Page 10 of Eye of the Hurricane (Weathering Doves Harbor #2)

Ares

There’s nothing quite like waking up to a pillow being launched at your head. I snap my eyes open and, to no one’s surprise find, that Ravyn is the culprit.

“Audi said to wake your ass up. Her house, her rules,” she says with a shrug of her shoulders. I huff a dry laugh.

“Oh, she’s been waiting her whole life to hit us with that one,” I laugh.

“Who are you telling? She gave me chores yesterday for spending two nights in a row here.” Ravyn shakes her head.

It’s been a couple weeks of Roman and Audra having their own house. As everyone expected, Ravyn and I have spent an obnoxious amount of time there.

Obnoxious to Roman and Audra, not to us. We’re just having fun and unlimited sleepovers.

I drag myself up off the bed I made on the floor of one of the guest rooms and head out to the kitchen where Audra has made breakfast. It’s clear as day that it’s something she picked up from my mom and wanted to make a part of her own home .

As long as I can remember, my mom cooked breakfast for everyone anytime someone slept over. This exact breakfast, in fact.

Audra, Roman, Ravyn, and I all sit down at the kitchen table and dig into the breakfast that Audi made.

“Family dinner tonight, you’ll both be here?” Audi asks. I witnessed first-hand the toll it took on Audra not having a close family growing up. So if she asks me to be at a family dinner, I’ll be there.

Obviously, Roman and I are family regardless because we’re brothers. But I know that Ravyn and I are Audi’s family. Every time her mom wasn’t there, we were. So were my parents.

“Every Sunday,” I assure her.

“Beck is bringing his friend, Sebastian,” Roman says. Ravyn gives a dramatic groan.

“Am I a joke to you all?” she asks, looking Roman dead in his eyes.

“If you’re worried about being outnumbered why don’t you find a girl to bring, hm?” he teases. She narrows her eyes at him across the table.

“Ravyn doesn’t really do girlfriends. Just hookups,” Audi cuts in.

“Bring your random hookups if you’re worried about it, then,” Roman offers.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just suffer.” Ravyn pauses for a moment then sticks a finger in the air. “And complain! Don’t forget that part,” she adds.

“Couldn’t if we wanted to, Ray!”

Sebastian walks in with Beck and the first thing I notice is the South Carolina Sea Dragons hoodie he’s wearing. My first thought is Katherine. God knows I’ll take any excuse I can to bring her up these days.

“Sea Dragons fan?” I ask, looking down at the logo on his top. His eyes drop to his own hoodie before laughing.

“I play for the team. I’m the goalie.”

“Sorry, not a big hockey guy, clearly,” I say with a laugh. For a moment, I was worried I offended him by not knowing who he was or that he was a player at all. He’s really chill about it, though, and laughs with me.

“Don’t worry about it, prefer not being recognized everywhere I go, anyway,” he admits. I can’t say I blame the guy.

“My… friend Katherine is actually going for the job they’re posting for the new PR manager.” He catches the hesitation before the word friend and cracks a smile.

“Well, tell your ‘friend’ Katherine I said good luck. I think women being in athletics is badass. I hope to see a new face.”

“She gets a lot of shit for being a woman in the space. From the team, mostly, but sometimes management.”

“From my guys?” he asks, eyebrows shooting up.

“No, the team she works with now. At the university.”

“I’ll be sure my guys are nice to her,” he assures me.

“Thank you.” There’s something possessive that stirs in me when I thank him for looking after her. It feels a lot like asking someone to look out for my girl, except she’s not mine to protect. I glance over to see what everyone else is up to .

Ravyn talks a good game about hating the guys and feeling outnumbered but when I look over at the living room, she’s all laughs talking to Beck.

“Ares!” Roman calls to me from the sliding doors that go out to the deck. “Come help me cook.”

“That’s my cue,” I tell Sebastian before turning and following my brother out back.

Roman puts me on chicken duty while he finishes up the steak burgers. Audra leans on the door frame, watching us with a soft smile. We make eye contact and she mouths ‘my boys’ to me. Naturally, I mouth back ‘shut up’.

