Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
TORCH
H er curtains were open. Usually this late they weren’t. Something happened. I just had no idea what. As I ducked down into my spot, I chanced a glance inside her room since the light still shone and found Wrenley sitting at her desk reading something.
I’d seen her reading many times before she got ready for sleep. I liked how sometimes she’d read a paragraph and then look off in the distance as if whatever she read took her mind to another place. Unless she’d thought that whatever she’d read was a crock of shit.
She hadn’t reacted to the words since I sat down, though.
Some of her curls swung down over her face, which she tucked behind her ear as she used the other hand to turn a page.
My heart wanted to climb up in my throat at the thought of what happened in the living room yesterday.
Death would’ve spoken to her by now. I dodged him and her for the day. I didn’t want to know about her reaction to my past.
Even though I felt jittery from not knowing.
If it was bad, I wasn’t sure I could handle thinking she’d be disgusted by me.
Not when it was just yesterday that she’d willingly wanted to touch me, talk to me, get to know me.
I warned her, though.
I told her she shouldn’t want that.
Now she’d know why.
Now she’d hold pity as she kept herself away from a man who liked to kill.
A man who was damaged.
I only stayed alive for my brothers. To help them. To keep them safe.
But for her now too.
As soon as I’d heard her screams that night, I knew she would go on my list of people to protect. But now her safekeeping mattered to me more than my need to protect my brothers.
She was on my mind all the time.
Her lips, nose, hair, eyes… her body constantly rolled through my thoughts during the day and night.
My obsession.
My addiction.
And she was currently walking toward the window.
What the fuck?
I pushed back into the fence and froze. I didn’t blink or breathe as she pulled her window open to stare out into the night sky with a sigh.
What was she thinking?
It was cold. Too cold for her.
Why did she sigh?
What was she doing up this late?
What troubled her and was keeping her awake?
She only stayed up late sometimes, and that was always in the living room to watch shows with her sister. She never used the television in her bedroom. She liked company to watch something.
Wrenley glanced around, leaning into the window frame.
My body begged for oxygen.
But I couldn’t draw in a breath in case I made a noise and brought her attention to my creepy-ass self.
If she saw me lurking in the bushes, she’d know what a freak I was.
She’d run screaming and?—
Fuck.
“Torch?” she whispered as her eyes landed on me somehow.
I let out a long, loud breath and filled my lungs again to accuse, “You can’t see me.”
Her cute lips twitched as she waved a hand around. “With the light on in here it shows a small part of you. Can I ask what you’re doing out there?”
“Security detail,” I said quickly. She didn’t need to know I was here all night every night.
“So, the club is worried about those guys coming for me?”
The club? Probably.
Me? Definitely.
I grunted. “You don’t need to worry.” I’ve got your back; no one will harm you again. Ever.
“Am I allowed to ask a favor?” she questioned softly. Her tone was like a caress to my skin. I could easily close my eyes and listen to her voice for hours.
“What?” If I could, I would do anything she asked.
“I, um, can….” She blew out a breath as her cheeks pinked.
What was she thinking?
What would she ask that had her blushing?
“Anythin’,” I told her.
Her teeth nipped at her bottom lip and scraped over it. “Am I allowed to request one guard for the night shift and only if he stays in my room because I don’t like the thought of anyone staying outside all night on my behalf?”
Jealousy slammed into me, clawing at me.
My upper lip rose. Who would she want in her room? In her space? The thought of someone in her room while she slept, even if it was another brother, had me digging my nails into my palms.
“Wait,” she said quickly. “I’m not talking about in my bed.”
I fucking hadn’t even thought of that.
Now I was. I got into a crouch, ready to grab any fucker who thought they could share her bed.
“I’ll, um, get a mattress for the floor, and… I’d just prefer to not have so many people around me at night when I sleep. I-I have nightmares, and I, well, I wake up screaming sometimes. I don’t like sharing that with everyone.”
The fiery jealousy simmered.
How could I be angry when all she wanted was to feel reassured and safe?
I couldn’t deny her this.
Slumping to my ass, I asked, “Who?”
She blinked slowly, and her lips parted for a beat before they turned up into a pretty smile. “You, of course.”
Me?
Me.
No one else but me.
Christ. Why?
Why would she want me in her space?
She would have spoken to Death. She would know everything, and she….
I gripped at my chest as my heart quickened. It felt like the organ had grown under my ribs.
What was this?
I already knew I was addicted. Wrenley was my obsession. Now it felt like she’d grabbed every damn part of me and made them hers.
She was different to any other woman.
She was a shining light. A star. A fucking goddess.
Even after all she’d heard about me. All I’d been through. All I’d done and would still do, and I didn’t see any pity or concern or disgust.
There was nothing coming from her but that sweet and pretty smile and kind eyes. I knew what she’d said was the truth. Wanting me in her room. She wouldn’t lie. Not after hearing every fucking detail.
Shifting from my ass to my knees, I asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yes” was her instant reply, and she even tipped her chin up a little in determination.
I brushed the bush aside so she could see my whole face as I cocked my head to the side. “Just me, Wrenley. In your room, watching over you. Just me ?”
The fucked-up one. The killer. The one who would slaughter again if it meant my family and friends were safe. If it meant she kept shining as she was now.
“Yes, Torch.”
I told her I would give her anything.
I would.
And if that meant me keeping guard in the same room as her, I’d do it.
I get to watch her sleep.
I can wake her from her dreams.
