Chapter 18 Carefree
CAREFREE
ASH
Irolled over onto my side, trying to fall asleep on Rae’s sectional sofa. My back ached, but I wouldn’t complain. She allowed us to stay. I could endure a little discomfort to ensure my brothers slept well.
I didn’t think Ezra slept much, judging by the summoning book on his chest. He spent every free moment trying to decipher the symbols whenever he couldn’t transcribe the text.
He didn’t want to spend a minute longer than necessary in the human plane.
When chasing sleep proved futile, I left the uncomfortable chaise and crossed the living room to the stairs. I climbed up the darkened stairwell in silence, careful not to disturb anyone, until I reached Rae’s bedroom door.
She kept her bedroom door open, even though Cyn and Zeke slept across the hall. Either she didn’t see them as a threat, or she trusted they wouldn’t hurt her since we needed her to get home—or at least that’s what Ezra believed.
Something continued to pull me to her, and I felt helpless to stop it. I no longer wanted to. The strength she showed against her aunt and the delemoras’ haunting stirred something inside me I couldn’t ignore.
Rae tempted me in ways that extended beyond physical attraction and the confusing pull that insisted she was my Nyrith. I liked the woman beneath the surface. In such a short time, I found myself enamored with her.
Despite her uneasiness around Ezra and apprehension about how far Cyn would take their altercations, she showed her inner strength when she met their challenges head-on. The way she adapted to Zeke’s sensitivities and his different ways of approaching life spoke of her nurturing side.
When she groaned, throwing the covers off and sitting up, I froze. She rubbed a hand down her face, then swung her legs over the side of the bed, turning on the bedside lamp.
My gaze dropped when she stood, the lamplight soft on her skin. She wore nothing more than a pair of black panties and a tiny T-shirt. I bit the inside of my cheek to stifle the sound rising in my throat.
She bent, grabbing a pair of pajama pants from the floor. After pulling them on, she pushed her wild hair from her face and stomped in my direction.
I’d been so transfixed by her appearance that I lost my chance to retreat. When she bumped into me in the darkness and screamed, panic overwhelmed me.
My hands came up to grasp her upper arms, and she struggled against me, striking my chest with the sides of her fists. “Rae! Rae, it’s me!”
She froze.
“It’s me, Ash,” I said, softly.
Her body deflated, slumping forward.
Pulling her close, I cradled the back of her head like I had at the graveyard, letting her bury her face against me until she regained her composure. Her entire body trembled, and my heart ached that I’d caused the fear I sensed, making the air taste bitter.
The hall light turned on, and Cyn snapped, “What the fuck is going on out here?”
I tightened my hold on Rae when she jolted at the sound of his anger. “Calm down. She didn’t know I was in the hall.” I tried to keep the same soothing tone as before. “I scared her.”
Cyn carded his hand through his hair. “You need to stop.”
While he didn’t say what he meant, I knew. He’d caught me out here on more than one occasion.
Rae pushed against my chest, and I released her. “What are you two doing out—” Her words died when she looked at Cyn.
He hadn’t taken the time to put on a shirt, and now she stood speechless, gaze riveted to his naked torso. Her attention moved over the tattoo on the left side of his chest that climbed his neck and ran down his left arm to his hand and fingers.
I couldn’t stop the spark of jealousy that lit within me at her perusal of Cyn’s body.
I could admit he was a good-looking man—lean and cut from his time serving the council. But right now? I wanted to punch him.
“See something you like?”
She jerked her head up, and her cheeks took on a flush of color.
“Put on a shirt,” I muttered, crossing my arms.
“You’re lucky I’m wearing pants,” he said. He looked at Rae. “Are you okay?”
“Um, yeah. Sorry for waking you,” she whispered.
He shook his head and slapped the light switch, turning off the hall light before disappearing into the guest room he shared with Zeke. I wasn't surprised that Zeke slept through the commotion. He could sleep through anything.
I turned back to Rae but couldn’t see her face clearly in the dark. “Are you okay?”
She exhaled, shoulders slumping. “Yeah.” Turning away from me, she went into her room. “Might as well come in. I don’t wanna wake anyone else. Sorry about all that.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” I said, gaze roaming her room.
With the lights on, I caught feminine touches in her bedding, lampshades, and the items on her dresser. I liked that she wasn’t messy. I spent way too much time trying to get Zeke to clean up after himself.
“You’d think I wouldn’t scare so easily after all the things I’ve seen.
