Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Blink wasn’t sure what woke him. He lay still in his king-size bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to reorientate himself. It wasn’t that long ago when he was on his back, staring up at the concrete ceiling of a prison cell in Iran. Now he was home, safe, comfortable…and suddenly on edge.
Something had disturbed him enough to wake him from a deep sleep. Then he remembered that Josie was with him. In the other room. Was she having nightmares? She hadn’t had any that he knew of since they’d been rescued, or even while they’d been in the cells next to each other, but many times they wouldn’t start until after getting out of whatever situation had caused psychological stress in the first place. He had firsthand knowledge of that.
Looking at the clock, he saw he’d been asleep for a few hours. It was just beginning to lighten outside, but it was definitely still early in the morning.
Sitting up, Blink flung his covers aside and stood. He headed for the door to check on Josie when something made him turn around and look behind him.
There, on the floor at the foot of his bed, was Josie. Curled into a small ball, with the blanket from the guest room wrapped around her.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
Remembering the first words Josie had spoken, about him saying that word a lot, he sighed as he headed to her side. Crouching next to her, Blink brushed a lock of matted hair off her cheek.
“Josie?” he said quietly, not wanting to startle her.
Her eyes popped open, and she stared up at him.
“It’s me, Blink. Are you all right?”
“Woke up. Couldn’t sleep,” she said drowsily.
“Did you have a bad dream?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Just didn’t see you. Got used to sleeping in your presence.”
Her words made his heart skip a beat. This woman. She slayed him.
He reached out and picked her up off the floor without any effort whatsoever. It made him realize anew how far she still needed to go to get healthy. But he’d work on that. They would go to the store and he’d get all her favorite foods, making sure to follow the doctor’s orders about eating lots of protein and healthy food to build her muscles back up.
He walked around the bed and placed her on the mattress, then said, “Scoot over.”
She did as he asked, and soon he was in the bed with her, pulling up the covers. He wrapped an arm around Josie, so her head was once more on his chest, the way they’d slept on the Navy ship. “This is better,” he said with satisfaction.
Josie nodded against him. It hadn’t escaped his notice that she’d spoken when she’d been half asleep, as if she wasn’t aware she was doing it. Her voice was there. She just needed to get used to using it again. Feel safe doing so.
It wasn’t long before he felt Josie’s breaths even out against him. One of her arms was across his belly and one of her legs had actually hitched up and over his thigh. He felt pinned down by her, even though she weighed less than a hundred pounds. She probably had no idea that she held all the power in their relationship. Blink was helpless against her…and he couldn’t be more content.
When he woke up hours later, he was alone in bed. Panic set in, and Blink threw the covers back and was across the room before he thought about what he was doing. He ran into the living area and stopped in his tracks.
Josie was sitting on his couch, curled into the corner with a bottle of water on the table next to her, a book in one hand and a sleeve of crackers in the other. She looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Are you okay?” Blink barked.
She nodded quickly.
And just like that, his muscles relaxed. “I woke up and you weren’t there. I thought…hell, I don’t know what I thought.”
Josie set her things down and got up off the couch and walked over to him. She was still wearing the same sweats and T-shirt she’d gotten on the ship. Blink made a mental note to prioritize getting her some more clothes.
She walked right into his personal space until her cheek was resting on his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, Blink immediately felt better.
Josie hugged him hard. Then lifted her head and tilted it back to look at him. “I got hungry.”
“Right. Of course you did. How about you let me make you something a little better than some yucky old crackers?” he told her.
She smiled. “Are you going to get dressed first?”
The fact that she was talking to him felt so good, even if he didn’t have anything to do with it. “Oh, yeah. Probably should do that, huh?” he asked, looking down at himself. He had on a pair of boxers and that was it. He usually slept in the nude, but he’d made an exception last night since Josie was there.
To his surprise, she put her head back on his chest and tightened her arms around him once more.
Blink would’ve stood there forever if that’s what she wanted, but eventually, she lowered her arms and took a step back.
“Right. Going. I’ll be right back,” he said, backing away from her slowly. As he went, he could’ve sworn he saw desire in her eyes. But he was probably projecting what he wanted to see, rather than what was really there.
He showered, brushed his teeth, and got dressed in record time, and was back in the living room in less than ten minutes. Josie had settled back on the couch and smiled up at him when he returned.
