“Noah, she hit me. Are you going to let her do that? Your shift, your responsibility.”
Noah grabbed my wrists, pressing them together and pulling them over his left shoulder.
“Behave yourself.” Amusement rode his tone. “Don’t pick on him just because he’s your least favourite Adair.”
I immediately felt sorry for Cabe, who only grumbled a reply to Noah’s statement, prompting me to pull out of Noah’s grip. I crawled on my hands and knees to the other side of the cupboard. It was hard to see anything in the dark, but I could feel the material of Cabe’s pants against my wrists as I inched between his legs. He didn’t reach out and pull me in, as I had expected him to, so I kept going until I was close to his face.
“Lucifer?” I whispered, squinting at his face in the darkness.
“Don’t fall for it.” Noah sounded like he was trying not to laugh, but the muffled quality of his voice might have also been a product of him trying to be quiet.
Cabe didn’t say a thing. He didn’t move a muscle. I was really concerned now, and I lifted one of my hands, feeling along his chest until my fingers brushed the bare skin of his neck. He still didn’t make a sound, but I could feel the sudden burn of his emotion, just the same as I had felt it the night before, and I paused with my fingers hovering over his jaw. A silence thicker than the previous silence swept through our dark little space, and Cabe gently reached for me, pulling me astride his hips. My fingers traced higher, and I felt his smile.
“Traitor,” I whispered.
“Hmm,” he replied, his fingers trailing up from my knees to my thighs. He settled his hands in a hold that framed the waistband of my jeans, pulling me closer. “I really shouldn’t be feeling like this right now. Not with what’s going on downstairs.”
“You’re sick,” Noah said. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“Very,” Cabe affirmed. “Seph?”
“W-what?”
“You’re shaking.”
I glanced down at myself. He was right. There was a tremble radiating out from my bones and I couldn’t seem to control it. His hands left my jeans to push up into my shirt, settling around my sides, his thumbs brushing low across my stomach as his fingers fanned against my back. I pulled in a deep breath, my head growing suddenly heavy. It was difficult to concentrate on anything but the brush of his thumbs against my skin. His thighs were tense against mine and I was shaking too much to keep myself upright, so I sagged forward, my chest catching against his, my hands clutching his arms. I could hear him breathing now, and it sounded strained.
“If I’d have known that she’d be pushing that feeling through the bond so goddamn often, I might have put off the bonding a little longer.” Noah spoke in a breathy growl. “Seph, maybe go back to needing space. For our sanity.”
“I’m not doing anything,” I protested.
Even to me, I sounded distracted.
Cabe didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the conversation at all. He lifted his head and I could suddenly feel his breath against my cheek. I wanted to turn my head, to encourage him to kiss me, but now really wasn’t the time or place. He seemed to be struggling with the same thought. His thumbs made another brushing motion against my stomach, pressing in lightly against the slight give of muscle. I pushed back instinctively. He groaned quietly, and his head fell away from me, gently thudding against the shelves behind him.
“Take her,” he choked out. “These are going to be quick shifts.”
Noah pulled me back with a swiftness that should have injured me somehow, but I only ended up falling soundlessly into his lap. He kept me facing away from him, and I was glad. I didn’t want to make them uncomfortable.
“Should we play a game or something?” I asked hesitantly.
“My mind’s in the wrong place right now,” Noah replied. “Not sure what kind of game you mean.”
“I mean to pass the time. A word association game or something.”
“I don’t know any word association games,” Cabe admitted.
“Truth or dare, then,” I offered. “I’m sure people play that in closets all the time.”
Behind me, Noah chuckled.
“What is it with you and that game?” Cabe sounded amused.
“I really have no idea.”
“Fine. But the dare part isn’t a good idea. Not unless you feel like taking your clothes off and sitting on me again—”
“Jesus, Cabe,” Noah growled. “Could you not?”
“Just being honest. So let’s just play truth. Or not, actually… considering what I just said. Maybe we should play a different game?”
I was shaking my head, my hands covering my face, but only Noah could tell. Eventually, I found my voice again.
“Um… never have I ever?”
“Never have you ever what?” Cabe asked.