Page 45 of Tempest’s Torment

I nod and keep eating while he answers.

"Yeah?"

Laughter comes through the speaker before anyone even says hello.

"You move in already?" someone asks.

Tempest sighs. "I'm eating dinner, Savage."

"So you have moved in."

Someone laughs but then Sniper's voice cuts in. "She burn the place down yet?"

"No."

"You sure? I left her with a stove."

"I can hear you," I call across the table, trying not to smile.

There's a beat of silence and then the room on the other end erupts. "Told you she was there," Sniper says.

"Hi, Lilah," someone else calls.

"Leave her alone," Tempest mutters.

Ghost's voice carries over the others. "Everything alright?"

Tempest's expression shifts. "Yeah. Quiet day."

"Good. Rogue's still digging. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Appreciate it." He ends the call before anyone else can get another comment in.

I look up from my plate. "They always like that?"

He shrugs. "Pretty much."

I smile. "I think they like winding you up."

His grin is huge. "They definitely like winding me up."

We finish eating in comfortable silence.

After dinner, I wash the dishes while Tempest dries them without either of us mentioning it. By the time everything's put away, the apartment is quiet again. I make my way around the apartment, checking the locks, the windows, the new bar lock on the fire escape, everything's exactly where Sniper left it. For the first time in a long time, the routine doesn't feel quite so lonely.

When I finish, Tempest's sitting on the couch with a book in his hands. He looks up. "All good?"

I nod. "Yeah."

He nods back and goes back to reading. I watch him for a second. He's made himself comfortable, one arm stretched along the back of the couch, his legs spread out in front of him. I still can't quite believe he's here. He didn't have to stay. I gave him an out more than once and he didn't take it.

My gaze catches on his face. He's handsome, I've always known that, but there's something about seeing him like this, relaxed and comfortable in my apartment, that makes my stomach flutter. I frown. That's new, and I’m not sure what to make of it.

I head to bed a little after ten. I don't expect sleep to come easily, but it does.

CHAPTER EIGHT

tempest