GladYouCame (7 page)

Tony snorted. Dade wouldn’t know what hit him if he refused
her again. Genevieve could be quite the caretaker. Tony had been on the
receiving end of her temper when she made up her mind about feeding someone.
She usually took it as some kind of personal affront when she’d spent so much
time preparing a meal.

A fact that reminded Tony he had food of his own to eat. He
shoveled a few bites into his mouth, not even tasting the eggs because he
hadn’t realized he was hungry. Famished even. He’d forgotten how much energy
sex expended. But he hadn’t forgotten how excellent Genevieve’s cooking tasted.
He snagged a strip of crispy bacon from the platter filled with a selection of
breakfast meats. “Damn, Gen, it’s a wonder I don’t weight a fuckton with the
way you feed me sometimes.”

“Because that bacon and sausage you’re enjoying is turkey.
Eggs were made with skim milk.” She brought over a carafe of coffee and kissed
the top of Tony’s head. “Your waistline is safe and sound around me, baby.”

As he chewed he caught sight of Dade across the table.
Genevieve continued to bustle around the kitchen like a fiend while she prepped
things she thought she would inevitably need piled in her car to take to
Allison’s house. Seriously, how much crap did she need for the party where
women were just going to sigh and coo over clothing as big as his hand?

As Dade’s gaze tracked Genevieve’s movements, Tony became
more interested. Dade was studying her. Examining her movements. Tony glanced
Genevieve’s way again and finally noticed he didn’t see the telltale straps of
her bra peeking from the wide neck of the shirt. Every time she moved, her
breasts swayed freely with the movement. Her nipples were also hard, clearly
poking against the material. Upon closer examination Tony realized he could see
the shadowed hint of the vee between her legs.

Dade had obviously noticed.

And was quite fascinated.

Interesting.

It wasn’t the first time Tony had noticed the telling
glances since Dade had moved in. At first he’d passed them off as nothing more
than his imagination. But this…
this
was blatant. A glance back at Dade
showed the man’s gaze hadn’t left Genevieve. Interest showed clearly in his
gaze, a feeling that caused heat to collect at the base of Tony’s spine.

He wasn’t offended in the least by the overt ogling of his
wife. He knew Genevieve was an extremely attractive woman. If a man didn’t at
least give her a once-over, Tony would probably wonder. Add in the fact
Genevieve had displayed exhibitionist tendencies on more than one occasion, and
Tony wondered if she had done it deliberately. A fact he might have punished
her for if he didn’t find the thought so damn amusing.

And arousing.

Dade’s gaze met his and instead of flicking away immediately
because he’d discovered he’d been caught gawking, he simply maintained eye
contact. As though challenging him to get mad. To stake claim over his woman.
Newsflash,
man, stare all you like. She likes to be watched.
Tony smirked and lifted
his mug as he turned his attention to the morning paper.

“You two going to stop by later? We’re going to set up the
dining room as a kind of guys’ safe zone. That way Allison and Beth aren’t
bogged down with the kids. Nothing baby-related in there at all, I swear.”

“I’ll see if I can’t get away for an hour or so to stop by.
That
Dungeons & Dragons
tournament is today at the store. Gotta set
up the tables for the players and keep some order. Last time they played, Robin
was Dungeon Master and all hell broke loose when he laid down the law.”

She laughed. “No problem.”

“Send Alex and Elena my best. And you and I can make it up
to one another later.” He tugged her closer, pulling her lips to his. He
purposefully poured as much passion as he could into the kiss, pleased when
Genevieve’s voice rumbled in a satisfied moan. Her body shifted toward his, her
back to Dade. He slipped his hand between her legs, tracing the vee of her
thighs.

A loud clatter sounded through the nook as Dade’s fork hit
the plate and the table jerked as he pushed away. He muttered something about
being late. The front door slammed a few seconds later and Genevieve pulled
away.

“Sorry. Got a little carried away. Probably offended him.”

