because I’ve never really met Ares and Dante’s parents. Or maybe it’s because I’m too curious about how they all live together to be weirded out.
“Just grab some clean sheets from the closet and be quiet,” Dante orders, and I notice his gaze darting around quickly. I think he’s reluctant to be here as well.
“Should we do the other rooms?” Milo’s in the doorway; all of them seem hesitant to enter.
“Guys, it is just a bed. Here, I’ll do it.” I pull back the covers of the tightly tucked blanket and reveal crisp white sheets. “Are we just doing the sheets?” I don’t want to throw the comforter on the floor if we’re reusing it.
“I saw another set in the closet,” Ollie offers before rushing away. I let the blankets and sheets fall to the ground, and Milo hands me the new, pale sheets before stepping back to the doorway right away. I roll my eyes.
Seeing me struggling with the huge bed, Ares finally comes in to help. After helping me tuck in the top sheet, he makes his escape. Dante brings me the folded comforter and matching blanket, his face twisted up.
Throwing my hands in the air I ask, “What is the big deal, were you guys not allowed in here as kids or something?”
“No, we were in here all the time. I slept in that room until I was, like, eight.” Dante points to the right, meaning one of the adjacent rooms.
“Then why are you guys being so weird?” My hands land on my hips. I don’t understand them. I slept next to my mom until I got too big to share our tiny bed with her.
“It’s just different now.” Dante shrugs, his face pinched.
“How? It’s just a bed—a place to sleep, a place to… oh.” I snag the blanket from his arms, tossing it over the sheets. No one says anything else as I finish making the bed.
I find the guys waiting for me in the sitting room area. They’re all playing it cool, like they weren’t just freaked out about their parents having sex. “Are we doing the others?” I motion to the two other rooms.
“No, they don’t use those much.” Ares winces with his statement. “Let’s get out of here.”
Instead of going back to the living room, we all migrate to Ares’s room. I change into a soft pair of sleep shorts and a tank top before crawling into bed. It’s still early—maybe around seven—but I know once I lie down, I’m not going to want to get up to change.
Ollie and Milo discuss what videogame they’re going to play while Dante strips off his shirt and pants, leaving them on the floor—much to Ares’s displeasure—and climbs in next to me. His tightly muscled stomach bunches as he leans down, and the feline grace I’ve noticed before makes more sense now that I’ve seen him in his shifted form.
“Did it hurt?” I wonder.
“Huh?” Unaware of my thoughts, Dante has no idea what I’m talking about.
“When you fell from heaven, did it hurt?” I roll my lips in, trying to keep a straight face. Ollie snaps his head around, which tells me he was listening.
Dante freezes, like, goes completely still with his hand still poised over the bed. I can’t help it, I burst out laughing. Wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes, I laugh so hard it turns to just a breathy, hyena laugh.
“I’m so sorry, it just popped out. I couldn’t resist.” I tell them through my tears. Ollie lets out a few low chuckles before facing the TV again. “Don’t be mad, I was just teasing.” I trace my fingers over Dante’s dark brows, smoothing them out. He’s lying on his side, facing me. His features relax as I continue to run my hand over his face, moving to his hair.
Dante’s hair is thick, but silky. His dark brown locks are a little unruly and fall into his light amber eyes. I scoot closer, so our noses are only about six inches apart, sighing as I watch him move into my touch.
“I was thinking how you make everything look so graceful, and that made me think of Dante kitty, and I was wondering if it hurt to make the shift?”
“Dante kitty?” His eyes close as he twists to bump my hand over his head.
“Well?” I ignore his query about my name for his tiger. What else would I call him?
“It doesn’t hurt. The first shift did. It was like it broke