Chapter 3 #3
I eye Harley as I grimace. “He was pissed about my friend showing up here. We argued about it and then he drank himself to sleep.”
He stares at me for a second, his face frustratingly unreadable. “Harley said he goes by ‘the Butcher’… that guy is your friend?”
The quiet horror in his tone catches me unaware and I swallow too much at once, almost choking to death before I manage to nod, my eyes watering.
“He’s a good guy, no matter what you’ve heard about him.
He’s always had my back and now—fuck, I don’t want to talk about it.
It’s about the Twelve and I don’t even want to think about any of that shit right now.
I’d rather we call Ash and Aves later so I can tell all of you at once. ”
I’m not expecting it to be that easy but after hesitating for a second, Blaise finally lets it go with a nod and turns back to the TV.
The silence is comfortable, he’s wrapped around me without an inch of tension in his body, but all of my focus stays on him.
He’s good about ignoring the looks I’m throwing him, not even a little subtle about my shock that he’s giving me an out on this, but his eyes are a little hazy anyway, like his mind is a million miles away.
When I finally finish my food, he takes the empty plate from me and sets it down before he bundles me back into his side, pulling me in closer to his body until I’m practically draped over him. His fingers dance over the strip of skin bared between my tank top and booty shorts.
When he turns to murmur in my ear, his breath dances down the side of my neck.
“I thought you were supposed to be jumpy, Mounty? Harley made it sound like you’re sleeping with a knife under your pillow or something.
Did he try to get you naked the second he got down here? He always was an impatient dick.”
I blush at the seductive drawl in his tone even as I roll my eyes at their typical antics.
“He already knew how much experience I don’t have, so it wasn’t anything like that, I just…
needed a minute to let my guard down again and seeing it rattled him, I guess.
I can’t help it; this place does things to me. ”
Blaise nods again and dips down to kiss my throat on the soft patch of skin right under my jaw that I’ve discovered sends me wild.
I shiver when his tongue and teeth join the mix, his lips moving slowly down until he’s nibbling on my shoulder.
My head falls back as I sigh, my eyes slipping shut, and I want to kiss him senseless for being the best distraction I could’ve ever asked for.
When it’s clear I’m way more into this than the movie, he cuts it off and takes me to bed instead, kissing me slow and sweet, until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. I’m so fucking glad he’s here, and I’m not going to let the morose idiot out of my sight until I’m sure he’s okay.
Sometime after midnight Harley joins us and grunts when his shins hit the bed frame in his stumbling. I roll over in Blaise’s arms to face him as he slides into the bed beside us, the glow of the alarm clock on the bedside table illuminating him enough to see the frown.
“The fuck is he doing here?” he whispers and I shrug, exhaustion seeping out of every inch of me.
When he raises his eyebrows at me, I murmur quietly, “His dad’s a shitty human. Are you still angry? I’m too tired to hash this out and I can’t sleep with rage in the air; it gives me heartburn.”
Harley grumbles under his breath then kisses me, tasting minty and clean.
I kiss him back for a second before I break away.
I won’t let him distract me with his tongue, talented as it is.
“I told you I’m getting away from the Jackal, and I meant it, but I can’t just stop being the Wolf.
It’s not that simple. If it’s too much for you—”
He cuts me off, his hard tone unwavering even at a whisper.
“I can handle it, don’t freak out on me again.
This isn’t about you being the Wolf; I want you safe and away from that psycho fuck who thinks he owns you.
I’m not worried about getting my hands dirty, or what protecting you will take.
I’m just getting my head around who’s a danger and who’s not because let’s be real, the Butcher is a demon.
I’m going fucking crazy thinking about how shitty things must have been for you if you’ve met him.
If you’ve become friends with him. But I trust you. I’m all in.”
I squint at him in the dark, but he just stares back at me, steady and sure, until I nod slowly.
He cups my cheek gently, drawing me in for another quick kiss, before he settles himself against the pillows properly and falls asleep.
It takes me an extra minute but, tucked snuggly between the two of them, I sink calmly into oblivion.
Playing house with Harley and Blaise is ridiculous, and a danger to my health.
The twins have to wait another week before they can join us, with only a couple of nights in the city together before we head back to Hannaford. Blaise is smug as fuck about it, and Harley thinks it’s hil-fucking-arious and stops taking Ash's calls, just to piss him off even more.
They make a game of taunting Ash with random photos and videos of me in compromising positions.
Half of them are stupid, the other half make me blush furiously and lock myself in the bathroom.
I lose my cool with Blaise after he steals my phone to send fake sexts, and I break his phone against a wall in retaliation.
He’s fucking loaded so he barely even shrugs about the loss.