Page 74 of Deserving Lara
She’d spent some time with Stone, and with all the men at The Refuge, but this was the first time she was seeing the dynamics between the two best friends so up close and personal. They were a lot like she and Cora when they were together, and Lara loved it.
She went over to the bed where Stone was now sitting, scrolling through his phone. She sat next to him and peered over his shoulder. “I could go for a big juicy hamburger, but delivery takes so long the fries are usually soggy by the time it arrives.”
“We could do Italian? We’ve got a microwave in here, and we could zap the noodles if they’re not hot.”
Lara wrinkled her nose. “Steak?” she asked.
Stone smiled at her with a nod. “Hell yeah.”
After they’d sorted that out, and Stone had put in all their orders, he told them he’d go down to the lobby to wait for the delivery person.
“That’s fine, as long as you don’t sneak out to the car,” Lara said a little snarkily.
In response, Stone put Lara in a gentle headlock and gave her a noogie. She screeched and laughed as she tried to get away from him. Stone laughed, kissed the top of her head, and walked toward the door.
Throughout it all, Owl sat in the lone chair in the room, watching them with a sparkle in his eye.
“Be back in a bit. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he warned. Then right before he shut the door, he stuck his head back into the room and added, “And since she’s already pregnant, there’s no need for a quickie…if this room smells like sex when I get back, I reallyamsleeping in the car.” He shut the door before Lara or Owl could reply.
“Come here,” Owl ordered as soon as Stone was gone.
Lara walked toward him and gave a little grunt of surprise when he grabbed her hand and yanked her onto his lap. When he got her settled, he asked, “How are you doing?”
“I’m all right,” she told him.
“Seriously, are you good? Because you were spiraling, and it sucked because I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”
Lara put her hand on his cheek to try to soothe him. He’d been joking with Stone minutes ago, but she could see now that he was pretty wound up. “I won’t lie, the trip’s been harder than I thought. But I’m better now. Being here…inside…it’s better.”
“I’m sorry,” Owl started, but Lara shook her head.
“Don’t be. I’m as safe as I’d ever be with you and Stone. And I couldn’t stay hidden away forever. This is fine. It’s good. We’ll get that helicopter and be on our way home before we know it.”
“Home,” Owl agreed. He kissed her softly. Then grinned as he pulled back. “We’ve got at least twenty minutes or so…wecouldhave that quickie.”
Lara could tell he was kidding. “You and quickie are oxymorons. There’s no way you could do quick if your life depended on it.”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. The second I get inside you, I seem to lose all control.”
Thinking of him being deep inside her made Lara squirm a bit. “Right, but you get distracted before you get in there. Do you really think you can see me naked and not make it your quest in life to give me two orgasms before you even enter me?”
Owl wrinkled his nose. “You have a valid point.”
Lara giggled.
“I love that.”
“What?” Lara asked.
“Your laugh. You haven’t done enough of it since I’ve known you. I’m going to make it my goal in life to hear it more often.”
“Being around you and Stone is a good start,” Lara said. “You guys are really close.”
“Crashing, being hunted down and tortured together…it’s a good way to make close bonds really fast,” Owl said dryly.
Lara hated that for him, but at the same time, she was suddenly very glad he hadn’t been alone during that ordeal. “Are his nightmares really that bad?”
“Worse,” Owl confirmed. “They’re night terrors. He doesn’t talk about them with me, doesn’t tell me what they’re about, but I can guess. I thought he was doing better, but obviously he’s still suffering from them. He was serious earlier, if hedoeshappen to have one while we’re on this trip, let me deal with it. Don’t touch him. He’s thrown me across the room more than once, and the thought of him hurting you…neither of us would be able to deal with that.”
