some emergency supplies." He continued hunting through my drawers and cabinets until he located what he was searching for. "Ta-da!" He popped up from the cabinet under my sink, brandishing a flashlight in one hand and a packet of tea-light candles in the other.
"Told you," he said, pure smug satisfaction. It only made me punchier.
I gave a small shrug. "Cool. Shows how often I've looked through those cabinets, I guess."
Scott just laughed. "Yeah, you're not exactly a domestic housewife kinda girl, huh?" The way he said that like it was a personality failing made me seethe. He clicked the flashlight on, testing it, then gave me a cocky smile. "Shall we?"
I shook my head, confused as hell. "Shall we... what?"
"Go and check the circuits. They're pretty standard; we just find the fuse that tripped and flip it back on. Just like that, easily done. Or would you rather sit here and wait for Cass to get back like some kind of weak, whimpering damsel in distress?" He scoffed a bit, and my teeth ground together hard.
I was spared the need to respond, though, as my front door rattled with a series of hard knocks, and I spun around to answer it.
Scott rushed past me, though, shoving me away from the door with his arm extended. "Stay back," he ordered me. "It could be anyone."
I rolled my eyes as he pressed his face to the peephole. "Or it could be Steele, who I was on the phone with when the power went out."
Scott shot me a frown, then nodded. "You're right. It is. Why were you on the phone with him?"
I ignored his question and pushed him out of the way so I could unlock the door again. The second it opened, Steele collected me up in his arms, hugging me to his body so hard it almost hurt.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" he hissed in my ear as his arms tightened around my middle even more. "Why did you open the door to him? What if he cut the power?"
"To what end?" I replied in a low voice. My lips were right by his ear, and there was no need to project our conversation for everyone to hear. "He's not my stalker; he's just a bit intense. Besides, I called you back, didn't I?"
Steele released me just far enough to grab my face between his hands. "And I appreciate that, Hellcat. But in future, call me first so I can tell you not to open the fucking door, okay?"
His gaze was intense, blazing with protectiveness and heat, and when he crashed his lips into mine, it was with a staggering ferocity. I kissed him back with equal vigor until Scott muttered something snarky under his breath.
Steele let me break away from his kiss but didn't let me go far. His hands shifted down to my waist and held me against his body when I turned around to face Scott. Only then did I realize Kody and Archer had both followed Steele into my apartment.
Kody was grinning broadly, but Archer looked like he wanted to stab someone in the head. Probably me.
"Well, thanks for coming by," Scott told the guys, "but I've got this handled." He waved his flashlight like that was the answer to the whole blackout.
Archer just scoffed a laugh and snatched the flashlight out of Scott's hand. "What the fuck are you doing here, Scottie? I thought we told you to back the fuck off."
"Calm the hell down," Scott sneered back. "I had arranged to come over and study with Maddie tonight."
"Seems awfully coincidental," Kody drawled, stalking closer to Scott, then circling around him like a predator. "You show up right after the power goes out."
Scott laughed like he thought Kody was joking, but it was an uneasy, nervous laugh. "What, you think I cut the power myself? For what, exactly?"
Archer shrugged with a fluid rolling of muscles that captured my attention way too effectively. Steele's fingers tightening against my belly snapped me out of it, though. Fuck Archer, I didn't need his damage in my life.
"You tell us, Scottie," Archer replied, oblivious to the way I'd just ogled him. "What would have happened if you'd convinced Madison Kate to go down to the basement with you?"
Scott gaped. "Are you serious right now? Maddie, is this for fucking real? What's going on here?"
I licked my lips, trying to work out what was going on. Could the guys be right about Scott's convenient timing?