I’ll be the one she sees when she wakes up.
My gut flip-flopped. Nerves? Excitement? Maybe both.
“Okay,” I told her, climbing out of my hidey-hole to stop in front of her window.
Her smile brightened my world some more when she moved back. I slipped inside her room and straightened. I rolled my shoulders and took everything in, even when I already knew what her room looked like, but this was at a closer and welcomed inspection.
The walls were a light gray, the flooring a wood panel with a big fluffy dark-gray rug that sat in the middle of the room and went under her bed. Her desk sat at the opposite wall to her double bed with a lamp and chair. The television sat above it with shelves at each side on the wall.
I liked it all.
She’d picked each item that was perfect for her.
Simple, sweet, and pretty.
“I’ll, um, go see if we can pull the mattress from the spare room in here,” she said. I turned, and her cheeks flamed to life as she waved an arm toward the window. “We can lay it in front of there, if that’s okay?”
My chest expanded again at the thought of being able to stay in her room. To stay close to her. To drink in her scent as I was now.
Shaking my head, I studied the area instead of getting lost in the pleasant feelings flopping around in me.
The room was big enough, so it left me a heap of space to move quickly in if an attack came from the door.
“Yeah, it’s a good spot,” I told her.
“Are you sure you don’t mind staying in here?”
Facing her again, I cocked my head, a little confused by her question. She wanted me in here. Didn’t she know I’d do anything for her? I’d told her I would. Was she worried this was a chore for me? But this wasn’t hard to do. Being around her was never hard. It made my gut flip-flop, my chest and body warm. I liked the way I felt around her. “You don’t want me outside?” I was sure she’d said that.
“No. I don’t like the thought of anyone sitting in the cold or heat for hours on end just because of me.”
Sweet, soft, gentle.
And beautiful.
My addiction.
My obsession.
“I’ll stay in here,” I said and watched her nod while grinning at me .
How the fuck did I become so lucky to have her smiles aimed my way?
Glancing to the door, I said, “I’ll get the mattress. What about your sister?”
Fuck me . I wished I could talk to her better, like I did with my brothers. Full conversations. None of this short sentences crap. But it seemed she activated my nerves, and I was still learning to relax around such a beautiful, caring soul.
Who wanted me in her room.
Shit.
“She’s already in bed, but I’ll text her and let her know you’re staying in here.”
Nodding, I silently made my way out and into the spare room. There were two single beds. I grabbed the mattress and blankets off the first one and carried it back into her room.
Wrenley was by her bed, out of the way, so I could drop it to the floor. She quickly rushed over to fix the blankets.
“If you want, I can sleep on this?—”
“No.” When she stilled and looked up at me, I realized my tone had been sharp. “Please,” I added. People told me the word was good to use if I fucked up or wanted something really important. I would never take her bed from her. One she was comfortable in. One she was used to.
“Okay,” she said in a hushed tone. She finished straightening the blanket, stood, and then went to her bed to grab a pillow.
When she stopped in front of me, she held the pillow out. “Take this one. I don’t use it.”
“I can get the other one from the spare?—”
“Please.”
My gaze dropped to her lips when she smiled.
Slowly, I reached out and took the pillow, hugging it to my chest.
“Thank you, Torch.”
Brows bunched, I asked, “What for?”
“For being willing to stay in here.”
I’d already told her anything.
Grunting, I tipped my chin up.
She clasped her hands in front of her chin and smiled again. “Well, I guess we should get some sleep. So, um, good night.”
“Okay.”
Okay? I should have said “good night.” I should have said “sleep well.” But I was suddenly tongue-tied, and my gut twisted.
Fuck. What was this? Was it from my obsession with her? Or could it just be nerves from her beauty and kindness that had my body reacting?
As she moved over to her bed, I dropped the pillow to the mattress and pulled off my jacket, boots, and jeans. I got into the bed, lying flat with my hands tucked under my head as I stared up at the ceiling.
I doubted I’d sleep since I was here to watch over her. But it would look better if I acted like it for her sake, so she didn’t think I’d hover over her like a weirdo.
Though, the thought of watching her up close was appealing.
The light switched off, and I heard the rustle of her blankets, which ticked up my pulse.
“Torch?”
Christ. I would never get enough of hearing her voice like that. Sweet and tired and aimed at me.
“Hmm?”
“Um, if… well, please ignore me if I wake up screaming or make noises in my sleep.”
“I have them too.” My confession surprised me, but I couldn’t stop from saying it.
She knew why. She knew everything.
Fuck.
I pressed a couple of knuckles into my temple while I used my other hand to dig my nails into my palm to try and calm.
I shouldn’t have said that. I should have kept my mouth shut.
The urge to bolt rushed through me.
Until her gentle words stopped me.
“It sucks we have them. They make us feel like we’ll never get over what happened. Well, that’s what I feel. But… I also like to believe it’s our minds showing us what we’ve overcome.” She swallowed audibly. “It shows us the hell we’ve been through and that our days from now on can only get better. Even when we have setbacks.” Her breaths deepened. “I’m sorry if I overstepped by saying anything. It’s just?—”
“You haven’t,” I told her quickly.
“Okay…. Night.”
“Good night, Wrenley.”
She was right. From now on, our days would be better.
Especially mine.
I had my Wrenley in my darkened life, lighting it. She’d already accepted me as I was. Even when she knew what I was capable of. She wasn’t ever getting out of having me in her life.
She’d work that out eventually.