House of Leights (Secret Keepers #3)(31)

I swung toward the husky voice; Brad was half sitting as well, the sheets draped across his toned chest.

As our eyes locked, I shook my head, my face scrunched up. “I don’t even know what to think about it all. I mean … aliens. There are freaking aliens walking around Earth like they own the place.”

Really, really hot aliens.

“I told you that dude in our science class wasn’t human,” Brad joked, swinging his legs off the side of the bed. “I’d like my apology now for the way you called me an asshole.”

I shrugged, before rolling toward the side of the bed. When my feet hit the floor, I expected an icy chill, but the wood was warm. “You were an asshole. Hating on him because all the girls fell over themselves to talk to him. The alien thing was just an excuse for the frailty of your male ego.”

Jesse Jameson had been really gorgeous and charismatic. Maybe he was an alien after all.

Brad snorted. “My ego is robust. A champion among champions.”

I managed not to roll my eyes at him, and he laughed loudly.

“You want first shower?” He changed the subject.

I already knew he was starving, breakfast was the meal he carbo loaded at. And protein loaded. Not to mention grain, fat, and dairy. Basically, he could eat the ass end of a cow at breakfast and it barely even touched the sides. “You go first, I’m sure you’re dying for food, and I always take longer than you.”

He bounced out of bed, not denying the “dying for food” part. As he passed me, he dropped a kiss on my head, before grabbing his clothes and toiletries. When he was out of the room, I stretched out all of my limbs, and then headed to check out the clothing situation.

For some stupid reason, I wanted to look my best today.

By the time Brad was back in the room, his hair damp and spiked up in attractive disarray, I had decided on a denim skirt, black fitted long-sleeved shirt, and knee-high black socks. It was warm in the house, so unless we had to go outside, I wouldn’t need a coat.

“See you downstairs,” Brad said as he left for the second time. I gave him a wave, before making my way into the bathroom.

My shower was fast, and I was relieved to find a hair dryer in one of the vanity drawers. Once my long hair was dry and shining, I applied light makeup, focusing mainly on covering the dark circles under my eyes. Apparently not even eighteen hours or so of sleep was enough to recover from an almost kidnapping.

When I was done, I dropped my sleep clothes and makeup bag back in the room and made my way downstairs. My stomach was doing somersaults as I walked; when I reached the stairs, I actually paused at the top to try and get my shit together. Seriously. Why was I so nervous?

After a few calming breaths, I continued; I really did want to see everyone again. The team thing was starting to grow on me. When I made it to the main floor, I found everyone seated around a large, round dining table. It was just off the kitchen, in a nook I hadn’t noticed yesterday. There were four banks of windows, surrounding it on all sides, and the sun streamed in giving the entire scene a very “picture perfect” look.

“You’re awake!” Emma exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “How are you feeling today?”

“Much better, thank you,” I said. “The sleep did wonders.”

Her smile grew, and my nerves lessened as I hurried forward; the warmth of her greeting was exactly what I needed. What we all needed apparently, because conversations broke out, and everyone started reaching for the food that was piled in the center of the table.

As I took a seat next to Emma –Lexen was on her other side – I scanned the table. Star and Brad were sitting close to one set of windows, arguing about who could eat the most – Star seemed pretty sure she could eat him under the table. Callie and Daniel were filling their plates, their arms and hands grazing across each other as they moved. My parents were sipping coffee, smiling as they watched all of us, and Chase … Chase was leaning back in his chair, broad shoulders spilling over either side of the backrest, his eyes firmly locked on me.

“Good morning,” he said when our eyes met.

I swallowed roughly, because … his voice was still the most seductive thing I’d ever heard.

“Morning,” I mumbled, before clearing my throat. “How did you sleep?”

We were talking across the table, surrounded by people, but it almost felt like we were in our own little bubble. Whenever I looked at Chase, the rest of the world faded away.

“Chase insisted on taking guard duty last night,” Lexen cut in. “Even though he didn’t get any sleep the night before.”

Concern for him pushed through all other emotions. He hadn’t slept the night before because he’d been rescuing me. He must be exhausted.

“You should go and rest now,” I insisted, half rising in my chair.

Chase leaned forward, moving in my direction. “I’m okay, I don’t need a lot of sleep, and protecting … the secret keepers is something I’m taking very seriously.”

He’d hesitated over the words “secret keepers” and for a second I wondered if he’d been about to say something else.

“You should eat, Maya.” Chase leaned onto his forearms, the fitted white shirt he wore, stretching across his biceps. “You need to build up your energy again after the events of last night.”

Resisting the urge to fan my face, because it felt really hot in here all of a sudden, I leaned forward as well, and managed to look away from Chase long enough to examine the food-filled platter. It was piled with bread, cheese, and dips. Fruit of all colors were sliced and beautifully displayed. There was also a range of granola and pastries.