“After you,” Nath says, holding his front door open for me, and flashing me a seductive grin. Damn if it doesn’t make my legs feel weak. I’m not used to hot guys. Not like Rick, Nath and even the scary Josh seem to be. Let’s hope the last guy isn’t this hot. I clear my throat before sliding past Nath into the cool feeling house. Unlike our house, someone has knocked the walls down on this floor, making it a huge open plan living/kitchen room, with a bar in the corner by the window. The staircase is in the middle, with a door on the side of it. There are brown leather sofas, a coffee table and a massive tv in the lounge area, and the kitchen has white counters, silver fridge and other silver appliances scattered around. I’m shocked at how tidy the house is when it has four guys living in it. I spot a basket of dirty clothes by the washing machine which has a load in and is turned on. Guys who know how to work a washing machine? That was practically unheard of in university. All the guys who were good looking had sticks up their asses and their parents to pay to make sure they didn’t lift a finger.
“Can you wait down here while I get the bracelet?” Nath asks. I nod, and I stupidly decide to mutter under my breath.
“And a shirt so all women can breathe again.”
“What was that? Keep my shirt off? No problem, beautiful,” Nath comments, spinning around and winking at me before turning back and running up the stairs as I stare speechless. I so didn’t just say that. I rub my arms as I look around the still room, spotting the half-opened packet of Oreo biscuits on the side. My tummy rumbles as I stare at them, knowing that the cornflakes did not fill the hole earlier. I suppose borrowing one Oreo couldn’t hurt. I walk over and pull the wrapper back, sliding out one of the biscuits from heaven.
“Rick loves the shit out of those, you might not want to eat them all,” Nath says, making me jump out my skin and turn as he gets to the bottom of the stairs. How the hell did he move so silently?
“Sorry, Oreos are hard to resist,” I admit. “They are my favourite biscuits.”
“Don’t be sorry. No one else likes them, and Rick isn’t here,” Nath replies with a light chuckle, and I can’t help but smile at the charming guy, “but we have another problem.”
“What’s up?” I ask.
“The bracelets aren’t done yet, so that means you can’t go into the village for food,” Nath states. “Good news, we have lots of food here.”
“I’m not borrowing your food. One trip into town isn’t going to hurt,” I say, finishing off the biscuit and walking to the door. I don’t get close as Nath runs over and blocks my exit, his chest brushing against my arm and sending shivers through me.
“It could hurt if the wrong people see you there. Therefore, you can’t go,” he insists, folding his large arms across his still naked chest, and I gulp, forcing myself to look away from his muscular arms.
“Are you really going to try and stop me?” I ask, knowing my voice comes out more than a little flirty.
“It won’t be trying, beautiful. You’re a tiny girl who might shift into a wolf, but I doubt you know how to fight your way past me,” he retorts. I cross my own arms and glare up at him, knowing my wolf is thinking it’s a good idea if I just shift and let her deal with the problem.
“I can’t fight, but I sure can bite something if you don’t move,” I say, dropping my eyes to his crotch to make a point. When I look back up, Nath has the biggest grin on his face, and I know he isn’t taking me seriously at all. We both look away from each other as the door opens behind Nath, and he steps to my side. I move away from him as his arm brushes against mine again, which seems to amuse him more. Rick frowns at us both as he comes in and shuts the door.
“What are you guys doing standing by the door?” he asks.
“Nothing,” both Nath and I say at the same time, and I shake my head. “Adie needs to go food shopping, but the bracelet isn’t ready yet. I suggested she borrow some of our food, but she still wants to go.”
“You can’t go,” Rick agrees, looking at Nath as he talks and pretending like I’m not even here. “We should go and get the food she wants. It makes more sense.”
“I didn’t think of that. I will go and get a shirt,” Nath states.
“I didn’t say yes to you going for me!” I shout at Nath’s back as he totally ignores me to run up the stairs.
“Look, we don’t want the wrong people seeing you and telling the hunters. I’m sure you want the same thing, so let us go. It’s only one day and then you have the bracelets, and you can go wherever you like,” he says to me, sounding reasonable which is so hard to argue with.
“Alright, fine. Is there anything I can do around the house to repay you for going?” I ask.
“Well first off, you can write a list and text me it. Hand me your phone a sec,” he asks, and I slide it out my jean pocket and hand it to him.
“Password,” he asks, with a little smile.
“I’m not telling you that. Just turn it to look at me. It has that face scanner thingy,” I say, and Rick turns the phone, which unlocks after I slide it open.
“It was worth a shot. I want to get to know you, and people’s passwords usually say a lot about them,” Rick says, typing numbers into my phone.
“How so?” I ask.
“Say the person’s password is their pet’s name. You know the thing they love the most in a second. Say it was their children’s, you know their favourite or only child means the most…but what if it was a brand name? Like the name of their car make. You then learn that person cares more about his car than anything else,” he tells me, never looking up once.
“What is your password?” I ask.
“It’s a secret, Red. One I might tell you one day,” he winks at me before handing me the phone back, locking his blue eyes on mine.
“I’m going to get a bottle of water while you make a list. Then maybe you could help me with something,” he tells me and walks off after I nod. I quickly type a list and search for Rick’s number. I laugh when I see he has put his number as “Rick, the one I fell for.” I send him the list just as he walks back to me.
“I like it when you smile, Red,” he remarks and nods his head towards the stairs. “Come up.”
“What exactly do you want me to do?” I ask, following him up the stairs.
“I need you to watch someone. We don’t ever leave her alone in the house…not after last time,” he pauses, looking like he was going to tell me the situation and then changes his mind, and waits for me at the top of the stairs. “Anyways, Nath and I will go to the store. Mich and Josh are out, so we need a babysitter of sorts.”
“Babysitting I can do,” I say. I wonder how old the child is and if any of the guys are the parents. “Which one of you is her dad?”
“Oh, none of us, but she is kinda like our child,” Rick laughs, walking down the hallway with cream painted walls and dark wooden floors. “We are all recently single if you were wondering.”
“All of you at the same time are recently single?” I ask.
“We like to share sometimes,” Rick says, winking at me as I stare wide-eyed at what he is suggesting. Rick doesn’t seem to notice my shock as he opens the third door in the corridor, and walks in. I follow him into the room that is clearly his bedroom. There are clothes on the wooden floor, which he quickly picks up and throws in a washing basket.
“Sorry, I don’t usually have company,” he admits, picking up more clothes.
“I’m usually messier, so don’t worry,” I say and freeze when I hear a light snoring noise.
“What is that?” I ask, staring at the little pink creature sleeping in Rick’s dark wooden bed. The creature is so small that her whole body is on the white pillow, and she has the sheet tightly wrapped around her. I move closer, staring at her sparkly pink hair that matches her light pink skin. She has little pink wings that look like the wings from a butterfly. Oh my god, she reminds me of Tinkerbell, only not blonde. Is she a fairy?
“Tay, a pixie. Please, for your own sake, don’t let her get hold of any alcohol while we are gone,” Rick warns me, picking up his wallet off a box at the end of the bed.
“Why?” I slowly ask, staring at the innocent creature. She is so cute.
“You don’t want to know, Red, you really don’t,” he chuckles, walking out of the room. Well, that isn’t worrying at all. I run and catch up with him just before he goes downstairs.
“Don’t you need my bank card for the food?” I ask, going to find it in my bag.
“Nope. Consider it a moving-in gift,” Rick says and runs down the stairs before I can even say no. Nath comes out his room, a pair of keys in his hand, a white shirt covering his chest up, and grins at me.
“Good luck with Tay,” he laughs. I look back at the small creature. How could anything that innocent looking be that hard to watch?