They listened as Dade’s motorcycle roared to life and then
faded as he pulled away. “Doubt that…” he trailed off, tugging on the hem of
her nightshirt. “Think he was preoccupied with something else. Or someone to be
specific. A very obviously aroused woman.”

She flushed red as she realized what the men had seen.
“Sonofabitch.”

When she started to turn away Tony pulled her back, flipping
up the edge so he had a clear view as his hand slipped between her legs and
pressed against her pussy lips. “Hot. Wet. Very wet. If I didn’t know better, I
think you may have done it on purpose. Been trying to tease both of us.”

Her eyes widened. “No!” Tony stared up at her, searching her
expression. The shock was genuine but the way her pussy grew wetter and hotter
against his hand once he’d pointed out what he’d seen didn’t escape his notice.
“You just made me all hot and bothered last night. And now you’re sitting here
with no shirt on looking all sexy and smug.”

“That’s because I wasn’t the only one enjoying the view.” He
hadn’t thought it possible but her eyes widened even more and her heat nearly
scorched his hand. She might not have intentionally done anything but she sure
as hell was thinking about it now. “I doubt we were the only ones who enjoyed
ourselves a few hours ago either.”

Her gaze fell away, staring at the floor. “I know.”

“You heard him too, didn’t you?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Hard to miss.”

Good to know he hadn’t been the only one to hear the noise
on the other side of the wall. At first he’d simply chalked it up to
bachelorhood. He’d been there long enough and knew it was sometimes the only
way to bleed off tension. But the way Dade had just acted spoke differently.

“What would you say if I told you I’d done it so he could
hear us?” Her gaze snapped to his.
Oh things are about to get real
interesting.
“Yes, I put you against the wall and coaxed as much noise out
of you as I could because, even after all these years, I didn’t forget you like
to know people are listening. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn somewhere deep
inside that clever little mind of yours, that you invited Dade to move in with
us on purpose.”

“He needed a place to stay and I just wanted to help out a
good friend.”

There was her nurturing instinct again. So loving. So
caring. “So it’s not because you find him attractive?”
Because I sure as
hell do.

She shook her head even as her cheeks tinted pink. “No Sir.”

He leveled his gaze at her. If he was right, Dade was
searching for something that fell well outside the bonds of friendship. And he
had his sights set on someone in particular.

Dade wanted his wife. And Tony suspected his wife wanted him
right back.

Two facts he was willing to bet his very expensive personal comic
book collection on.

“Care to try your answer again?”

Her head fell forward. “Yes, I do think he is handsome. But
that wasn’t why I asked him to move in here. I had no ulterior motives to my
choice.”

“Very well. This is certainly going to make the next few
months interesting. I suppose…” He shifted his hand, slipping two fingers into
her as he set his glasses on the table beside his unfinished breakfast. She
gasped, placing her hand flat on the table for balance even as she pushed
against his fingers as he began to slowly stroke her wet folds. “We could just
swear off sex altogether as long as Dade is living here. Then this situation
wouldn’t be an issue.”

“Dear god, no. Please. No. I need you too much.”

“Then I guess we’ll just have to keep it confined to hours
when he isn’t home.” Genevieve whimpered as Tony brushed a finger against the
tight pucker of her anus. “No, I don’t like that idea either. We’ll just have
to figure out an acceptable arrangement for all of us. But for right now we
are
alone and I’m going to make good on my earlier statement. I’m going to screw my
wife. Right here in the kitchen.”

“Sure you didn’t forget the kitchen sink, Genevieve?” Allison
grabbed a container as it started to topple off the stack, her colorful,
streaked hair swinging behind her as she juggled the boxes. “‘Cause you sure as
frak have everything else. You know I have trays and stuff, right? I’ll admit
I’m not the best hostess in the world but I can manage to scrounge up something
to serve on so we’re not eating off our hands like a bunch of barbarians.”

