease and circling it with just the right amount of pressure, within seconds I am hurtling into oblivion as my orgasm skyrockets through me, and hear Trick yell my name as he quickly follows me.

When I come back down to earth, Trick helps me stand and spins me around, kissing me thoroughly and making me melt against him.

“It’s a good job you’re holding me up; my legs aren’t working right,” I tell him with a smirk.

“Good,” he replies. I would give him shit for looking so pleased with himself, but in this instance, I think he deserves to.

We finish the shower quickly, both of yawning by the time we finally crawl under the covers, as soon as my head lands on Trick’s chest I am fast asleep and most likely drooling.

Rafe

I 'm up before anyone else, not that I’m up early, it is actually lunchtime, but we all needed to catch up on some sleep. None of us went back to sleep after Ever, and Jensen went to check out the house. We all assumed that it was nothing to worry about, but we were not going to risk something happening and them needing backup. We were extremely close to sending Cash and Atlas after them when they didn’t check in for so long, but thankfully, they got hold of us.

I sip my coffee as I look out over the backyard and the forest beyond. I love where we live, I love that it is so peaceful, and that we don’t have to worry about anyone else up here. We can be ourselves completely. Stroking Runa, who sat on my lap as soon as I sat down, my mind turns to Sandy. Luc’s mom was almost as bad as his dad with the cutting remarks and emotional abuse that she threw his way, but unlike his dad, she did it far less often and actually preferred just to ignore him completely.

Her being involved with Hunt is not something that I had considered; I honestly thought that she wasn't interested in anything criminal and just went along with it because of Luc’s dad, but now it has got me wondering, although I am entirely unsure exactly how involved she is. I think it is likely that she saw a quick and easy payday and figured she would cash in. Although the way she behaved with the guy who shot her said otherwise, I would have said that he could have been her partner, but he was surprised when she entered the safe, and we watched her arrive alone.

It is complicated, but then again, when is any case that ends up linked to us not.

I am done with the cases that link to us now, I want to put Hunt away, or kill him, either works for me and then I want to work some cases that have no personal link to us. In my opinion we have had far too many of them. I take a moment longer just to enjoy the peace and quiet before I sigh, knowing that everyone is going to be up soon and hungry. I ended up making waffles for everyone last night; we were all hungry.

Stroking Runa one last time, she meows angrily at me as I move her.

“Sorry, Runa, I promise to give you some bacon,” I say, smiling as she chirps in reply. I swear that she can understand me sometimes.

The sound of the front door opening has me frowning and I head in that direction out of curiosity, greeting Peter and Shadow, “Hey, I didn’t realize you were already up.”

“Yeah, I was missing Shadow, so I went and got him,” Peter explains.

Turning around and heading back to the kitchen with Peter on my heels and Shadow disappearing somewhere in the house, I reply, “Jonah and everyone okay?”

“Yeah, they are all good. I swear Lyric is somehow even bigger, and I only saw her a few days ago.” Peter replies with fondness.

“I hope you didn’t say that to her,” I grin as I pull out pans and ingredients, and he helps himself to coffee. “I have zero experience with pregnant women, and even I know that you don’t tell one they are big.”

Peter chuckles, “I don’t have a death wish, and I think with Lyric’s pregnancy hormones, she might actually kill me.”

“Or try to,” I add.

“I mean, that is always a risk with her anyway. She is all innocent-looking but will stab you, no questions asked, if she feels like you deserve it.” Pete adds. “Kind of like Ever.”

“Yeah, apart from Ever will make sure you deserve it so she can determine how much to make it hurt,” I grin. I know that should not make me proud or turn me on, come to think of it, but it does.

Ever will always keep me on my toes and I never want that to change. Our family is perfect, and I love what we have built here.

“That’s for fucking sure,” Peter agrees, “she’s my best friend, and I’m damn glad that I’ll never be on her bad side.”

