“Is proof that I didn’t die, and that I’m harder to kill than the fungus that grows under your toenails,” Shank finished for her.
“Fungus? You’re comparing yourself to fungus?” Allie tried to sound horrified, but there was something uncontrollably relieved in her voice.
Shank shifted closer until he leaned his shoulder into hers. “I am a lot like fungus—persistent, resilient...”
“Stinky,” she offered when he seemed to be running out of steam.
He shoulder bumped her. Then he slipped his hand down to rest against her thigh.
“You know,” Allie said, “this is going to sound funny coming from the hypersexual pan woman who’s already slept with you several dozen times, but I don’t think I’m ready for more right now.”
“That sounds just fine,” Shank said. He didn’t move away, but he didn’t try to push any further. They sat on the couch, the heat of his hand soaking through the fabric of her pants. Slowly he leaned in closer until finally Allie risked tilting her head to the side so she could rest it against his head. She’d freak out later, she had no doubt, but right now she just needed a second to catch her breath.
The end of the war, the loss of Jacqs and Commander Waters, the fear in the refugee camps and the order to leave theCandiru, and finally the insane plan to hop a ride on a pirate ship—it was all a little too much. Her brain kept trying to spin out of control and conjure a million images at once. Each was a horror more terrible than the last, and they all combined to send her fleeing. But right now, sitting with Shank’s warmth anchoring her, she could finally breathe.
Chapter Six
Allie stirred. Sleeppulled at her limbs, but something nagged her toward wakefulness. When she opened her eyes, she found that she’d fallen asleep on Shank. At some point they’d staggered to the bed, both of them more asleep than awake. Now he lay stretched out, all his clothes still on, and she was lying on her stomach next to him, her head and part of her upper body on his chest. She was also drooling.
With a groan, she rolled away, wiping her mouth as she fell onto her back.
“Hey,” Shank said softly.
“Morning,” Allie said, waiting for the darkness and panic to catch up with her. Instead she felt a bone-deep weariness that made her ache. “I fell asleep on you,” she said, which was a pretty pointless comment. It did, however, suggest her brain was working slowly this morning.
“That’s okay.”
She made a little hum of agreement and stared up at the ceiling. She wished she could find her way back to that place where they fit together so naturally. For a long time, neither of them moved, and she drifted into a half sleep. Before she realized what she was doing, she found herself tracing small circles on a small patch of his warm skin.
She looked over to find she had her hand under Shank’s shirt, her fingers moving across his stomach. He looked at her, silent. She could see the need there, and the pain. “I almost lost you,” she whispered.
“I’m here now,” he said, but he continued to lie still.
If there had been any place to run to, Allie would have started running and never looked back. However, locked in a room on a pirate ship, she either had to deal with this or... Actually, there was noor. She couldn’t be a coward forever. She rolled onto her side and tucked her hand under her head to prop it up.
“I look at you, and I’m terrified that someone’s going to order you into danger.”
