Then, out of nowhere, I see her. My heart pounds as soon as my eyes reach her.
A surprising wave of relief floods me when I finally reach her hiding spot.
Bathed in a layer of sunlight, Raven is spread out in the grass. Just as quickly as I notice her, I realize she’s not alone.
Warden’s right next to her, sleeping like a damn baby. Hell, he’s even drooling, he’s that at peace.
Idiots, both of them.
Kicking his leg, I put a bit of my frustration behind it for their recklessness. Watching him jolt awake, he jerks and looks around like he expects something sharp to be pointed at him.
Noticing me, he relaxes before noticing Raven, too. Rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes, he groans. “Shit.”
Shit is right. It’s not my place to remind him of the dangers, so I bite my tongue when it comes to scolding him.
“Go.” Jerking my chin, my agitation only grows. “She’s mine to watch.”
Instead, I make myself sound like some possessive asshole.Great.
Warden doesn’t question it. Remaining quiet not to wake her, he groans as he stands. Looking exhausted, I do a quick sweep of him to see that he looks as he always does. No ruffled clothes, no marks on his skin. No signs that these two spent the night fooling around to add to their recklessness.
He just looks exhausted. How late did they stay up?
Realizing I’m thinking way too much into this, I pull back in hopes that I stop caring.
Sending him away with a nod, I’m left surrounded by silence and Sleeping Beauty. A kiss of wind catches a few strands of her ebony hair, skimming them across her cheeks.
I should kick her awake, too. It’s deserved. Instead, I’m moving into the spot Warden occupied only moments ago and settling down next to her. As my agitation grows, I glare at the wall of pine trees surrounding the land.
“You’re reckless, you know that?” Grumbling the words, I search the gaps. “They could be out there waiting for something like this to happen. You might be tough, but you’re not invincible.”
If she were awake, she’d argue with me. Hell, she might even hit me to prove how strong she is.
“I shouldn’t even care.” As the words leave me, I groan and shove my fingers through my hair, tugging at the strands.Shouldn’timplies that I already do.
I care too fucking much. Why, because I let her touch me? Because I enjoyed it?
Glaring down at her, I’m met with the most peaceful expression I’ve ever seen on this woman. There’s no pinch to her brows, no scowl. Tearing my eyes away, I stare at the stupid pine trees.
Get the patch. Move on.
Speaking it like a mantra, I repeat it louder in my head when she lets out a soft sigh.
One more day. I can do one more day.
For now, I let her sleep and enjoy the peace that comes with it, all while trying not to let my eyes drift in her direction too many times.
* * *
The day flies by in the blink of an eye. Made up of me following after her tail, to keeping up with her insults, I manage myself rather well.
I only look at her mouth four times when she calls me an asshole and think about her touching my dick twice.
That’s more thought than I ever give to begin with, but that doesn’t matter.
Before we know it, most of the club is filling up the bar area. Chatter happens amongst everyone, some nervous, some casual. All because it’s finally time.
Warden’s preparing for the ride, the vice president is chatting with the prospects, leaving to go through their plan one more time. Judge is with Penelope, talking to her. A lot of peopleare saying goodbye like it’s going to be the last time. Talk about gut-wrenching.