“Yes, but I didn’t think your ‘Don’t Drink and Derive’ or ‘Come
to the Geek Side—We Have Pi’ trays were quite appropriate for a baby shower.
Even if this is Elena we’re talking about. Mrs. Math Whiz herself.”

Allison stuck her tongue out as she took a few more items
from the pile. “Tony would appreciate my awesome trays.”

“And I’ll be sure to let you use those when Tony has a baby
shower. He’s caught up at work today and sends his best to everyone.” And Dade.
Who knows? She hadn’t purposefully set out tease both of the men at Tony had
first thought. But she had heard Dade getting off when Tony had been inside
her. Hard not to given how loud he’d been. The thought still revved her
hormones hours later.

She knew enough about Dade’s life to know he wasn’t shy in
the sex department either. What she didn’t know was how far those tendencies
stretched. She also knew he hadn’t dated anyone for a long time. An odd choice
for someone who rented space at Sanctuary in order to engage in sexual
relations of the more kinky nature.

It would have been cheaper to join Element Twenty-Six.

But Dade was a handsome man with the kind of features she’d
always found attractive. Nothing wrong with some harmless exploitations whispered
in her ear while they were having sex. As long as that didn’t become a reason
for them to
have
sex.

Some small piece of her suspected Tony had gotten off on the
idea of knowing Dade found her attractive. Tony was right, the next few months
were going to be interesting. Still, she felt as though she needed to talk to
Dade the next time she saw him and apologize for this morning. Her intent
hadn’t been to make him uncomfortable. Their home was his home for the time
being and she should have respected that, and him, a little more.

“Oh goodness. Here let me take a few of those.” Beth grabbed
a few more containers. Genevieve made a beeline for the kitchen before her arms
gave out and the mass tumbled to the floor.

“Phew. Thanks.” She shook out her arms. “There are a few
more things I need to grab in the car.”

Beth waved her back into the kitchen. “Let me get them.”

“No, that’s all right.” Genevieve was already through the
door and outside before anyone could protest. She wanted to make sure she
grabbed everything she’d stuffed in the car.

Arms piled high with more containers, Genevieve slipped back
into the house. She used her hip to quietly close the front door, knowing Riley
and Mal were asleep somewhere in the house. They’d purposefully scheduled
Elena’s baby shower to start around three so setup would be relatively painless
without toddlers running underfoot. Once a few rambunctious kids woke up, all
bets were off. The guys would be able to run only so much interference. But
that was the great thing about her group of friends. No one minded the children
running around. In fact they usually insisted on it. Someday maybe they could
even add a few of their own to the bunch.

Allison and Beth were still in the kitchen, their voices
reaching out into the hallway.

“Do you think he’ll ever pull out of this?”

“I don’t know. Dade was always so self-confident. So aware.
It’s rare to see him holding back. So uncharacteristic.”

Genevieve stopped in the middle of the hallway when she
realized whom they were talking about. She’d been worried about Dade’s distant
attitude as well. It was comforting to know she wasn’t the only one who’d
noticed. “He could charm nearly any woman out of her panties. Not to mention
convince a straight guy those gay-for-you feelings were perfectly normal.”

“I know. It’s so weird seeing him so off his game. When was
the last time he dated?”

“Can’t honestly say. But you’re right, he seems so…off.
Getting him to admit how he felt out loud was like pulling teeth.” Glass
clinked together as someone shifted things around on the counter. “I’m still
not convinced he’s going to do anything about it. Seems perfectly content to be
miserable.”

“Maybe he’s worried about the repercussions. Lots of lives
that could get really, really messed up in the blink of an eye if he confesses
his true feelings.”

Dade was in love? While she felt bad he was going through
something like that alone, she was glad to know the focus of his problems. Now
she felt even more embarrassed about her overt behavior. There she’d been
prancing around half-naked, rubbing all over her husband and Dade was obviously
in pain.

No wonder he’d been uncomfortable.

Wonderful.