I give her shit because it’s what we’ve always done. She’s had a hell of a year, though. It’s a weight off of my chest to see her so happy and at peace.

“Same time next Sunday?” I ask on my way out of the front door.

“Yep! I’m sure we’ll see you before then, though.” Audra says with a laugh. I’m sure she’s right. Until school starts back up, I’ll be spending most of my time with Audi and Ro.

As I’m pulling onto my street, I see a text message from Kat pop up.

Katherine

Do you want to stop by?

I have no idea what possessed her to ask me that. All I know is I don’t waste a single second turning around in someone’s driveway and driving to her house .

Before I know it, I’m pulling into her driveway and knocking on her door. It’s 9:00 P.M but she still answers the door fully dressed, the only thing missing is a pair of heels.

I think this is the first time I’ve seen her with no high heels on. I quickly notice the inches she’s lost in height from it.

I’m not a short guy, somewhere around six-foot-four. I’ve always known Katherine to be on the shorter side because even in heels, she’s significantly shorter than me. Now that she’s barefoot in front of me, I can see that she’s nearly a foot shorter than me.

“Do you wear dresses to bed or what?” I ask. She gives me a huff of annoyance and sticks one of her hands on her hip.

“Yeah, actually I sleep in a full face of makeup and high heels, too. Don’t even own pajamas,” she remarks sarcastically.

“Well, this is the second time I’ve come here this time of night, and both times you’ve been in a dress still,” I insist.

“Just come inside, Ares,” she groans. I don’t miss the slightest smile she’s fighting back. My name on her lips never gets old. I follow her into the house and into her living room. “I just haven’t gotten ready for bed yet.”

“I think I prefer the fantasy that you’re always in one of your sexy little dresses.”

“How do you know my pajamas aren’t the real fantasy? Maybe I sleep in lace lingerie.” Jesus. I don’t know what’s better, the mischievous look in her eye or the image she just put in my head.

“Show me some mercy, Kat. Don’t put that picture in my head,” I plead.

I know immediately I’ll be seeing that image in my head again. Next time probably soaking wet in the shower with a hand wrapped around my cock.

“I like that you think of me that way,” she admits, amused. She looks at me with a tilted head like what I’ve just said is the most interesting thing she’s ever heard.

A woman nearly ready to thank me for sexualizing her is a new one. I like it, though. Something about a strong woman who doesn’t shy away from her sexuality is hot .

“Well, honey, I can assure you I’m not the only one.”

“I know that. But it’s nice to hear it from someone who knows me.”

I take too long trying to make sense of the underlying meaning. I wonder who made her feel like she’s only likable on the surface.

“Is that what you called me here for? Ego boost?” I tease.

“No, I was hoping we could talk about our arrangement. Maybe set some ground rules. I’m big on structure and rules.”

I suck in a loud and expressive gasp. “You? You like structure?” I let my jaw hang open for maximum effect. She narrows her eyes at me before rolling them and shaking her head.

“Don’t be mean,” she says with a jut of her bottom lip.

“Just messing with you, Kitty Kat. I was thinking the same thing.”

“Really?” There’s something bright in her tone, something I can’t quite name.

“Yes, really. When we were at the aquarium, I didn’t know to hold your hand because we never really talked about what practice would look like. I don’t want to push your boundaries.”

If I had it my way, I would never take my hands off of her. I’d have them everywhere on her. I know I can’t do that, though. Which is what reminded me that I don’t know what I can do at all. Hence, wanting to set those boundaries.

“I guess I’m just thinking of the wedding. The little intimacies that let you know two people are together. We don’t have those because we aren’t together, but I think we need them to sell this,” she says, waving her hands between her and me.

I don’t disagree. Calling it a date and holding her hand isn’t enough to sell this thing as a real relationship. Especially when she’s already going to have suspicious parents watching our every move.

“Okay, what do you have in mind?” I ask.

“I don’t know, I’ve never been someone’s girlfriend before. You tell me.”

“Why don’t you just let me know where your boundaries lie and I’ll take care of it from there,” I suggest.

“No kissing, that feels like a slippery slope to sex. Which is also off the table.”

It’s all of the self-restraint I’ve got not to push her buttons.

