Page 26 of Remnants
Turning, I prop one hand and my chin on the back of the couch. “I’ll bring him a plate and check on him.”
“Don’t pamper him too much, beautiful, or he’ll come to expect it.” He looks at Aiden. “He’s milking this injury a bit, don’t you think? Cassandra healed him, just like Raegan, and she woke up at the usual time like the rest of us.”
Aiden sets his phone on the table, flicking his dark brown gaze to Kellan. “He’s not milking anything. His injuries were more severe, so Cassandra wasn’t able to heal him as thoroughly as the others.Compounding that, since the healing was more intensive, he requires more rest.”
We’d left the hospital last night, not staying more than the initial night there, and returned with the rest of the Guild to the Tower. Aiden told me that Dane had woken a couple of times, but after relieving himself and being reassured everyone was fine, he went back to bed.
Aiden slept on the floor of Dane’s room to keep an eye on him, while I slept with Jack in his bed, and Kellan took guard duty on the couch. I’m not sure how the sleeping arrangements will continue when there’s no bedroom for me here, but I have a feeling I won’t sleep alone for a while at least until we’re no longer on high alert.
I pull myself up from Jackson’s side, and even before I spin to look at him, I can feel his eyes on me. “You’re not planning on following me into his room, are you?”
His dimple pierces his left cheek.
“We’ll be fine. I’ll be one wall away.”
“One wall too many.”
Sighing, I run my fingers through my hair. “What if I…want some alone time with him?”
“For sex?” Jackson clarifies calmly, not an ounce of embarrassment or judgment in his tone.
Fuck a duck. Of course, he would call me out just like that. And in front of the others, too. But I’m already halfway there; why not just dive in? “What if I do?”
Jackson shrugs. “I can turn away if you don’t want me to watch.” I stare at him, aghast at his honesty and lack of hesitation.
No. Nope. Not doing this.
“I’m going into his room with a plate of food, and thethreeof you can leave us be.” Kellan cackles in the kitchen, and Aiden’s intense stare fixates on me. Fuck knows whathe’sthinking about, but I’ve had enough honesty right now than to ask for more.
Jack smirks and nods.
Why don’t I believe him?
I take a step away, waiting for him to move, too. When he doesn’t, I release a sigh and walk to the kitchen to make Dane’s plate. The eggs are a dark yellow. Dry and overcooked. Opening the fridge, I scan for alternatives. It’s bare except for condiments. It makes sense, considering this apartment has been empty for months, but I’d hoped to have something else to offer Dane.
I grab the ketchup in case he eats it that way—or maybe he will today—and then take the plate to his door. Knocking softly, I let myself in when there’s no answer. Dane is fast asleep in bed, his thick, longer blond hair at the top of his head sticking every which way. His room is tidier than I expected. Even with the rushed packing job they did before moving, everything is in its place, nothing on the floor.
I set everything down on his gaming desk in the corner and then crouch by his head. “Hey,” I whisper, brushing some of the blond tufts off his forehead. “I brought you breakfast.”
Dane stirs, stretching on a low groan, then reaches for me with his eyes still closed. “Mmm....c’mere,” he says sleepily. His arms wrap around my back, dragging me closer.
“Move over, then,” I tease. He shifts, and I crawl into that space,lying beside him. His arms slip around me again, pulling me against his chest before he tosses the blankets over me, too.
We’re quiet at first. His heart beats steadily in his chest, his breathing calm and warm above me. Aiden told me he’d had more broken ribs, one of which resulted in him developing a chest infection that made it even more difficult for him to breathe.
I remember the feel of his body on mine when he protected me. When he refused to let Charles kill me, even when he was just as injured as me. When he’d been kicked hard enough that his body almost flew off me if not for his firm grip and sheer stubbornness.
Clenching the back of his shirt, I turn my face into his chest, breathing him in. His citrusy scent, his warmth. “Dane…”
He nuzzles my hair, inhaling deeply. “I thought I was going to lose you,” he breathes, his voice thick with emotion.
I nod against him. “You saved me.”
“I’ve never been so scared in my life, Rae. I was terrified that my hand would slip. That he’d get to you before I could stop him.”
“But you didn’t let go.”
He swallows so hard that I can feel the drop of his Adam’s apple.
