“No problem.”
He let himself out and I didn’t bother getting up to lock the door. It was a bad hood, sure, but that was another thing Fen left behind in case I should need it. I glanced at the black nine-millimeter on the floor beside the bed within easy reach and turned my back on it to focus on the girl in the bed beside me.
She was so tired, she even looked exhausted in sleep. I didn’t think that had everything to do with me, though… there was another type of world weariness under it all. I closed my eyes and breathed in slow, her rich, earthy, herbal scent filling my nose.
She smelled good. Natural. Like a woman. God, I’d missed that smell…
4
Raven…
I sucked in a sharp, shuddering breath and stretched, smiling to myself when I met resistance at my back. What could I say? I was an unabashed cuddle slut and while I had no idea how I’d managed to get into my bed, as I distinctly remembered crashing on my couch face-first after my shift, I couldn’t argue that it was really nice to wake up to being held.
A guilty pleasure I shook off entirely too quick as I looked back into Mace’s battered face, propped on his hand, and murmured, “Sorry, I don’t remember crawling into bed.”
“You didn’t. I had Fenris put you here.”
I blinked, taken aback, and felt my mouth drop open into a little ‘o’ of surprise.
“Oh,” I finally managed, not sure how I felt about that.
“Nothing by it,” he said carefully, searching my face, his own expression carefully closed off and… and vulnerable in its own way. “Couldn’t stand the thought of you sleeping on your own couch. It didn’t sit well with me.”
I gave him a slightly crooked smile and said, “And they say chivalry is dead.”
“Not with me, it’s not.”
He took his hand from my waist and I bit my lips together silently for a moment and finally ventured with, “It’s okay. I… I kind of liked it there.” Which was another thing I didn’t know how to quite feel about.
He smiled slowly and even with all the bruising and the swelling; he was handsome.
“Yeah?” he asked, putting it back.
I smiled carefully. “Yeah.”
“Well alright then.”
“You need anything?” I asked, forgetting my manners. I mean, shit. He was hurt and here I was making it all about me!
“No,” he said. “You should sleep some more.”
I smiled then and said honestly, “I was about to ask if that would be alright with you.”
“Guess you have your answer,” he murmured with a cheeky grin, and holy hell, my heart almost stopped at that smile. I mean, it damn sure tripped over itself and then started just pounding.
“Okay,” I said and laid back down. I sighed out and he cuddled me. It felt so nice.
“You good with this?” he asked a moment later as I sighed out again.
“Yeah, you?” I asked.
“Yeah, but what was that for?” he asked.
“What?”
“That big sigh.”
“Oh, it was nothing,” I lied, but I’d always been a bad liar.
He jostled me a tiny bit. “Raven,” he said, tone gently chiding.
“It’s nice is all… I’ve um, I’ve missed this. Just, being held by someone.” Which was true. Which had led me down the road to ruin in the first place. A wave of sorrow crested somewhere in the center of my chest and crashed over me.
I could hear his careful smile in his voice when he spoke next.
“Yeah, me too. I mean, I’ve missed having someone to hold onto.”
“How long have you been single?” I asked, curious, though knowing it was probably none of my business.
He snorted. “Too long.”
I thought about it and answered, “Yeah, me too.”
I closed my eyes and after a few moments of silence figured the conversation was concluded and so I slept some more.
The next time I woke, it was to the sound of soft masculine voices and I was alone in my room. I pushed up into a sitting position sharply worried about Mace, and the voices ceased. I looked into my little living room. Mace was seated on my couch, Glassjaw standing over him, both looking in my direction.
“Did we wake you?” Glassjaw asked, and I ignored the question in favor of one of my own.
“What time is it?”
“A little after noon,” Mace answered.
“Shit, I overslept,” I muttered, and I had. I’d missed the food pantry up at Holy Family. Shit.
“Where you gotta be?” Glassjaw asked. “I can give you a ride.”
I shook my head.
“Closed now, I missed it.”
“Clue us in, Raven,” Mace said gently.
“Food pantry up at the Catholic church,” I finally relented.
“How much you need?” Glassjaw pulled a wad of cash out of his front pocket and I blinked. I don’t think I’d ever seen that much cash in one place at one time and that included counting the till at the bar.
“What?” I asked, as much to buy time as anything.
“Least we can do with you putting me up like this,” Mace said, and I frowned slightly and pushed to my feet, giving a long stretch.
“What are you even doing up, anyway?” I asked, changing the subject. “You should be resting.”
“I couldn’t take lying down anymore.” He chuckled and winced.
I rubbed the back of my neck and nodded tiredly, that made sense.
“Anyway, you need anything else?” Glassjaw asked, peeling off some bills and handing them to Mace.
“No?” I asked a little dazed and still waking up.
Both men chuckled and I felt myself turn red. Of course, he wasn’t asking you…
I lurched into the bathroom and shut the door, bracing myself on the edge of the sink and sighing at my reflection.
I looked wrecked. Like, damn.
I ran water in the sink and waited for it to both clear and get warm before scrubbing my face. I needed a shower; some fresh clothes, but I didn’t want or need as much of an audience as I had out there for that. I mean, Mace I was comfortable with… Glassjaw could suck it. I
