Page 74 of Marked

Fatigue pulled at her thoughts, twining them into a cloud of people and wooded spaces until sleep dragged her under.

***

Cole winced as the coffee carafe clinked against his mug. Shit. Sophia and Bella were still asleep, and since they’d gotten in late and it was only 7:00 a.m., he needed to keep it that way for a bit.

He stood at the counter facing the cupboards as he fixed his brew. Sophia had left his bed last night. He sure as hell didn’t blame her for wanting to sleep with the kid, but the thing that scared him was that he hadn’t even stirred when she left his side.

Then again, he’d been shot. He’d run for miles. He was mentally wiped. Physically drained of all his bodily fluids from fucking Sophia to kingdom come. Aside from his excursion, having Sophia in his bed was... nice. Cozy. Not that he’d ever needed coziness. Nor had he ever wanted the constant presence of a woman in his space. Nevertheless, being with Sophia gave him a piece of something his life hadn’t had in a long-ass time. Hell, maybe he’d never had the warmth of a woman—even his mother. Or if he had, he only remembered vague, fleeting moments from when he was small. Then it all faded.

The dark cloud of his childhood threatened to move in and steal the comfort he’d earned overnight. He stomped all those intrusive thoughts six-feet-under where they belonged.

His side pulsed, reminding him of the wound. The stitches felt good, not too tight. He’d almost forgotten about them.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he turned toward the island and jumped three feet. “Shit—” Coffee sloshed over his hand and down the front of his shirt.

Bella stood next to the island, a few feet away from him, her blue eyes large and watchful. “Hi,” she said. “You said a bad word.”

He set down his cup while his brain grappled with the intrusion of the little elf who’d given him a fucking heart attack. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Her head disappeared as she rounded the other side of the island and climbed into one of the stools. Cole went to the sink and rinsed the coffee from his skin then wiped his shirt. “Morning,” he said, his tone more than a little gruff.

She plopped Honey Funny on the counter and straightened in her seat. “I’m hungry.”

“Ah...” Shit, what did kids eat? Probably pancakes and crap like that, but he didn’t eat that stuff. “What do you like?” The question was moot. He didn’t have a shred of food in his house, had needed groceries days ago, but the encounter with Sophia had brought his regular life to a halt.

She lifted a shoulder. “I like everything. Cereal, fruit, eggs.” She tapped the corner of her mouth with her finger. “I like French toast too, but that’s just for special occasions.”

He hiked up an eyebrow. “Pretty sure you coming home is a special occasion.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Are you going to make it?”

He grimaced. “I don’t have anything we’d need. But how about you watch TV and I’ll grab everyone something from the café down the street?”

She perked up. “Oh! Is that the café I went to with my mom? They have protein bites. I’m allowed to have that.”

“All right. That I can do.”

She grinned. “And maybe a muffin.”

“What does your mom like?”

Bella scrunched her face, the expression very similar to one that her mom made. “Um, she likes healthy stuff. But she drinks coffee and I know that’s not good for you.”

He chuckled. “Okay, I’ll surprise her.”

She nodded, her gaze roaming around the kitchen and stopping on a fruit bowl. “Oh! An apple. Can I have it?”

Before he could answer, she stretched across the island and dove her hand into the bowl, stealing his last apple and chomping into the skin.

“Sure.” He gestured for her to follow him and led her to the couch. “Know how to work this?” he asked, passing her a remote.

Her eyes rolled in her head. “Tuh.”

A smile tugged at his lips at her attempt at duh. “Keep it down. Let your mom sleep.”

She hopped onto the couch, and clicked on the TV. Her gaze immediately fell into the tube while she mindlessly brought the apple to her lips.

Kids were fucking weird.

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