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“Cipher.” I lay my hand on his chest before he can launch himself onto the floor.

“It’s involuntary,” he whispers, his ears turning a deep red.

Noa props himself up on one elbow behind me, and he grins. “Buddy, it’s entirely normal. You have a beautiful woman wrapped around you. It’s your body doing its job.”

“I know, I just hate that I have no control over it,” Cipher mutters.

“None of us have control over it—that’s the joy of mornings. Personally, I take care of it before I get out of bed,” Noa says with a grin.

I laugh, and Cipher’s eyes cut to mine. I smile at him, and the tension leaves his shoulders. “It’s fine, I have zero issues with your morning wood.”

“See?” Noa says. “Listen to her, she likes your wood.”

Cipher exhales and shakes his head, the red of his ears fading a little. I stretch and feel the ache in my muscles as Noa jumps out of bed, and I catch sight of the bright-red marks on his wrists. With a smile, I remember him tied naked to Cave’s post. As I glance toward the door, I half expect Cave to be standing there, but he isn’t, and I think I’m a little disappointed.

“I should go,” I say. “I have work in a few hours.”

“Can’t you stay? We could have so much fun.”

I laugh, I would prefer to stay rather than go to work and see my asshole of a boss, but I can’t pay my bills with fresh air and hopes and dreams.

Cipher hands me my clothes from last night, now clean and folded. “I washed them for you after you fell asleep.”

I bring them to my nose and inhale, happy that they smell like him. “Thank you, that was so thoughtful.”

Cipher blushes again and nods, then hurries out to his workbench so I can get dressed. Once I’m ready, I go into the main room of the shed, where Noa loops his arm over my shoulders. “Let’s get some food into you before you leave.”

“Bye, Cipher,” I call out, but when he doesn’t answer, I untangle myself from Noa’s arm and walk over to him. He glances up from whatever he’s tinkering with at my approach, and I throw my arms around him.

“Thank you for last night, and for trusting me,” I say, pressing my lips to his cheek.

He smiles, and I say goodbye, then race back to Noa, who is now waiting outside singing to himself.

He squats down. “Get on—your chariot awaits.”

I wrap my arms around his neck, and he stands, then adjusts my legs around his waist. “Giddy up,” I say, and he takes off, his laughter echoing around us.

We get to Ares’s bar in no time, and he pushes through the doors and sets me down.

A woman dressed all in black sneers at us from a corner table, but I ignore her and turn my attention to the bar where Kayla is grinning.

“Well, look who survived,” she says, leaning over the bar. “Girl, I won’t lie to you, I did not think you would make it through the night in one piece.”

“Neither did I when I hit the cornfield. Noa scared me.”

“And yet,” Noa says, dropping onto the stool beside me, “you still went in even with a warning.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like the risks at home weren’t worse,” I reply.

From a corner booth, a voice rises, and I turn to see what the girl is actually sneering at.

“Do you know how much money I won?” Vero is sprawled across a corner booth, as if he had been taking a nap.

“You bet on me?” I ask him.

“I bet on you living. I knew the mangy scarecrow wouldn’t hurt you.” Vero grins.

“And no one thought she was in danger from me?” Noa pipes up.