After,he held me against his chest, his hand slowly running over my hair. The first rays of the morning sun peeked through the blinds. I needed to get out of bed. After all, today was a big day. All the work I’d been doing to ensure the success of the festival had been leading to this weekend. But I didn’t want to move.
I didn’t want to break the comfortable cocoon the two of us shared. Once I walked out the door of Thorne’s cabin, there would be last-minute details to deal with and fires to put out. Life would be so much easier if I’d allowed myself to take Dartman’s offer. Even after paying off what we owed on the ranch, Mike and I could split the funds, and each of us would have more than enough to start over.
“What’s running through that beautiful brain of yours?” Thorne asked.
I propped my chin on top of my hands and lifted my head to meet his gaze. “You don’t want to know.”
“Wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t care about the answer.” He lazily lifted a brow. “Are you feeling okay about opening the festival this afternoon?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Now I was curious about what he was thinking. Thorne seemed to always be one step ahead. Maybe he worked on military strategy or something similar. Whatever he did, I was glad he was on my side.
“When Dartman realizes he’s not going to get the crowd he was going for tonight, I’m assuming he’ll try to retaliate.”
He made it sound so serious. “It’s not like we’re at war. He made me an offer, and I declined. Then he tried to lure away the customer base I’ve spent years acquiring, and karma gave him a swift kick in the ass.”
“Is that what you’ve decided to call me from now on? Karma?”
“What would you rather I call you? Angel of Deliverance?” I was feeling feisty after the three orgasms he’d delivered.
“Nah. Demon Slayer has a bit of a ring to it, don’t you think?”
I traced the ridge of a long scar just under his ribcage. “Is that how you got this? By slaying demons somewhere far, far away?”
His smile faded. “No. I got that one from a kid who caught me by surprise.”
“Do you want to tell me about it?” I’d learned from having conversations with my brother about the missions he’d been on, that it was best not to pry.
“There’s not much to tell. It was during my last deployment. One of the guys I was with always had a soccer ball with him. There was this group of kids that would come around every day about the same time. Most days, we’d take a break and kick the ball around with them for a while.”
He looked over at me. “We thought it would be good to build rapport. You know, most people think everyone over there is the enemy, but sometimes they’re just kids who want to be able to be kids for a while. I let down my guard. One of them pulled a knife out from under his shirt and tried to fillet me with it. Missed my abdominal aorta by less than a few millimeters. My buddy Bridger wasn’t as lucky.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, me too. If I’d been paying closer attention instead of playing soccer, I might have noticed the knife. Bridger might not have come home in a box with an American flag draped over it.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything at all. Just held him tight and tried to let him know without words how sorry I was for the loss he’d suffered.
“I need to get up and feed the animals. I’m already going to be getting an earful from Reggie. If he doesn’t get his breakfast served by six o’clock sharp, he’s going to be spitting at me all day.”
“Who’s Reggie? I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“He’s a llama. A full-on drama llama to be exact. I’d much rather stay here in bed all day with you, but we both need to get moving, minx.” He leaned down to press a lingering kiss to my forehead. “Can I see you later?”
Reluctantly, I slid out of the bed and searched for my discarded pajamas. “I’ll be around.” No need to make our early morning tryst into anything more than it was.
Thorne wrapped his fingers around my arm and pulled me back toward the bed. “I don’t want to just see you around, Destiny. I’m asking if we can make plans to spend some time together.”
My cheeks bloomed with heat. I probably looked like a blushing schoolgirl who just found out the hottest boy in the class wanted to ask her to the Homecoming dance. “I’m sure we can make something work.”
“Good.” He pulled me close and kissed me.
I wasn’t going to get much work done today if I was walking around with my head full of hearts. So, I pulled back and offered him a hint of the smile I felt inside my heart.
“See you later, soldier.”
7
THORNE
