Chapter 6 #2
I stared. How in the hells had she figured me out so quickly? “My mother,” I told her gruffly, forcing myself to turn away and dig out the flour from the cabinet. “My mom loved fresh bread. When she got sick, I came over each day after my shift at the mine and made a batch for her and Sylvik.”
“See?” She beamed as she bumped my thigh with her hip. “Taking care of others. I’ve got you pegged, Mr. Longspear.”
“Garrak,” I growled, before realizing she was still teasing me.
“Yes, sir.”
Gods below, when she winked saucily like that, it shot straight to my cock. Made me wish she hadn’t taken down her panties, so I could go jerk off in the bathroom again, like a degenerate.
We spent the day playing poker. She was getting a little bolder with her plays, although I caught her watching me instead of the cards. I did my best to talk her through the intricacies of the hands and possibilities, but Stevie only hummed and did whatever she wanted.
She kept me on my toes, that was for certain.
That night, we filled up on sausage soup and bread and then I popped some popcorn and we settled down to watch two different action movies. I asked if she minded me sitting on her “bed,” and Stevie smirked as she moved the pillow out of the way.
By the end of the first movie, she was snuggled up against my side, with my arm around her. It was…nice.
And I think I managed to hide how much I wanted to kiss her again. Kiss her, and…other things.
That night was another bad night. I found myself straining my senses for any hint that Stevie was in distress.
My cock and my Kteer wouldn’t let me sleep, so I prowled my bedroom, cleaning and organizing shit that didn’t need attention.
I jerked off twice, feeling guilty each time, and eventually just went out into the living room.
I told myself I was just watching over her when I settled on the part of the sectional she wasn’t sleeping on. I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t scared, or experiencing another nightmare…
I woke up well after nine in the morning, stretched out on the couch, my head on Stevie’s lap. She was playing with my hair as she read a book on her e-reader, and when she realized I was awake—and confused as shit—she smiled down at me.
“Good morning. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Disturb me? Fuck, if I believed in the humans’ Heaven, I’d have to believe this was it.
From this angle, her tits were right in line with my mouth, and her fingers were playing something magical against my scalp. When was the last time anyone had touched me like this?
It was strange. It was nice.
I sighed and closed my eyes, feeling guilty about enjoying it a bit longer.
On Friday, I needed to visit the building site again and head to the mainland for groceries. It felt natural for Stevie to climb into the passenger’s seat with me, to banter and tease. Outside the community center site, Korrad referenced our Saturday night poker plans, and I winced.
“I don’t think I can host this week,” I explained apologetically. “I have a houseguest, and—”
Right about the time Korrad began to smirk knowingly, Stevie stuck her head into our conversation. “If you have plans tomorrow night, I am not going to interrupt them. If you need me to leave, I can—”
“No,” I blurted, and Korrad began to chuckle.
“It’s just a standing poker game, Stevie,” he explained, and I felt my Kteer growl at how casually the other male addressed my female. “A bunch of us get together at Garrak’s place regularly. This week was just going to be me, Korrad, Dravik, and Varron.”
I frowned. “Brakkor isn’t coming?”
Korrad shrugged. “You know he’s a shit guest.”
“Yeah, but it’s not healthy for him to sit alone and be angry at the gods.” This particular friend was one I worried about. “He needs companionship.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Korrad offered, even as he grinned at Stevie. “If you’re going to be there, my brother will probably be happy to—”
“Never mind,” I growled. “He can stay home and rot, for all I care.”
With that, I snagged Stevie’s hand and pulled her toward the car. Korrad’s laughter followed me.
After our errands were over for the day, I ordered pizza and we curled up on the couch for another movie. Halfway through our second one, I realized she was asleep, and I was perfectly content to hold her.
Having her in my arms, even if it was just sitting on the couch, had my Kteer humming in satisfaction.
On Saturday morning, I woke to find Stevie lying stretched across me. I should have been achy and uncomfortable, but instead I felt refreshed. She blinked blearily up at me.
“I suppose you should be grateful I didn’t drool on you again.”
