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A frisson of unease tightened my chest at the look on his face. “What do you mean?”
“I think you know, Pinky.” The set of his mouth turned faintly mocking, not a look I was used to seeing on his face. “Would it have mattered whose arms were holding you last night? Whose lips were kissing you?”
With a sharp gasp, I swung, my palm cracking across his cheek. Stifling my immediate urge to apologize, I made for the door. “I truly expected more of you than that, Baron.”
Swinging open the door, I stalked across the main room with long, angry strides, ignoring the startled looks Galen and Ezra flashed my way. I stormed into my own room, slamming the door behind me. I didn’t even care if they hadn’t cleaned the spiders up yet.
They wouldn’t scare me today, wouldn’t surprise me into revealing my vulnerable parts. Because in order to do that, I’d have to trust them, and that wouldn’t be happening.
Not ever again.
Chapter 27: Ezra
It definitely felt like Monday. I leaned on the counter in front of the coffee maker, waiting for it to brew. I’d had to fix it this morning, and I could never remember the ratio of grounds to water, so hopefully it would taste right.
Jude and Baron were still asleep. I’d peeked in on them after stumbling awake this morning. Baron had been wrapped around her like one of those charger cable huggers, the ones that coiled around and clung to prevent the wires from fraying. I wasn’t sure how she’d managed to sleep.
I wasn’t wholly surprised that the night had ended as it had. I hadn’t known, of course, how deep Jude’s fears ran concerning spiders. Once I’d seen her fear, though, I couldn’t fault Baron for taking charge as he had done. I had a feeling there would be no doubt as to his feelings from this point forward.
The coffee was taking forever. Impatient, I pulled the carafe from the hot plate and poured my cup with what was there. It’d be slightly weaker than usual but more than acceptable.
Pulling my yoga mat out from where I stashed it beside the television, I spread it out and sank down to my knees, setting the coffee beside me after a long swallow. I needed to start with meditation today, while it was still quiet.
I curled myself into lotus position and began breathing. My breath was my anchor. Closing my eyes, I emptied my mind, allowing random thoughts to flit through without trying to control them. The work I’d done on my thesis required tweaking. So far I was disproving my hypothesis, rather than supporting it—although one could argue this was the point.
In. Out.Did Jude have to work tonight? If she did, one of us should go and keep an eye on her.
In. Out.Make sure none of those douchebags there for the wings tried to hit on her or cop a feel.
In. Out.Halloween was approaching. There was an annual bonfire and field party… wonder if Jude would come?
I unfurled my legs after my routine ten minute meditation and went through a swift warm-up sequence. I wanted to try something more complicated this morning. Lowering into a staff pose, I brought my right knee into my chest, placing my foot on the mat, then threaded my right hand around my shin before placing it on the floor. After positioning my left hand beside my left hip, I pressed down into my hands and lifted my hips off the floor. I held that for a second, then lifted both legs, keeping my left leg tucked into the opposite knee and extending the right one. It was a beautiful, difficult pose to achieve, culminating in a work of balance and strength that resembled an elephant’s extended trunk in profile.
I had just settled into position, sweat streaming down my temples, when the door to Baron’s room was flung open and Jude rushed out, her face a storm. She stopped dead when she saw me and I saw her swallow visibly as her eyes tracked my posture. Holding her eyes, I moved fluidly into an eight-angle pose, with both palms flat on the floor, legs extended to the side and elevated.Show off.
“Holy shit,” she said. “That’s… you shouldn’t do that so early in the morning. You might… pull a muscle or something.”
“I’m sure you could help with that, right, Jude?”
She gulped and looked back at Baron. “What the hell is happening around here?” Wrenching her gaze away, she fled, and I lowered myself immediately into a prone position, groaning. From his doorway, I heard Baron chuckle.
“Maybe Gale and I should take up yoga,” he commented mildly.
“You’d never make it past downward dog. Can you even touch your toes?” Baron bent, his fingers hovering somewhere around his ankles.
“That was perfect timing,” he said, straightening and moving into the kitchen. “I’d just told her she had feelings for all of us. She didn’t like it very much.”
I followed him, topping off my coffee and then pulling down Jude’s sloth mug. “Is that what that red mark on your face is about?” I poured her cup and added a few packs of sugar substitute and a generous splash of cream, just like she liked it. Baron nodded and I handed him the mug. “Here. Peace offering.”
“Always knew you were smart.”
Taking the mug from my hands, he carried it over to Jude’s room and tapped on the door. It opened a crack and I saw a suspicious eye peer out before her hand extended and took the mug. She drew it back into the room and shut the door in Baron’s face.
Hmm. This might require more than a cup of coffee.
Chapter 28: Jude
Holy hell, I never imagined yoga could be that hot. I mean, hot, sure. I’d done a hot yoga class or two until I decided it pretty much sucked and I enjoyed air conditioning too much. But hawt? In the safety of my room, I fanned myself.
