Lark and Story leave while the rest of us stand in one of the bedrooms.
Mickey grins. “Oooh, it’s a four dudes and one bed situation.”
“It’s actually a two-bed situation, one of which Torin and I are crawling into,” Riley says as he drops his bag on the bed and unzips it.
“Oh no, Vero, what will we ever do with one bed and two people?” Mickey asks.
Vero’s look tells him that there will be no problem at all because he will be taking the bed all for himself.
Riley sets something in my hand. It vaguely reminds me of his tippy-tappy box he calls a “cell phone” but is definitely different. “These are called walkie-talkies,” he says as we each get one. “It’s set to the correct channel. All you have to do is press this button on the side to talk to each other, okay? Easy as that. So if any of you need someone else, and you’re not with us, this will work within a five-mile radius.”
“How far is five miles?” I ask. “Like if you stacked someone in the missionary position, how many missionary positions would it take to reach five miles?”
“What the fuck is happening?” Vero demands.
Mickey smiles at Vero with an “I got this” expression. “English isn’t his first language, so Riley taught him English using porn.”
Riley’s face heats up and I won’t lie… I love it. “I did not teach him that!” His eyes narrow and he switches to Shaarunen. “You are a monster. You are loving this.”
“Of course I am,” I say, switching as well so only he can understand what I have to say. “I also love the idea of doing missionary with you.”
“So that’s what you’re thinking about?”
“Of course it is.”
Mickey sighs. “And then they switch to their cool language to talk about us.”
“Back to what I was explaining,” Riley says in English, as if he can ignore what I told him. “DO NOT change the channel. I repeat, do not change the channel. Torin, I literally wrote right on here, ‘Do not touch.’”
“Why is mine the only one with writing?” I ask.
He disregards my very valid question. “The number at the bottom is what channel it should be on in case you ignore my instructions,” Riley says, looking at me again. Why do I feel singled out?
I press a different button and hear it crackle to life. I kind of like it, so I smile and push it again.
“The button you’re pushing allows you to talk to us. But you have to hold it while you talk.” Riley demonstrates holding it down. “Andthenyou talk. Make sense? When you let go, we can no longer hear you. We can only hear you when you’re holding down the button. Now if someone else is talking, you have to wait until they’re done speaking to hold down the button and talk.”
I hold down the button and go, “Got it.” Riley looks rather pleased. It’s very cute and makes me smile.
“Perfect. Any questions from anyone? Just don’t forget that it’s loud. So like… if we’re abducted by the asshole brigade, don’t give away the walkie-talkie by blurting something through it.”
“I would never do such a thing,” I claim.
Mickey raises an eyebrow. “Suuure. Riley, you look like shit, so why don’t you get cleaned up first and the rest of us will take turns after you.”
“Thanks,” Riley says. “I would fight you on that, but I’m so physically and mentally exhausted that I feel like I might drop dead at any point.” He heads off, and I gather clothes from our bags before rushing over to join Riley. He’s shirtless, sitting on the edge of the tub with his eyes closed when I walk in, clearly hard at work. His eyes snap open when he hears me, and Kit turns her head to look at me from where she’s sitting next to him.
“I’m hurrying,” he says.
“Speedy for sure.” I smile as I take the washcloth from him and begin wiping the blood and dirt dried on his face. His plunge in the pond earlier today had only smeared the blood across his face, so I gently wash his face and arms. Once the top half of him is clean, I pull him up and undo his pants. I’m actually quite pleased I get to pamper him, even if he’s three-quarters asleep for most of it. I’d gone too long without him, so getting to have him in front of me where I can feel him, touch him, and love him… just delights me.
“You are giving me such big heart eyes right now that I don’t even know what to do with them,” Riley teases.
“I really missed you,” I murmur, brushing a thumb under the bruise on his cheek. “It made me so anxious to trust them and wait. Keeping myself from just plowing straight in to get you back was the hardest thing.”
“I bet it was,” he says as he tilts his head into my hand and closes his eyes. I assume he just like… wants to feel my hand onhis face until his head starts to get heavier and heavier, making me realize he’s asleep. I help him dress, then scoop him up and carry him into the bedroom that Mickey and Vero aren’t in. I tuck him in bed, making sure the hourglass is pressed against his bare chest.
“What’s that?” Vero asks, and I turn to see that he and Mickey have made their way over here. It takes me a moment to figure out that he’s talking about the stains on Riley’s skin. They’ve gotten significantly worse since I first met him. It makes me want to bundle him up and carry him home where I can protect him… but the horsemen and the god have proven that even that isn’t enough.