“I put a fresh T-shirt in the bathroom for you. And another pair of sweats. They’ll be too big, but after we eat, I’ll work on getting you more appropriate clothes. ”
The moment the last word was out of his mouth, there was a knock on his door.
Frowning, Blink went to answer it.
Remi and Wren were standing outside with huge smiles on their faces. Kevlar and Safe were standing by their cars in the parking lot, also smiling. Assholes knew Blink would’ve cussed them out for disturbing him and Josie but wouldn’t say a word to the women.
“Hi!” Remi said. “We heard about Josie and went to the store this morning to get her some stuff. Because of course you don’t have the things she probably needs.”
“Bo said you probably didn’t want to be bothered yet, but we literally couldn’t stay away,” Wren told him. “I already called Julie, you know, from My Sister’s Closet? She was so great about finding me some awesome stuff, and when she gets in, she’s going to see what she has in Josie’s sizes. Bo says she’s tiny, so Julie isn’t sure what she has, but she’ll let you know when she goes through her inventory.”
“Is she up? Can we meet her?” Remi asked.
“We won’t stay long,” Wren added.
Blink looked back at his friends. They both gave him a chin lift and didn’t look inclined to join their women.
He opened the door with a sigh, and Remi and Wren filed past him, each carrying several bags. They put them down in the foyer and walked into his living area. Blink left the door open behind him and followed.
Josie was standing now, looking unsure. He hated that she obviously felt so uneasy.
“Hi! I’m Remi. And this is Wren. You probably heard, but we bought you some things. After hearing all about you from our guys last night, we bugged them to take us to the store this morning. We got all sorts of soaps and lotion, and some shampoo and conditioner that smells awesome. Blink’s great and all, but he’s also a guy, so he probably thinks Irish Spring is perfectly acceptable for a woman to use when she showers.”
Blink almost missed the way Josie’s lips twitched, but it was enough for him to relax a fraction.
“And we got you some other things that every woman needs. Leggings, shirts, thick socks…and chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate,” Wren added.
Josie smiled outright at the two women at that. It was a more relaxed expression, more real.
“I know this is your day off—Vincent already told me that we shouldn’t bug you—but I wanted to make sure you know how amazing Blink is. He’s my second-favorite person in the entire world…no offense, Wren.”
“None taken,” the other woman said easily.
“Anyway, he’ll take really good care of you,” Remi finished.
“Who takes care of him ?” Josie asked.
Blink was shocked yet again. This was the first time she’d said anything to anyone other than him.
“Good question,” Remi said. “I guess all of us. But you’re here now. You can do it.”
“I can take care of myself,” Blink felt obligated to point out.
To his amusement, both Remi and Wren rolled their eyes.
“ Anyway . We guessed that you guys probably don’t have anything fresh to eat, seeing as how Blink’s been gone a while, so Remi and I put in a huge order at the grocery store. It should be delivered within the hour. Got a ton of fresh fruit and veggies, and while we tried to control ourselves and only get healthy stuff, we couldn’t resist throwing in some things that any self-respecting doctor would frown over but we consider vital,” Wren said with a smile.
“Like Cheetos. Blink is addicted to the things,” Remi said.
He would’ve protested, but she wasn’t wrong.
Remi took a step toward the couch but didn’t encroach on Josie’s personal space. “I’m really sorry about what happened to you. It’s so awful…but you’re here now. Anything you need, Blink will help you with, and if he can’t, we’ll all step up.”
“Yeah, and Bo has already been in touch with Cookie. He’s a retired SEAL that he’s close with. His wife, Fiona, went through something similar as you. She was a captive for a long time. Cookie said she’s more than willing to talk to you, but only if you want. She had some PTSD for a while, but she’s good now. Happy.” Wren glanced at Remi with a frown. “Shoot, I’m overstepping, aren’t I? I meant to keep this upbeat and welcoming, and instead I had to go and bring up what had to be bad memories.”
She looked back at Josie. “I’m sorry. All I meant was…we’re all here for you if you want to talk, or just sit and listen to us babble on about nothing. We’re kind of good at that. And I’m already getting the impression that you’re a lot like Blink. You like to listen rather than talk. Which is cool.”
“I’d like that,” Josie told her.
“Oh! Good. Talking to Fiona or hanging with us?” Wren asked.
Josie just nodded.
