“Boxing, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Krav Maga… If you can think of it, we probably did it for a little bit. When Theo and I turned twelve, Mom made us choose three to focus on.”
“And you chose?”
“Krav Maga, Kickboxing, and Jiu Jitsu.”
He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “So what you’re saying is you could kick my ass anytime you wanted to?”
“Yeah. Not to mention the number of guns hidden in this house.”
“Where?” he asks, glancing around him and I grin.
“Oh, I’m not telling you that but I will say, right now you’re sitting no more than thirty feet from two.”
His eyes narrow on me and I finally see it sinking in. He finally understands what I’ve been talking about this whole time with the questions about my mom. “And how close are you to a gun?”
Grinning, I reach into the hidden cubby next to me and pull out the 1911, showing it to him before slipping it back into hiding.
“Jesus.”
I laugh as he shakes his head. “See, baby? The Taser wasn’t that bad at all.”
“You’re terrifying,” he whispers, standing up and stalking over to me. “And gorgeous, magnificent, enchanting, and so many other big words that I can’t think of right now because all I can think about is kissing you.”
I grin as he lowers his lips to mine and the moment we connect, I sigh, feeling more at home than I ever have anywhere else. This is the kind of feeling that I could get used to, lose myself in, and despite what my mind is telling me, it doesn’t scare me. Lincoln is quickly becoming my everything.
A knock at the door has us pulling apart and I’m reaching for the gun behind me when he stops me.
“It’s Storm and Chance and their old ladies.”
I scowl. “Why?”
“Because you wanted to play board games and these guys are my family.”
“Oh,” I whisper, a smile creeping across my face as I drop my hand. “Okay.”
He plants a kiss on my forehead before going into the living room and opening the door.
“Thanks for coming, y’all,” he says, holding the door open as I creep out of the kitchen, suddenly nervous. These people are important to Lincoln and I’ve never been all that good with first impressions. I just hope I don’t make a total ass out of myself.
“You must be Tate,” someone says as a gorgeous blonde walks over to me and wraps me up in a hug. I meet Lincoln’s eyes across the room and beg for mercy as I hug her back.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Well, I’m Ali,” she says, taking a step back as a man with dark hair and piercing gray eyes wraps his arm around her, “And this grumpy bastard is Logan. Or Storm, whichever works. I’m so happy to meet you.”
I force a smile to my face. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“He didn’t tell you we were coming, did he?” the other blonde asks as the man at her side smirks.
“Uh, no.”
“Jesus, Kodiak,” Ali groans. “You can’t just spring things like this on a girl. Fucking cavemen, all of you.”
I laugh and she flashes me a smile as the other blonde steps forward and holds out her hand. “I’m Carly and this is Chance.”
“It’s really nice to meet you guys.”
“So,” Chance says, clapping his hands. “What are we playing?”
“Strip poker?” Lincoln asks, a mischievous grin on his face.
“Not a fucking chance,” Storm growls and I laugh as Lincoln steps up beside me and wraps his arm around my waist.
“Let me go grab the games.” I walk into the hallway and Lincoln follows behind me.
“So, in hindsight, maybe I should have warned you.”
“You think?” I hiss. “That was maybe the most awkward I’ve ever been in my life. I don’t make a good first impression, Lincoln. People need time to warm up to me.”
He laughs, pinning me to a wall as he brushes his nose over mine. “I thought you made a fantastic first impression with me.”
“Yes, well, you’re insane,” I whisper with a giggle and he grins as he leans in and kisses me.
“Dude, I thought we were here to play games, not watch you make out with your girlfriend,” someone grumbles and we both turn to find Storm and Chance standing in the entrance to the hallway.
“I’ve had front row seats to your disgusting love fest for the past year so you don’t get to complain,” Lincoln tells them and Storm rolls his eyes.
“The games are in there,” I say, pointing to the dreaded closet. Thankfully, Theo and I managed to get it cleaned up when he was here or we’d never get to them.
Lincoln plants a kiss on my cheek before turning to the closet. “Go wait with the girls; we’ll get the games.”
Nodding, I slip into the kitchen and stop in the doorway to the dining room. “Y’all want some coffee or sweet tea or something?”
Ali smiles up at me. “Some sweet tea would be amazing.”
“No, it fucking wouldn’t,” Storm snaps, walking out of the hallway with a couple games in his hand. I scowl as Ali sighs. “You can’t have the caffeine.”
“Logan, if I have to tell you one more time that some caffeine is okay, I’m going to lose it.”
Carly grins, folding her arms over her chest as she watches them banter.
“Why wouldn’t she be able to have caffeine?” Chance asks, following behind Storm.
“Kitten,” Storm growls, ignoring everyone else. “Don’t push me on this.”
“No, Logan. You don’t push me on this or I will murder you before this baby is born.”
My mouth falls open as the rest of the room falls silent, every pair of eyes on Ali and Storm. Lincoln drops the games on the table and starts laughing so hard that he has to grab onto the chair to stay upright.
“Oh, shit, you’re so screwed,” he teases Storm through his laughter and Chance joins him.
“Imagine if it’s a girl,” he adds, nudging Lincoln and they both start laughing harder as Storm rolls his eyes and Ali beams.
“It’s going to be a boy,” he grumbles and the boys laugh harder, tears building in their eyes.
“It’s so going to be a girl and she’s going to be just as pretty as her Mama,” Carly says, getting in on the fun and Storm plops down in a chair, losing all the color in his face.
“Fuck. I’m going to have to buy some guns.”
Lincoln wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer. “You can have some of Tate’s.”
“Don’t go giving away my guns!” I yell, shoving him and he just keeps laughing.
“Wait, wait,” Storm hollers, holding his hands up. “How many guns do you have?”
“In this room?” I ask and five pairs of eyes widen on me. “Three.”
“Jesus,” Chance breathes out and Lincoln beams down at me.
“She could also kick your ass without breaking a sweat so be nice to her.”
Rolling my eyes, I grab the deck of cards off the table and hold them up. “Y’all want to keep cataloging all my weapons or should we play some cards?”