"Yeah, but we've kind of been roped back in because of the brakes being cut," Mirabeau pointed out reluctantly.
Drina frowned. "Did he actually say you were back on duty? I thought he just said to get Stephanie and me back to peak and get Tiny turned because he wanted everyone prepared."
A slow smile curled Mirabeau's lips. "Actually, you're right."
"Then you're not on duty," Drina decided. "It's my problem. And I'm not telling him."
Mirabeau smiled, and then worry began to pluck at her lips. "He'll be so pissed at you."
Drina gave a short laugh. "Uncle Lucian's temper doesn't worry me. Well, not much anyway," she admitted wryly, and then pointed out, "I work for the European council. I'm only here as a favor. He really has no jurisdiction over me."
"Nice," Mirabeau said with a grin, and then glanced to the door as it opened.
"I got popcorn and some sodas for each of us, and I picked three movies," Stephanie announced, bouncing into the room, her arms full. "An action flick, a horror, and a comedy. I figured we could vote on which to watch." She glanced over her shoulder as they heard footsteps on the stairs, and added, "The others are coming to relieve us. Are you two ready?"
The porch Harper had mentioned was rectangular, running along the side of the house away from the road on the second story. The upper half of the three outer walls were made up mostly of windows, but there was also a heavy-duty door with a relatively new dead bolt. It led down to the deck, and Drina vaguely recalled seeing a screen door on the outside while crossing the deck on one pass. As for the windows, they were old-fashioned, tall and narrow with wooden frames that swung open rather than raised or slid to the side as more modern windows did. Their screens had been removed for the winter season and were stacked against one wall. Seasonal caulking of some sort had been run around each window to prevent a draft from slipping through, but while the walls themselves may have been insulated, the windows were not, and it was quite chilly when she, Harper, and Stephanie stepped out into the porch.
"It warms up in here pretty quickly," Harper assured them as he moved to turn on a heavy-duty electric heater in one corner.
Drina nodded and glanced around as Stephanie dumped her cache of goodies on a coffee table between the couch that sat under the wall of windows and the television that sat opposite it against the house wall. A frown drew Drina's lips tight as she considered the vulnerabilities, and then she said, "Stephanie, go get yourself a bunch of pillows and maybe a comforter. Whatever you think you'll need to make a comfy nest on the floor. I don't want you in front of the windows."
"Okay," Stephanie said easily, either not minding the nesting idea or not willing to cause a fuss and risk losing this opportunity to be away from the others. "I'll bring enough that you guys can join me if you like."
"I didn't think of the windows," Harper said apologetically, glancing around at them as Stephanie slowly walked to the far end of the room, taking in what could be seen of the surrounding neighborhood.
It was probably a charming view during daytime, and wasn't bad at night either. However, with the lights on in the room, they were on display to anyone who cared to look up toward the windows.
"It'll be okay," Drina murmured. "We'll just make sure Stephanie keeps her head under the window ledges and maybe turn the lights out so only the television screen casts light. That's more fun for horrors anyway."
"Horrors, huh? Is that what you're voting for?" Harper asked by her ear, and she turned in surprise to find he'd crossed the room to join her. When he caught her by the hips and drew her to rest against him, she smiled and slid her arms around his neck.
"Actually, I like actions, comedies, and horrors in equal measure," she murmured as he nuzzled her ear.
"What about p**n s?"
A startled laugh slid from Drina's lips, and she pulled back to peer at him. "I'm afraid I've never seen one. They just seemed uninteresting when I hadn't bothered with sex in so long."
"I've never seen one either," he admitted with a grin, and then his voice deepened as he added, "Except for the ones that have been playing through my head since the day you arrived in Port Henry."
"Really?" Drina asked with interest, leaning her upper body farther away, which inadvertently pressed her hips more tightly against his. "And what happens in those p**n s that play through your head?"
"Oh, many things, but mostly I lick, nibble, and kiss my way from your toes to the top of your head, and then turn you over and do it again," he growled, and then lowered his head to kiss her.
Drina opened to him at once, her body pressing eagerly forward in response to his words. They'd sparked a heat in her that was never far from the surface anyway, and she found the image he'd created filling her mind as she ran her hands over his chest, and then down to find the growing hardness between them.
Harper growled into her mouth and pressed her back against the window, his own hands moving over her body through her clothes before settling on her br**sts and squeezing almost painfully, evidence of his own excitement.
"I love your body," he muttered, tearing his mouth from hers to explore her neck and ear, as he let one hand skate down between her legs. "You should be naked all the time."
Drina laughed breathlessly and removed her hand from his erection to catch his hand as she reminded him. "Windows everywhere and Stephanie returning."
Harper groaned by her ear, but stilled and sagged against her.
"Besides," Drina added on a sigh, "you're just stoking a fire we can't do a damned thing about since I'll be rooming with Stephanie again tonight."
"Damn," he breathed with frustration.
"On the bright side," she added with forced cheer, "if you were to go to bed the same time as Stephanie and me, you and I might finally get to experience those shared dreams everyone talks about life mates having."