I couldn’t help myself; she was so damned cute that I dropped a kiss on her lips. “I don’t mind your drool,” I murmured. And then, because my Kteer was purring with her in my arms, I kissed her again.
Kissing someone first thing in the morning should be gross. It probably was gross, considering how Stevie began to squirm and shift, but to me it was perfection. Still, when she planted her palms on my chest, I forced myself to straighten.
“I’m enjoying myself,” she assured me with a smile. “Just let me get up and pee. And brush my teeth. And maybe put on some deodorant…”
By the time she emerged from the bathroom looking hesitant, I’d reined in my body’s response to her, listing all the reasons I couldn’t do more than kiss her, not if I wanted to collect Hendricks’ money for the endowment.
The problem was that the longer I was with Stevie, the more I wondered if maybe I could get the money some other way.
She’s leaving tomorrow. You’re driving her to the airport. This has been nice but keep your eyes on the prize!
My mood suddenly soured, and I snapped, “I’m going on a run.”
“Okay.” Maybe it was just my irritation that made her perkiness seem offensive. “I’ll make breakfast while you’re gone.”
She shouldn’t have to do that; I should be caring for her. Still, if I didn’t get out of that condo right then, I knew I would do something I would regret. Like taste Stevie again.
The memory of that faint scent of her cunt on the gusset of her panties, coating my tongue as I came…it had me stalking for the bedroom to change into running clothes.
Later, after the five miles, after I’d wrestled my Kteer under control and taken a long, hot shower, I emerged to find Stevie wiping down the kitchen. She grinned at me over her shoulder.
“I found the cleaning supplies. If we’re having a party tonight, this place needs to look like I haven’t been leaving crumbs for the last four days.”
Four days? Is that really all it had been? It felt as if Stevie had been a part of my life for so much longer.
We’re having a party tonight.
She might’ve only been here a few days, but she was taking ownership of my weekly poker night? And why didn’t I hate the thought of her hosting with me?
Shaking my head, I stalked across the kitchen to the pantry, where I kept the broom.
We cleaned in companionable silence for a few minutes, but I could feel her gaze on me. As she scrubbed dishes, she would peek over at me. It took me a while to figure out she was looking at my leg.
This was why I rarely wore shorts in public.
“What?” I finally barked.
Stevie, however, didn’t seem fazed by my irritation. She focused her attention on the pan she was scrubbing. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
It had become a habit in only a few short days to use that phrase as an introduction to a potentially awkward discussion. I appreciated that she understood the way I thought well enough to give me warning. She understood me.
“Ask,” I grunted. “I’ll let you know.”
That’s how I’d answered each previous time she’d begun a conversation with that question. It was her way of telling me that she knew it was a delicate topic, and she wouldn’t be hurt if I didn’t—couldn’t answer.
“Were you scared?” she asked quietly. “Down there in the dark, with all that pain around you?”
Taking a deep breath, I stacked my palms on top of the broom and frowned down at them. “In the mine, you mean?” I didn’t give her time to agree. “Yeah. But not for me.”
“No, of course not.” When I glanced at her in surprise, I saw a hint of a smile on her lips as she carefully placed the pan on the drying rack. “You were thinking about your friends, weren’t you?”
Of course I’d been thinking of them. “I could feel their pain. Their terror.” My gaze dropped back to my hands.
“So many of them had… We’d worked and lived together for so long, I knew them.
Knew their dreams. Knew they didn’t deserve to die because some hate-filled asshole was trying to make a point. ”
“So you were scared?” Stevie stilled, her hands in the soapy water, staring at me expectantly.
I rolled my shoulders, then lifted the broom again. “I was terrified I would lose them.”
I heard her little huff of what might have been laughter as she turned back to the dishes, but I felt her satisfaction.
Yeah, we were in the same room, so my senses were attuned to her…
but it had taken years before I could feel the moods of those around me, and even then only when emotions were running high.
Huh.
I narrowed my eyes, considering this new development. Could I feel her emotions about other things? Two nights ago, when she was suffering through that nightmare, I thought I’d been reacting to the noises she made. But what if it had been her feelings?
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
It wasn’t until I said the words that I realized what I was going to ask.
