Capture

by Rachel Van Dyken

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Dani

  The sound of a pot clanging against the floor jolted me out of my sleep. With a start, I jerked upward and nearly collided with Demetri's face.

  "Whoa." I pulled back. "Why are you hovering, mother hen? I could have head-butted you."

  His eyes glistened.

  Without warning, he pulled me into a tight bear hug as his body shuddered around mine. "You're really talking."

  "Wow, imagine what would have happened if I would have woken up and serenaded you."

  "Birds…" Demetri released me on a sigh. "They would have been attracted to the high-pitched screeching, flown into the glass door, somehow managing to break it into a million pieces, and upon seeing my perfect face, attacked, pecking me to death, leaving only one tiny shred of clothing that they'd encase in glass and put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

  I gaped. "Thought this through a bit?"

  "Yeah well…" He winked. "… when it comes to birds, I have all the outcomes completely figured out."

  "Scary."

  "Paranoid," Alec's voice said from behind as he made his way around the couch and knelt in front of me. "Okay, Zane claims you fell asleep on him, but if he touched you, I'll rip his fingers off."

  "You really need to stop watching Mob Wives." Demetri whispered under his breath.

  I smiled at their concern. "Guys, seriously. He's harmless." I grinned at the memory of Zane's secret. "Believe me." I let out another yawn. "What time is it?"

  "Midnight," they answered in unison.

  "What?" I jumped up from the couch. "That's crazy! I was out all day?"

  "Technically." Zane waltzed lazily into the room, still shirtless, still gorgeous, his black sweats hanging so low on his hips it was nearing indecent. "You watched reality TV with me for at least four hours before you fell asleep. Damn it." He opened the pantry then shut it. "You ate all the marshmallows!"

  "And that's a crime punishable by murder?" I laughed.

  Zane didn't.

  "What type of weird junk-food obsession is that?" Demetri asked aloud. "Marshmallows? They're so soft—"

  Zane shivered. "Talk dirty to me. Keep going."

  "—and gooey—" Demetri clearly couldn't help himself as he lowered his voice. "—and… sweet."

  "On that note…" Alec stood. "… I'm going to go back to the house and make sure Nat's getting some rest. The baby's been cutting her first teeth, so I think Nat's ready to lose her mind."

  "See ya." I squeezed his arm and stared at Demetri. Hard. Silently telling him "It's cool. I can sleep without you watching over me like a crazy dad."

  "Fine." He huffed. "I'll go too, but this isn't over, and… Dani?"

  I looked up. "Yeah?"

  "It's good to hear your voice again."

  Grinning, I pulled him in for a tight hug. "Thanks, Dem."

  "Oh…" Demetri snapped his fingers. "… also, Jay had to go to bed because he has another early day, but he said he's going to wake you up in the morning so he and your sister can hear for themselves."

  I wanted to roll my eyes, but knew it would be rude and very… immature, and since my whole debacle with Lincoln, I was suddenly hyper-aware of every little thing I did that made me appear young, so young that he wouldn't touch me with a ten-foot pole.

  "Right." I exhaled slowly. "I guess I should go to bed too."

  "Don't," Zane called from the kitchen. "We need marshmallows."

  "Dude…" Demetri turned on his heel. "… what is it with you and marshmallows?"

  "I don't know." Zane shoved his hands into his baggy sweats. "What is it with you and birds?"

  "I don't eat birds."

  "You don't eat chicken."

  "I meant birds like…" Demetri sniffed. "… pigeons."

  Zane let out a low, sexy chuckle. "Are those edible?"

  Demetri glowered. "Your abs are giving me a headache. Put on a shirt. There are children present."

  I raised my hand and waved in jest, but Demetri flashed me a stop encouraging him glare, so I quickly lowered my hand and pasted on a demure smile.

  "Stay out of trouble," he called, making his way to the door. "And get your own damn marshmallows, Zane!"

  The minute the door closed, Zane turned to me and said, "If I put on a shirt, can we go to the store together? And by we, I mean, can I give you cash to run into the store while I hide out in the car with my sunglasses and hat on?"

  I rolled my eyes and stood, taking time to stretch out my sore muscles. "What's the point in you going if you're just going to sit there?"

  "Easy." He shrugged. "I can keep you company."

  "While I run your errands?"

  "Hey, I'm going to wear a shirt. I thought that's how friendship worked. I do you a favor… you do me a favor." His smile grew.

