Kane smirked hearing Aurora’s thoughts as clearly as if she had spoken them out loud. If she really knew Damon, she would probably rethink the idea of attacking him. Damon didn’t care what gender his opponent was and all hell would have broken lose if he’d thought Alicia was in danger. Nope… Damon would not have been as gentle with her as he had.
“Who’s Alicia and why did everyone move out?” Skye asked trying to keep his own curiosity hidden behind the question.
Kane’s smirk widened knowing he was about to make Aurora’s day with the little story he was about to spin… well, the Damon part of it anyway.
“Alicia recently became Damon’s mate and she’s one of the only people I know that can keep him in line. Actually, he’s too busy watching after her to start trouble of his own. It’s a funny story really. They just met a couple weeks ago and the first thing Alicia did was stab Damon in the heart with a stake and leave him for dead.” Kane shrugged then tried not to laugh when Aurora turned wide eyes on him.
“And now they’re mates,” Aurora repeated questionably then bit her lower lip knowing when she’d first met Michael she’d made love to him then pushed him away from her and ran. But… at least she hadn't tried to kill him.
“Yes, love at first sight,” Kane nodded with a sly smile. “They moved into the building you so sweetly refer to as Sanctuary.” He skipped the story behind him and Tabatha's meeting since it wasn’t much better than Damon and Alicia’s story. “With Tabatha and I being newly mated and Damon being somewhat of a loose cannon, we thought it best that we roommate with them so we could help Alicia keep an eye on him.”
Aurora’s expression became softer, “You look after your brothers… don’t you?”
Kane actually felt a little embarrassed knowing the roles had been switched from time to time… recently. “Damon and Michael haven’t had the best history together with their sibling rivalry and all and I still fight the darkness myself. But I am the eldest so yeah… I do try to look after them when they’re not busy looking after me.”
He fleetingly thought about filling her in on the fact that Syn also watched after all of them but refrained. If Aurora held a grudge against Damon for his role in calming Michael down, then she would probably frown on daddy dearest recently killing him for almost leveling the subway.
As they moved toward the Victorian house, Kane narrowed his eyes wondering just how much trouble Michael was going to cause with his new infatuation with demon blood. He inhaled deeply and squared his shoulders deciding there was no time like the present to find out.
Reaching the front door, Kane knocked on the heavy wood and quickly shoved his hands into his pockets letting himself rock back and forth on his heels. This was going to be fun.
Aurora took a step forward then felt Skye’s hand on her shoulder and looked up at him. Seeing that look of caution in his eyes, her lips parted remembering his warning about her not jumping Michael's bones the second she saw him. She made a face at Skye and took a step back, quickly rewarded when he removed the restraining hand and grinned.
Michael was standing in the library going through his collection of books. He’d started out only meaning to choose a couple of his favorites for Aurora’s enjoyment but when he heard a knock on the front door it snapped him out of the daze he’d been in and he blinked realizing he’d wound up in front of the shelves that housed the books on demons. He pushed the black leather book back in place and looked down.
“Are you expecting someone?” he asked the small dog at his feet and smiled when Scrappy, who had stopped by for a visit, barked and took off running for the front door.
Michael followed the little canine and couldn’t help but chuckle softly when he saw the dog jumping up and down in front of the door excitedly. His expression softened when he felt the warmth that only Aurora’s nearness could cause and his blood heated as he thought of a way to distract himself from his momentary demon obsession.
He opened the door hoping for the urgent seduction that normally sidetracked them before they could even greet each other but his eyes widened when he saw Kane standing there with Aurora and Skye. Kane suddenly smirked and threw his arms out wide making Michael take a step back.
“HONEY, I’M HOME!” Kane shouted just before jumping through the door and wrapping himself around Michael like a slinky.
“Kane,” Michael complained and tried to disengage himself from his brother’s death grip. This wasn’t exactly the contact he had in mind not to mention the wrong person had their legs wrapped around him.
“I just missed you sooooooo much,” Kane said with a fake sob. “You never call or write.”
All expression left Michael’s face while Skye and Aurora looked on with amused smirks. “It’s barely been twenty-four hours.”
Kane buried his face in Michael’s neck, “I know… too long… right?”
Michael sighed and motioned the Fallen inside, “Welcome to my home, please make yourselves comfortable while I manage a new growth that’s sprung up.” He pushed at Kane trying to dislodge him but was again unsuccessful.
Aurora frowned not getting the joke, “A new growth?”
Skye shook his head and steered Aurora inside, “Pay them no mind. Some siblings are just that way. They tease one another just to be lovingly annoying.”
“Oh,” Aurora’s expression brightened and she wiggled her eyebrows. “Just like I used to beg you for piggy-back rides whenever you decided to flirt with a woman?”
“Yes,” Skye said with a grin and poked her forehead, “Like I said… siblings.”
Aurora looked down when she heard a bark and her eyes began to glitter when she saw a small puppy dancing around her feet. “Oh how sweet. Is this your puppy Michael?”
Kane quickly lifted his head from Michael’s neck, “Scrappy, so this is where you’ve been hiding out.”
Scrappy gave a half growl as if to say ‘where else would I be’ and started to hop around Aurora’s legs again. Giving in, Aurora stooped down to pick up the loveable puppy. Scrappy immediately began to wiggle around trying to lick Aurora’s face while sneaking quick peeks at Skye.
Skye reached out and ran his hand down the puppy’s back admiring the softness of its fur. “I think he likes you,” he winked.
“He’s adorable,” Aurora cooed. “You said his name is Scrappy?”
Kane pouted at Michael when he finally lost the hug fight they had been having. He nodded at Aurora, “Yeah, Scrappy has been with me for a while now but for some reason he’s felt the need to stay with Michael as of late. Probably because this house is so big that Michael would get lost in it without him.” He made the joke due to Aurora’s thoughts on Michael’s loneliness.
“I would not,” Michael said with an outraged tone in his voice. Hanging around Kane when his brother was in a goofy mood sometimes annoyingly rubbed off on him. “I’ll have you know that I have more hidey-holes in this place than you would ever find. And yes, unlike your inability to remember women’s names… I do remember where they all are.”
“What about the time you got lost on your way to the bathroom and opened the closet?” Kane asked with a smirk.
“I was drunk,” Michael answered glowering at him.
Kane looked over at Scrappy accusingly, “You seriously need to stop cheating on me with such a moody grouch.” He reached out to lift the puppy from Aurora’s arms but paused almost swearing he was being glared at by his normally adoring pet.
Scrappy looked at Kane and growled to show he disagreed with the suggestion of staying away from Michael and his master’s intent of taking him from the pretty girl’s well rounded bosom.
Skye