The guy was probably only in his forties, but he flipped Kody off anyway. It was odd, but then again, just because I paid no attention, didn't mean Kody hadn't become friendly with the staff.
Steinwick cleared his throat again. "Mr. Jase was found in your bedroom, sir," he said this to Archer, and Jase's face and neck darkened with a deep flush.
Archer's brows twitched. "My bedroom? Doing what?"
The elderly, proper butler looked like he'd smelled something bad and seemed to really not want to explain further.
James the groundskeeper snorted a laugh. "Jerking off on your pillow, boss."
What... the...?
I couldn't help it. I really couldn't. I started laughing. Then I tried to stop laughing, and it only made me laugh harder.
Archer turned to me with an incredulous expression, and I laughed hard enough that tears leaked from my eyes. I shook my head, trying to draw calming breaths.
It wasn't working, though. The dam had broken, and in my defense, both Kody and Steele looked like they were on the verge of laughter too.
"Sorry," I gasped out, my shoulders still shaking with chuckles. "Sorry, it's not funny." Snicker. "It's just... I'm not the only one with a creepy, obsessed sexual stalker."
I dissolved into more totally inappropriate giggles and decided I needed to remove myself from the room. The security guys, James, and Steinwick were all staring at me like I'd grown tentacles, and I knew part of my amusement was due to the heavy painkillers. I'd just taken another dose in the car, and they were making me all floaty.
"I'm just gonna... go..." I waved my hand in the direction of anywhere else. I started to leave the room, then jerked to a halt and turned around to give Archer a stern look. A stern look that was only slightly ruined by the waves of giggles still bubbling out of me. "You're burning that bed, Archer D'Ath. And that chair." I pointed to the one that Jase's balls were all over, then left them to it. I didn't need to stick around while they fired their shitty manager.
Footsteps followed me, and Steele caught me in a careful embrace just as I reached the stairs. "Not so fast, giggles," he told me with a laugh of his own. "You're concussed, remember? You have to stay under observation for another few hours." He kissed my throat, walking with me up the stairs.
I groaned, tilting my face to give him my best pouting face. "But Max..."
"Uh-uh, no negotiations. You can come to my room instead. I'll teach you how to play the piano." He grinned, like that was something he was really excited to do but had just been waiting for the right opportunity.
I wrinkled my nose. "I already know how."
His grin spread wider. "I'll teach you how to play properly. Trust me, Hellcat. You'll like this lesson."
Well, how was I going to pass up an offer like that? Besides, after the day we'd just had, the absolute last thing I wanted to do was be alone.
46
Steele eventually let me sleep after the fully allotted observation time was over for my concussion, but by then it was almost dawn. By the time I finally woke up, I'd long since missed my classes for the day.
So it was really no surprise when I opened my emails to find an official warning from Shadow Grove University advising that if my attendance and grades didn't improve dramatically and soon, then I'd be on academic probation.
I saved them the trouble and sent a response advising that I was withdrawing. Bree almost dying gave me a serious dose of perspective in that I had no idea how many days I might have left. I could walk out the front door in two hours and be killed by a sniper. Or mailed a time bomb. Or hit by a bus. Or any number of accidental or intentional ways my life could end.
Until I could look further into my future than tomorrow, my time at the university was a waste.
"Good morning, gorgeous," Kody greeted me, coming into the kitchen where I sat at the island with a bowl of cereal. I didn't care much what time of day it was, I just wanted Froot Loops.
I swallowed my mouthful, leaning into him as he kissed my hair. "It's actually afternoon," I told him, eyeing his pajama pants and lack of shirt. His blond hair was all mussed up, like he'd also just rolled out of bed. "Almost evening, come to think of it."
Kody just shrugged and took a sip of my coffee. "Morning is whatever you want it to be." He gave me an eyebrow waggle like that was somehow a deep and meaningful statement, then smacked a kiss on my lips and went to find his own "breakfast" in the fridge.
"How'd everything turn out last night?" I asked his sexy, tattooed back while he hunted. "With Jase, I mean."
Kody pulled out a plate of pasta that Anna had left for our dinner last night, and carried it over to the oven to reheat. "You mean after you started laughing hysterically about him jerking off on Archer's pillow?"
He said it so straight-faced, and I could already feel the laughter bubbling up in my chest again. I bit my lip, but I couldn't hide my wide grin. Kody just shook his head.
"You're the worst, babe. You know how hard it was to keep a straight face after that? We had to fire his ass and make damn sure he knew what terrible fate would befall him should he ever step foot back in Shadow Grove, and all I wanted to do was laugh at him." He planted his hands on his hips, giving me an accusing glare.
A small snicker escaped me. "It's not my fault," I protested. "These painkillers make me all loopy. Besides, how was that not hilarious? Given the stalker scale we're working with, Jase is totally on the funny end. Right?"
Kody closed up the oven with his dish of pasta inside, then came around to where I sat. He spun my chair around with me still on it, then braced his hands on the counter to either side of me.
"I fucking love this kitchen, you know that?" His tone was low and serious, all traces of teasing about Jase forgotten.
I tilted my head back, thankful the pain of those small movements had eased already. "Oh yeah? Why's that, Kodiak Jones?"
A sly smile lit his lips, and he leaned in closer, his mouth hovering just over mine. "Because every time I look at this marble countertop, I see you splayed out across it, gloriously naked with my cock buried deep inside you."
Oh yeah. That was a pretty good reason. My thighs tightened involuntarily, and my nipples hardened against Steele's band T-shirt that I'd borrowed.
Instead of kissing me—or the whole lot more I was picturing—he moved away again. "Did you want to go back to the hospital to see Bree? Our team hasn't found Scott yet, so I'd rather you didn't leave the house without one of us, okay?"
"Totally fine by me," I agreed, spinning back around on my seat to finish my bowl of sugary cereal. "But Dallas already sent me a message saying they wouldn't be letting non-family see her today."
Kody gave me a sympathetic look. "Did he say how she was? Has she woken up at all?"
I shook my head. "Didn't sound like it. He's been there all day, and the nurses will probably kick him out soon. So he’ll go home and shower, then stop by here to update us."
He nodded. "Sounds normal. I'm sure she'll pull through okay. Brianna Graves is one tough chick, and you know it."