Stevie shrugged, her attention on whatever she was scrubbing in the sink. “Fair’s fair, I guess.”
“Has he hurt you before?”
The question had been quiet, but from the way Stevie stiffened, her gaze locked on the suds in the sink, she’d had no trouble hearing it.
And when she whispered, “Yes,” I knew she’d had no trouble understanding who I’d meant.
Thinking of those bruises on her inner arm, I tightened my hold on the broom until the wood creaked in protest. Because I could feel her shame.
“Why?” When I realized my question didn’t make sense, I took a deep breath. “I mean, Hendricks is clearly a low-life asshole who—”
“I don’t think he does it on purpose.” Without looking at me, Stevie bent back over the sink, scrubbing with renewed vigor. “I think he just likes to feel strong, to be right, you know? And I bruise easily.”
No, I didn’t know. “Are you making excuses for him?” I growled.
“Just trying to understand him.”
I stared at the tight muscles in her back, my Kteer rumbling in rage, trying to get control of myself.
She’s like that, trying to understand everyone. She’s not making excuses for him.
Except…what if she was? She sounded resigned to Hendricks’ cruelty, didn’t she?
Tomorrow evening, she’d be back with him, and he’d be free to hurt her however he wanted.
I wanted to ask her why she insisted on going back to him, why she was doing his bidding…
even trading her body for the bastard’s debt when she hadn’t wanted to.
But I knew why.
I’d seen the letter.
So I blurted, “Can I ask another personal question?”
Slowly, Stevie turned from the sink, reaching for the drying towel. She took her time wiping her hands as she propped her hip against the sink, her gaze wary. “Yeah, I guess so.”
I took a deep breath. “What happened in New Orleans? What does Hendricks have over you?”
When her gaze shuttered and she glanced away, I realized I’d gone too far. Here was one question she was going to say she couldn’t answer.
Which is why I was surprised when she took a deep breath and spoke, her gaze locked on the towel she was gripping with white knuckles.
“In New Orleans… The LeClair brothers run a bunch of not-so-legal businesses, yeah?” A flash of blue as she peeked at me, then away.
“They’re not nice people, and they have a shit-ton of money.
” One of her shoulders hitched in a half-shrug.
“They play poker. Not as well as my—not as well as Hendricks. But they enjoy the game.”
I forced myself to loosen my grip on the broom, to pretend casual relaxation I didn’t feel. “I guess I should check to see if they’re playing in the game I was invited to in a few weeks.”
“Yeah.” Her gaze was serious when she finally met my eyes. “You should. It would be good to know ahead of time.”
The dullness of her tone, the wariness in her gaze… My stomach knotted in fear. No, reacting to the fear I felt from her. “What happened?” I murmured.
Stevie dropped her gaze back to the towel she was wringing. “Last year I helped…” She swallowed. “I helped Hendricks cheat the LeClair brothers. He won a lot of money.”
Hendricks’ letter, his threat, was beginning to make sense. “And now, if you don’t do what Hendricks tells you to do, he’ll tell the LeClair brothers what happened.”
“And they will not be happy.”
But I was shaking my head. “Stevie, Hendricks is the one who cheated them. You weren’t in the game, right?” From what I’d seen, she wasn’t a good enough player to be invited to the same games Hendricks and I played. “He’s the one the LeClair brothers would blame.”
She turned away, reaching for the pan she’d washed earlier, smoothing the towel over it. “But I’d still be dead,” she whispered.
The handle of the broom cracked beneath my grip, and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to control my rage at the thought of my female being hurt. My Kteer howled with bloodthirst, and I had to remind myself that Stevie wasn’t mine to protect.
Right?
She was Hendricks’, and tomorrow she’d be returning to the bastard.
I’d have to forget how good she tasted, how my cock reacted to her scent. I’d have to forget the way she made me smile, the way she teased me, the way her fascinating insights made me feel as if my dream was a good one.
She was Hendricks’, not mine.
I turned and stomped from the kitchen, desperate for a distraction.
It was only later, as I was vacuuming the living room, that I thought to wonder how Stevie had helped Hendricks cheat the LeClair brothers.