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“Saw that coming,” Roni said with a smirk.“Katie and I will go up top.Molev can get a taste of harem life.”She sniggered at her own joke.
Katie didn’t look amused.She looked tired.
“You okay?”I asked softly before she climbed into her bunk.
“Yeah.Fine.Long day.”
I nodded and was watching her settle into her place beside Roni when I felt a tug on my shirt.I glanced over my shoulder at Molev, who nodded toward the lower bunks.
“Impatient?”I asked.
“Yes.”He hooked an arm around my waist and towed me to the bed.
“All right.All right.”As soon as I settled into place, he curled around me, the weight of his arm comforting on my waist.
Molev’s patience and flexibility had limits.I’d seen that for myself in his interactions with Patrick and the general, and I should have been watching for the signs that he’d reached that place with me.
Unless I proved that I hadn’t just received his message but would embrace it, he would be unrelenting in his stubbornness.Would he even be willing to give an inch if I showed I wasn’t retreating, though?
Did I care if he did or didn’t?My pulse started to race at the memory of that kiss and the way he’d kept insisting until I gave in.I knew initiating a kiss would show him I’d heard.But would he still stop if I said so?
I rolled over under his arm.He watched me, his gaze more wary than hungry, and I almost smirked.He knew something was up.
He didn’t do anything when I stroked his cheek lightly with my fingers.But when I started tracing his scars, one by one, he closed his eyes and grabbed my hand.
“Go to sleep,” he rumbled.
I stretched a little and kissed his chin.
“Goodnight.”
He opened his eyes and considered me.
Tugging my hand free, I went back to tracing his scars.There were so many of them.Most faded to almost nothing.I found one that disappeared into his hairline, which distracted me.His hair was coarser than mine but still silky to the touch.I ran my fingers through it a few times and accidentally brushed his ear.
His pupils rounded, devouring the vivid green of his irises as his eyes narrowed on me.
I stretched again, and this time, he dipped his head to capture my lips.He kissed me tenderly despite the suspicion I’d seen in his gaze and didn’t fight to maintain the kiss when I pulled back a few minutes later.
Without a word, I closed my eyes and snuggled against him.His hand lightly stroked my back then stilled when his lips brushed my forehead.
That was it.No complaint.No pressure for more.
He’d accepted what I’d given him and had let me decide when it had been enough.It helped define the line between retreating and stopping.
Content, I drifted off to sleep.But it didn’t feel like I’d slept long enough when Molev woke me with a hand on my shoulder.
“Patrick said we need to leave within the hour.Do you want more sleep or a chance to eat?”
“Eat,” I said, already sitting up.
The bunks above us shifted, and I knew Roni and Katie had heard as well.
“We’re coming too,” Katie said.
Roland, Brandon, Steve, and Sid started moving as well.
It was still dark out when we headed toward the mess hall, but personnel were still moving around out there.Patrick was speaking to someone near our Stryker.He didn’t stop us from going to the mess when he glanced our way, though.We ate quickly and returned to the yard just in time.
