“That Bill!” Moses laughed. “Only one who can still make people believe they’re doing something because they want to and not because she conned them into it!”
“Quiet with that, Mo,” Taurus Ramsey urged his cousin. “We don’t need the guy runnin’ off scared before we get a couple more days out of this trip-who knows when we’ll all get a break for more time off.”
“Is it my imagination or is this shit finally calming down?” Yohan asked. “I can’t believe Gabriel getting shot is the end.”
Hill had not yet arrived in the basement, so Caiphus, Pike and Smoak shared the info they’d gathered from their father during time spent in New York.
Smoak snorted a curse. “Trust me, Yo, if this was the end, it wouldn’t be with Gabe laid up in some cushy hospital room with my Uncle Aaron playing nursemaid.”
Carlos McPhereson rested back against the pool table where he and Moses had just finished up a game. “I still can’t believe it was Vale who shot him.”
“No surprise there,” Smoak countered. “Gabe’s wronged too many people,” he vividly recalled the story his wife had told him in that very house about the way his uncle had once terrified her. “It was only a matter of time before he got it from somebody he never saw coming.”
“Which makes me wonder what’s in store for Vale?” Quest Ramsey spoke up from his spot on the sofa.
“I vote death,” Smoak replied matter-of-factly and stood to head for the bar.
Fernando chuckled from his spot behind the long U-shaped maple bar. “Hold on, my friend,” he gestured with the bottle of his preferred Sam Adams lager. “We’d all vote for that, but our wives would be convinced there’s a better way.”
Pike grimaced and rested his head back on the sofa he shared with Kraven. “I don’t think our wives are in much of a position to offer advice right now.”
No one saw the need for more words. The
group raised their drinks in a silent toast of agreement.
~~~
Persephone had asked Hill to wake her that morning before his day got started. Hill had a better time watching her sleep off the effects of his attention from the night before. She’d been pretty much dead on her feet after making sure his folks were settled with the girls upon their arrival. This, in spite of the fact that his parents had told her to relax and they’d handle it all.
She was still pretty wired-up though, by the time she and Hill had ventured off to their own room. Hill didn’t mind, happy to help her wind down into one of her heavy slumbers, deepened after heavy lovemaking. He was reluctantly tucking her back into the thick bed covers then. Best she not wake up to discover he’d been delighting in watching her naked and asleep in the bed they’d shared.
“Sef?” He put a kiss to her cheek, another to her earlobe. Gently, he suckled the diamond stud winking against her cinnamon brown flesh. His thumb brushed her wrist, applying the necessary pressure to rouse her from sleep.
“Sef…” he was suckling the stud adorning her ear. When she began to moan and squirm beneath the covers, he wanted nothing more than to undress and climb back into bed with her.
She woke with a gasp, but her eyes remained closed as she savored the sensations greeting her. At once needy, she turned into Hill’s skillful mouth. Her fingers spread across the linens in search of him. Unsuccessful with that hunt, she forced open her eyes, frowning when she found him seated on the edge of the bed.
“Why are you dressed?” She pushed up on an elbow.
“It’s after eleven.”
Persephone winced, rubbing her eyes as she groaned. “I was supposed to meet your parents before they left with the girls.”
Roman and Imani along with Damon and Catrina were going to take the kids along on a tour of Thunderbird Lodge. The Whittell Mansion Tour was an exploration of the famed ‘Castle in the Sky’ built by the eccentric and stunningly wealthy George Whittell, Jr in 1939. The place was a gateway into Lake Tahoe’s history and architecture. Though the younger members on the tour might not understand all they would witness, the ornate beauty of the place was sure to please.
“They left hours ago, so it looks like you’ve got time to lay around or whatever,” Hill was saying.
“I can’t,” Persephone pushed up a bit further, careful to keep the sheet secure under her arms. “I’ve got some stuff to do before we get together to hang out with Bill later tonight.”
Hill walked his fingers along her forearm. “Want some company until then?”
“Not for this. Thanks for waking me, though.” She gave him a quick smile when he studied her curiously.
“No problem,” Hill slowly withdrew his fingers. “Guess we’ll see each other at the end of a very long day.”
“A long day with a lot of fun at the end,” Persephone’s tone was hopeful even as she yawned. “Maybe by then, my jet lag will be a thing of the past.”
She fell back to the covers, the sheet
unraveling then at her chest. Hill put a quick kiss to her
forehead, stood and left the room before the rest of his very long
day was spent there with her.
***
An hour later, Hill was hugging the newest mom in the Ramsey clan. Tykira had just finished talking with her mother in Seattle when Hill found her on the patio off from the kitchen.
“You have to come see the babies before you jet off again,” Ty was saying once Hill had given his congratulations.
“You think Quay’ll have a fit if I try to hold them?” Hill grinned while looking through the pictures of the newborns that Ty had pulled from the tote bag she’d brought to finish a bit of work.
Tykira’s wide, brown eyes appeared to gleam with anticipation. “I think he’d get a kick out of seeing that.”
“Him and me both.” Hill’s demeanor mellowed as he smiled over the pictures. “I missed out on all this.”
Ty’s expression hinted of regret. “Hill… I don’t know Persephone very well, but I know enough to believe she didn’t do what she did out of malice.”
“Ty that’s one of the few things I’m sure of.” Soft laughter hugged his words and he looked toward the pictures again. “I can think of at least a hundred people who’d be stunned witless if they saw me sitting here looking at baby pictures. Hmph...a few of that hundred are under this very roof.”
“Well they’ll just have to get over it.” Ty waved. “You’re in the parents’ club now.”
Hill’s laughter tapered off into an easy smile when he looked past Ty toward the kitchen’s pine and glass doors. “Looks like she’ll take some convincing...I promise Ty’s perfectly safe with me Michaela!” He called out.
Mick gave a woeful smile that belied her nerves. She moved out to the terrace on tentative steps. “Hill I-about Persephone, I’m so sorry-”
