Chapter 27 #2
Saylor is sitting in the back seat, and there is so much compassion in his voice when he tells me, “He’s got you. You’re gonna be fine.”
Hunter gets in the driver’s seat and closes the door, pulling his hood off his head and looking me over. My lips are trembling, and tears are streaming down my face now.
“Th-thank you. I’m sorry,” I whisper, knowing I would just sob if I tried to say more.
His gaze flicks between my eyes. “Fuck, Shortcake, your lips are blue.” He reaches out to turn on the heated seat for me, then takes my cold hands in his from under the blanket.
“Icicles,” he mutters while he rubs them before bringing them to his mouth and breathing warm air into them.
The gesture is sweet and considerate, making me cry even more.
All the while, a storm of feelings brews inside me, just as haunting as the storm outside.
He cared enough to come for me and rescue me a second time.
I gulp the knot in my throat and the foreign feelings down.
There's no space for them.
“Told you he’s the good one,” Saylor whispers from behind me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Hunter’s ocean blue eyes come up to mine, his brows furrowed with worry as he reaches out to touch my nose.
“My hands are too cold. I can’t feel it,” he mutters before leaning in and pressing his lips to the tip of my nose.
I guess he’s trying to check if my nose is too cold or on the verge of getting frostbite, but it feels like he’s kissing it, and tingles spread in my stomach.
Fuck.
Hunter leans back slowly but stays close, looking down at me. “Cold, but you’re gonna be fine.” His deep timbre just stirs the tingles while he lingers for a second before sitting back and putting his hands on the steering wheel.
“Sorry,” I whisper again, hating that he’s out here in the cold for me, but at the same time, I love it.
It’s complicated.
He drives back to their place slowly, the snow making it hard to see.
The only sounds for a long time are the windshield wipers and the blowing of the heater.
My hands and feet are starting to tickle, but not in a good way.
It hurts, like when your limbs fall asleep, and you move them, so they wake up too fast.
I cringe and shudder. It’s just all too much now.
“You good?” Saylor asks, leaning between the seats to look at me, but my eyes are only half-open, and I breathe through my still-chattering teeth.
Hunter halts in front of their house, turning to me and asking, “You’re all right?
” I nod, but I think my face tells a different story because he takes it between his big hands.
“You’re getting warm again. It hurts, but it will feel better in a minute, okay?
Let’s get you inside, and I’ll make you something hot to drink so we can get you warmed up from the inside too. ”
“Okay, sorry,” I whisper, still not able to talk more. A tear streams down my cheek, and he pushes it away with his thumb before letting me go, putting his hood back up, and getting out to round the truck and open the door for me.
I look back at Saylor, who gives me a reassuring smile. “Right behind you, Boo.”
Hunter quickly carries me into the house, pushing the door shut behind us with a relieved breath. He lets me down on my feet and steps back.
Trembling, he leans against the door, closing his eyes, and breathing deeply. I tilt my head and look at him. After a few more breaths, he opens his eyes, stands straight again, and pulls off his coat, hanging it on the coatrack.
“Are you okay?” I ask, sensing I’m not the only one who’s shaken.
“Sure,” he replies, taking my bag and pillow from me and setting both on the floor. Then he looks at the blanket wrapped around me.
“Want to keep that?” he asks, giving me a critical glance.
“Yes,” I mutter, pulling the blanket tighter around me. The tickling in my hands and feet is lessening. Hunter frowns at me, seemingly unhappy with what he sees. “Sorry.”
“You say that a lot,” he notes with a smile, his frown fading, but now it’s my turn to assess him, furrowing my brows.
“What?”
“Sorry… you say sorry a lot.” His gaze is soft, but the smile tugging at his lips tells me he’s teasing.
“He’s right,” Saylor chimes in from beside Hunter, humor in his tone.
“I feel it a lot.” I shrug, my gaze dropping to my feet.
I feel sorry for way too much but mostly myself.
Having to be rescued from hyperthermia in September out of my broken van by someone who’s both a near stranger and sort of my boss?
Rock bottom.
