I shove him, chuckling. “Stop teasing me.”
His arms squeeze me. “I’m not,” he whispers.
My eyes eventually grow too heavy to stay open. I drift off to sleep with Wade spooning me, holding me, and I feel not only warm but also cherished. A little part of my brain wonders if there’s a chance that maybe Wade is feeling the same way I am. Maybe we could really have something special between us. Maybe this isn’t just convenience or survival.
The bigger part of my brain tells me to shut the fuck up and go to sleep. That’s the part that ends up winning.
Chapter Eight
Wade
I wake up slowly,dragged from sleep because of movement against me. I’m so warm and for once, I feel relatively safe. Gods, how long has it been since I’ve felt like this?
It feels like maybe I’m still sleeping. Surely I can’t actually feelgood, not when the world is shit and I’m all alone.
Except, I’m not alone. Not anymore.
I have Briggs.
I don’t even know what that means. Not really. We’ve decided to stick together but are we friends? Are we two castaways trying to survive together? Are we somehow more than that, trauma-bonded for life?
It’s all so confusing but at the same time, being with Briggs feels like the most natural thing in the world. Neither of us wants to do this alone. Did we choose each other? Maybe not, but that doesn’t matter. We’re choosing tostay.
Briggs moves, twitching in his sleep. He makes a soft, barely there noise that sounds so broken it threatens to shatter my heart. I have no idea what he’s dreaming about but it’s not hard to see it’s not something good. His hairline is damp with sweat,his face is scrunched up instead of soft and gentle. I don’t like seeing Briggs like this. He’s always so strong, so soft despite the horrors around us.
“Briggs,” I say as softly as I can. He’s got his arm around my middle, a leg pressed between mine. I run my fingers over his arm, trying to wake him without yanking him from his dream. “Briggs. Wake up.”
Briggs makes another noise at the back of his throat but thankfully, his lashes flutter and his face smooths out. He blinks a few times, the hand around my middle grabbing my shirt and holding on so tight it must hurt his fingers.
“Briggs,” I say again, just as softly. “You’re okay. It was just a dream.”
Briggs lets out a long breath. My hand continues a line up and down his arm, doing my best to chase whatever he’d just dreamed about away. He’s helped me so much since we met. Hell, he literally saved me. Comforting him is the least I can do, but it’s not some bullshit ‘I owe him’ that makes me want to do it. No. I want to comfort him just for the sake of comforting him.
Without realizing it, Briggs has somehow found his way beneath my skin. He’s inside my very chest, resting beside my heart. It’s a surprise but not an unwelcome one. Sure, this only adds to my worries, but it also adds to my joys. A delicate balance of survival and remembering that somehow, despite it all, we’re still alive.
Briggs finally looks up at me, his eyes still a little glassy from just waking up. His hair sticks up at weird angles, his cheek creased from the way he was resting against my shoulder. He’s beautiful.
“Wade,” he breathes out. Briggs closes his eyes, resting his forehead against my shoulder. “Jesus, Wade. Don’t scare me like that.”
“Me? What did I do?”
“It’s not important,” he says, almost so softly I don’t hear it. Thankfully, my werewolf hearing picks it up. “I’m just glad you’re here. You’re okay.”
“I’m here,” I say, wrapping him more thoroughly in my arms. I squeeze him gently, running my fingers over every inch of skin I can find. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You promise?”
My mouth runs dry and my heart speeds up inside my chest. I wish so desperately that I could promise him the world, but I can’t. Not truly. Not in the world we live in.
“I can’t promise that everything will be okay,” I say, my voice breaking. What the hell is happening? Are we really having a heart to heart right now? “I can only promise that I’ll do everything in my power to stay here for as long as I can and to protect you along the way.”
Briggs lifts his head. He’s still shaking the tiniest bit, his voice still strained, but there’s a determination in his eyes. “Good enough for me,” he says before he’s leaning forward and kissing my lips.
I’m so surprised that I freeze, my entire body locking up all at once.
What. The. Fuck.
Briggs starts to pull back, his eyes wide with horror. He opens his mouth, most likely to apologize but I stop him before he can. I bring my hand to the back of his neck, pulling him down into another kiss.
