Page 12 of Shrouded in the Dark

“I’ll gripe about it because we’re going to ride in a car with a broken window because you tried to punch Cody.” The voice that responded to him rooted me to the spot.

My eyes widened slightly and my heart beat faster in a flutter as a taller man stepped inside, closing the front door behind him. He was only a little taller than Axel and only slightly leaner. He wore black slacks with a light crème long sleeved shirt. Even from where I stood, I could see his clear blue eyes. No, blue wasn’t adequate. His eyes were azure, like the bottom of a clear lake. To add to that, his hair was curly in a dark copper color. He had a square jaw and was probably the hottest guy I’d seen before that wasn’t on the movie screen. Not to mention his voice was every fantasy come true. It was low and commanding.

What was with these guys? Was it a requirement to be buff and hot? I forced myself to swallow and breathed slowly as he walked over to the island to join his friends. He met my eyes as he got closer.

“Hey, I’m Seth. Thanks for letting us come over. None of us wanted to go into town after that drive.” He shook my hand twice but looked at Jasper for a second. “What can we do to help?”

“Well, I’m about to go out to the deck and turn on the barbeque. I have hamburgers and steak. What do you guys want?”

“Steak,” they all said at the same time.

I burst out laughing. “Wow. Okay. That was so in sync, you sure you didn’t practice that?”

Jasper snickered softly as he handed Cody the bowl of chips. He grabbed the plate that held the steaks and the hamburger plate as well. Seth had snickered as Cody just grinned. Axel just shrugged as he looked between all of us laughing.

“It looks like we can each have a steak and a hamburger or two.” He winked at me. “Lead the way! These losers can get the drinks, ice, and everything else out to the table.”

I showed the way to the deck, leaving the sliding door open. It was nice enough today that no air conditioning was needed. The fresh air would be nice inside, too. Jasper followed me to the large barbeque that was built into the side of the cabin in stone. He helped me get the propane tank and light lit. As he opened the lid to the grill, he sniffed.

“What is that lemon smell?”

“I cleaned the grill and wiped down the metal with lemons. It’s a good way to clean and will give the meat a little extra taste. Are any of you guys allergic? I should have asked.”

“No, but that’s a neat idea.” Jasper didn’t sound like he was mad or anything, so my shoulders relaxed. “Now, we’ll let it heat up and slap these babies on there. How do you like your steak?”

“Rare.” I walked to the table set and started to crank open the umbrella after untying it. “If you eat steak, it’s rare.”

“How are you still single?” Jasper laughed, teasing me as he came to stand next to me.

I snorted. “Why are you?”

“Touchè.” He grinned.

“Here’s everything.” Cody came outside, carrying the beer, and a paper towel roll.

Behind him came Axel, carrying the soda, plates, and utensils. Seth came out, narrowing his eyes against the sun for a second. He held the dips in one hand and the bowls of chips balanced on the other. Color me impressed. Before I could help, Axel had set up the plates and put a soda at each place and a beer. He stopped in front of me, holding one out.

I looked up at him, cracking my neck a little bit. This was the first time we’d been this close to each other. His brown eyes were warm as they met mine.

“Would you like a beer?” He held it out to me. There was perspiration on it; they must have kept the beers cool on the way up here.

Being this close to him, his velvety voice had me flushing slightly as I forced myself to look at the beer. I really needed to get over these guys being hot. Even if it was the first time I’d been around such hot guys without anyone else. Could you blame me?

“Thanks.” I took the offered beer, used the table to pop the top and took a drink from it. It wasn’t light beer, which was good because I liked darker beers.

The guys had all paused what they’d been doing and were looking at me. My heart rate kicked up as I looked around me.

“What?”

“You just popped the top off on the table like a pro.” Cody’s voice was laced in amusement. “Never seen a girl do that before. We usually have to open their drinks for them.”

I snorted taking another drink. “You’re hanging out with the wrong girls.” I set it on the table and went back to the barbeque.

Jasper walked over to me, leaning over me to pull up the top before I could. An arm went around my waist all the way, which was surprising and pulled me back against a muscled front. I froze as I noticed that it wasn’t Jasper who’d come over to help. It was Seth. I looked up at him as he was looking at the thermometer inside.

“Um, I could check it,” I mumbled around the cotton that felt like it was growing inside of my mouth. His body was hard behind me as I tried to step to the side but his arm was snug.

“I know you can, but it’d be safer if one of us does it since we’re taller.”