Chapter 36 Kratos #2
“You slept with her!” Zander shouts after a minute of silence. His voice is so loud that I have to resist cringing at his sudden outburst. Unfortunately for Trent, Zander stopped right behind him, so he got the brunt of it, and he does cringe away before turning around to glare at him.
“What?” Trent asks, looking back and forth between the two of them as they have a silent stare-down.
Zander looks excited, clapping his hands like someone just told him he’s getting a puppy or something.
Rick, on the other hand, gives nothing away, his face completely void, as if he’s contemplating how to answer him, or possibly how to kill him.
After a few minutes, I assume he isn’t going to answer, but eventually he gives just the tiniest of nods, and it’s like someone made all of Zander's dreams come true.
Zander starts jumping around and fucking losing his shit.
Trent turns to look at Rick for a second before he turns back to Rick’s hand, and I can’t tell if Trent’s upset or if he’s just caught off guard.
Not that it really matters. He knew from the start that she was with Zander, and he’s still been hanging around.
Adding Rick to that shouldn’t be that much of a stretch.
Anyone with eyes could see the way he looked at her, even if he was ready to deny it until he was blue in the face.
Spencer slams his laptop closed, scooping it up and leaving without a word.
He shoulder-checks Zander hard as he passes him, but Zander ignores him as he continues to dance around like a crazy person.
Once he’s gone, Rick’s gaze finally comes to land on me, and I can see the question in his eyes.
I know that Spencer and Jade have problems, and I’m sure he expected this kind of reaction from him, but he’s worried about the rift this could cause.
I give him a nod, letting him know we’re all good. I doubt he would've done anything without Jade’s okay, and if he had. Well, I guess he wouldn’t be down here now, would he? So as long as she’s happy, I’m fine with it.
All at once, Zander stops his dance and runs over to Rick, damn near slamming into him as he tosses his arms over his shoulders and hangs on him. Trent throws him a dirty look that he ignores, looking up from Rick’s hand, clearly annoyed with Zander, but he keeps his mouth shut.
“Where’s Jade?” Zander asks, looking around as if maybe he just missed her. As if she could ever walk into this room and none of us would notice.
“She’s asleep,” Rick huffs, shrugging in an attempt to get Zander off of him. A smile spreads across Zander’s face, and he takes a step back, letting his arms fall at his sides before he quickly heads toward the door.
Rick goes after him, grabbing hold of his arm to stop him. “Where are you going?” he barks at Zander as he tries to wiggle out of his hold with no success.
“I’m going to get my cuddles. The ones I was so rudely denied because Hazel was in her room last night,” Zander tells him with a pout, like it should be obvious, and I roll my eyes.
He gets the most time with her, so he has no reason to pout over one night, but I can’t exactly fault him for it, either.
I would be in her bed every night if I could be.
“No, you're not.” Rick pulls him back to the stools, pushing him down onto one.
“Why the hell not?” Zander protests but stays seated.
“Because she’s in my bed,” Rick says, his voice lower than it was before, as if he’s embarrassed.
Rick is a very private person. The fact that she’s in his room is already something; that he left her alone, well, that’s a whole other thing.
“And you just left her there alone!” Zander shrieks in outrage, pushing to his feet again but not making for the door again.
“Yes! I told her I would come down and get the fucking glass out of my hand, so here I am!” Rick roars, letting me know that Zander has finally pushed him just a little too far.
Zander must sense that too, because he drops back onto the stool.
“Plus, I need to get her something to eat,” he mumbles more so to himself than anyone else, but his concern is clear.
Trent chuckles, and Rick turns his glare to him, but he just holds his hands up and shakes his head. Trent and Rick used to be close, so while that glare works on most people, Trent isn’t one of them. Rick seems to realize this as well and turns his glare back to Zander.
Zander folds his arms, pouting again. “Fine,” he huffs, sitting back down and slouching forward to lay his head on his folded arms. “We're going to need like a schedule or something,” he whines, and though his voice is muffled, I’m sure we all heard him.
Trent snickers but doesn’t stop cleaning Rick’s now mostly glass-free hand.