Ask her why she thinks she can’t kiss me without having sex with me.

I let her be, though. Mostly because I have to imagine this is beyond uncomfortable for her.

Partially because I agree with her. I don’t think Kat and I could kiss without tearing each other’s clothes off.

“Okay, no kissing, no sex, what else?”

“No feelings. I’m looking at you. I can’t offer more than this and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’ll be just fine, let me worry about me.” Which is code for ‘I’m already halfway there and willing to take that hit for you’.

“Anything else?”

“Nope.” She gives a definitive shake of the head.

“I should go so you can get to bed. I promised you practice wouldn’t interfere with your work and school stuff.”

“You could stay for a while. I was going to watch some reality TV, I don’t know if you like it.” She toys with her manicured nails like she’s nervous to ask me. I have no idea why she’d be nervous to ask me anything, the answer will always be yes.

“Are you kidding? Audra and Ravyn have had me watching every reality TV show under the sun my entire life.” It’s true. You name it, I’ve seen it.

“That can’t be true. I’ll find something you haven’t seen before,” she says. She stands up from the chair she was sitting in and joins me on the couch, bringing a fuzzy, flower-print blanket with her.

“Good luck.”

It takes about a half hour of flipping through all the different streaming apps before we finally find one neither of us has seen. It’s called Hardly Dating. She puts it on and we’re both hooked from the beginning. When the first episode ends, it’s about ten-thirty.

“One more?” she asks. Spending more time with her is a no-brainer.

“Up to you, I’m into it but I don’t want to keep you up.”

“I want to watch one more,” she insists.

“Then put it on.”

She pulls the blanket up to her face and slips down further into the couch.

She’s a couple of inches closer than she was before.

I want to scoop her up and pull her into me.

I must not be the only one thinking it either.

Because big baby blues look up at me and she reaches out and pokes a finger into my chest.

“Can I lay here?” she asks quietly. So quiet that I almost get the impression that she’s afraid someone might hear. Except the only one here other than us is her cat, Bellatrix.

“You can do whatever you want with me, Kat,” I tell her, patting my chest an as invitation. She takes it, curling up in the crook of my shoulder with her fuzzy blanket. Once she’s comfortable, she gives all her attention back to the show she put on.

The only problem is that all of my attention is on her. The way her golden strands spread across my chest. The way she smells of toasted coconut and warm honey. The soft rise and fall of her body as she breathes.

The last thing I remember is a fuzzy black shadow climbing up in my lap and joining us.

I wake up to a very unforgiving ray of sun burning into my eyes.

I’m still wearing jeans, having fallen asleep on Kat’s couch.

I attempt to shift slightly before realizing I’m pinned down by Katherine wrapped around me.

Her head is nuzzled into my chest and her little black cat is curled up on my shoulder.

If I was any less amused by the fact that I accidentally slept over at Katherine’s house, I would feel a little claustrophobic. Since I met her, I’ve had a hundred fantasies about waking up with her but this is the first time we were both dressed when it happens.

I lean look over to the cat and greet her, “Good morning, Bells.” She offers me a slow blink in return.

“Kat, we fell asleep, what time do you need to be up?” I whisper in an attempt not to startle her. It’s useless, though, because she launches herself upright and scares Bellatrix so bad she jumps a few feet in the air.

“What time is it!?” she half yells, pushing around the blankets, searching for her phone. I reach for mine, still in my pocket from last night, and check the time.

“It’s only 6:45,” I assure her. Her entire body relaxes and she slumps back against the back of the couch.

“I thought I was late.”

“I could tell,” I chuckle.

“Sorry, I kind of kidnapped you last night. I swear I meant it when I said one more. I guess I was just more tired than I thought,” she explains. Not that it matters to me. She could admit to me right now that she lured me here to hold me captive overnight. I’d just be happy to be here.

“What time do you need to leave here?”

“I don’t have to leave here until 8:45. I need to shower and stuff, though.”

“Why don’t you hop in the shower and I’ll run and grab us both coffee. I’ll drop yours off.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can get my own coffee.”

“I know, but I want to. Let me do something for you.” She thinks on it for a moment before nodding.

“Okay, fine. Thank you.”