a noise in his throat but brushed the damp hair back from my face with his fingertips. "You mean the fact that Kody finally talked his way into your pants? You know that has to be the longest any girl has made him work for it?"
I blushed. "There wasn't a huge amount of talking involved," I mumbled, remembering the angry way we'd hate fucked on the kitchen counter while Archer watched. Ugh. That was another complication that needed dealing with soon. "But yeah, that's what I meant."
Steele leaned down and kissed me softly, all lips and lingering touches, then sighed. "It's hardly a new development, gorgeous. Kody's had a hard-on for you since Riot Night. But I guess you're asking if I'm cut up about the fact that you guys fucked?"
I arched a brow and gave a small nod. Steele took me by the hand and started leading me back through the garage toward the house. I thought he was going to keep talking while we walked, but after a few moments it became clear he wasn't.
"Uh, are you going to answer that question?" I prompted him as we passed back through the foyer and started up the stairs. Not that I had any objection to following him back up to his room. Despite what he'd said, I had no doubt he was supposed to be resting.
He glanced at me over his shoulder, a small smile playing over his lips. "I am," he replied as he opened his bedroom door and stood aside for me to enter.
"And... we needed to relocate to your bedroom for that?" I raised my brows at him, but sat down on his bed anyway while he closed the door and shrugged his hoodie off. Underneath he was shirtless, covered only in bandages and ink, and my breath caught.
He gave me a sly smile as he crossed the carpet and stopped directly in front of me. It put his chiseled abs directly in line with my face, and it took all kinds of willpower not to strip his jeans off and take him in my mouth.
"We relocated to my bedroom because I was cold as shit in the workshop, and I didn't want Archer crashing in on our conversation and killing the mood." He ran his fingers through my hair, then cupped my face to tilt it up. His gaze met mine, and my hands went to his waist on reflex.
"He does have a bad habit of doing that," I muttered in agreement. I licked my lips, wetting them and trying really hard to be less of the open book Kody accused me of being.
Apparently, I failed. Steele's gaze intensified, and he caught my chin in his fingers as he leaned down to me. "Stop looking at me like that, Hellcat. You're making me want to do things I shouldn't be doing right now."
I couldn't help myself. "Like what?"
His response was a frustrated growl and a hard kiss, claiming my mouth in a harsh and demanding way that promised far more than his injuries were likely to sustain. Damn. Then again, if he just lay back and let me do all the work...
Rein it in, MK. You're not a fucking succubus.
Clearing my throat, I shifted back on the bed to create a little physical space between us. Steele seemed to follow my train of thought and stretched out on the mattress with his head on the pillows. Now that he was lying down and shirtless, I could recognize the stiff way he was holding his left arm and the hard lines of pain in his tense neck.
"Okay, so I'm gathering you don't necessarily have a problem with me and Kody?" I shifted around until I was lying beside him, my head on his pillow despite the multiple other options. He was like a magnet, and I was made of metal. I just couldn't stay away, no matter how sensible the distance might be.
Steele released a long breath, his hooded eyes glued to me. "That's not a straightforward answer, Hellcat. Do I wish Kody had totally fucked things up with you and I had you all to myself? Absolutely. I'd love nothing more than to claim full ownership of your time... and your body... twenty-four seven. But I'm not afraid of a little competition. So long as Kody doesn't break your heart..." He gave a slight shrug, then winced. "I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."
My eyes widened. "Uh, what does that mean?"
Steele's smile