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“Well, it’s not just physical sensation, you know?” I close my eyes and think back to my first night lying down beside Grim, and I tell Hope the story. I tell her how Leon had struck him with lightning and how Doc healed him and how Jud told me I had to spend my nights with each of his men and how that first night, I chose Grim because he was unconscious. Hope gets a kick out of that.
“When I first got in bed with him, I was stiff as a board. I mean, he was out of it, and he didn’t have a shirt on, and he was this big, solid, silent man. Like, a grown man, with hair on his chest and everything. And I’m just this twenty-year-old girl. It felt weird.”
Hope nods. “Of course it did! It should have felt weird.”
“But something happened as I lay there. I started paying attention to how he smelled, and how it felt resting my head on his shoulder, and how his heart sounded beating away in his chest. For a long time, I just watched him sleep, and listened to him breathe, and I began to feel so safe. Like, impossibly safe. Even though he was unconscious, I had the feeling that if I was with this man, nothing could ever hurt me ever again.
“Then, morning came, and I had the best sleep I’d had in months, and Grim thought he was dreaming because he can’t touch anyone because of his Gift. And he started touching me. He, like, wrapped me in his arms and petted me, and my body felt things I’d never felt before. Like this tingling way down inside. It’s hard to explain, but it’s that tingling that drives you to want more.
“Have you ever felt tingling with someone?” I ask her.
“Tingling when someone touches me? Yeah, that’s a no.”
“It’s not just touch. It’s, like, when a person walks in the room and you’re happy to see them. It’s when they smile at you or flirt with you. It’s a hundred little things they do that speaks a language only your body can interpret.”
Hope laughs. “Girl, you are so whipped. Do you hear yourself, right now? You’re all smiling and sighing and happy.”
I elbow her. “Shut up. Haven’t you ever had a crush on anyone?”
“I’ve always been working too hard to bother with crushes,” she says.
I yawn and snuggle deep down in the blankets. “Well, now you have six other men plus Justin to share the workload. Maybe it’s time to get crushing.”
Chapter 27
Jud
Six steps. That’show far it is from my lower bunk to the door of the guest bedroom. Blessing the silent hinges, I slip into the hallway. Eight steps takes me to the bathroom me and my guys have been sharing. Five beyond that is the door I’m interested in.
My hands search out the jamb, then the handle. Quietly, I knock twice, crack the door, and listen. I hear nothing. But I know she’s in there. My queen.
“Cora,” I say into the stillness. “Are you awake?”
Of course, she’s not awake. It’s the middle of the night. What time, hell if I know. I can’t read a clock anymore. But I know I’ve been lying in my bunk unable to sleep for hours, turning over the conversation I had with Ghost, or rather, the conversation he had with me. Mostly, he spouted annoyingly wise advice, and I listened.Heh-heh,listening. That’s something I’ve been doing more than usual, lately.
When no response comes, I try a bit louder. “Cora? You awake, kitten?”
Sheets rustle. There’s an intake of breath that tells me I’ve gotten the attention of someone. I hope it’s Cora. Don’t want to scare the new kid on the block. The girl from New Orleans seems standoffish enough without having to interact with me and my gang.
“Cora? It’s Jud, honey. You awake?”
“Jud?” I hear her roll to face to door, and I pinpoint the direction of the bed. “Is that you?”
“It’s me, kitten. You awake?”
Sheets slide on silky skin. She’s getting out of bed.
I smell her before I feel her. She’s had a shower recently, and mellow, flowery wholesomeness wafts up to me. I remember her reaction when Steel and Doc came in from a mini-scavenge bearing feminine things for Cora and Hope, including clothing and toiletries. Both women were over the moon, especially Hope, who hasn’t had any luxuries to speak of since Week Zero. Running and hiding and focusing all your energy on surviving kind of makes it hard to relax and take a bubble bath.
Cora’s hand touches my chest. She’s pushing me gently backward so she can exit the room and close the door silently behind her.
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
I can’t help myself. I drag her into my arms and bury my nose in her fragrant hair. “Couldn’t sleep. Sorry to bother you, but…I need you.” I tense up, preparing for rejection.
But I should have known better.
Cora’s arms go around my waist. She nestles into my chest. “I’m here,” she says, and her hands pet my back.
