“Ah, I can definitely promise they didn’t see anything but no can do on the hearing it, baby. You were very loud,” he laughs.

The bastard. “Masen Black, this is all your fault. You’ve turned me into some freak,” I whisper yell.

He throws his head back and howls out in laughter. “I know. It’s fantastic!” He kisses me on my temple and struts from the room like a man proud of himself.

I try sneaking up the stairs to shower or hide, but when my foot hits the bottom step, I hear, “Come here and kiss me, baby. I need it.” I hang my head and tromp into the kitchen. I hear snickers from the corner. My head whips around to see it’s Sniffer. My eyes narrow which makes him laugh harder.

Just as I’m saying, “I’m gonna kick your ass, Sniffer,” I hear the door open.

“That, I’d like to see,” booms a deep voice. Good Lord, Mac is here already.

“If you keep teasing her Cass, I’m going to let her!” Masen says while both brows are raised. I stick my tongue out at him in victory before I wrap my arms around Masen’s torso.

Sam pipes up from behind the open fridge door. “She could do it, too. After what the little ninja did to Roxanne, I’d be afraid.” In the next breath, he’s complaining. “Sophie, I’m hungry. You never feed me.”

I roll my eyes. “Y’all are such babies.” But I smile at him indulgently. “What do ya want?”

Masen groans. “These fuckers are always gonna be stealing my food.” He keeps grumbling under his breath, but I can’t understand what he’s saying. It’s just punctuated with a lot of curse words. He gently grabs my cheeks with his palms. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, Little One.” His serious demeanor makes me somber.

“Okay Masen, be careful, please. I love you.”

His eyes close, and he whispers back, “Love you, too, baby.” He kisses my temple and turns to leave. “If anything happens to her, you all die!” He states truthfully. The room is silent as he walks out. It feels a little awkward that he threatened them right before leaving.

I put a big smile on my face and turn back to the room. “He’s just kidding?” I try. When no one speaks, I say, “So who’s hungry?” That at least gets a reaction. Sniffer and Sam both try and tell me what to make. While they bicker, I walk over to Mac who’s standing in the doorway staring into the kitchen, volleying back and forth between me and the boys like he doesn't know which is more interesting. “We didn’t really get an introduction earlier.” I extend my hand out to shake. “I’m Sophia. Masen tells me you’re Mac. I’m glad to meet you. Thanks for coming over on such short notice.”

He grabs my hand and gives me a short, firm shake. “It’s my pleasure, truly. I’m glad to meet the woman who’s got Mase tied in knots.” He smiles, and it makes his harsh face lovely. His twinkling hazel eyes are kind as he looks at me.