Rattle His Cage: The Baxter Boys #4 (The Baxter Boys ~ Rattled) Page 2

  Baby steps, if I can let my beard go, and my hair, then maybe other things won’t be so important either, like Zach’s stilettoes in the middle of the floor. “Are the girls coming over for dinner?” Sean asks.

  The girls being Joy, Alyssa, Mia, Kate, and Zoe. We’ve all been friends since high school and stuck together once we got to college and out in to the real world. Well, at least once we left the stone walls of Baxter that kept us from the real world.

  “I think so,” Ryan answers.

  “That was the plan last night,” I answer. Between sips of champagne they convinced me that since this was a holiday and we are family, even if there’s no blood linking us together, that I should cook and serve a feast for everyone.

  It’s not like I don’t cook for them anytime they decide just to pop in for a meal, but I did enjoy their groveling and begging.

  “Mia wants to know what time,” Zach says after looking at his phone.

  “Six or seven.” I don’t even know what I’m going to cook yet.

  My day is really off. I knew last night that I’d be cooking for a crowd of twelve, but this morning it didn’t even occur to me to take some meat out to thaw or even plan a meal. Other than thinking about food a little earlier, I haven’t given dinner a single thought.

  “What are we having? Alyssa wants to know,” Ryan asks.

  “It’s a surprise,” I yell back as I head into the kitchen and open the freezer. I’ll be just as surprised if I come up with something.

  Nothing in there is going to thaw in time. Then I open the fridge. Just the basics. Maybe breakfast?

  “Joy wants to know if you want her to bring edible flowers,” Zach says as he comes into the kitchen.

  Really? Edible flowers? I cook with food, like meat, vegetables, spices…not flowers. “Um, no thank you.” I turn around and look at him. “Is that what they are selling at the florist these days?”

  Joy is a flower child at heart, or at least that’s how I see her. Even in high school she was in the gardens helping plant and weed instead of hanging with anyone else. She studied horticulture and design in college and one day wants her own garden shop, which would allow her to landscape too, though lately she’s been thinking that being a wedding planner would be fun too.

  “Mary’s coming over.” Kelsey grins at me as she comes into the kitchen.

  If Kelsey is attempting to set us up, she and I need to have a long talk.

  “Why?” Alex asks.

  “New roommate is Shelby’s BFF from high school.”

  “Bad?” Alex asks.

  Kelsey shakes her head and puts her phone on the counter. “Mary worked ten hours in the ER last night. New roommate moved in and is banging on the walls and the other two are playing loud music.” She grabs a banana out of the bowl. “She’s coming here to get some sleep.”

  “Where?” Alex asks.

  Kelsey shrugs. “I assumed my bed.”

  I slowly turn. “Really, your bed?”

  “What’s wrong with my bed?”

  I think I just offended her, but she and Alex probably spent most the night having sex on those sheets.

  “Wet spots,” Sean yells.

  “Unless there weren’t any,” suggests Ryan.

  “That’s kind of sad, if that’s true,” Sean returns.

  The more the guys go on, the redder Kelsey’s face gets. I should tell them to shut up, but she might as well get used to them.

  “What’s sad?” Christian asks as he comes in the front door.

  “No wet spots in Kelsey’s bed,” Sean answers.

  “That’s more depressing than me sleeping alone,” adds Zach.

  “No shit,” Christian grunts. “I thought you two made up,” he says to Alex.

  By now Kelsey has her face buried in her hands and her shoulders are shaking.

  “You okay, Kelsey?”

  She blinks up at me and cracks a smile. “I was just thinking how sad it is that the guys don’t know how long it took for a wet spot to dry.” She winks at Alex. “They should all be gone now,” she yells into the living room. “All ten of them.”

  “That’s cruel!” Zach cries.

  “Really?” I say. “Ten? When telling fiction, the story should still be somewhat believable.”