  "Stop that." I wagged my finger at him. "I refuse to let your charm work on me. Also, how is you putting on a shirt doing me a favor?"

  "You asked me to put one on a while ago. Ergo, favor."

  "Musicians. Are. So. Weird." I yawned again, my eyes watering this time. "Fine, we'll go get your marshmallows, but then I'm going to bed. I have to be up early, and my guess is you don't even have to be up until noon."

  "Please, even on vacation I get up early." He winked.

  "Marshmallows." I swiped my keys from the counter. "Then home. No detours. No sudden hankering for late-night taffy or ice cream."

  Zane's face fell. "But what if the ice cream store's open? And the only way to save the world…" He stalked toward me, his face serious. "… is to go inside…" He licked his lips slowly. "… order ice cream… and…" His face tilted down toward mine. "… lick."

  My heart slammed against my chest. I ignored it. Because he wasn't Lincoln, no matter how attractive or deadly that smile was. "Keep giving me that look, and I'm going to lick every marshmallow before stuffing them back into the bag, resealing it, and telling you they're fresh."

  "Wouldn't be so bad." He shrugged.

  "Correction. I'll drop them in the toilet then re-seal."

  "Alright then." Zane backed away, holding his hands up in surrender. "But for the record, I just like messing with you. I've never actually had a girl not fall for it."

  "Good to know I'm immune to your charm just like Lincoln's immune to mine," I said in a bitter voice.

  "Whoa there." Zane grabbed me by the wrist and tugged me backward. "Friends don't let friends say stupid shit. Trust me, he's not immune. You should have seen his face when he nearly took down the door and came in here guns blazing."

  "Huh? Guns blazing?"

  "Oh, right." Zane snapped his fingers. "You were sleeping. Lincoln barged in with Demetri, Alec, and Jay. He may have assumed I seduced you, based on my state of dress, and the fact that he clearly has the worst timing in the world, and it looked like I'd just tumbled you into the weekend."

  "Nice." I groaned into my hands, keys jamming me in the cheek.

  "Hey, hey." He pulled my hands back. "Not so bad. Like I said, the look on his face was pure murder, and it wasn't the whole get your hands off my sister look either. It was the touch her and I cut off your hand for even thinking about it look, along with a healthy dose of longing. I imagine once he gets his head out of his ass, it'll be any day now."

  "Any day?"

  "That he gives you the kiss."

  "The kiss?"

  "You gonna repeat everything I say or marshmallow me?" Zane sidestepped and opened the front door.

  As I walked through, he whispered, "The kiss every girl secretly wants but never asks for."

  I paused then turned. "Huh?"

  Without any sort of warning, Zane grabbed me by the shoulders, slammed my body against the door, and kissed me with such ferocity that I couldn't breathe or think. My legs ceased to work as he lifted me into the air, his tongue twisting with mine, his breathing hot and heavy as he deepened the kiss, almost like he was challenging me to stop him. But I was too shocked to do anything.

  He released my body, and I s
lumped down the wall, my butt colliding with the hardwood floor as I looked up at him with blurry vision. "What just happened?"

  Zane smirked then leaned down, offering me his massive hand. "Demonstration. You want him to kiss you like that. You're welcome. Also, next time a guy tries to kiss you who isn't Lincoln, you slap him."

  "But it was you. I hardly know you." I took his hand and stood on wobbly feet.

  "My point exactly. Geez, don't they teach you self-defense in high school anymore?"

  "Something's wrong with you."

  "Marshmallows," he grumbled. "They'll fix a lifetime of wrong."

  "Alright, but no more kissing." I frowned. "I may like Linc, but a kiss like that could get a girl knocked-up, and I have no intention of being on MTV's Teen Mom, okay?"

  "Message received." He winked. "Oh, and also, when that lands on social media tomorrow, which it will, remember to look really guilty when Linc corners you."

  I didn't have time to digest what he'd just said, because he was already sprinting toward my car and waiting on the passenger side.

  Something wasn't quite right about Zane, but he was also really… real, and kind of… entertaining in a pet-puppy type of way.

  You know, if your puppy had a six-pack.

  Or looked liked a walking commercial for sex.

  Yeah, he definitely needed to not kiss me ever again.

  Wait. I froze mid-step. Social media? I glanced around, frantic to locate whoever might have seen us, but there was no one else in the distance, just a good-looking musician leaning over my Jeep and yawning. "Are you coming?"

  "Uh, yeah." I frowned. "Coming."