Liar (Madison Kate #2)(55)

I didn't think.

Maybe that needed to be a conversation.

"I'm getting dressed before you get hard again, and then we'll never get out of this shower," I told him with a teasing smile. "If I really did get a bonus day on my exam, I need to use it for studying."

Kody pouted but released me in order to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. I bit back my grin and handed him the bottle of conditioner.

"Don't forget to condition, babe," I told him sweetly. "Stops your hair from drying out."

Before he could see the mischief all over my face, I got out and closed the glass door behind me. I dried off quickly, then wandered back into my bedroom to find some clothes while Kody finished his shower. I needed to check on Steele and find out how the hell he'd gotten so hurt.

The shower shut off and I heard Kody step out, so I moved back over to the bathroom and leaned on the doorframe with a broad grin on my face.

Except... this was Kody. Kodiak unflappable Jones. Damn him straight to hell. He just stared at his newly pink hair in the mirror with a considering look, then shrugged and grinned at me.

"Cute prank, babe, but now we just match. Like a real couple." His whole face lit up with mischief. "Aw, we're the cutest boyfriend and girlfriend ever. Wanna bet Archer gags on his coffee when he sees us all loved up and matching?"

I glowered. "We're not a fucking couple, Kody," I growled, folding my arms in a sulk. "And you're only making me want to hit you harder with this nonchalance."

He smirked, tucking my towel low around his waist and prowling toward me. I backed up, but he caught me around the waist and hauled me against him as he dropped his lips to my ear.

"Bring it on, babe. Your pranks turn me on." He pressed himself harder against me, showing me exactly what he was talking about and making my mouth water with desire. "And you can call us whatever the fuck you want, so long as I get to make you scream like that again. Hottest fucking sound I've ever heard, MK."

I melted. I was a melted puddle of goo.

Kody grabbed my earlobe between his teeth and sucked it briefly before releasing me and sauntering his fine ass toward my door. "Quit stressing about Steele. He's fine."

I rolled my eyes and scowled after him. "Quit reading my mind, asshole!"

He threw a quick grin over his shoulder as he held my bedroom door open. "Quit being such an open book then, babe."

Lucky for him, he disappeared before I could find anything to throw. Smug fuck.

But still, he was right that I was worrying about Steele. Not just about his injuries, which I thoroughly needed to get more information about, but also about how he would react to me fucking around with Kody. It wasn't like we were dating, any of us. But they were closer than brothers, and I couldn't see things ending well if we ever went past what it currently was—mind-blowing casual sex with a side of animosity.

Sighing and mentally berating my own stupidity, I found my hairbrush and went to work on my tangles. I'd dry my hair, and then, hopefully, Steele might be awake.

Anything had to be better than facing Archer this morning, anyway.





21





To my surprise, Steele wasn't in his room. His bedding was rumpled and thrown back like he'd just gotten up not long ago, though, so I went looking.

The kitchen was empty, except for Karen—our weekday chef who was in the middle of preparing our meals for the day. She tended to pre-prepare everything first thing in the morning and leave it all clearly labeled in the fridge, allowing us to just finish it all off whenever we wanted to eat. It was a good system, and I wasn't looking forward to my father returning and changing it all up.

"Good morning, Miss Danvers," Karen greeted me in a hushed voice. "Can I get you something to eat?"

She looked like she was halfway through making a lasagna for our dinner, so I shook my head. "No, thanks. I was just looking for Steele. Have you seen him?"

She smiled. "Yes, he came through here about half an hour ago. He should be in the workshop."

"Thanks," I replied. I continued through the house to the garage, then past all the expensive cars to the far side where Steele's workshop was set up. I found him standing beside Archer's Raptor with a deep scowl on his face and his black hoodie pulled up to cover his head. He looked all kinds of dark and dangerous and... delicious.

"What are you doing down here?" I asked him, coming around the truck to where he stood. Then I saw what he was frowning at and gasped. "Uh... wow."

Steele sighed and nodded. "Yep."

I took a step closer to the truck and reached out to touch one of the many bullet holes riddled down the body of the vehicle. It looked like a giant cheese grater and totally unfixable.

"I hate writing off cars," Steele told me, his whole demeanor annoyed and disappointed. "But this would cost more to fix than to buy a new one."

"Wait," I frowned. "I thought Archer had bulletproof cars. Wasn't that his whole thing about why his cars were safer?"

Steele arched his pierced brow at me, his lips curving in a half smile. "Bulletproof glass, Hellcat." He untucked a hand from the pocket of his jeans and knocked on one of the perfectly intact windows. "Dumbass didn't consider bulletproof bodywork too—something we will rectify on the next one."