Page 23 of Shrouded in the Dark

“And, you.” Axel turned to Cody and before anyone blinked, poured the other glass of ice water on top of Cody’s head.

“Shit! That’s cold!” Cody yelped as he jumped away. He flicked some of the water at all of us and I burst out laughing.

“You deserved it.” Axel crossed his arms at him, smirking.

Jasper wiped his face slowly as he narrowed his eyes at both of them. “You’re both idiots.” He turned to me. “Would you like to go upstairs?”

I nodded at him but looked between Axel and Cody. “They’re not going to try to kill each other, are they?”

All three of them laughed. A grin spread across my face.

“Come on.” Jasper went to the table to grab my things, came back to me and took my free hand, squeezing it gently. “Seth probably woke up with all the yelling.”

“Is that bad?” I asked Jasper as we went up the circular staircase.

“Nah. He slept through the night, so it’s fine.”

Once we got to the top of the staircase, my eyes widened again and a sound of appreciation left my mouth at the sight. To the left of the area was a large room with comfy looking couches, a large TV, and next to the TV were all types of gaming consoles. But what got me was the view.

A French door led out onto the upstairs deck. Jasper stood back as I went to the French doors, opened them, and stepped through. The view was breathtaking from above the ground. I could only imagine what it looked like with snow. It was instantly relaxing and I could see myself painting out here, drawing, or even sculpting.

“This is my favorite place in the house.” The low voice sent shudders up my spine that had nothing to do with anxiety.

I looked over my shoulder and up to meet Seth’s eyes. My tongue swiped my lower lip automatically as I noticed that his curls were loose around his shoulders, he was shirtless, and his sweats were basically falling off of his hips. I soaked in that his muscles were perfectly symmetrical. He had a little red hair along his chest but not much. My eyes snagged on a piercing in his right nipple. It was a gold loop. Holy crap. That was hot.

Seth cleared his throat and that had me yanking my gaze back up to his face. He was smirking at me with the side of his lips twitching. I flushed again and looked back over the deck.

“It’s relaxing. I love it up here because there’s not much noise.” I felt him shift behind me before he walked past to lean his forearms on the railing. He gazed out over the mountain. “The city is too loud. Too many people in one place.”

“Yet, he loves to go dancing.” Jasper came onto the deck to lean next to Seth but he faced me with his elbows leaning backward.

Seth just shook his head at Jasper. “Shut up.” His tone was soft with no heat in it. His shoulders relaxed a little more before he turned around to face me, copying Jasper's pose. “So, Becca, this is it. Our humble abode.”

“Well, I haven’t shown her the pool, but yeah, pretty much.”

I snorted. “Humble. That’s a joke, right?” My hands ran over the smooth wood of what had to be a handcrafted wood chair.

Jasper grinned. “Told you she’d fit in.” He gestured inside. “I put your stuff on one of the couches. I figured we could all play some video games or you can work on your art?”

“Do you have Smash Bros?” I hadn’t played that in a long time.

They both laughed. “Oh yeah.”

“You’re all going down. Greninja is mine.” I went back inside, and sat on the corner of the larger couch after grabbing my things.

“Hey, guys! Hurry up! Smash Bros tourney!” Jasper came in with Seth laughing at something he’d said. He plopped down next to me but wasn’t touching me, which after the anxiety attack just a bit ago, I was thankful for.

Seth turned on one of the gaming consoles before tossing two controllers at Jasper, who caught them easily. He handed one to me in a flourish.

“Let’s see how badly we kick your ass.” He winked at me.

“Never tell me the odds.” I kept my face blank as I took the controller and faced the TV.

Seth looked over at me and groaned as Jasper gave a shout of delight.

“You’re a Star Wars nerd, too?” Seth sighed. “Now there’s two of them in my house.”

“You love me and you know it.” Jasper nudged Seth as he sat next to him.