Chapter 221

We have a really nice evening, especially when the food comes and then we get to share in on the muffins that Daphne’s mother sent along as a gift, but even despite that I think all of our eyes are on the clock. Tomorrow everything starts again, after all, and we’re all anxious to make a good start. We end the evening earlier than we usually do.

Daphne is the first to leave, making her excuses about having a ton of sewing to get started on in the morning, and we all bid very sorrowful goodbyes that she laughs off cheerfully, reminding us that while we have a workout in the morning she just gets to get up and have coffee and start sewing.

Ben and Luca stay a little longer, but they bow out soon after. After I give Ben his kiss goodbye on the cheek and wave him away down the hall, I take both of Luca’s hands in mine and lean back against the wall of the stone corridor, looking up at him.

“So, what was that all about?” I ask, a little smirk on my lips.

“What was what all about?” Luca asks, blinking innocently and playing dumb.

I just narrow my eyes. “Your secret rendezvous with Jackson. Ben thinks you two were kissing, by the way.”

Luca laughs and then strokes my cheek with his thumb. “Look at you, Princess,” he murmurs, “practicing one whole hour of restraint in not asking that question.” He steps close to me and presses a hand to the wall above my head, leaning in and looking down at me, just a bit. I bite my lip as I look up at him, thinking that he is…just a little too good looking in this little moment. My wolf agrees, giving a sharp howl and hopping around in an eager circle.

“Yes, I am a paradigm of self control,” I reply, immediately belying my words by putting my hands on his hips and tugging him closer, a little shiver of delight running through me when his body presses against mine. “Now tell me – what happened between you and Jackson in the nook?”

Luca shrugs. “Nothing much. Just…established some ground rules between each other for how to behave. No beheadings, reduced frequency of insults. Rules of war. That sort of thing.”

“Really?” I ask, legitimately surprised. “So mature.”

“New man,” he says, gesturing towards himself with his free hand before slipping it behind my neck and cradling my head. “Now, do I get a kiss goodnight? Or have we all grown so chaste that even that is forbidden?”

I laugh and tilt my head back, standing on my toes a bit, and Luca dips his head and presses his lips to mine. My body sings, my wolf prancing, to feel his mouth again on my own. I kiss him slowly and deeply, relishing it, pleased that things are more normal between us again. It ends to soon, if you ask me.

“I’ll see you at breakfast?” he murmurs, so close that I can feel his words as breath.

I smile and nod, allowing my feet to fall flat again. “I’ll bring you some of the pens,” I whisper, grinning eagerly up at him and making him laugh. Luca kisses me swiftly one last time and then starts down the hall. I call him a goodnight and then move back into the room, where Rafe and Jesse are cleaning up the plates from dinner and carrying everything to the dumbwaiter. Jackson helps too, clearly doing my share of the work.

“Thank you,” I say, laughing a little and working to take the plates out of his hand. “No, I can do this –“

“It’s fine, Ariel,” he says, laughing lightly and grinning down at me. I sigh, feeling lazy about letting the boys do the work – but honestly it all goes by so quick between the three of them that there’s not much more for me to do. I slip into my nook, pulling out my pajamas for the evening, my ears trained for Jackson’s footsteps because I know that he will not leave without saying goodnight.

When he comes over, I toss the pajamas on to the bed and take a step out of the nook.

“Ready to sleep?” I ask Jackson, reaching my arms up towards him. Instantly understanding, Jackson dips low so that my arms easily clasp around his neck as he picks me up, the arm around my back pulling me warm to his chest as he presses a kiss to my cheek.

“Yes,” he says, giving a happy sigh and smiling up into my face, his dark blue eyes shining. “I’m tired – it’s been a long day.”

“I know,” I murmur, remembering the stressful meeting. “But I’m glad you’re here. And I’m glad that you and Luca…worked things out, or whatever.”

“We couldn’t keep going the way things were,” Jackson says, shaking his head at me sadly. “Our little timeshare will solve a lot.”

“Timeshare?” I ask, confused, frowning.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Jackson asks, glancing towards the door as if Luca will still be there.

I shake my head no, wanting more information. Jackson nods and puts me down on my feet, clearly implying that it will take a minute to fill me in and he might as well put me down while he does it.

“Okay, goodnight, Jacks!” Jesse says, waving to him and heading for the bathroom.

“Yeah, goodnight!” Rafe calls from the side of the room where his bed is, where he tugs off his shirt, ready to change into his pajamas himself. “We’ll see you in the morning, man!”

“Yup, you sleep well too, Rafe!” Jackson calls over to him.

And then to my shock Jackson gives a tired little sigh and grips his shirt with both hands, pulling it off in one smooth move.

My mouth drops open and Jesse stops in his tracks, almost stumbling over his feet as he reaches for the bathroom door.

“What…” Jesse says, staring at Jackson for a long moment and then at me. “What is happening here?”

“Huh?” Jackson asks, turning towards Jesse with a frown.

“What…why are you…disrobing?” Jesse asks, gesturing towards Jackson’s half-naked form.

“Oh,” Jackson says, looking down at himself with a frown. “Well, this is how I sleep.”

A slow grin starts to spread over my face as I start to figure it out.

Rafe’s footsteps echo in the room as he slowly walks over to us. “No, no,” he says softly, like he’s trying very hard to come up with an explanation for this that is not the obvious one. “I need answers too. Why, again, are you…preparing for bed in our room?”

“Oh,” Jackson says, turning to look between my brother and my cousin. “Because I sleep here now.” Jackson casts a hand out towards my bed in the nook as I press my hands together behind my back and work very hard to not grin.

Jesse breaks into appalled laugher as Rafe just gapes at Jackson. But Jackson does nothing, just looks between them, confused in turn.

“Jackson,” Rafe says, stepping forward and clapping a hand on Jackson’s bare shoulder. “I love you, man, but you do not sleep here now.”

“Yes, I do,” Jackson says, stating it like it’s a fact as he stares at my brother.

“No!” Jesse says, striding over, vehemently shaking his head. “You do not!”

“Okay,” Jackson says, a little awkward now, glancing at me. “I mean, I didn’t think you wanted Ariel to sleep anywhere but this room, but…I guess we can go downstairs to mine – the bed’s smaller, but we’ll manage –“

“WHAT is happening!?” Rafe shouts, casting his hands out, a little panicked now. “Nothing has changed! Ariel sleeps here! You sleep downstairs! I…this is how it is! These are the sleeping arrangements!”

“Oh,” Jackson says, nodding like he finally gets it. “Well, no, that’s changed now. I sleep where Ariel sleeps,” he says, pointing at me like this is the great clarification that will solve all of the problems.

“What!?” Jesse gasps, scandalized.

“Um,” I say, my voice high and ringing as I step forward, hoping to make this a little easier. “We kind of got in the habit of it over Midwinter. We haven’t spent a night apart since…well, since the night of Luca’s fight.”

Jesse guffaws and stares between us as Rafe goes pale.

“Seriously!?” Jesse sputters, “even after the whole sex ban, you guys just…ignored it!?”

“No, it’s not like that,” Jackson says fast, frowning at Jesse like he’s making this dirty when it’s really not. “We just like to…sleep together. To be together when we’re asleep. It’s…” he shrugs, “it’s really nice. I sleep way better than I did before. Plus, I know she’s always protected.”

I nod eagerly, looking at my brother and my cousin, desperately excited at the prospect that Jackson could start sleeping here but trying very, very hard to be cool about it.

Obviously, I fail, and Rafe scowls just stares at me, livid.