  Maybe I should have asked Kelsey if Dylan’s bed was available. If he wanted to share it with me, I’d certainly stay awake and sleep later. Not that he ever would of course. The guy hardly notices me, and I’ve tried almost everything except stripping down in front of him. I did come close to doing just that when I answered the door in only a towel. Had it been anyone else who wanted buzzed in, I would have put on a robe.

  He didn’t even blink an eye.

  He’s gay or his dick is dead.

  Or, he doesn’t like me and doesn’t find me attractive. There’s always that and it’s nothing I can fix.

  And, it sucks!

  Kelsey opens the door almost before I can knock and I go on in.

  Six guys and Kelsey live in the brownstone, and it looks like everyone is home. Furthest away, kicked back in a recliner is Ryan with his short blonde hair, beard, and green eyes. The photographer. At least I assume he is one because he was taking pictures of Alex passed out when they all went to give blood. But those were on his phone and not a real camera. But the way the guys talked, it sounded as if he was a real photographer. He’s doing something on a laptop.

  On the far end of the couch is Christian, with shoulder length, straight brown hair and warm brown eyes. The saxophone player. That’s what he was playing the day I came here with Alex and Kelsey, after she learned about her daughter and went in for testing and before all the guys, except Christian, went to give blood.

  At the other end is Zach, the female-impersonator. Or, so I’ve been told. He’s a handsome guy, and tall, with light brown hair and the lightest blue eyes. Kelsey said he’s a beautiful woman. I’m not seeing how that’s possible, especially with the scruff on his chin. There is nothing about him that screams beautiful drag queen.

  Sean, bulky guy who looks like he works out a lot, is sitting at the dining room table looking at floor plans for a building or something. He scratches his nearly bald head then takes a drink of what I assume is coffee from a black cup.

  Alex is at the end of the table drawing. Probably a tattoo or something. Dylan is the only one not in here.

  The guys in the living room are watching a football game.

  That’s right, it’s New Year’s Day. Isn’t there a bowl game today? Probably more than one.

  It’s a homey room and reminds me of the places I lived as a kid. The base housing wasn’t near this big, but the furniture was the same. Worn and a hodgepodge with nothing matching. But it was comfortable, warm, and inviting when it was just me, Mom, Dad, and my brothers.

  The Christmas tree is plugged in, a fire is burning in the fireplace, and there are a row of stockings along the mantel. There are twice as many as the number of people who live here and half the names belong to girls. Why didn’t I notice that the other night? Kelsey and I sat down here and watched TV all night.

  Maybe it was because my focus kept switching between the movie we were watching and Dylan, who was working on his laptop at the dining room table.

  Who are the girls? Girlfriends? Does one of those girls belong to Dylan? Maybe that explains why he doesn’t even notice me.

  “Is it really that bad?” Kelsey asks, drawing my attention back to her. “Wow, you are out of it.” She laughs.

  I groan. “She is just like them.”

  “Why are those rich girls living there anyway?” Dylan asks as he comes from the kitchen.

  My heart skips a beat. What is it about him? Every time he’s in the room my temperature rises just a bit and my pulse kicks up.

  “There’s nothing wrong with the place, don’t get me wrong,” he continues. “But, it’s basically student housing for a budget. I assume these girls are loaded.”

  “The college experience,”
Kelsey answers.

  “They told us that their parents wanted them to experience college life, from the tiny rooms, to sharing a place, classes, all of it.”

  “They call it slumming.” Kelsey rolls her eyes.

  “Then they have no clue about the real world.” Christian snorts.

  “They only know the Kardashian one.” I confirm and then turn to Kelsey. “I’m going to head up. You sure you don’t mind?”

  “Of course not.”

  Dylan comes forward. “You’re not sleeping in Kelsey’s bed.”

  I blink at him. Did I come all this way not to have a place to sleep? Does he dislike me that much? “It’s one day, I promise.” I am so not above begging right now.

  He holds up his hands, defensive, as if I’m going hit him or something. I may be tired, but I’m not violent.

  “Use Alex’s room.”

  “My room?” Alex looks up from his sketching in surprise.

  “It’s not like you’re using it,” Dylan reminds him. “You haven’t slept in there for two weeks.”

