it.
She pushed everything else out of her mind until she slept.
Chapter 7
“Uncle Stephen, I can’t get into my room!”
The words permeated Stephen’s dreams and settled into his brain in fragments. Toby .
Meg and Seth had arrived.
Shit .
Stephen rubbed his eyes and opened them slowly, groaning as he forced himself into sitting position. His legs and feet were numb. Fuck, he’d fallen asleep at the end of the bed.
He rolled his ankles to wake them and laid his head to one side then the other to work out the kink. “Too old for this shit.”
“Uncle Stephen!” Toby knocked again in that oh-so-patient way exhibited by five-year-olds and adult psychopaths. “I’m locked out of my room!”
“Damn, that’s right,” he muttered. Toby always took the middle room because it was next to the second-floor master. Had he woken Janette?
Motion in his periphery pulled his attention away from the door to the chair near the window. Janette straightened up and rubbed sleep from her eyes. What was she doing there?
Hell, he didn’t care. She was a nice sight to wake up to.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Don’t know. Has to be afternoon if they’re here already.” He walked to the door, opened it a crack, and found his flame-haired nephew pacing in front of the other room’s door. “Hey, Toby.”
“I can’t get in.” Toby pointed to the door in question.
“I know. It’s locked.”
“Why?”
“Because…uh…” He closed the door a bit and turned back to Janette.
She nodded and hurried through the bathroom into the other room. She quickly returned with her suitcase, which she hadn’t bothered to properly fasten.
He opened the door again. “There was a big bug in there last night. I closed it up in there.”
Toby made a face. “Did you kill it?”
“Might not have to. I left the window open, so maybe it flew out.”
“Check.”
“There are some words missing from that sentence.”
Meg tried hard, but unfortunately, Toby had absorbed far too many of his father’s habits. He was getting incrementally more polite, thanks to Seth’s patient correction, but he had a long row to hoe.
Toby sighed. “Could you please check?”
“I will in a moment. Where are your parents?”
“Getting stuff out of the car, I guess.”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Nope.” Toby bounded down the stairs, and Stephen shut the door and re-locked it.
“It’s eight-thirty,” Janette said, and she held out her phone display for him to see.
“For fuck’s sake, why are they here so early?”
Her eyes widened.
“Of course you don’t know the answer to that. Shit, I need to go run off all the new kinks I collected last night, but that can wait a little while. I feel like garbage. You have to, too. You slept upright.” He didn’t bother asking why she hadn’t just crawled onto the bed. He was starting to believe she wouldn’t do anything without permission.
“Aren’t we a pair?” She put her hand to the back of her neck and rubbed.
“Got a knot?”
She nodded, and cringed at the motion.
He made a spinning motion with his finger, and she turned her back to him.
Pressing his palms to the dips between her neck and shoulders, he took up a slow, gentle massage.
She moaned softly as his thumbs worked the muscles surrounding her spine. “Right there.”
“Got it.” He backtracked over the bit of back he’d just finished rubbing and kneaded it in small circles. “You know, it gets windy here at night. Sand gets tossed against the windows, and sometimes it sounds like fingers drumming against the glass.”
“I’m glad I didn’t hear any of that. I was anxious enough as it was.”
“Didn’t trust my search of the house?”
“No, it wasn’t that.”
He moved his hands back up to her neck and nudged her collar aside. When she didn’t pull away or startle, he worked her skin-to-skin.
She was so soft, and so warm. His impulse was to lean in and put his lips there
She pushed everything else out of her mind until she slept.
Chapter 7
“Uncle Stephen, I can’t get into my room!”
The words permeated Stephen’s dreams and settled into his brain in fragments. Toby .
Meg and Seth had arrived.
Shit .
Stephen rubbed his eyes and opened them slowly, groaning as he forced himself into sitting position. His legs and feet were numb. Fuck, he’d fallen asleep at the end of the bed.
He rolled his ankles to wake them and laid his head to one side then the other to work out the kink. “Too old for this shit.”
“Uncle Stephen!” Toby knocked again in that oh-so-patient way exhibited by five-year-olds and adult psychopaths. “I’m locked out of my room!”
“Damn, that’s right,” he muttered. Toby always took the middle room because it was next to the second-floor master. Had he woken Janette?
Motion in his periphery pulled his attention away from the door to the chair near the window. Janette straightened up and rubbed sleep from her eyes. What was she doing there?
Hell, he didn’t care. She was a nice sight to wake up to.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Don’t know. Has to be afternoon if they’re here already.” He walked to the door, opened it a crack, and found his flame-haired nephew pacing in front of the other room’s door. “Hey, Toby.”
“I can’t get in.” Toby pointed to the door in question.
“I know. It’s locked.”
“Why?”
“Because…uh…” He closed the door a bit and turned back to Janette.
She nodded and hurried through the bathroom into the other room. She quickly returned with her suitcase, which she hadn’t bothered to properly fasten.
He opened the door again. “There was a big bug in there last night. I closed it up in there.”
Toby made a face. “Did you kill it?”
“Might not have to. I left the window open, so maybe it flew out.”
“Check.”
“There are some words missing from that sentence.”
Meg tried hard, but unfortunately, Toby had absorbed far too many of his father’s habits. He was getting incrementally more polite, thanks to Seth’s patient correction, but he had a long row to hoe.
Toby sighed. “Could you please check?”
“I will in a moment. Where are your parents?”
“Getting stuff out of the car, I guess.”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Nope.” Toby bounded down the stairs, and Stephen shut the door and re-locked it.
“It’s eight-thirty,” Janette said, and she held out her phone display for him to see.
“For fuck’s sake, why are they here so early?”
Her eyes widened.
“Of course you don’t know the answer to that. Shit, I need to go run off all the new kinks I collected last night, but that can wait a little while. I feel like garbage. You have to, too. You slept upright.” He didn’t bother asking why she hadn’t just crawled onto the bed. He was starting to believe she wouldn’t do anything without permission.
“Aren’t we a pair?” She put her hand to the back of her neck and rubbed.
“Got a knot?”
She nodded, and cringed at the motion.
He made a spinning motion with his finger, and she turned her back to him.
Pressing his palms to the dips between her neck and shoulders, he took up a slow, gentle massage.
She moaned softly as his thumbs worked the muscles surrounding her spine. “Right there.”
“Got it.” He backtracked over the bit of back he’d just finished rubbing and kneaded it in small circles. “You know, it gets windy here at night. Sand gets tossed against the windows, and sometimes it sounds like fingers drumming against the glass.”
“I’m glad I didn’t hear any of that. I was anxious enough as it was.”
“Didn’t trust my search of the house?”
“No, it wasn’t that.”
He moved his hands back up to her neck and nudged her collar aside. When she didn’t pull away or startle, he worked her skin-to-skin.
She was so soft, and so warm. His impulse was to lean in and put his lips there
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