Page 39 of Crucified By the Dark
“Yeah, oh fucking-damn.”
The sun shining in her eyes woke her up. Morry sat up straight and realized that, at some point, Jeremy had gotten them back to the Legion and put her in bed. She glanced around the room and didn’t see any sign of him. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her phone. Holy shit, it was eleven in the morning. The worst part was that she wanted to lay back down, cover her head, and stay there.
If it weren’t for all the people counting on her, that was what she would’ve done. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the type of person who could slack or let her responsibilities slide. Last night had been all the moping she could afford.
Standing up, she stretched and grabbed a clean change of clothes before heading into the bathroom to get cleaned up. Jeremy had definitely been here. The shower was still wet unless he managed to wash her without her knowing. Anything was possible last night.
She was stepping out of the shower refreshed when her door opened, and Jeremy stuck his head inside.
“Hey, how you feelin’?”
It was terrible, but she couldn’t look him in the eye after crying all over him. She felt humiliated for allowing herself to break down like that. It never should’ve happened.
“I’m good. I’ve just been really tired, but I’m ready to get back at it. Any word from Judd?”
Jeremy stepped into the room and closed the door before leaning against it. She really didn’t like this new, annoying, undeniably sexy, self-assured version of him. They were ground level, so she could just step out the window, but that seemed pretty extreme, even for her.
“What? I’m serious. I’m good,” she said and tucked her tank top into her jeans.
“Is that so? Then why are you avoiding my eyes?”
Yup, he was definitely annoying. “I’m not avoiding,” Morry said.
“Yeah, you are.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” She met Jeremy’s gaze. “There, see. I looked you in the eye,” she grumbled, looking around for her shitkickers.
“They’re in the closet,” Jeremy said, and she stared at him over her shoulder.
“What are they doing in the closet?”
Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest. “My best guess, sitting there, but I could be wrong, and they decided to hold a kegger and invite some frat boys over. Boots these days.” He smirked. She wanted to hit him and wipe that look off his face, but her body had other ideas as it lit up with his sarcastic wit. She was so fucked in the head.
“I like my boots by the bed,” she mumbled as she opened the door and stared at the boots that were not only put away but were as clean as the day she got them. Peering around the door, she looked Jeremy up and down. “Did you scrub them?”
“And polished. I have this big hardass for a boss who likes shit to look clean, or I thought I did until I saw her room.” He stared around her room like she had clothes thrown in every corner when there was only a single sweater that was out of place. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Thanks.” Grabbing the boots, she sat down and felt him coming closer. It felt like little tendrils of energy skimmed over her skin with each step he took. Jeremy sat beside her but didn’t try to touch her, which was good. Something about him made her want to drag him back onto the bed, and she already had too many other excuses for hiding from the world.
“I know you’re embarrassed,” he said, her hand stilled while tying the knot in her laces.
“No, I’m—”
“Don’t lie to me, Morry.”
She finished tying her boots and then glared at Jeremy. It was much easier to be angry than accept these emotions. She didn’t even know what to do with them. They were as foreign as learning a new language. It was like finding something old and dusty, and even once you got rid of the grime, you still had no idea what it was or how it worked.
“Fine, I’m a little embarrassed,” she admitted and went to stand from the bed, but Jeremy grabbed her hand. “Jeremy, we have work to do.”
“The shipment came in on time, and I double-checked the inventory. Everything arrived as ordered. I went and introduced myself to Stephen and told him that I would be his go-to for now and that you would be by soon to meet him. His drug of choice is oxy for pain, but I couldn’t see an obvious wound. I did a sweep of his room to make sure that he didn’t sneak anything onto the property, and he’s currently helping peel potatoes.”
Her eyes went wide as Jeremy continued and slowly pulled her so that she was standing between his legs.
“I called Judd to get an update on Wolf and Duke. He wasn’t too happy it was me calling, but he was surprisingly more pleasant than normal. Duke is more lively, and Wolf should be cleared to travel tomorrow. Before you ask, I inspected the two rooms available in the medical wing and made sure one was set up and ready for their arrival. Oh, and there is a new prospect that Butch wants you to talk to before he gives the green light to bring him into the fold.”
He slid his hands around her waist until he could grip her ass. “I also make a fucking mean coffee, and it just finished percolating. Have I told you how much I love your ass? God, it makes me so hard.”
Morry was at a loss for words. Bending over, she cupped his upturned face, and a flood of emotions continued to poke their heads from the sand in her heart. She loved that he had seemed to perfect the exact sexy amount of five o’clock shadow and that his eyes always begged her to kiss him. Morry dropped her lips to his, and a shiver traveled down her spine. It made her warm all over.