  “I don’t want to be a bother.” Really, I just want a bed. Any bed.

  “You don’t want Kelsey’s bed, trust me. Alex has clean sheets on his bed.”

  “I do?” He asks in surprise

  “I washed your sheets while you were brooding above your tattoo parlor.”

  “I wasn’t brooding,” Alex argues indignantly. “You washed my sheets?” he adds in disbelief.

  “Your bed was unmade and I was doing laundry,” Dylan counters defensively.

  “What’s wrong with Kelsey’s?” This is really too much.

  “Wet spots,” Zach answers.

  I roll my eyes. “As if I care. Before I came here I was trying to sleep in a pile of dirty clothes in my closet.”

  Dylan’s eyes widen in shock, or maybe disgust. It’s hard to tell with him. “Really?”

  “Well, maybe not all of them were dirty.” I bite my lip. “Maybe some.” Then I shrug. “It doesn’t matter. I just need sleep.”

  Dylan grabs my bag and heads up stairs. “Alex’s room is better.”

  “At least let me get a few things,” Alex calls as he follows me up.

  I hate to put anyone out.

  Dylan stops by an open door on the second floor. “Here you go.”

  Alex walks in and looks around.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “Actually, I don’t need anything from here. It’s all upstairs.”

  “See,” Dylan says and then pulls Alex from the room and shuts the door.

  I pull my shirt over my head as their voices bleed through the door.

  “I think I know why you want Mary in this room.”

  “Clean sheets,” Dylan counters.

  “And, it’s close to yours,” Alex teases in a sing-songy voice.

  “Sod off,” Dylan counters from a little further away.

  I move to the door and try and listen, but they are gone.

  Hmm, so Dylan may want me close. I’ll just have to figure out how to make that work to my advantage.

  3

  What was I thinking putting Mary in the room on the same floor as mine?

  Well, I was thinking that she didn’t need to be sleeping in Alex and Kelsey’s DNA.

  But was there more? Was Alex right?

  Of course not. Mary will be back at work before I go up there again or even think about going to bed.

  Why are Alex and Kelsey pushing me toward Mary anyway? They’ve got to know we come from two different worlds, and it will never work out. I learned that lesson from dating Patty. The girl I thought I was in love with.

  Once Mary learns the truth about me, she’ll get over ever thinking I’m hot. She probably doesn’t even think that anymore anyway. It was just a fluke and I need to stop thinking about her.

  Ha! Like I’ve succeeded in doing that before. She’s crept into my brain, often, since I first met her, but it really does need to stop and now.

  Stopping inside the grocery store, I look around and grab a cart. What can I make for a dozen people that isn’t going to require me to be in the kitchen all afternoon? It’s too late to cook anything complicated, especially if we plan on having supper at 6 or 7.

  What would Mary like to eat?

  Does she have a favorite food?

  It should be filling since she’s got to work all night again.

  “Stop it.” I’m cooking for a dozen friends, not just Mary. Then again, the rest of them will eat anything I put in front of him, happy with cooked spaghetti noodles and no sauce.

  In the produce aisle I grab stuff for making a big salad and head into the dairy section. Cheese!

  Decision made. Who doesn’t like pizza?

  I’ll do more shopping later in the week. Once I find Nina.

  Determination settles in my gut. I will find Nina. I will not leave child services until I have answers and can hopefully bring her home. Then I’ll shop again and cook all of her favorites.

  Grabbing a couple boxes of mac and cheese I toss them in the cart. I haven’t made this in years, but at one time, it was Nina’s favorite. Hopefully her palate has improved, but if is hasn’t, this will be familiar, and we can pick up with the meal I was cooking when everyone was taken away from me.

  “It’s 7?” I groan and roll over. I could go back to sleep. It’s like I’m drugged or something. Sleep drugged.

  As much as I want to keep lying here, I know I need to get up.

  I need coffee. Once the magical brew is pumping through my veins, I’ll be able to think. To focus.

