Page 30 of Fearless
“Nah, you’re a light little thing.” I set her down gently when we reached the second floor landing.
Her feet touched the floor but her hands remained solidly on my arms. “Oh, just take a compliment. You’re strong as an ox.”
“Nope, you’re thinking of the guy down the hall.” I wanted compliments and so much more from her. Reaper was the rough one, but I wanted to leave my own kind of mark on her. Right in that moment however, something else distracted me.
“My bedroom’s the door at the very end.” I turned her away from me and gave her a light swat on the ass. “Go on ahead. I’ve got to do something real quick.”
She looked back at me, confusion furrowing her brow. “What do you have to do?”
“I’m just checking on something with Shadow. I’ll be right in after you.” I grabbed her arm and planted a quick kiss on her lips before letting her go. “Don’t get naked yet. I want to do that to you myself.”
The answer seemed to satisfy her and I waited until she disappeared behind the bedroom door. Honestly, she’d probably understand what I had to do if I explained to her. I just didn’t want to right then. I wanted to get it over with and enjoy her for the rest of the night properly. Chances were, if she kept coming over, she’d see every facet of my and Shadow’s living arrangement anyway.
I went to the opposite end of the landing, pausing just outside of his bedroom door. When Mari and I first went up the stairs, I noticed he wasn’t drawing at his desk anymore. Usually he told me when he was going to bed, but this time was considerate enough to not interrupt our dinner and make out session.
“Maybe you reallyaregetting better, man,” I muttered to myself as I approached the heavy wooden door. The third one we had to install in as many years.
Eager to get back to the gorgeous woman in my bedroom at the other end of the hall, I moved quickly. First I slid all the deadbolts into place on the knob side of the door. Originally I installed three, then it became clear I needed more. I went from bottom to top, starting with the one at waist-height, then reaching the eighth one on my tiptoes near the top of the door. I wasn’t a short guy by any means, Shadow was justthathuge.
Once those were in place, I grabbed the handful of padlocks from the side table. Moving to the hinged side of the door, I closed the eight latches installed there before slapping the locks in place. It would take a group of men with a battering ram to knock this door down. Better than Shadow’s shoulder or forehead.
I hated doing this, locking him in like he was some dangerous animal. But truthfully, he was. He couldn’t control what happened in his sleep, but that didn’t make me or our furniture any safer. I found some small comfort in knowing the extra locks were his idea. And so far, it was the only thing that worked.
Once everything was secure and I gave the door a few cursory pushes to check for any weak spots, I hurried down the hall in the opposite direction. Despite the necessity of it, locking him in always made me feel weird. Something was wrong about it. We did this nightly ritual for a month and a half now, and I had yet to get used to it.
It reminded me of my days as a prison guard, when I had to hide our friendship, cuff him, and lock him in his cell. When we left that hellhole together, I never wanted to lock another human being in a cage again.
So much for that.
Mari was standing next to the floor-to-ceiling panoramic window in my bedroom when I arrived. She looked over her shoulder at me with a sweet smile. “Everything okay?”
“It is now,” I sighed, crossing the room toward her. My arms came around her from behind, hugging her back to my chest as I placed a kiss on her shoulder. “You like the window?”
“I do. The sunrise must be amazing. Did you make this yourself?”
“Yeah, I don’t know construction like I do bikes, but I used to do some odd jobs.”
She pressed her head back against my chest, looking straight up at me. “Is there anything you can’t do?”
“Well, so far I haven’t been able to get you in bed with me. Maybe you should prove me wrong.”
“Smartass,” she laughed, spinning in my arms before shoving me playfully back toward the bed. “You can do anything you put your mind to,” she joked, sounding like an old teacher Reaper and I used to have.
“I like where this is going.” I bit my lip, pulling her with me as I walked backward. “And you can do anything to my body that comes to mind. Is that what you’re saying?” The mattress hit the backs of my knees and I sat down.
“No,” she laughed again, climbing on to straddle me. “I have no idea what you’re saying.”
“I should probably stop talking, then.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Our mouths crashed together. My palms slid under the hem of her shirt and found a slender waist and warm skin. Lifting higher, a bra blocked me from finding more of her. Her shirt went first, then mine, and then that pesky bra.
Her skin erupted in goosebumps as she became free from clothing, her nipples tight little buds that I wanted to soothe and soften with my tongue.
“You okay?” It came out a hoarse, lusty whisper.
She leaned against me, arms braced between my chest and hers while my hands did their best to warm up her long, curving back.
