The night before, I’d been blown away by how she’d so readily welcomed me. Considering I was responsible for her son killing three men at point-blank range, I’d thought she would be angry with me, but she was more concerned about me than she seemed to be about Max. I no longer had the feeling that she disapproved of me being with her son.
As Lexa had said, her mom seemed to already consider me part of their family.
Someone placed a glass of juice in front of me, and I spent the next half hour eating and getting to know the others at the table. They all seemed intrigued and maybe even a little fascinated by me. By the time our plates were empty, everyone who had no ASL knowledge had a few signs down. Having them want to learn to communicate with me warmed my heart.
Not long after the kitchen was cleaned up from our huge meal, Nova started saying her goodbyes, while the other guests gathered their luggage. Nova and her brother spent the summers with their family in New York City, and she was flying back with them.
I was sad to see one of my newest and closest friends go, but I knew she would be back before school started once again.
At the front door, she threw her arms around me, giving me a tight hug. “I’ll text you every day,” she promised when she pulled back. “If you need anything, just let me know. I might be in another state, but I can light a fire under people if I need to.”
After she stepped back, Ciana gave me a hug, and we exchanged numbers. “By the way,” she said slowly, her eyes bright with amusement. “Last night was the most fun I’ve had in forever. Seriously, best ‘sleepover’ ever.”
“You are so weird,” Nova said, signing so I could understand. “Don’t listen to her, Delaney. She gets plenty of excitement back at home.”
Grinning, I waved to them as they walked down the driveway to where two limos were waiting for them. Ryan was already standing at the back door of one, and Nova practically bounced toward him. He gave me a brief wave before urging Nova inside and following her.
As I watched, Garret rolled two suitcases toward the second limo, his dad carrying a box behind them. It looked like he was planning on staying longer than Nova from how much stuff he was taking with him.
“Garret isn’t coming back,” Raven signed when she caught me frowning after her nephew. “He hates the small-town life. Boy was committed to getting out as fast as he possibly could.”
She didn’t look the least bit sad that he wasn’t planning on returning, making me wonder just what kind of trouble Garret had gotten into over the years.
I glanced back at him to find his mom was now standing by the trunk of the second limo. She’d been so nice earlier, her face practically glowing. Now, it was pulled into a hard glare as she stood in front of her son. She pointed a finger up at him, her mouth moving, but I was unable to make out what she said since I could only see half of her face. Whatever she said, however, had Garret’s jaw clenching.
When she was done speaking, she gave him a brief hug and stepped back. Jet gave him a longer hug, slapped his son on the back, then walked over to the other limo to peek inside. Felicity’s face softened as she spoke to those in the first limo, which held Ryan, Nova, and Ciana.
When they stepped back from the limo, Jet closed the door, and the driver pulled away. I’d learned over breakfast that Tavia and Lexa had arrived before I’d woken to retrieve their babies and so Tavia could say goodbye to Raven. I wasn’t sure how the other woman had become Raven’s “daughter,” but I hoped one of them would tell me the story one day. From what little I’d seen of them so far, I could tell their relationship was almost as close as Lexa and Raven’s was.
Max’s mom put her hand on my shoulder and nodded toward the door. “You should wake Max. We need to clean up your place, and Bash is going to need his help fixing the garage bay doors.”
Upstairs, I stepped into Max’s room. The sun was shining through the window, filling the room with natural light so I could easily see to get to the bed. Max had shifted in his sleep and was now lying on his stomach with one arm wrapped tightly around my pillow. That was typically how we slept, and the sight made my heart melt. Even in his sleep, he needed to have me close.
Even though he hadn’t told me he loved me yet, I knew he did. There was no way he could treat me the way he did, protect me so fearlessly, and not love me as much as I loved him.
I just wished he would say the words already.
Of course, it was too soon, but dang it, I wanted them.
Pushing those thoughts away, I smiled to myself as I climbed onto the bed and straddled his hips. After rubbing my hands together to warm them, I started rubbing them up and down his back with gentle pressure.
The vibrations under my fingertips told me he was groaning in pleasure. Once again, the need to hear him was almost overwhelming. If I could have one wish, only one, it would be to hear Max. Biting my lip to keep it from trembling, I added a little more pressure, working on the knots in his tight muscles.
I massaged him for several minutes, simply enjoying making him feel good. But then he
