“A whole week!” I heard his cry with trepidation, but when he turned to me, Kade was all excitement. “Can I, Mum?”
“You sure can, champ,” I said, stroking his face, feeling the tears wanting to form and holding them back. “I’ll ring you every day, OK?”
“But what will you do, Mum? Is this that baby making thing?”
“Um…what?” I spluttered.
“The kids at school, they said they have to do sleepovers sometimes for a week and then they got baby brothers or sisters.”
“Not that, love. I just have to do some stuff with the guys, and it’d be better if you were over at Renee’s. That OK?”
He flung his arms around my neck and hugged me tight, then bounced away.
“Sure, Mum.”
27
“Just…don’t come too close,” I said, standing in Kade’s room, forcing myself to pack him a bag when Aidan and Peter came in. Somehow, my gentle mates were gone, and instead, they were the big bad wolves, stalking in, eyeing their prey, and getting ready to eat me all up. I wanted to let them, as there was very little stopping me from throwing myself down on my son’s bed and pulling them on top of me.
And those others too, my Tirian said with a hungry smile.
Even Snowy? I replied with a frown. I have no idea who he is. Maybe he kicks puppies for fun.
I would not let anyone like that touch us.
But still.
You want to cut everything up with the knives of your mind, be able to predict every eventuality. He may be just heat fever. A body to lose yourself in. There’s no shame in that.
But I only just got myself back, I replied.
“Should we pack his pillow?” Aidan asked.
I just nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
“What about his books or his backpack?” Peter asked.
Nodding again.
“His—”
“Mum has all of this,” Aidan said, throwing the pile he’d collected on the bed. “She’s gonna give him chocolate chip pancakes for every meal, let him sit up until midnight watching Disney+ and have a right royal time. This is just stalling.”
He was right, of course. Most of this stuff had been supplied by the town. They’d have little trouble coming up with a second set, but I zipped up the bag with a defiant jerk and went to pick it up.
“Let me,” Peter said, sending a shiver up my spine when his fingers grazed mine. I looked up at him, saw those molten chocolate eyes and all the desire raging there, only held back by his will. But I didn’t want him to. I wanted him to unleash it upon me, drive me to the ground, and then spread my legs and shove that great big—
“Flick?”
My head jerked up at Aidan’s voice. God, I felt fucking boneless, my body like jelly, barely able to support my own weight with the heat rushing through me.
“It’s OK, baby,” he said, coming in close and wrapping his arms around me. “We’ll see to this soon enough, make you feel so good.”
“Yes…” I hissed.
“I’ll be right back,” Peter said.
“No,” I said as I shook my head, the world spinning when I did so. “I need to say goodbye to my son.”