When she was apologizing for her folly, maybe she could get
him to open up and share a little bit about what he was going through. While
she didn’t have all the answers, she knew something about how much better it
felt to at least be given the ability to get something off your chest.

“So instead he’s happier tearing himself apart instead of
doing something about it?”

Genevieve shifted the heavy weight, eyes widening when a
small cookie container at the top slid over and teetered on the edge. Shifting
her weight to one foot, she stepped closer to the wall and used it to push the
container back into place. Crisis adverted.

She wondered if there was anything she could do to help Dade
with his situation. Maybe she knew whomever it was Dade seemed hung up on.
Maybe even use the knowledge to leverage her personal advice on the subject.

Not that he wanted her to. In fact he would insist she mind
her own business.

But Genevieve thought everyone should be happy. Discover
their true love. Everyone else in their group of friends was happy. Dade
deserved to have that same level of love and intimacy in his life. No matter
how complicated he thought things would be with his admission.

“You know Dade. He complains about Elena and her mother-hen
ways enough but he’s just as guilty of it as she is. This is one instance he wants
to be cautious.”

Yes. That’s exactly what she’d do. Talk to Dade. Convince
him he wasn’t alone and had someone to talk to who would help him through his
trouble. The thought of helping another one of her friends made her smile.

“I’m sure he’ll come around eventually.” The fridge closed
with a snap. “Do you know if Genevieve was going to bring any of her tarts?
I’ve been dying for one.”

Clearly they were done talking about Dade. She didn’t want
them to know she’d been eavesdropping, so she loudly cleared her throat. By the
time she slipped through the door Allison and Beth were discussing the
decorations still sitting in bags on the kitchen table. “This is everything.”

“Fabulous. Let’s get started.”

* * * * *

Beth appeared at the screen door, snapping the child-safety
lock open before she gestured for Dade to come inside. “Someone is anxious to
see you. Woke me up at four this morning to ask if it was time for the shower
yet so you could babysit.”

“Unca Dade!” Mal struggled in Beth’s arms, reaching for Dade
as he engaged the lock behind him.

He snagged the wiggling toddler. “Still on the superhero
kick, I see.”

Mal tugged on the front of the hoodie, slipping the attached
mask over half of his face. “I’m Batman.”

Dade laughed at the low tone of his voice. “Keep practicing,
kid. Someday you may just give Christian Bale a run for his money.” He swung
Mal onto his hip, kissing Beth’s cheek. “Go on. Have some fun with the girls.
I’ve got him.”

“Riley is there watching
My Friend Totoro
again.
Allison swears she is going to wear out the DVD one day.” Beth disappeared into
the main room down the hall while Dade veered to the right.

“Unca Dade! Unca Dade! You be Joker! You be Joker!”

Dade shifted his hold on Mal as he narrowed his eyes and
grinned wide as he held Mal out in front of him so his legs dangled in the air.
“Why so serious?” He dipped under Mal’s punch and blew a raspberry against his
stomach.

Mal squealed and clapped his hands. “Again! Again!”

“All right. Let’s go find Riley first.”

Mal’s eyes widened behind his mask. “She can be Poison Ivy.”
Clearly on a mission now, he wiggled free and headed right for the play area
set up in far corner of the room. His light-up sneakers flashed with each step.

Dade passed the dining room table that had been piled high
with all kinds of food. Most of which he recognized from when Genevieve had
been rushing around prepping this morning. He pushed that particular memory out
of his head. He was here to babysit for a few hours. Not grow even more
frustrated.

As he drew closer to where Riley sat on a stool in front of
the television, he heard a distinct sniffle. Mal was at his toy chest babbling
away about his plans for the next hour as he began pulling out various toys.

He heard the sniffle again and saw Riley’s shoulders hitch.
Uh oh. Not a good sign. Maybe she felt left out with all the women in the other
room. Girls were a bit of mystery to him because he hadn’t spent much time with
the small versions. Thankfully all three of his siblings had been boys. That
had certainly made things easier on him when he’d been in charge.

