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“Like you need a hug,” Grace replied, wrapping her arms around my middle and pressing her cheek between my shoulder blades. I rested my hands over her arms, my thumb brushing the edge of the adhesive on her wrist. I’d shoved some spare bandages in the bag, and made a mental note to change it. “I know it’s a lot of change, and that you’ve been through a lot to get to this point, and even now you’re here, everything has been hard. But please don’t doubt you belong here just as much as the others, okay? You do. You’re where you’re meant to be too.”
I nodded silently. I was where I was meant to be, but was it just fate that put me here?TheFates? Did it matter?
“Get some sleep,” I told her, giving her arms a quick squeeze and twisting back to press a kiss to her temple. Grace pulled back, but instead of moving away completely, her hands came up to cup my face, holding me in place. For a long, quiet moment we looked at each other, and I tried to memorize the unique mix of colors that made up her strange, pale agathos eyes, barely illuminated by the flashlight on the bed.
“I think you feel like you need a kiss too,” Grace whispered. “Am I wrong?”
“Not even a little.”
I could have done with more. It wasn’t the time, and neither of us was really in the mood, but despite my reservations, Iwantedthe bond with Grace more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
But for now, I’d take a kiss and be grateful for it.
The fact that I wanted it so much was probably the biggest warning sign of all.
Grace leaned forward, her lips brushing softly over mine, tentatively exploring me, learning me the way I was learning her. I swiped my tongue over her lower lip, teasing her and tasting the salt of her tears all at once.
Kissing Grace was an entirely different experience—one that wasn’t primarily motivated by arousal. I wanted to kiss Grace because she was Grace, not because I wanted to stick my dick inside her.
Since Grace was feeling more emotionally raw than aroused too, my Philotes instincts were quiet. I was just kissing her as a man, not a daimon, and it wasgood.
Grace’s tongue slid against mine, her movements curious, like she wanted to be playful but didn’t have it in her right now and I totally got that. Nothing about our surroundings lent itself to the idea of ‘playful’.
She pulled back with a soft smile, her gaze dipping to my lips before meeting mine, the longing in her eyes clear.
Longing for me, for more of this, but also fortime. For a moment of peace where we could truly enjoy one another without the weight of the dark, rapidly freezing world pressing in on us.
“Bullet is waiting outside the door,” Grace whispered. “Showing an impressive level of patience and restraint. For him.”
I snorted, brushing one more kiss over her lips. “Come in, Bullet,” I called, reluctantly letting Grace go.
He opened the door quietly, poking his head into the cabin with a bright grin on his face that almost detracted from the dark shadows under his eyes. Eyes that seemed duller than usual, though maybe it was just our shadowy surroundings?
“Hey, B, come lie down. Grace needs a nap buddy.”
Bullet chuckled, climbing onto an angled section of the bed and sliding around me to lie next to Grace. “Cute of you to pretend you’re not worried about me, Dare.”
“Alright, I’ll be blunt about it. You look like shit,” I deadpanned. “Like, really fucking terrible.”
“Stop flattering me, my ego can’t take it.” Bullet swooned into Grace’s lap, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. “How do you cope being surrounded by all these charmers, Grace? Dare over here with his sweet talk, Riot with the absolute filth he spouts, and Wild… who definitely is thinking less than pure thoughts that you can probably sense through the bond.”
“I have no complaints,” Grace laughed softly, sifting her fingers through Bullet’s blonde hair.
“I’ll let you two rest.” I awkwardly crouch-walked to the door. “I’ll let Wild know to come down and join you. Riot and I can take the first shift. I have a lot of questions about this apparent filthy mouth of his.”
Chapter 12
Ifweeverhada home of our own, which seemed unlikely at this stage, I was going to insist on the biggest bed possible. Not that I minded sleeping with Grace sprawled over me the way she was, but it didn’t make for the most restful night. Maybe that was just the incessant rocking of the boat, which I hadn’t found soothing in the slightest. Give me solid ground any day.
I shifted slightly, my head brushing against the top of Bullet’s head on the odd-shaped bed. I wished we could lie next to each other, but there was no way we could fit side-by-side on the narrow mattress, and Bullet had insisted he be the one to sleep by himself since he was so uncuddly at night anyway. When he was in the dreamscape, his body was stiff as a board.
Be grateful,I reminded myself. That the three of us got any time at all together when the world was falling apart was something to be grateful for. As much as I didn’t want to accept defeat, the constant niggling feeling that the darkness would never lift persisted. The idea that these moments where it was just us might be numbered…
I swallowed thickly. It was too terrible to contemplate. The kind of negative thinking that could stop you from getting out of bed in the morning because what was the point?
These moments where Bullet was healthy and Grace wasn’t fighting not to break under the pressure that had been put on her… These moments were precious.
Careful not to wake her, I slid my palm up to cradle Grace’s skull, the roof of the cabin brushing against the back of my hand in the process.
