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Lynn had been right. Only a couple moments had passed since Cilya had left her side, but Dovia was already showing signs of distress. Her lips parted as little whimpers escaped her. One arm emerged, fingers fisting on the covers.
Daegan's gaze shifted to Rand. He'd figured it out, too. It wasn't likely a vampire she barely knew could bring her much comfort. Cai might be a passable second, but he suspected Lynn had said Dovia had asked about both of them just to be courteous.
Not likely. You underestimate what the girl feels toward you, vampire. Rand moved toward the bed.
Cai let it lie, but stayed at the stairs, watching him. Good thing they went with a full-sized bed. You wouldn't fit on a twin by yourself, let alone with her, no matter how petite she is.
No twin beds in the house, Rand responded. Shifters rarely sleep alone. Giving wolves from the same litter separate beds while they're growing up is a waste of money.
Rand slid in behind Dovia. He wore the shorts but nothing else. She immediately turned toward him, flattening herself against his broad chest, fingers curling in his chest hair.
Cai noted the two cots near Daegan's. Lynn might not be comfortable having him here, but she was a good hostess. However, she might have saved the effort with Daegan, since Cai was pretty sure the Council's pit bull was genetically engineered not to sleep, ever. If he did, it would be long after Cai had to succumb to the pull of the oncoming daylight. Damn age difference. He wondered where Gideon was, and then realized the obvious; the male would be the topside lookout during daylight hours.
He moved toward one of the empty cots, but Rand's thought stopped him.
There's plenty of room over here, if we stay close together. Wolves don't often have nightmares. Another benefit of sleeping together as a pack. I think it works on other species as well.
Cai turned back toward his servant. Do I look like the type that gets nightmares?
Stupid thing to say since yes, Rand had seen him have nightmares, but Cai had had a long day.
I think it has been a very long day and night. I would like you to be closer. If you are willing to indulge me.
A clingy and needy wolf. Great.
But as a smile touched Rand's lips, his steady eyes serious and knowing, Cai came to the bed. There was enough room for three, if they were as close as Rand and Dovia were now. I don't want to upset her.
You won't. You didn't see the two of you enter the water together, or the way she looked at you after you helped return her babe to the heavens. From that moment forward, she knew your heart. She'll recognize it as she rests. The two of us will make sure she can sleep peacefully. Take off your shirt. She'll need the heat.
Cai met Rand's gaze. The wolf was merely stating the truth, but the slight twitch to his lips said he wouldn't mind the view. Cai found that gratifying and arousing, though he squelched the latter since...well, obviously inappropriate timing.
Asshole.
Rand's lips stretched into a deeper grin, but his eyes fell shut. Cai climbed into the bed on the other side and slid in close to Dovia's back. He wondered if they should have told Daegan what they were about. If he thought Cai was taking advantage of her vulnerable state, he'd likely skewer him. But Daegan hadn't moved.
He understands what we're doing and is pleased with how much we care for her welfare.
You can get all that from his scent?
Rand nodded. "Pretty much." He had his arms around Dovia's lower back and shoulders, so Cai draped one of his own over her, resting his hand on Rand's hip, the other tucked under his own head as he considered the male. He thought of how Rand had chased him down in the forest. Then he saw the shifter's expression tighten, the lingering smile gone. He was thinking of Cai wounded again, nearly baked by the sun.
"Hey," Cai said quietly, making the male open his eyes. "You did what you were supposed to do. You got her out of there. And you came back for me. Plus, none of the wolves were hurt."
"Thanks to you and your plan to divert attention. Though we didn't anticipate you'd turn it into a match of honor with your old nemesis." Rand had his hand on Cai's leg. The touch was welcome, though he'd never thought of himself as a touchy-feely person.
Maybe because you've never been able to indulge the pleasure. You may be more of a pack animal than you think, vampire.
If you're going to insult me, I'm going to go sit next to Daegan. Mimic his stoic samurai pose until I irritate the fuck out of him and he goes to sleep.
Or he kills you and we end this night as we expected. Dead.
Cai lifted his gaze to Rand's. Because he wanted to do so and couldn't think of a reason to deny himself, he curled his fingers against the shifter's hip, hooking his thumb in the waistband of the loose shorts. "I couldn't have done it," he admitted quietly.
If our positions were reversed, I couldn't have left you, Rand, knowing what they might do to you. Dovia... I would have given her a head start, told her which way to go, maybe. And we would have both died. Dovia probably, too. You were the smart one.
"Well," Rand said after a long moment. "One of us has to be."
Cai snorted, but he could feel the male's reaction to his words. A big, gushing emotional surge that would have discomfited Cai and made him regret his admission, if Rand hadn't tempered it with the mildly insulting comment. Probably why he'd done it. The wolf got him. A useful thing in a servant, right?
Another silence ensued. Cai had no idea how much Daegan was listening, but the hell with it. He needed to speak aloud before he said more stupid things in his head. "Fane and his pack want you to stay with them, you know."
Rand's eyes had fallen shut again during their pause. They didn't open now. "Sshh. Go to sleep."
"Did you really just ssh me?"
The curve to Rand's lips deepened, his lashes fanning his cheeks. "I did. Sleep, vampire. Now's not the time for talking."
He didn't think Rand was wrong, but him setting the terms were kind of annoying. He'd take him to task for that when he woke. Much later.
As Cai closed his eyes and let out a long, relieved breath, Rand's hand moved to rest briefly on his jaw, his fingertips slipping through Cai's hair, a soft stroke, before he returned his palm to Dovia's back, his knuckles resting against Cai's chest.
Yeah, Rand needed a pack. Needed to stay with family who could appreciate that kind of stuff. Because Cai really wasn't a touchy-feely kind of guy
. No matter how good Rand's touch felt. Cai didn't take another breath, because the motion only rubbed the jagged edges of the thought against his insides in a way he didn't like. Rand was right. Now wasn't the time for talking, even to one's self.
Maybe especially to one's self.
Chapter Seventeen
Humans talked about the three a.m. hour being when demons would most likely walk on their grave, wake them with worries. From Cai's struggle with nightmares, Rand had surmised it was between one and two in the afternoon for vampires, when the sun had settled into its peak time.
Dovia was below ground and protected physically, but the hour still had the power to bring unrest to her that even their proximity couldn't keep at bay. Though Cai had said it would be hard to rouse a vampire so young at that hour, no matter how deep below ground she was, obviously terror had the power to yank her from that rest.
She woke fighting, thrashing, hissing, her cries echoing through the cellar. Between them, Cai and Rand brought her fully awake, helped her realize she was safe, and with them. Even so, in those first volatile moments, Rand wouldn't have been surprised if she'd tried to shove them out of the bed or bolted from it herself. He could tell Cai was as ready as he was to give her enough room she wouldn't feel trapped, while doing their best to keep her from accidentally harming herself.
However, she started to calm without exiting the bed. As she relaxed inside the span of his arms, Rand crooned to her, rubbed her back. When she settled, Cai likewise adjusted himself back onto his pillow and folded arm. He ran his hand lightly up and down her arm, over her shoulder and hair.
Lynn and her daughters had trimmed it, evening up the chopped section so it was neat, shoulder length on one side. On the burned side, they'd buzzed it evenly. Rand vaguely recalled the style from a couple of the magazines the women had lying around upstairs. A deliberate close crop buzz over one delicate ear, a straight fall of hair over the other. All she needed was a dainty nose ring or a rose shoulder cap tattoo. Greenwald would love that.
