The Siege of Kadenburg by T. E. Ridener Page B

had to be in the bedroom with him. Rutley still wasn’t sure as to why given he did have his own bed to sleep in.
    “So where’s your boyfriend?” Kia asked, catching Rutley completely off guard.
    “My what ?” Rutley sputtered, his eyes widening slightly as he stared at her.
    “Your boyfriend. The hottie with the red hair?” She motioned to her own hair before grinning. “Still sleeping?”
    “Yeah….but he’s not my boyfriend,” Rutley frowned. “We’re roommates.”
    “Uh huh,” Kia replied. She did so in a tone that told Rutley she didn’t believe him. Ugh. Women. “Well, I’ll be out of your hair in a little bit. The power has to come back on at some point today, right? But I thought I’d try to stick around to say thanks to him. Is that okay with you?”
    Rutley shrugged his shoulders, rubbing at the nape of his neck as he lowered his gaze to the linoleum floor, “Knock yourself out.” He mumbled.
    There it was again. Her freaking scent was taunting him. It was so much worse considering she’d been in their apartment all night-letting her scent touch everything . What the hell was he supposed to do now? Between Dimitri’s intense fuck-me eyes and her fuck-me smell, he was going to die.
    “Hey, are you okay?”
    Rutley was pulled out of his seriously stressful thoughts when he realized Kia was standing right in front of him. She was staring up at him with wide Bambi eyes, and her perfect plump lips were forming a pout of worry. Jesus Christ, was she trying to kill him?
    “I’m fine,” he blinked, his breath hitching in his throat. “I’m still trying to wake up. I usually have coffee by now but the pot’s not exactly working at the moment.”
    “Ah, so you’re one of those types,” She grinned, her hands falling to rest against her curvy hips. “Gotta have that coffee, don’t ya?”
    “As a matter of fact, he does.” Dimitri glowered as he stepped into the kitchen. He was still shirtless, but he’d at least put on some jogging pants. They fit snugly against his hips, not leaving much to the imagination. God damn, someone was trying to kill Rutley for sure now.
    “Oh, hi!” Kia chimed as she whirled around to face Dimitri. She put on a bright smile, showing all her teeth as she twirled a lock of bright purple hair around her finger. “Thank you so much for letting me crash here last night. Chivalry isn’t dead yet, is it?”
    Rutley snorted softly, rolling his eyes. She had no idea the trouble he’d gone through just to get Dimitri to let her stay. Dimitri didn’t do it because he felt the need to rescue damsels in distress. He did it because Rutley had gotten exceptionally good at giving ‘puppy eyes’.
    “Don’t sweat it.” Dimitri mumbled as he started roaming the cabinets. The muscles in his back danced beneath his skin, causing Rutley’s eyes to bulge out of their sockets. He’d seen Dimitri shirtless hundreds of times. This wasn’t any different, right? Of course it wasn’t. Why did he suddenly feel like a teenage boy who’d just seen his first pair of tits?
    “Where’s the fucking PB&J?” Dimitri asked as he turned around to stare at Rutley.
    “We don’t seem to have any,” Rutley frowned. “Trust me. I already looked for it.”
    “Oh, no PB&J?” Kia frowned. “That bites. Do you guys want to get breakfast with me?”
    Both males turned to stare at her as if she was out of her mind.
    “You do realize there’s about a foot of snow out there, right?” Dimitri asked. “Kadenburg is basically out of service until this shit clears up. The only open place you’ll find is the hospital.”
    She chewed her lower lip, rocking back and forth on her heels. She didn’t seem to be bothered by Dimitri’s glares or the contempt laced in his voice. Rutley was a little fascinated by that. Either she had really tough skin, or she simply didn’t care. He wasn’t sure which one it was yet.
    “Well then let’s go to the hospital,” she nodded. “I’m sure