” She sat on the edge of her bed, resting her elbows on her thighs, covering her face in her hands.
“I’ve just never had one of them act so aggressively.
It’s got me a little freaked out. Couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d get a snack or something.
” She dragged her hands down her face as she sat up and squinted at me. “What were you doing out there?”
Scratching my beard, I frowned. I needed to get a trimmer soon.
“Well?”
I couldn’t lie to her, but what could I say?
“I wanted to check on you.” Not a lie, but I wouldn’t expand on the reasons urging me to stay close to her.
“I guess it makes sense after today.” The huffed laugh that followed her words made me frown. “Thanks,” she whispered.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. My nerves are so on edge.” She pulled her necklace from beneath her shirt and squeezed it in her hand. Her white-knuckled grip hid the pendant attached to the long black cord around her neck.
I tucked my hands into the pockets of my lounge pants, shifting from one foot to the other. “Would you like to come sleep downstairs so you’re not alone?”
She looked up at me. “Where would I sleep?”
“I’d let you take the chaise. I’ll take the floor if you have extra blankets.”
“Ezra would kill me if he woke up with me next to him.”
I doubted that.
While he seemed to resent her role in bringing us here, he never would’ve lent his power to mine if he truly despised her. He’d never defy his father for just anyone.
“I could sleep up here, so you’re not alone.” I glanced at her bed when her brows hitched and added, “On the floor, I mean.” I ran a hand over my braids.
“That’s not really a good idea. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“Trust me. I need something different.”
A small knot formed between her brows. “If you say so.” She stood. “I have extra blankets in the closet in the hall. Grab whatever you want to make a pallet.”
“A pallet?” Why would I want to build a pallet?
“Yeah. You can put it beside the bed,” she said, tucking her necklace beneath her shirt again and standing to grab her glass off the nightstand.
I glanced at the hall. She kept lumber in her closet?
She turned. My confusion must have shown on my face because she asked, “Are you okay?”
“I don’t think a pallet’s going to work.”
“Why not? Not thick enough?” She sighed, heading for the bathroom with her glass. “I told you the floor wasn’t a good idea.”
“No. I just don’t think the guys are going to appreciate me building pallets in the middle of the night.”
She paused, looking over her shoulder at me. “What are you talking about? Why would they care?”
“You think Cyn was bad a few minutes ago? How do you think he’d react if I started hammering in the middle of the night?”
She blinked. Once. Twice. Then her sweet laughter spilled out unfiltered.
“What?”
Her hand went up as she bent forward. “Hang on,” she said, still caught in a fit of laughter, the sound light and unguarded.
I didn’t know what to make of it. She’d been scared and a wreck, and now laughter? Had she finally snapped? I sensed nothing wrong—and I suspected I’d know given my recent ability to understand her mood shifts.
When she calmed, she stood upright and put her hand on her hip. “Are you talking about making a wooden pallet like workers pick up with a forklift?”
“Aren’t you?”
She rolled her lips over her teeth, her face reddening as she fought another laugh. Taking a deep inhale through her nose, she exhaled slowly. “Okay. No. A pallet is a bunch of blankets on the floor to make a floor bed.”
Now it was my turn to look at her like she’d lost her mind. “Uh-what?”
“I guess it isn’t something infernals know.” She twisted her lips. “Actually, I think it might be a regional thing. Around here we call a blanket bed on the floor a pallet.”
“Oh.”
She turned and went into the bathroom, giggling to herself. “I’m surprised you knew about forklifts.”
Had she forgotten Elyrdin had nearly every human creation and then some?
I made quick work of bringing several thick blankets to her room, laying them on the floor next to her bed. I’d never heard the term “pallet” before. She seemed amused by that. If it helped her cope with the earlier fear, I could deal with a bit of embarrassment.
She returned from the bathroom with a full glass of water, placing it on her nightstand. After looking at her phone, she set it down and crawled beneath the covers.
She hadn’t taken her pants off, and I didn’t suspect she would with me in the room. I doubted I could handle her half-naked and so close anyway.
Once I settled under the blanket on the floor, she looked down at me with a tired smile.
“Thanks for staying with me,” she said, reaching up to turn the lamp off.
“Anytime, Rae.”
It didn’t take long before I regretted my choice to sleep on the floor. I still wouldn’t go back downstairs and leave her alone.
I turned to my opposite side, muscles aching. I felt like a rotisserie gornak, turning every ten minutes.
The light blinked on.
“Are you okay?”