“Come on, I’d sit you in the kitchen while I make you something warm, but with the fire in the living room, I think I’ll place you in front of that while you wait.”
He ushers me into the living room, and I’m greeted by Nash and North sitting on the couch, both in loungewear. Although my anxiety had ebbed away with Hunter, it’s coming back full force now. Both of their gazes come up to me.
North looks at me dismissively before looking back down at his phone. Nash stands and comes over to give me a hug.
“First coworker, now roomie. I must have been good in my past life.” He grins before pulling me close tightly.
“Ouch,” I whimper, my cold bones making everything sore and oversensitive, especially my ankle, which has been throbbing since it warmed up.
Nash looks at me with wide eyes, letting go of me in a second. “Fuck, did I hurt you?” His expression triggers a flashback to our night together.
And I already think about that night way more often than I should.
“Are you going to come again, Siren? Are you gonna milk my cock like that, make me come deep inside your tight little pussy, huh? You wanna make me come hard?”
“Attagirl, let go, come again for me. Come on my cock.”
His dirty words had buried themselves deeply into my consciousness. Having his scent on me the whole day didn’t help one bit, for that matter.
“No, don’t worry. I just hurt myself today.”
“What? Where?” Hunter asks, putting his hands on my shoulders and turning me to face him, scanning me from head to toe, even though the blanket covers me almost completely.
“Her ankle,” North answers for me in a bored tone.
At the same time, Nash says, “Her head.”
They exchange confused glances, then look at me.
I shrug. “Both.”
Saylor chuckles while I sit on the couch, as far from North as possible, and pull my feet up to hug the blanket around my knees.
“I’m going to make some hot chocolate for her. Do you guys want some too?”
“That’d be awesome, thanks,” Nash says, sitting beside me, putting his arm over the back of the couch behind me. His proximity sends a flutter through me just when the one Hunter gave me is ebbing.
North only blows out a breath, so Hunter turns and walks into the kitchen with an eye roll.
“What I’d give for one of his hot chocolates right now,” Saylor grumbles while sitting down on the other side of me.
We sit in silence while the fire crackles in the fireplace, and the warmth finally penetrates my whole body. It’s enough that I let the blanket slide down from my shoulders, allowing it to pool around me on the couch.
“Your lips aren’t blue anymore,” Saylor observes as he leans in to look at me.
The memory of my cold lips makes me shudder again, and Nash scoots closer, pulling his arm around my shoulders.
I turn my head to scowl at him, but he has a confident grin on his lips, and I have to admit, he looks cute with his tousled hair, dimples, and freshly shaven.
“Man, you’re beautiful,” he tells me, making North and Saylor scoff simultaneously.
I glance at Saylor and suppress a laugh because his expression mirrors North’s, which makes me realize they look quite similar, except for Saylor being younger and much friendlier.
Nash laughs, adding, “And you’re weird.”
Shrugging off his arm, I turn, creating more space between us. His comment sends a jolt of pain through me.
It didn’t even take him long to figure that out.
“I’m not.” I scowl, trying to defend myself, even though I know he’s right.
Nash doesn’t notice my discomfort as he continues, “That was a compliment.” He chuckles and reaches out to cup my cheek, but I snap at his hand, unwilling to get mine from under the blanket to push him away. “Don’t bite the hand that fingers you, or whatever saying that is.” He grins.
Oh my God.
At least the blush I’m sporting now is warming my cheeks.
North coughs and Saylor outright laughs, but I’m rescued by Hunter once more when he returns with a tray of three mugs. He puts the tray down but reaches a hand out to me, which I take, and he gets me to my feet.
“Come on, get your bag. I’ll show you your room.”
I turn to look at North and mutter, “Thank you for letting me stay here tonight,” but I don’t wait for a reply and just walk out and back to the coatrack to get my bag and pillow.
Hunter waits for me in the hallway and guides me to the back of the house. It’s old but big. “The first room is a bathroom, then we have a guestroom, which is going to be yours. The room next to yours is Lio’s, then comes mine and…” He trails off, but Saylor answers for him.