“Why don’t we just let her decide?” He tosses down the last of the disinfectant wipes and grabs out the gauze to wrap up Rick's hand.
“Unless you're scared she won’t pick you?” he teases, causing Zander's head to whip back up.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he yells, but Trent’s not phased. He just laughs.
“Nothing. I was just saying.”
Zander might not see it, but Trent’s shit-eating grin lets me know he most definitely was trying to get a rise out of him, and of course, it worked. Zander is probably the easiest to mess with, and when it comes to Jade, I imagine it's even easier.
I shake my head at them and push off the counter, headed toward the door. When I pass Rick, I feel his gaze on me, and I imagine he knows where I’m going.
He doesn’t stop me, though.
Smart man.
I make my way upstairs to Rick's room. The door isn’t closed all the way, and I push it open quietly. If she’s asleep, I would rather she stay that way.
Fuck knows she needs it.
“Come to check on me, Daddy?”
Jade says before I’m even fully in the room.
Her voice is low and husky, letting me know she really was asleep at some point.
I stop at the side of the bed, finding her sprawled out with the covers twisted around her waist. She’s wearing a shirt, but I imagine that’s about it.
She’s never been big on clothes when she doesn’t need them.
Closer inspection also tells me it’s not the one she had on in the gym earlier.
“Nice shirt, Killer,” I tell her, nodding down at it. She peels her eyes open lazily before looking down, as if to remind herself of what she’s wearing. A smile lights her face before she brings the material up to her nose to hide behind.
“It’s Rick’s,” she hums, her words getting caught in a yawn as she stretches out like a cat. But I don’t miss her not calling him Roderick.
The blanket gets kicked away, exposing her bare legs, and I drink her in for a moment before I look back up to find her eyes once again closed. I know she’s not asleep just by the way she breathes, but damn, does she look peaceful. I almost feel bad coming up here and disturbing her.
“I figured,” I say, smiling down at her when her eyes flutter open again to look at me, before narrowing when she registers it.
“What?” Jade asks, some of her sleepiness disappearing as curiosity takes its place.
“Nothing,” I say, shaking my head as she continues to watch me.
“I just don’t think any girl’s ever been given Rick’s clothes before.
He’s pretty selective with his appearance, so he’s not normally in the habit of sharing.
” I explain, watching as understanding shines in her eyes, and she smiles up at me.
“And being let into his room, left alone in his bed…”
A pillow hits me in the face a second later, and I grab it before it falls, raising a brow at Jade.
“You're enjoying this entirely too much,” she tells me, sticking her tongue out at me as I toss the pillow back to her.
“Right, I’m such a monster for enjoying seeing you happy.” I roll my eyes, and she laughs. “Though the half-naked in bed is nice, I must admit I would enjoy this more if you were spread out on my bed.”
“Shut up and come here,” she says with a huff, holding out her arms in an invitation for me to join her.
I move forward without thought before I remember this isn’t her room, and this isn’t my time with her.
Rick and Jade have been on shaky ground, and as much as I love time with her, I also don't want to fuck that up for either of them.
I look toward the door, and she follows my gaze. I know Rick won't be much longer. Trent was damn near done with his hand when I left, and it won't take him long to find her something to eat.
I should go.
I only came up here to ensure she was okay, and now I’ve done that.
But walking away from her has never been my strong suit.
“Ricky won’t mind,” she tells me, sounding sure enough that I give in.
“Just until he’s back,” I tell her with a stern look that makes her roll her eyes as I crawl in next to her. She snuggles into my chest even before I’m fully settled.
Such a fucking brat.
She wraps her leg over my waist, and I gather her up close to me, one hand going to her leg while I wrap my other arm around her back, pulling her close.
The feel of her soft skin has me running my hands back and forth over her thigh, and while having her like this might be sexy, the motion is more comforting than anything, not that my dick understands that.
No, everything about Jade makes me hard, so it’s no surprise this would as well.
It only takes a few minutes before her breathing evens out, and I know she’s asleep again. The last few days have been a lot for her. Between Randall, school, the guys, getting sick, and today, she could probably use a week's worth of sleep at this point. Not that she would ever allow herself that.