“What’s up, bug?”

She didn’t even look up when he asked. She just sniffed
louder and played with a fraying hem of her “There’s A Nap For That” tee. He
crossed his ankles and sat on the floor beside her. From this angle he saw
she’d stuck out her lower lip. Tears were rolling down her chubby, pink cheeks.

Knowing she liked Batman just as much as Mal, Dade leaned in
closer. “Why so serious?”

Riley grunted and swiped her hand through the air. “Bot
broke.” She unleashed a fresh torrent of tears as she held up a shiny object.
His gaze tracked to where she pointed to the floor between her sneakers.
“Broke.” The majority of the toy she’d been playing with lay on the floor. “You
fix?”

Ah, so that as the problem. Broken toys he could handle.
Food had been the priority for what little money had come into the Ellingson
household when he’d been growing up, not new toys. He’d always been gluing
something back together to make it last just a few months longer. He held his hands
out, pointing to the arm she was clutching tightly. “Can I take a look?”

Still pouting, she nodded and gently placed the arm in his
palm as if the toy would break. She reached down and picked up the other piece,
setting it just as carefully in his other hand. “Poor bot.”

Dade agreed. It looked as though the toy had had his arm
yanked out of the socket. “I think he’s going to need some surgery. Want to
help?” Riley’s blonde pigtails, knocked askew sometime during the day, swung as
she nodded emphatically. “Good because I’m going to need someone to hold his
hand to let him know someone who cares about him wants him to get better.”

“I wuv him,” Riley declared proudly, puffing out her chest.

“I know you do, bug. Can you set me up a real nice area to
work on him while I go find a few tools in your uncle’s garage?” He gathered
the broken toy in one hand and gently wiped a thumb over her cheeks to clear
away her tears. “I’m going to need your help repairing him, so you’re going to
have to be a big, strong girl for me. Can you do that?”

Her face changed in an instant. “I set. You fix.” She ran
off to the toy chest, pushing Mal out of the way as she searched for whatever
it was she thought she would need. Dade smiled as he set off to find some small
tools he could use to try to fix the toy. Guess girls weren’t much different
from boys. At least in this group. Hopefully he could find something to help,
or he was going to have one brokenhearted little girl on his hands.

Genevieve braced herself as she headed toward the dining
room. Given the crying and shouts she’d heard earlier, she expected to find a
war zone. Bags she’d grabbed to refresh anything they’d already eaten their way
through clutched in her hand, she turned the corner.

Instead of the chaos she’d been preparing for, she found
Dade, Malcolm and Riley at the far end of the dining room table, hunched over
and looking intently at something. Malcolm had pushed his mask back so he could
see and his tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth as he held something.

Was that a coffee stirrer?

“Nurse Riley, can you hand me the little screwdriver right
there?” She handed Dade the tool and they both leaned closer to the object
lying on the table. “Dr. Wayne, how does the patient look?”

Mal lifted the straw, sniffed at the end and wrinkled his
noise. He stuck the straw back into wherever he’d had it and gave Dade an
enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Nurse Riley? Dr. Wayne?

Even more curious now, Genevieve set the bags down and
walked toward the group, not wanting to disturb them. Riley was clutching the
toy’s leg, eager anticipation pinking her cheeks.

“See, that’s the problem right here.” Dade tapped the toy.
“Screw is missing. I think we may have to perform a transplant.”

Riley’s eyes began to water. “No bot fix?”

Catching on to what was happening, Genevieve rapped on the
makeshift operating table. “Dr. Ellingson, I have something that may help.
Nurse Riley, you just keep holding on. We’ll save him.” Riley nodded, her
bottom lip quivering a bit as she tried to contain her tears.

“Be right back.”

“Hurry.”

Holding back a smile, Genevieve rushed into the kitchen
where she’d dropped her bag earlier. She found it sitting on the desk in one
corner of the kitchen.