“You won’t,” he said and again meant what he said. He will take down the bastard who did this to their sister, mother, and wife, as well as keep Monica safe. It wasn’t personal before, but now...yeah, now that all changed, and he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that.
“What are you two talking about?” Monica’s voice had both men looking her way.
“Nothing really,” Doug said, then yawned. “Is Dena sleeping?”
“Finally.” Monica smiled as she headed to the refrigerator. “I had to read two books before she finally fell asleep.”
Kane stayed silent, watching her as she opened the freezer and grabbed the ice cream. Her long hair was pulled into a loose ponytail that made her look younger… softer. The oversized hoodie and jean shorts didn’t help. She looked like trouble—the kind he didn’t need but couldn’t look away from.
“You want a spoon?”
“Did you eat anything?” Doug asked, sounding more like a father than a brother.
“I’m not hungry,” Monica sighed. “Do you want a spoon?”
“Yeah, I want a spoon.” Doug snorted, shaking his head. “But you should eat something other than ice cream.”
“Kane?” Monica looked straight at him, ignoring Doug.
“What?” he asked, caught off guard by hearing his name instead of Warrior.
“Spoon?” She lifted her brows at him like he was the slow one. “We don’t do bowls for ice cream. We do spoons.”
“I’m good,” Kane replied, and couldn’t help the small grin when she just shrugged and grabbed two spoons.
“Do vampires eat ice cream?” Doug asked, taking the spoon from her. He glanced at Monica, who rolled her eyes. “What? Was that rude?”
“No. It was stupid,” Monica said, popping the lid off the ice cream and scooping herself a huge bite of chocolate. She turned the spoon upside down and slid the whole damn thing into her mouth.
Kane’s body went tight in an instant. Those lips… Jesus. It was ridiculous how fast she could knock him off center without even trying. Fuck!
He dragged his gaze away just in time to see Doug mimic the same move with the spoon, and yeah—that killed every inappropriate thought Kane had been having. Talk about a fucking mood killer.
“Ah, yeah, we eat food,” Kane said, his voice weird even to his own damn ears. What the hell was happening to him? “Actually, one of the VC Warriors is a damn good cook.”
“Isn’t one of them a doctor also?” Monica asked right before she latched those full lips around the spoon again.
Kane felt it, low and hard, like someone had just flipped a damn switch inside him.
Why the hell was that sexy? He didn’t know. Okay… yeah, he knew. He knew exactly why watching Monica take that spoon into her mouth was tying him up in knots. Because every slow slide of that spoon had him imagining those lips wrapped around his cock instead. He didn’t want the thought. Didn’t ask for it. But it sure as hell showed up.
“I saw him save that girl on the steps of City Hall,” she added, completely unaware she was about two spoonfuls away from undoing him.
“I remember that,” Doug said, pointing his spoon at Monica like he was lecturing her. “And that guy changed into a wolf. That was crazy.”
Kane barely heard him. He was too busy dragging his mind back from the gutter where it was sprinting full-speed. These peoplewere grieving. Monica was grieving. And here he was, thinking about her mouth wrapped around his?—"
“You know them?” Doug asked suddenly.
“Who?” he asked, voice smooth—and thank God for that—because the inside of his head was still a mess of thoughts, he had no business having.
Doug lifted a brow. Monica looked over, waiting. Kane straightened, his attention snapping into place. What the fuck just happened? He quickly searched his memory for what Doug just asked, cursing himself for losing focus. That could get him killed in his line of business. Thankfully, in this instance, it just made him look like a fucking idiot.
“The doctor or the wolf,” he added before Doug could clarify, covering the moment cleanly as he finally got his shit together.
“Either,” Doug said, studying him.
“Slade is the VC Warrior doctor,” Kane answered, steady now. Focused. “And Hunter’s part of the Lee County Wolves out of Kentucky.”