Page 55 of Powerless
I sat up and pulled her into a hug. She curled up under the blanket next to me and rubbed my back. She didn't cry. Even now she was trying to be strong.
"Hey, girls."
Jandro came over, sounding exhausted. He picked something up from the couch cushion so he could sit next to me. I saw it was the gavel, which must have fallen out of my pocket as I slept.
"You should be holding that," Noelle said in a small voice.
"No." Jandro placed it back in my lap. "I meant what I said. He's still president until we have proof of otherwise."
"But you're—"
"I'm VP whether he's here or not. I'll act in his stead when he's not and carry out his word when he is. But until we have confirmation that the Steel Demons need a new president, I'm not the one meant to hold the gavel."
"Fuck no, you're not."
All three of our heads snapped to the door, where the man in question strode through with a cocky smirk like he owned the place.
"Reaper!" we all cried out.
"And Hades?" I asked, the panic refusing to subside.
The furry beast ran right up to me, attacking me with a strong, four-limbed hug and tons of puppy licks. I hugged him back, the laughter finally escaping me, but it was the sight of his master I couldn't believe.
"Reaper..." I ran to him, my medic's eye taking in the dried blood on his clothes, the tatters in his shirt from road.
"What happened?" The questions flew out of my mouth in rapid fire succession as my hands inspected him everywhere. "Where did you go? Did you hit your head? Is anything broken?"
"Mari, stop." He took hold of my wrists, pinning me with that green-eyed stare I saw moments ago in my dreams. "I'm okay. Most of this blood isn't mine." His road-rashed palm came to my face, his thumb stroking my cheek gently as his eyes burned with relief, and maybe a touch of regret.
"Forgive me, sugar?"
I pressed my hands against his on my face, not caring about blood or germs, just leaning into the need of his rough touch on me.
"Forgive me?" I whispered. "Again?"
The corner of his mouth ticked up. "Truce."
Like air out of a balloon, all of the fears and anxieties over the past day left me all at once. I went from feeling like my heart would explode with worry to feeling as light as air.
"Fuck." Reaper pulled me in close, one arm around my waist, the other wound in my hair. "I was so worried about you. I knew Jandro would keep you safe but still, if I lost you—“
He cut off his own thought with a hard kiss, rough and desperate like he needed my mouth to breathe. I grabbed the torn edges of his shirt to deepen it even more, pushing my tongue into his mouth. His moan was full of longing as his fist curled into the fabric at my waist.
"Well, seems like you two are on better terms since you left," Noelle laughed.
"We weren't talking again right before this," Reaper chuckled, still gripping my hair and staring at me.
"Jesus, Reap," Noelle rolled her eyes. "Mari is a saint to deal with you."
"She is," he sighed, resting his forehead on mine. "I'm not the easiest person to get along with. But Iwantthis, sugar. I'll tell you right now, in front of my sister and the guy who is basically my brother," his eyes flicked up toward Jandro, "in front of my family. I want you to be my woman. Whatever that entails, we'll figure it out. But I swear to you, I'm not chasing tail. I'm not gonna have a wandering eye. I'm done with that. I wantyou, Mariposa."
For a man like Reaper, that was probably the biggest declaration of romance I would get. And coming from him, it was perfect. I believed every word. My first instinct was to jump for joy and confess how much I wanted him, too. How this dull ache in my chest spread throughout my bones every day we didn't speak. That I daydreamed about his pretty eyes, cocky grin, and the ways he pleased me in bed while riding on the back of Jandro's bike.
Speaking of Jandro, he was being extremely quiet during this whole reunion. I knew we passed the line of platonic friendship at some point, and we'd have to address that. I also wanted to ensure history didn't repeat itself again in my relationship with Reaper.
He squeezed my arms gently. "Please say something."
I looked up at him, releasing the edges of his shirt to caress his neck.
