Page 107 of Riding the Pine

I arch a brow. “You’re clearly feeling better if you’re making jokes about my bromance with your brothers.”

She scoots across the clean sheets and settles, patting the space next to her. “Let’s try it your way.”

“Very big of you, Bright Eyes. Is this my one concession from you for the year?” I fold my arms. “Maybe I don’t want to use it on this situation. Maybe I should keep it for something a little more important.”

She slaps the bed next to her, gracing me with an eye roll that tells me my girl’s still in there. “Get the fuck in here.”

I offer a salute which makes her roll her eyes even harder.

“I’m going to change my mind, and not least of all because you’re wearing fucking socks.”

I grin as I slide between the covers. “Maybe I wear socks to irk you, Athena. Maybe I do all the things that annoy you just to see those wrinkles appear between your eyebrows.” I kiss the space I’m talking about before settling back against the pillow. I kick off my socks, pull my shirt down so my torso is covered, and pat my chest for her to come get comfy.

Usually, I sleep in just shorts, but since her attack, I’ve kept my body as covered as I can manage. I don’t want her to think I’m over here flashing my man titties at her for any reason other than I like how the sheets feel against my skin.

For Athena de la Peña, I’ll wear a shirt in bed.

That’s next level commitment because I love the feel of her fancy sheets even more.

It’s over an hour before she makes any overtures about sleeping, for the most part, she’s awake and staring into the darkness. We occasionally whisper and talk about stupid shit.

“Who’s your favorite Greek God or Goddess?”

It’s a trap, and we both know it.

“Erebus.” I walk right into the thump I get in my ribcage. Chuckling, I rub my mortal wound.

“God of darkness, eh?” She thumps me again. “That’s rude, you know.”

I shrug, even though she can’t see me. “You did ask. And my favorite Greek god is Erebus.”

“What do you know about Erebus?”

“I can spell it.”

She giggles. “That’s what I thought.”

I squeeze her toward me, brushing my lips against her cheek. “I love the nerdy goddess lying here in my arms just fine, thank you very much.”

She yawns, her warm breath seeping into my shirt. “I hate this.” Her voice is quiet, like she’s not completely sure whether she wants me to hear it or not.

“I know. But it’s not forever. You’ll come back stronger from this.” I pause. “Not that you need to be any stronger, you’re a warrior anyway. But this won’t beat you. They won’t beat you. And not because you’re a de la Peña and have some freak-ass super strength, or because you’re named after a badass Greek goddess and are on a pedestal above us mere mortals. But because you’re an inherently strong person.”

She’s shaking her head.

“I won’t hear you say anything to the contrary, Bright Eyes.” I try to soften my voice, but it still comes out with an edge. “I know you feel beaten down right now, and sure, maybe to an extent you are. But you will rise stronger and brighter than before, because that’s just who you are.”

“I’m so tired.”

“I know.” I rub her hip with my thumb.

“I hate them.”

“I know,” I murmur into her hair.

“I want to nothing them.”

“I know that too. And you’ll get there. But you need to get past wanting to rip their balls off and feeding them to Bacon. Huh.” I tip my head. “Maybe if snuggling with me doesn’t work, we can kidnap Bacon for a while.”

---