“Over my dead body,” she muttered, sliding off the stool.
“Don’t even joke about shit like that,” Dax growled as he prowled toward us, aiming a glare at Nova. “Quit giving my woman a hard time.”
“She was my sister before she was your old lady,” Nova shot back, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I haven’t even had a chance to say a word to her yet.”
Dax’s gaze softened when he reached Arya’s side, sliding a finger under her chin to tilt her head back. “What’s got you all worked up, baby?”
“Our son isn’t allowed to date until he’s at least twenty,” Arya announced with a stubborn glint in her eyes.
Dax chuckled and shook his head. “You sound like I did when you kept trying to tell me we were gonna have a girl.”
“That’s my fault.” I rocked Grady from side to side when he stirred in my arms. “I made the mistake of pointing out how gorgeous your son is going to be when he grows up.”
“Ahh, gotcha.” Dax threw his arm around Arya and pulled her against his side. “Do me a favor and try to limit how often you get her all riled up. I’d hate for her to be cranky the entire time you’re with us.”
“Cranky?”
“With you?”
The siblings’ questions were said in unison, making me laugh. Dax brushed a kiss against the top of Arya’s head before turning to Nova. “Yeah, we drove over to give Rylee a ride back to our place.”
“That’s not gonna happen,” Nova growled with a sharp shake of his head. “Mac put me in charge of her safety. Not you.”
Dax waved off his argument. “Your sister thought Rylee would be more comfortable staying with us since they’re friends. I just finished talking to Mac, and he was fine with the change of plans as long as the girls stick close to home.”
“Which totally won’t be a problem since we’re still being careful about where we take Grady since he’s so young. It won’t be a hardship to hang out with Rylee here or at our house,” Arya added as she leaned forward to stroke her finger down her sleeping son’s cheek.
“Need I remind you that the Ukrainian mob is after Rylee?” Nova growled. “You don’t need that kind of complication right now.”
“You saying I can’t keep my wife and son safe?”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Arya muttered, moving between the two men and spreading her arms to press her palms against their chests. “Get over yourselves, guys. This isn’t about your male egos. It’s about keeping Rylee out of the hands of the guys who’re trying to buy her from her jerk of a stepdad.”
Nova held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m just saying that it makes more sense for me to be the one who looks after Rylee. Staying at the compound provides better protection, and that’ll be tough to do with Grady since he isn’t anywhere close to sleeping through the night yet.”
I was super confused by how much of a fight Nova was putting up over where I stayed after what he’d said to those guys outside. Snuggling Grady close, I glared up at him. “You should be glad to hand me off to Dax and Arya. I’m just a babysitting job, remember?”
“Oh, shit,” Dax murmured.
Arya's eyes sparkled as she poked her brother in the chest. “You totally deserve whatever she dishes out for saying stupid stuff.”
“Patriot was the one who called her a babysitting job,” Nova growled, dropping the duffel bags on the floor before reaching down to take Grady from my arms.
He placed a sweet kiss on the baby’s head, and I tried to think about ice while my ovaries melted. When he handed his nephew to Dax, some of the lustful fog disappeared, and I argued, “And you agreed, which is basically the same thing as saying it yourself.”
“Not even close, angel.” Nova bent down to pick the bags back up and then surprised the heck out of me by pressing his shoulder against my stomach to toss me over his shoulder.
“Did he just call her angel?” Arya whispered as I tried to catch my breath while I grabbed the loops on his jeans for balance.
Dax nodded, holding his hand out to her. “Looks to me like your brother has everything under control here. Let’s get our boy home before he wakes up hungry.”
My eyes widened even more as I wheezed, “Hello, I’m being manhandled over here.”
“Yup, I see.” Arya flashed me a big thumbs-up sign with a grin. “My recommendation is to just go with it. That’s what I did when Dax kidnapped me, and look how well that all turned out for us.”
7
Nova
Rylee sputtered as I carried her through the main lounge and up the stairs. If I hadn’t been so anxious to get her to my room before anyone could talk her into leaving, I would have asked Dax to watch her while I went back outside and kicked Patriot’s ass.