AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He only grunted in response, unwilling to give Connie any ammunition for her You need rest mission. As the truck lights flashed twice in quick succession, he stopped beside it, calculating how to get Caera off his back without letting her slip.
“I got her.” Jasper said gruffly, plucking the now significant weight of her away from Saul with ease. “Get in the back and I’ll pass her to you. Might as well let her stretch out for the entire two minute journey.”
Without protest, Saul climbed onto the rear seat of the truck, gently cradling Caera’s head, then her neck and shoulders, as Jasper hoisted her through the open truck door. She never stirred, which he was thankful for, and Saul simply closed his eyes as the door closed.
The vehicle rocked slightly as Connie and Jasper climbed into the front and shut their doors, then the engine rumbled to life. He could hear them talking quietly, but couldn’t catch the words.
The past week, the long drive, the phenomenal weight on his shoulders inevitably caught up with him. With his fingers stroking Caera’s head, he found it difficult to open his eyes again, even though he felt his head nodding towards his chin.
It wouldn’t hurt anyone to just close his eyes until they got back to Connie’s, right?
*
Caera woke up splayed over the top of a big, warm body.
It didn’t take long to realize she was undeniably naked.
So was Saul.
Oh boy. She couldn’t remember much after climbing onto his back and letting him carry her through the dark, which made her current situation a mystery. Every night when they went to bed, Saul always wore underwear. It was like he used it as a secondary defense in case he lost control in the night.
That defense was no longer in place, and she could feel the hot length of him—incredibly erect despite the fact he was still asleep—resting along the crease where her thigh met her pelvis.
To move or not to move, that was the dilemma.
Staying where she was, naked, would inevitably lead to what she desired most, but after last night and the maelstrom of emotions she’d almost succumbed to, adding a heavy layer of sex probably wasn’t the smartest idea.
Ever so slowly, expecting Saul’s hands to grab her at any moment, Caera did her best to slide off him without waking the beast. They were in a strange bed, in an unfamiliar room, which was starting to become a really bad habit—first the cabin, now here, she needed to be more careful where she went to sleep.
She didn’t take a full breath until her bare feet planted firmly on the soft carpet. A blush rose up her neck and into her face as she saw her discreet exit off the bed had pulled the covers with her, exposing a considerable amount of skin…and that rather intimidating appendage.
Delicately, bracing her knees on the edge of the mattress, she leaned over and tried to rearrange the duvet over him so that all of his best assets weren’t on display.
Satisfied, Caera straightened and turned to find her clothes. As she shuffled around, movement in the corner of the room dragged her attention to the imposing shadow slowly rising from a chair. She slapped a hand over her mouth just in time to muffle her scream as Thane stepped forward, pressing his forefinger to his lips.
Feeling a little weak in the knees, she stumbled back a step, watching his every move. Her heart tangoed in her chest, her breath whistling between her fingers.
Thane scooped something off the footboard, spreading it wide as he approached her in the same way she’d seen people on the TV move toward a wild animal.
A robe, she realized, dropping her hand. She hissed, “What the hell are you doing?”
Eyes on hers, Thane held out the swath of material. “Guard duty. Put this on,” he told her in a low voice. “I don’t mind if you wander around naked, but I’m not sure Saul would be impressed.”
Naked. Shit. Caera squeaked in alarm, spinning around before it clicked that Thane could now see her ass. Reaching behind her, she groped for the robe, only to find it being laid over her shoulders. Mortification flamed her cheeks as she wrestled her arms through the sleeves and hurriedly tied the belt. “Thanks.”
“Hmm. Are you leaving Saul to sleep for a while longer?”
She nodded, keeping her back to him. There was no way she could look into those amber eyes now and not see herself reflected in them. Although they were almost whispering, she was uncomfortable having this conversation—any conversation—when there was a risk of waking Saul up.
She knew how tiring it was living with her under the same roof. He hadn’t just been subjected to the nightmares, he’d taken steps to minimize them for her at personal cost to his own routine. Every step of their journey together, he had held her aloft, keeping her above the neck-high torrent of shit she waded through every day, and he deserved to have time for himself.
Ducking her head, she followed Thane from the room. The moment she stepped into the hallway, she was assaulted by sound and smell. Someone was watching TV with the volume on low, so the voices and background music were almost inaudible, more like a hum on the air.
Caera smelled bacon, and cinnamon. Her stomach reacted with an unholy growl.
“Where is everyone?” she asked, gripping the belt in both hands as a safety blanket.
“Well, Connie had to go to work for a couple hours, but she’ll be home soon. Anarchy is running some errands, and Jasper is playing hooky so we’ve been taking turns making sure you slept undisturbed.” Thane urged her along toward the living room with just his fingertips against her lower back. “Go sit and I will bring you something to sate that noisy belly before it becomes cannibalistic.”
