Chapter 10 ~ #2
Fuck it. I reach for his hand and he squeezes it, taking a shaky breath. His hand and warmth envelopes me as he shifts closer. I lay my head on his shoulder, silently telling him I’m here for him. He leans his head against mine.
Not even a few minutes later, his grip on my hand softens, his breathing grows steady.
Content just laying here to let him sleep peacefully, I start thinking about the home I’ve found myself in.
. . .
Fingers brushing my cheek pulls me out of sleep. I lay there for a while, happy letting this feeling of security wash over me.
“Butterfly,” is whispered to me, echoing through my mind.
My eyes open, locking on Luc’s green irises.
He’s on his side, propped up with one arm. His fingers continue brushing soft strokes down my cheek.
He’s smiling sleepily but the bags under his eyes are gone. Luc has been devilishly handsome since I met him but he’s almost radiant now he’s not looking so tired.
“Hey,” I murmur, he continues smiling.
I roll onto my side, ending up a lot closer to him. My heart skips a beat when his hand moves from my cheek to rest on my hip.
I take the opportunity to examine him. After everything he told me…I'm worried about him.
He looks lighter? As though telling me took some weight off his shoulders. Or at least I hope so.
His features are a rich, dark golden tan. I guess 'The Slayer' spends a fair bit of time in the sun.
I'm not 100% sure I've processed all that yet.
Those green eyes are bright and radiating with mischief, no longer dulled by the dark bags that have since disappeared from under them.
“Mase was right,” he says. I tilt my head in silent confusion.
“You are an angel,” he tells me, matter of factly. I feel myself start to go red. My eyes shift until they're on the wall behind him.
“You’re blushing,” Luc grins.
“Shut up,” I mumble. Why did he have to point that out? Ignorance is bliss. Doesn't he know that?
“You’re bright red. You know that was a compliment, right?” Luc teases.
“Yes, I know that.” I beg him to leave me alone.
“You blush when you’re complimented.” Luc smirks. He just cannot let it go.
“Thanks for that great observation, Captain Obvious.” I scowl at him.
My breath hitches when he leans forward, placing a kiss on the corner of my mouth. I try not to think about it, how good it feels when he smiles softly with an emotion I'm not ready to describe before rolling out of bed.
“Come on. The guys have been to the door three times in the last ten minutes,” Luc informs me. “They’re worried about you.”
That pops my ignorance bubble.
“Why didn’t you wake me when you woke up?” I walk around the bed to the door, picking up my book on the way.
Luc doesn’t answer, avoiding my eyes. He mumbles something I don’t catch as we walk through the hall.
“What?” I frown.
“You’re really fucking cute when you’re sleeping!” Luc throws his hands up like ‘what can you do?’
I snicker and follow him into the garage. Holy hell. I’m instantly met by a shirtless Dominic who turns away from my car when he hears our footsteps.
“Hey, Sweetheart,” he drawls in his perfect southern accent, not helping me at all.
What is it with these guys? My eyes trail down golden tanned skin and the ridges of his abs. They’re all so fucking hot.
He has broad shoulders and a big frame but it's pure fucking muscle. He's slightly taller than the rest although the twins are pretty close to him in height.
“Hey,” I say, eventually pulling my eyes away from his body, meeting his smirk with a shrug.
A bang and a yelp has me looking over at Maverick, Mason and Jace who are gathered around my car.
Dominic scowls and I hurry to follow him.
“Stop touching shit,” Dom growls—legit growls. I cannot deal with these guys, everything about them has me self combusting with heat.
Wait. What are they doing with my car? I peek around Dom and see the bonnet open.
“Is there something wrong with my car?” I frown. The guys all turn around, hearing my voice.
“Nah, we’re just checking a few things,” Maverick tells me, slinging an arm around my shoulders and Mason kisses my cheek.
Jace watches our interaction with a cheshire grin. I narrow my eyes on him and he winks, leaning against the hood of my car.
“I’m checking a few things. You dickheads are getting in my way,” Dominic says halfheartedly to the twins.
Dominic goes back to…whatever he’s doing, with the twins looking over his shoulder, giving their input. It’s intriguing watching their group dynamic.
Luc and Jace end up leaning against the wall watching them and talking, I’m assuming about what Luc just told me. Every now and again his eyes flick over to me as if to check I’m still here with a gentleness that warms my soul.
I look around and find Alec sitting at the workbench reading. Seeing the guys totally focused on my car, I decide to go sit and read with Alec.
