40. Exhaustion
Exhaustion
Sheridan
Why hasn’t he responded?
Because he obviously wanted this to just be a light, friendly thing. Men hate being tied down in any way, shape, or form, don’t they?
Everything about this situation is insane. We should just call it no—
Fly bursts through a break in the maze walls. He races up to me without a word, stopping only when he’s mere inches from me.
What is going on?
Like we’re in a slow-motion movie, he leans down towards me. Every millimeter closer he gets pushes a smidgen of breath out of my lungs. Who cares about breathing? I want him to kiss me. No, I need him to kiss me…now.
Waiting might kill me. I shove my hand into his hair and pull his lips to mine. Like the starving woman I am, I devour them, trying to shove all the emotions I feel into one single kiss.
Fly meets that passion with his own before lifting his head away so that we can both suck in gasping breaths of air.
Emotionally and physically wiped out, my head collapses onto his chest as I continue trying to refill the air my lungs so desperately need.
“Does that answer your question?”
“Huh?” I don’t have the strength to lift my head and look at him.
“Yes, Sheri, I want you to care.”
“Oh.”
“Can you move?”
“Not really. The last twenty-four hours have been a teeny bit exhausting.”
“Well then, there’s only one thing to do about that.”
His body moves, then suddenly my feet aren’t on the ground anymore. “What are you doing?”
“Finding us someplace to rest.”
He says it so calmly, like he isn’t hefting me around like a sack of potatoes…that’s not quite true. I’m cradled in his arms like a precious treasure. “You really are working on that prince title.” I loop my arms around his shoulders when my body settles enough to realize we aren’t going to fall.
“As long as you put the word ‘my’ before it every time, I’m game.”
Words like that make my heart pitter-patter. I lean up and kiss his cheek, which is covered in a five o’clock shadow even though it’s early in the morning. “Did you have a long night?”
“Yeah.”
“Did worrying about me make it worse?”
He stops and stares down at me. “Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. No more wild runs in the middle of the night, okay?”
He’s asking for something I can’t give. “I wish I could say okay. But I run when I have more emotions than I can process. It doesn’t happen often, but I can’t promise not to do it.”
“When you need to run, you call me.”
“If we’re together and you aren’t out on some important super-secret mission, I’ll call you.” It isn’t what he wants, but it’s all I can give.
“You make me sound like a spy.”
Ohhh. “Are you a spy? You couldn’t answer that if you were, and I don’t think they let men in biker gangs into super-secret branches of the military.”
“We aren’t a gang. We’re a motorcycle club.”
“So you keep telling me.” I lean up and kiss his jaw again, loving the little prickles against my lips.
“Woman, don’t distract me.”
A giggle bursts out of me. Why does this man make me feel silly, shy, bold, brash, and completely consumed with one single look? “I’ll work hard on doing it again.”
He grins. “I’d expect nothing less from ‘my’ royal highness.”
“Is that your way of calling me a princess?”
“That’s my way of calling you mine.”
“You want to own me?”
“I want you so obsessed with me that I’m the only man you can think of. The only man that makes you smile. The only man you see when you close your eyes at night. The first thing you see when you open them in the morning.”
My jaw drops open.
“Too honest, too soon?”
Oh yeah. I nod.
“Does it make you want to run?”
It should, but all I want to do is curl up in his arms and sleep. “No.”
“Good. Because I’m going to set you down right here and get a few supplies for us.” He gently places me down on a double lounge chair. “Be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” He kisses my forehead and walks off.
Fly in a pinstripe suit and wingtips…well, that’s a sight to make a girl’s heart stop. Fly walking away in that same tailored suit…should be criminal. It’s an unfair advantage. No man should look that good.
When he disappears from view, I actually look around at the grotto he dropped me in.
It doesn’t exactly give rustic castle vibes, but the stonework all around is lovely.
The chair is mostly hidden from view, but if I sit up really tall, I can see little bits of the pool and hot tub.
Who has a heated pool up north in the middle of winter?
With all the steam coming off of it, it’s easy to believe that it’s warm enough to go for a swim.
The thing people forget about is the dash from the warm pool back into the house. It will feel like the coldest three minutes…or possibly longer in this case.
Not having running water down south made for quite a few of those mad dashes. Every time I regretted not taking a sponge bath or just going dirty for far too long. Would I regret taking a dip in this pool with Fly?
Don’t even think about it. That’s not an option.
I curl up on the lounge chair and wait for him to come back.
***
“Don’t tell me you’re already sleeping over there.” Fly’s voice is barely a whisper.
“Just resting my eyes.” They fight me opening them, though. “What did you get us?”
“First, a few blankets.”
“Blankets?”
“We’re going to need them for our nap.”
“But we’re at a party. We can’t nap.” That would be rude.
“Neither of us have slept. And you’re exhausted.
We’re going to nap.” He tosses the fluffy blankets across the lounger one by one.
“But before we nap, we snack.” The platter—it’s way too big to be considered a plate—he sets down carefully before sinking down next to me, is filled sky-high with every imaginable treat.
The fresh fruit is so pretty. It has me practically drooling. “We shouldn’t eat all their food and then take a nap. It’s a party. They’re expecting us to participate.”
“And we will. After our nap.” He plucks a grape and lifts it to my lips. “Now eat.”
“As long as we participate.” It’s hard to talk around the smooth, cold orb.
“We will. I promise.”
The grape tastes better than it looks. The part of me that’s still ravenous from my run kicks in, and we both eat in focused silence.
“You full? Or should I go get more?”
As tempting as it is to ask for more…“I’m good, thank you. Not just for that…but for all of this.”
“You make it so easy to spoil you.” He lifts the platter and sets it on the ground next to the chair.
“No, I don’t.” If anything, it feels like all I do is make whatever this is harder.
Fly turns back to me. “Yes, you do. Do you really think a relationship shouldn’t have any bumps or challenges?”
I shrug. “There’s so much bad in the world. I’d think that falling in love would be the one easy thing.”
He chuckles. “There isn’t anything easy about falling in love, Sheri. The hardest thing in the world is pulling your heart out of your chest and handing it to someone else to protect.”
“That sounds kinda violent.”
“Not violent. Never violent. But scary.”
“You can’t promise that it will never be violent.” No one can protect you when it’s the person you love hurting you.