Wren and Remi both beamed. “Great! Awesome. Okay. Blink, maybe you can bring her to Aces. It’s this cool bar that all the guys go to. It’s super safe, and I bet Jessyka would be willing to open early so we can all hang out there without any of the other patrons. You know, so you can get to know us without worrying about anyone else around. Not that you would. Worry about anyone, I mean. Because there’s no one to worry about, but, you know…without the pressure.”
“She knows what you mean,” Blink said, taking pity on the obviously nervous and babbling Wren.
Josie nodded again, backing him up.
“Okay. Great. Well, um…we’ll just be going now,” Wren said.
“Yeah. It was great meeting you. Thank you for taking care of Blink over there. He’s important to me…to all of us. We’ll be in touch. And please let us know if there’s anything else you need. We’re happy to get it for you. Blink has our numbers, and he can call or text. Enjoy the stuff we brought and the food delivery. I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Josie.”
Blink walked the women out, giving Kevlar and Safe a chin lift before shutting the door.
He let out a long breath of air, then turned to Josie. “They’re talkers,” he said unnecessarily.
She giggled. The sound went through him like a bolt of electricity. He liked seeing her happy. Wanted to keep her that way for the rest of her life.
“Shall we see what they brought?”
Josie nodded and walked over to where he was standing by the bags. The two of them carried everything to the kitchen table and began to unpack .
Blink shook his head when it was all laid out in front of them. “They went a little overboard,” he said.
That was an understatement. There was enough chocolate candy to last for months, three different kinds of shampoos and conditioners, lotions, makeup—what looked like half the beauty aisle. They’d also picked up several different colors of leggings and a plethora of shirts and other lounging clothes.
He turned to look at Josie, and saw her staring at the gifts spread out all over the table with tears in her eyes. He instantly panicked. “It’s too much, isn’t it? We can take it all back, anything you don’t like or want. Don’t cry, Spirit, please. I can’t stand it!”
She turned to him, and her lips quirked upward even as two tears fell. “It’s wonderful,” she said quietly.
Blink tried to relax. “Oh…okay.”
Josie picked up a bottle of spray detangler, then looked back at him and gestured to her hair.
“Yes, we can get to work on that. You want to shower first? And when I say shower, you can stay in there as long as you want. I’m not sure how long the hot water will last, but I’ve got a decent tank. I’ll carry this stuff into the bathroom for you and you can try it all out…but I have to say, there’s nothing wrong with Irish Spring.”
She huffed out a laugh, and wiped her cheeks with her shoulders.
Blink loved that he could make her smile. “While you’re showering and going over your clothing options, I’ll see if I can make some room in my pantry. Because I’m sure those two bought out the damn grocery store. I’m expecting a huge truck to back up to the door to unload it all. ”
She smiled at him again, and Blink realized how content he was. He hadn’t felt like this since…well, never. After his previous team was ambushed, he fell into a spiral of depression. It hadn’t been easy to pull himself out of it, but with the help of Remi and his new team, he had. But despite clicking so well with his teammates…he’d still just been going through the motions of life.
Even after all he’d been through in the last week or so, he felt happier now than he could remember being even before losing his friends and teammates.
He had a new mission in life…Josie.
It took them three trips to get everything Remi and Wren had bought into his little guest bathroom, and there wasn’t much room on the counter after everything was transferred. It occurred to Blink that his en suite bathroom had a lot more counter space, but he wasn’t going there. It was too fast. But that didn’t make the thought go away.
He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, there was another knock at the door. “That had better be the groceries, and not the rest of the guys,” he muttered.
Josie giggled again, and Blink smiled. “Enjoy your shower. Don’t bother too much with your hair, I’ll take care of it for you when you get out. Just enjoy the hot water and being clean.”
Then he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.
He didn’t plan it, just did what felt right and normal. And he was instantly ready to apologize, until he realized that Josie didn’t look upset or taken aback. Instead, she gave him that familiar shy smile.
Blink forced himself to back out of the room before he did something really stupid—like pick Josie up, set her ass on the counter, and kiss her the way his heart was demanding.
“Food,” he muttered to himself.
When he opened the front door, he saw that indeed, Remi and Wren had definitely gone overboard with groceries too. But at least he and Josie wouldn’t have to leave the house today, after all. They certainly had everything they needed in order to make some hearty, healthy meals.