When I wake up, I’m welcomed to a room of darkness and a bed that is most definitely not my own. Wrapped up in the warmth that is Warden, it takes a few seconds of remembering what happened before I’m groaning and shoving my face into his chest to hide the horror I am feeling.
Horror and embarrassment.
Stirring at my movement, his grip on my body tightens, and his groan escapes from deep within. Pulling back to squint at me, sleep still dancing around on his expression, his voice rings out raspy. “You okay?”
I expect the answer to be an immediateno, but it isn’t. Thinking on it, I realize that my chest doesn’t feel as heavy as it normally does. Rather, it feels lighter. Like I’ve let so much weight tumble off of me.
I said so much last night. More than I ever planned to. And now? I don’t know how to feel outside of kind of strange.
This is weird. Deep down, it’s a dream come true, sure. But it’s still weird as hell. I never thought the day would come when he’d learn how I truly felt. Now I’m feeling a little vulnerable about the whole thing.
I… won’t take back what I said. So he can’t either. He can’t die. If we’re going to do this, he’s not allowed to.
“I want to go home and sleep in my bed.” Murmuring the words against his chest, I return his hug while trying not to squeeze too tight. “I want you to come with me and stay.”
Not wanting to scare him away with demanding he move in and all that, I hope the desperation under my words is light enough for him to believe I mean through the rest of tonight.
With a hum vibrating in the back of his throat, his hand glides past my stomach and leaves a warm trail against my thighs. Despite making my skin tingle, he doesn’t drag them where I want him to. Instead, he searches my pockets before finding my phone. Pulling it out, we’re blinded by the time.
Four in the morning. Is he going to try to convince me to change my mind? There are only a few hours before the sun rises.
Sitting up, my head swims, and I have to bite back a groan as I pull away from his ironclad grip. I’d forgotten how awful this feeling is. I can’t believe I caved so easily, cowardly looking for an escape.
“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop it.” Reaching toward me, he strokes the curve of my spine. “What happened to coming to me when you’re stressed?”
Hard to do when he’s the source of my issue. “I think sex would’ve made it worse, no offense.” For my head and my heart at the time.
“You know I’m always around to talk. I’m more than just my body, Leah.” Looking back at him, I’m relieved to see the amusedcurve on his lips. “My dick may be magical, but I’m pretty good at making people feel better through words, too.”
He grunts when I slap his chest.
Last night, I think I talked a little too much. Liquid courage is a scary thing. There’s no taking anything back now. The gears are moving, and I’ve got to move with them.
This is a good thing. This is what I needed. Even though everything is pretty terrifying right now, I’ve got Warden.
He’ll always make sure everything is fine. Even now, when things are really scary, he’s cracking jokes. This is fine.
“They’ve got my bike in the garage. Hammer gave me back my key earlier.” Standing and stretching, he pauses long enough to itch his stomach. When I scold him, he grins, relieved to see me back to my normal self. “Let’s go on a ride. We can snag your car once the sun is up.”
Knowing it’s been ages since the last time he’s been able to ride, I don’t put up a fight. I miss being tucked behind him. Nodding along to his request, I ignore the throbbing at my temple and shove my shoes on.
Leaving the clubhouse behind is easier than either of us expects. Figuring there’d be a few bodies between us and the entrance, even the bar is dead. I guess when everything’s peaceful, there’s no reason to stay up at this hour.
The late air is chilly, easily prickling at my bare skin. Warden notices immediately, not even thinking twice about offering me up his cut. Throwing it over my shoulders, I discover it’s much lighter than I thought it would be. Smells like him, too. Hugging myself, it’s a near close to the same as his arms doing it.
For a second, he stops and stares. The look on his face says it all. He’s pleased. He’s acting like this is the first time I’ve taken something of his.
I guess this is a little different than strolling around in just one of his shirts after a night of fun. This cut means something.
If anyone else saw me right now, they’d know I’m his.
The realization creates a fluttering in my gut. It feels surprisingly good. Hard to notice my headache when I’m feeling like I could float away to cloud nine right about now.
He clears his throat, catching himself in the act. “I’ll talk to Judge about getting you one of your own. For now, you can steal that.”
Good to know we’re thinking about the same thing here.
Slipping into the garage, Warden’s bike doesn’t have a single scratch. But like most of the guys, he has to do a close-up look at it to make sure there aren’t any scuffs or damage, just because. Once he’s satisfied, he’s hopping on.
