of your closets. It’s more relationshipy that way.”
“Relationshipy?” he teases as he picks up the last bag for me.
“Yep.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan.”
His tone makes me pause, and I look over at my shadow demon. “You’re going to keep all my underwear in your room, aren’t you?”
His teeth flash in a devilish grin. “Yep.”
He disappears in a blink, and I snort and shake my head.
“What’s funny?”
I look up to find Iceman in the doorway. “Hey you,” I smile as I walk over to him. I don’t even have to step and weave anymore, since the guys cleared out all the last of the bags and boxes. “What were you doing?”
“I went back to the mansion to drop off Fern and to give Strut your list of things you like to eat. And Jerif and I are working on something, so I had to help him real quick.”
“Oh, what are you working on?” I press, curious.
“Secret things,” he teases before leaning down and kissing the top of my head. I tilt my head back to look up at him. “I also called your next-door neighbor, Maria. We worked out an agreement. For a monthly stipend, she’s going to watch the house while you’re not here, to make sure nothing happens to it while you’re away.”
“You missed a spot,” I tell him, puckering my lips.
He chuckles and plants a tender peck on my mouth this time, and I get all swoony and grateful for his thoughtfulness. Out of all the guys, I think Iceman really gets it—how important this house is to me. How it’s not just a house, but an extension of my parents. “Thank you, Rafferty,” I say quietly.
He smiles. “Rafferty, huh? I thought you only called me that when you’re mad at me.”
“Mad at you or really, really happy at you. It’s an opposite spectrum name usage.”
He smiles and rubs my back in soothing circles. “So Jerif’s off doing secret things?” I ask.
“Yep. I also had him take all of your toiletries earlier.”
“Do you think of everything?”
“Yes,” he answers without hesitation.
I grin and poke his back, where his trail of short spine spikes reside. He immediately flinches, and I have to bite my lip from laughing. “Sensitive, huh?”
He clears his throat, but I don’t miss the heat that’s banked in his icy eyes. “Ah, a bit, yes.”
I look around the room, and even though it’s still technically full of furniture, it feels emptier. All of my personal knickknacks are gone from the surfaces, my clothes are cleared out, and everything I use all the time has already been moved to the mansion.
“I know this is hard for you,” Iceman says, and I look up at him again.
“It is...but it’s good too. It feels like a new beginning. And you’ve made it so I don’t have to say goodbye to this place. So I’m getting the best of both worlds.” I let my lips curl up in a mischievous grin. “Besides, I figure this can be my pissed pad.”
That pulls him up short. “Your pissed pad?”
I nod. “Yeah, when you guys piss me off, I can come here to stew.”
He chuckles, shaking his head at me. “Jerif will love that.”
“I know, it’s gonna be great.”
“Did you want to go through the house one more time and check to make sure we got everything you want right now?”
I bite my lip and give the room a cursory glance. “Actually, I need help with something,” I confess. “Can you reach those nails in the wall and pull them out? I can’t get them.”
“Of course.”
Iceman gives me his back and gets right to work, so I quickly do the same. I unzip my pants and push them off, taking my underwear with them. My crop top is the next thing to slip down my hips, and I quickly kick the pile of clothes away. Iceman is talking about something, but I don’t focus on what as I try to pick a pose that says please fuck me now, I’ve been waiting for too damn long.
Iceman says something about needing some spackle, and I mm-hmm as I put one hand behind my head, and the other on my hip. No, that’s weird. I try both hands on my hips, but I just look like I’m pissed off or doing a really bad Superman impression. I rest my palms on the front of my thighs, elbows partially bent, and kind of stick out my chest.