Born to Be Badger (Honey Badger Chronicles #5)(105)

“You’re mocking me.”

“Of course I’m mocking you,” she said with a laugh. “We’re going to be fine. The kid is going to be fine.”

“How do you know?”

She shrugged. “I won’t allow for anything else.”

“I’m afraid to ask what that even means.”

She closed the notebook. “How did it go with Dani’s mom?”

“Chu handled the situation better than I would have. But she’s fine with Dani staying safe with us.” Shay leaned over the machine Tock sat on, resting his arms on the cold metal and interlocking his fingers. “She loves our girl.”

“Was that ever a question?”

“Keane thinks I should fight for full custody.”

“Do you think you should do that?”

“No.”

“Then you follow your instincts. She’s your kid, not Keane’s.”

“Yeah, but—”

“If Keane had his way, he’d buy this entire compound, put an electrified fence around the whole thing, and put your entire family inside. Never to leave again. Not really surprising considering what happened to your dad. But you know that’s not healthy for your daughter. And, honestly, he should cut Dani’s mom some slack. She’s trying to manage three adolescent tiger males and she wants to prevent them from growing up to run Manhattan streets, chasing down vans filled with lions that shot at them.”

Shay smirked. “Very funny.”

Clutching the notebook in her hand, Tock slid off the dryer. “Let’s go up and watch some TV with everyone.”

She started to walk away but he lightly grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “You know, Dani told her mom about you.”

“What? Why?”

“She seems to think you like like me.”

“Like like you? I didn’t realize we were back in fifth grade.”

“You don’t like like me?’

“I am not having this conversation with a grown man.”

“You kissed me like you like like me.”

“Stop saying that,” she laughingly ordered. “It’s so . . . weird.”

“But is it true? Do you like—”

Tock put her hand over his mouth. “Please stop.” She felt him smile against her palm. “And in answer to your question, I find you very . . . interesting.”

Shay pulled her hand away. “Is interesting good? Or is that, like, what you say when someone shows you a weird mole on their neck?”

“If someone showed me a weird mole, I would tell them to have it removed and biopsied. If I say something is interesting, it’s because I find it interesting. And I don’t find many things interesting. But you . . . I do.”

Shay finally straightened up and stepped in front of her. He slid his hands from her elbows to her hands, ignoring the notebook she was still holding. “Well, then, I think you’re interesting, too.”

They gazed at each other for several long seconds before Tock finally asked, “Should we be doing something specific?”

“I’m not exactly sure what you mean, but we could go up to my room. Or yours. Together. To do something specific.”

Tock shook her head. “No, no. We’re in someone else’s house. Not even a friend’s. We don’t even know these people. We probably shouldn’t do anything here, huh?”

“You’re probably right.”

“Besides, if we head upstairs together, everyone will know what we’re up to.”

“Good point. Not sure either of us is in the mood for that.”

“Right.” She let out a sigh. “We’ll just wait, then. Until we’re back home or can get a hotel room.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Tock felt nothing but regret. And a little resentment that the world was getting in their way. She wasn’t an excessively horny badger, like Max and Streep. She did, however, find sex a healthy release when she needed it. She didn’t think about it all the time or need to think about it all the time. Still . . . Shay was beautiful. And she wanted to know what it was like wrapping her body around his.

It would wait, though. No need to get Max and Streep focused on her love life. Or tipping off Shay’s brothers. Because the pair of them could be major ball breakers.

No, no. They’d wait until, you know, it could be perfect.

The look of disappointment on Shay’s face made her feel a little better. Knowing she wasn’t the only one bummed out.

Unable to help herself, Tock reached up and pressed the palm of her hand against Shay’s face. He immediately closed his eyes and leaned into that hand. They stayed like that for a bit. Tock expected him to pull away so they could go up to the first floor and watch TV with everyone else.

But Shay didn’t pull away. Instead, he began to push his head into her hand, moving it around a bit. She’d seen the feral cat that lurked around Charlie’s yard do something similar with Stevie when it allowed her to get close.

She moved her hand in response, circling her fingers in the opposite direction. As an amateur scientist, she simply wanted to see what that move would do.

And holy shit! Did it do a lot!

Shay growled and pressed his head closer to her hand. When she dug her fingers into his hair, his hands slapped against the dryer she’d been leaning against, his arms caging her in place. She didn’t mind. The heat from his body made her tense and a little sweaty in the air-conditioned room.