His eyes flick up and down quickly before he seems to double back like he didn't quite see me properly the first time.
“Hey,” Alec rests the book in his lap.
“Don’t stop on my account,” I hurry to tell him, holding up my own book. He smiles, looking excited for whatever reason.
“So Luc told you?” Alec confirms after we’ve been reading a while.
I look up and nod. "Yeah, he did." I lower my book.
"What do you think?" Alec asks, tapping his fingers on the bench. He's nervous, anxious even.
"I'm not going to run away screaming if that's what you're thinking," I tell him, smiling so he knows I'm not worried.
"He understands it's probably a lot for you to deal with," Alec says, his eyes flicking across the room to Luc.
"I know," I tell Alec. "But I'm fine. It was a shock," I admit, "but he's still Luci. A lot more dangerous than I thought he was initially," I add, "but knowing who he is, what he's capable off…doesn't change the person he is."
For some reason, my words don't seem to reassure him. There's almost a pain in his eyes, hearing what I say. He looks as though there's more he wants to say, like it's on the tip of his tongue. Alec swallows, nodding before he goes back to reading.
It takes me a while to recover. Was that the wrong thing to say? Should I be more worried about this—about Luci than I actually am? I don't think I can. I don't want to be that oblivious person who misses all the signs but I trust him. He saved me, when he didn't have to. I won't forget that.
Besides, I know a few people that someone on the outside would think I’ve lost my mind to be associated with.
I find myself smiling when I get to a certain part of the book. I've read this particular series before and it never disappoints. It's exactly what I need right now.
"They have the exact same expression," Mason says loudly. I tear my gaze away and realise he's talking about Alec and I. The guys have all turned, hearing Mason's exclamation.
"Huh?" I say, eloquently.
"What?" Alec says at the same time.
"You two. You have the same look on your faces when you read," Mason says, waving a spanner around.
I look at Alec and find him looking at me. We both shrug and go back to reading. The guys who had been absorbed in my car laugh loudly.
I sneak a peek over at Alec a few minutes later and see him smiling at the pages.
The guys talk loudly about something to do with cars and I find myself losing focus. It happens a few times before I give up.
"My car cannot be that interesting." I scowl at them for interrupting my reading.
"Come on," Alec tells me. "We'll go somewhere quieter." I give him a grateful smile and follow him through the house onto the verandah. He bypasses the tables and chairs leading me to a daybed on the other end of the verandah.
"I don't remember this being here," I question Alec once we're comfortable.
I really need to call Hannah. I haven’t spoken to her since she left and briefly on the phone but I’d like to check in with her. She’s been amazing to me and I’ll never forget her wisdom and advice.
"We got it for Luc so he wasn't cooped up inside. Clearly, it wasn't enough because he still walked to that clearing." Alec scowls and I hide my smile.
I look at the dark paper that's covering his book.
"What are you reading?" I ask him, gesturing to it.
He seems to freeze momentarily before a nervousness travels over him.
"You know at dinner last night," Alec starts tapping his fingers on his leg, "you, Rylan and Hannah were talking…" He trails off and lets me fill in the blanks.
"You knew what we were talking about," I state and Alec nods.
Fuck! What if he thinks that I think it will apply to the guys? I'm not ready to lose them yet.
"Alec, I, um," I stumble over my words, "I just like reading them. It doesn't mean I think…" My words trail off when I see Alec pulling off the paper cover on his book.
"What are you doing?" My question is answered when Alec holds up the cover.
My hands shake a little as I take it from his outreached hand.
My mouth drops open. I look up at him, seeing his sheepish grin before reading the blurb.
'Why choose?' Is in big bold letters at the top.
"When you have a group like ours," Alec pulls me out of my staring, "dating often puts a strain on our family. If someone dates one of the guys, they break up and then decides to date someone else in the group, it gets messy. We're one big family and relationships can destroy that."
Alec's watching me carefully but I'm still too shocked to have a reaction.
"Polygamorous relationships are common in a lot of cultures and I've mentioned a few times to the guys that it could be a possibility. If we found the right girl," Alec adds. He continues tapping on his leg in a fast rhythm.
I realise he's waiting for me to say something.
"Uhh, yeah," I tell him, nodding. "That makes sense."
Alec's giving me a secretive smile like my answer has confirmed something.
He tugs my book from my hands, my usual response to people reading the blurbs of my books dies after that conversation.
"That sounds interesting," Alec says, smiling as he hands it back.