Kieran snatched the phone from my hand. Gasping, I shot up to grab it back, but the sudden movement caused pain to ricochet through my body.
I am sore everywhere.Whimpering, I pressed a hand to my side and fell back into Kieran’s embrace. A moment later, the phone touched my ear.
“Tell your friend bye, baby doll,” Kieran said softly.
Surprised, I glanced up.
“Go on.”
“I have to go, but I’ll call you later. You can save this number. It’s Kieran’s. My phone is out of minutes.” I peeked up to see what Kieran thought about me giving his number out, expecting him to get irritated, but he just nodded and brushed the hair out of my face.
“Okay,” Rett replied.
“And don’t open your door for anyone you don’t know. If you need anything, call right away. I’ll be by soon to get some of my clothes.”
“Oooh, he getting a drawer?” Ghost said, strolling back into the room with beer in his hand.
“It’s the middle of the afternoon,” Kieran snapped.
“Five o’clock somewhere,” Ghost quipped.
“Bye,” I told Rett.
He echoed it, and then Kieran ended the call, tossing the phone on the bed.
“Do you feel better now that you know he’s okay?” he asked, eyes searching mine.
Leaning up, I wrapped one arm around his neck to pull myself close and hug him. A ripple of surprise moved through him, his body tensing at first. But when I pressed my cheek against his ear and whispered, “Thank you.” He wrapped both arms around me and bent his head so his face was pressed into the top of my shoulder. His heavy breathing was warm against the fabric of the shirt, and it sent tingles of awareness dancing down the length of my spine.
“So why’s there two plants in your sink?” Ghost wondered, voice intruding on the moment I was content to get lost in.
I pulled back, instantly feeling guilty I hadn’t found them a new spot to sit like I promised yesterday. “I need to water Cliff and Atlas.”
Kieran’s hands closed around my waist, keeping me close. “I already did.”
Surprised, I jerked my stare to his face. He was looking at everything but me. “You watered my plants?”
“They’re my plants,” he argued.
“No, I adopted them because you’re a terrible plant daddy.”
“Plant daddy?” Ghost erupted. His laughter filled the room. “Did you hear that on that clock app? ‘Cause that sounds ludicrous.”
My nose wrinkled. “What’s the clock app?”
“Social media,” Kieran mumbled.
“Oh, I don’t have social media. It uses up my minutes too fast.”
“What now?” Ghost asked.
Kieran glanced over my shoulder. “He has a prepaid phone.”
“Those are still a thing?” he wondered.
Kieran’s discerning attention returned, and I was swallowed whole. There was something so powerful about him. The man truly had his own gravity, and it anchored me right there at his side. And the way his large hands fit against my back, easily supporting most of my weight, only exacerbated the feeling of being safe and secure.
“We’re getting you a new phone, baby doll. One with unlimited minutes and internet that never runs out.”