“Unless you go shopping for Christmas shit without her,” I point out.

“Yikes, yeah, I don’t even want to think about what would happen in that case.” Peter chuckles, and then changes the subject, “Do you want a hand?”

“Yeah, could you start breaking eggs into that bowl?” I reply.

“Of course,” he replies, as he starts breaking eggs into the bowl he adds, “you know I’ve helped you prepare quite a few meals by this point, and I still can’t get over how much we have to make just for one meal.”

I chuckle, “I know. I think if someone asked me to make a meal for two people, I would really struggle. I pretty much only know how to make big meals and things in bulk since I cook at least one meal a day, usually two for a minimum of nine people, but usually more.”

“Yeah, I imagine it would be difficult to scale everything back.” He replies, “What are these being turned into?”

“Waffles,” I reply.

“Got it,” he says as he grabs the rest of the ingredients and gets to work. He continues our original conversation, “At least if you do ever get that restaurant that you’d like to get, you’ll have no problem adjusting to cooking for a lot of people.”

I hum, “Yeah, I suppose so. That reminds me, I actually want to practice some more chef-like meals, ones with proper presentation and a bit more refined.”

“That sounds like fun, count me in for taste testing. Although I know that you aren’t going to be short of volunteers,” he chuckles.

“Well, I actually want to get everyone’s opinion on them; I have a couple of ideas; I want to try and expand my knowledge and my recipes. Get a few more favorites in there as well.” I explain as I continue to cook.

“That is an excellent idea. You want to have a good selection of recipes that you do really well. I would not suggest making the menu massive, as that will not necessarily be a good thing. Have a small but varied menu with recipes that you really love.” Peter replies, “And if you can, switch it up seasonally. Not only is it more sustainable that way, but it keeps it interesting for you. You don’t like cooking the same thing over and over again, and if you have a small menu, you run the risk of getting bored.”

“Wow, that’s a really good point,” I reply, surprised at his knowledge on the subject, “I hadn’t thought of either of those things, but they both make a lot of sense and if I ever do run my own restaurant, I’ll definitely be taking your advice.”

My curious tone catches his attention, and he smiles, he shrugs, “I was top of my class in business at Blackbreak. I also did some research when I couldn’t sleep one night. I know it is a dream of yours, and I wanted to help if I could.”

I smile, “You’re an amazing friend Pete, have I told you that recently?”

He chuckles as he takes his giant jugs of batter mix over to the waffle maker and starts making waffles, sprinkling chocolate chips in some.

“You haven’t told me that recently, no,” he replies.

“Haven’t told you what recently?” Trick asks curiously as he walks into the kitchen.

“That I’m awesome,” Peter replies with a massive grin.

Trick chuckles and, as he pours himself a coffee, replies, “Pete, you’re awesome.”

Peter smiles, “Why thank you.”

My smile doesn’t leave my face as they talk and I continue to get sausage, bacon and all of the guy’s favorite breakfast food ready. A nudge on my leg has me looking down and chuckling quietly as Runa sits down, looking up at me expectantly.

I don’t care what anyone says; she definitely understands what I'm saying.

I grab a piece of bacon that I have already cooked off the plate, making sure it’s cool enough before I give it to her. She takes it delicately before she trots off into the front.

“Don’t get bacon grease on the couch,” I call after her.

“You know I’d tease you for talking to her like she can understand us but quite honestly I think she understands more than most cats,” Trick points out amused, and echoing my thoughts.

“Oh, she definitely can,” Peter replies. “I swear she rolled her eyes at me once.” When Trick and I just stare at him in disbelief, he shrugs and adds, “Okay, maybe that was a little bit dramatic, but still.”

Both Trick and I chuckle in response, but Trick says, “I’m sure she probably does behind our backs.”

“Did you guys know that Runa’s in the front room eating bacon on the couch?” Cash says as he walks into the kitchen, scrubbing his hand through his hair.