“Mine.”
“Nash and North’s rooms are upstairs, as are the other two guest rooms we have, but I guessed you’d prefer to stay as far away from those two as possible.” He chuckles, and I smile at him.
He opens the door to the room he said I could have and gestures for me to go in.
I drop my bag inside and put the pillow on the bed, turning around to take in everything.
It’s a spacious room, much larger than the van, with a double bed, desk, dresser, and bookshelf.
It’s decorated in soft beige tones, impersonal but welcoming.
“This is amazing. Thank you for letting me stay… and everything,” I say, turning to face him.
He’s still holding my hot chocolate, so I put the blanket on the bed and step back in front of him, taking the mug and putting it on the desk.
The two hoodies and three socks are getting a little too warm now. So, I start taking off my socks, planning to take off two pairs.
The room is toasty.
“Make yourself at home. The bathroom beside yours is only for you and Lio. You can go to the kitchen and help yourself to whatever you…” He trails off when I pull Nash’s hoodie over my head, but somehow, it’s gotten stuck and takes the second one with it.
When I finally get them both pulled over my head, Hunter’s gaze is fixed on my chest. I’m still wearing a white top, but it’s quite sheer, and I don’t wear a bra, so he can definitely see how the cold has affected my nipples.
“Earth to Hunter,” Saylor teases him from the bed, where he’s already lounging while Hunter is still staring.
“That’s nice of you, but I don’t need anything more. You’ve already done more than enough, and I’m very grateful for it,” I offer, hugging the two tangled hoodies to my chest, effectively covering myself again.
Hunter blinks a few times before stuttering, “S-sure, of course, you’re welcome. Have a good night. I’m two rooms down if you need anything,” he presses while blushing and turns to leave.
“You already told her that, bro. Are you hoping for a late-night visit?” Saylor’s rolling his eyes in my peripheral vision.
“Night,” I mumble, but Hunter has already closed the door.
I sink into the soft bed, the warmth a stark contrast to the frigid air that had encased me in my van. Saylor’s presence is both a comfort and a reminder to keep my guard up.
“You okay?” Saylor asks, leaning over to look at me.
“Shh,” I shush him, making him chuckle.
I strain my ears, listening for any sign our conversation might carry beyond these walls.
The fear of being overheard is irrational—Saylor’s voice is for me alone—but old habits claw at the edges of my mind.
Paranoia, a constant companion from a past I can’t seem to escape, whispers that carelessness is a luxury I can’t afford.
They mustn’t hear me talking to him.
“I’m fine, but you don’t have to be a dick to him. I would still be freezing to death if he hadn’t come for me.” I whisper, my voice barely audible.
“True,” Saylor muses. “I’d still prefer you staying in your own bed tonight.”
As the silence stretches, I pull the blanket up to my chin, the fabric a barrier against more than just the cold. My gaze flicks to the door, and a shiver that has nothing to do with the temperature runs down my spine.
The weight of my secrets feels heavy in the room, pressing down on me with a physical force.
“I know that look,” Saylor says, his voice low, pulling me back from my thoughts. “Stop overthinking. You’re safe here.”
“Sometimes, I feel like the past is a shadow, waiting to swallow me whole if I step wrong,” I confess, my voice a mere wisp of sound.
Saylor’s smile is sympathetic, but his eyes are full of understanding. “You’re safe here with Hunter and the guys, Boo.”
Saylor’s trying to soothe me, but it just makes a storm of feelings whirl up inside.
It feels weird being in this safe, warm place after everything.
The way Hunter made sure I was okay, how Nash just took me in, North’s indifference, being in their home like that—it’s a lot to take in.
It’s like I’m on the edge with all my old troubles just a step behind me, and everything in front of me is new and unknown.
I’m not used to people caring, and it’s hard to trust that it is real, that it might actually be okay to let my guard down.
I’m trying to let myself feel safe, to take in the kindness without expecting something bad to happen next. And as I start to fall asleep, I think that perhaps it’s okay to be here, just for tonight.