  Pushing the covers away, I get out of bed and evaluate whether I should change my clothes or not. This is an all guy household, plus Kelsey, but it’s not like I’m running around naked. I’m in pajama bottoms and a t-shirt.

  Bra?

  God, I don’t want to put that thing on until I have to.

  Hell, it’s not like anyone would notice if I am wearing one or not anyway, and I can keep my arms crossed over my chest if I suddenly get cold.

  Damn, I need coffee. Why else would I be standing in the middle of Alex’s bedroom wondering if I should put a bra on or not.

  In a compromise with myself, I decide no bra, but grab the robe out of my bag. It’s not much of a robe, but it will help give the girls some extra coverage.

  The house is so quiet! It’s as if nobody is here. Maybe they aren’t. I’m not used to silence. Every little sound in our apartment bleeds through the walls. Thank God I shared a wall with Kelsey. She was quiet. Seriously, so quiet that you’d think it was empty. Not so much with Shelby or Tiffany. More times than I could count I’ve come home in the evening to echoes of moans coming from one or both of the bedrooms. I sometimes wondered if they were in competition to see who could have the longest and loudest orgasm.

  Living in a quiet place like this would be heaven. Especially since such heaven contains Dylan White.

  As I reach the landing just to the left of the front door, I start hearing voices from the dining room, and they aren’t all guy voices. There are more girls here than Kelsey. The girlfriends? People to match the names on the stockings?

  I tilt my head and listen. Silk and leather? Are they talking about what I think they are? Then someone says that being tied up was a lot more fun than she ever dreamed possible.

  They are talking bondage! At least, I assume they are. Maybe I should go back upstairs.

  But, I really need coffee.

  Walking into the living room, I stop. People are crowded around the large dining room table. When I saw the table for the first time, I thought it was too huge for the space and the six guys who lived here. Apparently they need it if they dine together with their girlfriends a lot.

  Zach glances up. “What’s your opinion, Mary?”

  “About?” I ask slowly.

  “Silk or leather?”

  I’d only picked up on a bit of the conversation but I go with it. “That depends. Spanking or binding.”

/>   Dylan’s head snaps up and he pierces me with those intense grey eyes of his. At least I got his attention for a change.

  Zach leans back and grins. “Why?”

  “Well, silk isn’t exactly effective for a spanking, especially if it’s punishment, but leather can really irritate the wrists.”

  “See, I told you.” One of the girls with short black hair holds out her wrists. “No chafing.”

  “Apparently we have an expert in the room,” Sean chuckles.

  Dylan is so focused on me, studying me over the rims of his glasses. I’m not sure if he’s shocked, intrigued, aroused, or disgusted.

  “Not really,” I finally answer. “I just read a lot.”

  I do read a lot of BDSM, but it’s not something I’ve ever participated in. I’ve yet to meet a hot, playboy billionaire who wants to tie me up. Maybe one will show up in the ER who needs me but doesn’t realize it yet, or something like that, and I’ll get my chance. That is how it seems to happen in the fictional world. But, since that isn’t likely to happen, any and all experience I have lay within the pages of the many books I’ve read.

  My eyes meet Dylan’s again. If he wanted to tie me to his bed with silk scarves, I’d certainly let him. Bondage and pleasure I could get into, but I’m not sure I’d like the pain that goes along with some of the other stuff. Then again, it’s not like I have experience with that sort of thing, I could be missing out on something awesome. The books have certainly gotten me really hot a few times.

  “We saved you a place, and even managed to save some pizza.” Kelsey points to an empty spot beside her.

  “Are you sure?” I don’t really want to intrude on their party.

  “There’s also a fresh pot of coffee.”

  “Thank God.” That is the only invitation I really need and head past them into the kitchen.

  When I come back in, clutching the coffee cup as if it is life itself, they are all staring at me.

  “Have a seat,” Alex says.

  I hesitate. I didn’t even look in the mirror when I got up. My hair is probably a mess, not to mention there is probably mascara under my eyes. On top of that, I’m in my pajamas.

  “Sit!” Kelsey insists.