“Lie down and go to sleep,” Gunnar orders. His eyes are closed, but he still manages to drag me back down to the mattress and tuck me right back where I was.
“Yeah, right,” I mutter under my breath. I’ll just wait for them to fall asleep and sneak out. Idea formed, I close my eyes and match my breathing to Calix’s. He turns over and curls his ass tight up against the curve of my body. I’m forced to put my arm over his waist or let the blood flow between us get cut off.
Calix grabs my fingers and holds them to his chest. Leaning his head down, he kisses my knuckles and lets out a soft sigh. Instead of worrying about how sexy it is to be pinned between them, I think about the way Gunnar’s body is softening behind me, and the little sigh of contentment that Calix just let out.
What was it like for them, knowing there was someone out there that was supposed to be their match, the one person that would make them feel whole? I’m not sure I believe in the fated thing, but they seem to believe it wholeheartedly. I mean, Grim never even slept with anyone else.
I think about how much I craved my parents’ attention when I was younger, how I would have done just about anything if it meant they would acknowledge me, and tell me I wasn’t crazy for seeing and talking to the monsters that visited me.
I think about how lonely I felt when no one would visit me for days on end. How isolated I became, because I felt so removed from everyone in the real world. Did they feel the same when only standing next to people? Alone in a crowd?
I think about Grim’s visits and him feeding me, about how many times I found a new stone sitting in my bathroom, on my kitchen counter. My hand flexes over Calix’s flat stomach. He said he stayed away so that he would never have to leave once he was able to be with me.
They were biding their time, waiting for something they didn’t even know was going to happen. I’ve been adrift in a sea of loneliness that I never dared hope could change. Yet here I am, surrounded by them.
Which of us had it worse? Those thoughts and so many others circle around in my head until eventually, the darkness of sleep pulls me under.
Chapter 24
“Why did you let me sleep so late?” I growl. I’m not cheery when I first wake up. Add to that the fact that I went to bed with my hair still damp so I look like some 1980’s video girl, and I am definitely not a happy camper.
All three guys pretend to be busy, or just outright ignore me. With jerky movements, I wrangle my hair back and snarl, “I’m not taking a shower,” like it’s an actual threat.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Grim’s lip curl up before he tamps it down. Too late—I already saw it. “What are you smiling at, Loverboy?” Grim looks down and doesn’t fight the grin this time.
Calix’s head lolls on his shoulder, and he looks over at me. “He’s being cocky,” he accuses.
I narrow my eyes. “How so?” I wrap a hair band around my high ponytail, and it tames the top of my hair, but, oh my, it’s the opposite of sleek. I give up caring.
Grim peers up at me from under his brow and reaches down to adjust himself. “I’m still on your skin, shower or not.” He licks his bottom lip. The sexy rat bastard. It’s worse because he probably doesn’t even know it.
“Anyone with any sense of power would know he was with you.” Calix pushes his hands down his thighs as his knees start to bounce.
“Why are you so talkative today?” I ask Calix, as he tugs at his shirt collar.
“He’s aroused,” Grim supplies with a narrow-eyed glare at Calix. A little tit-for-tat this evening it seems, as Grim rats out Calix just as Calix did to him.
“Like that’s news.” Calix rolls his eyes, but his knees continue to bounce.
“Well, is something else bothering you then?” I lower myself onto my bed.
“No.” Calix rolls his lips in and shakes his head.
I hold up my hands in surrender. I’m not going to force him to talk to me. He will if and when he wants to.
I turn away from him and look at Gunnar, who’s been relatively quiet. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?” I glance at the clock, noting that, even though I was complaining, it’s still early. I bet Vanessa’s not at the club yet, which is good. I’d rather catch her where we can’t be interrupted again.
“I think we should just confront her with what we know now. Vanessa is cunning. If we give her too much time, she will cover her tracks if she is, in fact, involved with the deaths, which I think she is.” Gunnar’s jaw is set firm. I think admitting Vanessa was able to do some shady shit on his watch has put a dent in his pride.
“Sounds good to me. We can make her talk.” I examine my fingernails, thinking about all the things Aeson taught me about interrogation. I feel a pang in my chest. Ineedto find her.
“Travel might be an issue,” Grim muses, his voice back to cool and collected. “I’m not being called to her, and I don’t know her residence.”
“I have my bike here, so Dami can ride with me while you two take her car,” Calix offers.
“Oh no, no, no.” I shake my head before anyone can agree. “You guys don’t know Betty, and she’s a bit finicky.” Plus, no one else has ever driven my car.
Gunnar lets out a long-suffering sigh. “Her car is only a two-seater anyway,” he adds, and ignores my protests.
