Since they’re all still asleep, they must be even more tired than I am. Had they even slept since they escaped? Did they drive all the way to Colorado? I frown, realizing there’s still a lot I don’t know about how they escaped and found me.
But that can wait.
Not wanting to wake either of them, but desperate to be closer to Pete, I slowly roll toward him and shimmy down an inch so I can fit in under his chin, my cheek pressed to his shirt-covered chest. We all fell asleep in our clothes, but it wasn’t like any of us had pajamas, anyway.
He lets out the tiniest groan as he lifts his arm and wraps it around me. His hand twitches, then I feel his palm flatten against my back before his head slowly pulls back. I tilt my head up and watch as he slowly blinks his eyes open, looking down at me in confusion.
“Angel cake?”
“Peter?”
He groans a little louder this time, his eyes closing as he pulls me into a tight hug. “I love when you say my full name like that.”
“Then that’s the way I’ll always say it.”
He’s quiet for a minute before whispering, “You’re still here.”
“So are you.”
“You weren’t a dream.”
“Neither were you.”
We lie there quietly, and I think I must have drifted back to sleep, only waking when I feel Pete’s hand roaming up and down my back. I hum in approval. It feels soothing and relaxes me even more, making me feel safe in his arms. Something I’ve never felt before meeting these guys.
His hand starts to move lower and lower on each pass until his palm moves over my butt. It stills for a few seconds before he gives it a slight squeeze. I inhale sharply; the action sends butterflies zooming through my stomach, and a strange ache forms in my lower abdomen.
Suddenly, he yelps as his hands fly away,and I glance up, seeing Jagger staring down at Pete in aggravation, clearly having swatted his hand off me.
“What?” Pete asks, replacing his hand on my back.
Jagger just gives a single shake of his head, and Pete scoffs, pulling me back against him. “Fine, whatever.”
“If everyone is awake, we should discuss our plans,” Sly says. I reluctantly pull myself from Pete’s embrace to sit up, and he and Dex follow suit. Pete climbs out of bed and stumbles sleepily over to the bathroom. I take advantage of the space to climb out of the bed and stretch my limbs and back.
“Can those plans include new clothes? Mine are dirty, and you guys are covered in blood,” I say, eyeing their dirty shirts.
“Good idea. But we can’t exactly go into a store with blood on our shirts.”
“I can,” I tell him proudly. “There’s no blood on my dress.”
“Yes, there is,” he says, pointing to my side. I frown down and see the speckling of blood along the side of my skirt.
“Darn it! Well, I have a spare. It’s dirty, but no blood.”
“You can’t go into the store alone; one of us needs to go with you.” I blink at him, my head tilting in confusion.
“Why not?”
“Have you ever been in a store before?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m sure I can figure it out.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he says, climbing out of bed and stalking toward me. “We’re not letting you go anywhere alone. Not anymore.”
“Nowhere?” I ask nervously as he stops right in front of me, staring down at me from his towering height, his black hair falling into his intense eyes as he watches me.
I know I should be scared of these guys, but I just can’t convince myself they’re dangerous, at least not to me. I saw what they did to those bikers. I should probably be running in the other direction after seeing that unrestrained violence. But instead, it makes me feel safe, protected. I’ve never felt this way before, and it isn’t something I want to run from. It’s new and exciting, and I’m desperate for more.
