Page 125 of Their Property
“Hey, you!” I called, pointing when I spotted him. “You have something that doesn’t belong to you.” I held my palm out. “Give it back.”
The soldier, probably no older than me, turned beet red while his fellow soldiers snickered. Finally, he pulled the stack of folded papers from under his tactical vest, and I snatched them from his hand.
“Here you go, love.” I spun, holding the papers out to Grudge, whose face was a mixture of shock and amusement.
But he refused to take them, holding his palm out and shaking his head before pointing at me. “For you”, he signed.
“Grudge…” I whispered, wishing we didn’t have an audience. I didn’t know exactly what he’d written, but knew it was significant to him. And intensely private.
“You heard the man, little lady.” T-Bone came to stand next to me to address the soldiers. “If we’re really free to go, we’d appreciate all our weapons back too. And a ride back out to our bikes would be the absoluteleastyou can do,” he added snidely.
“Your motorcycles were brought here on a separate truck,” one of them reported. “We’ll return your weapons once you’re outside of our borders.”
“Oh, we’re being escorted, how nice,” Dyno drolled. “Can you at least put gas in our bikes then? For the inconvenience?”
“We can probably arrange that,” the lead soldier said, much to everyone’s surprise.
“Well.” T-Bone clapped his hands once. “Let’s get fuckin’ to it then.”
I found myself pressed to Grudge’s chest while the other two watched the soldiers like hawks. His arms wrapped around me like my valkyrie’s shield, hands moving in soothing, protecting passes over my back.
The folded papers poked me in the chest, pressed between me and him. I’d read them with him present and no sooner. Once we were home, safe. When I wasn’t so exhausted, drained, and when my head wasn’t spinning with the events of the last twenty-four hours.
THIRTY-EIGHT
GRUDGE
For once, I couldn’t wait for a ride to be over. Even with Kyrie wrapped around me, her lips on my neck and her fingers curled into my shirt, I wanted us off the road and somewhere quiet. Somewhere we could just rest and process.
Chris and Tiff were full of questions when we arrived home, but T-Bone was still too bloodthirsty to talk. He stormed off to our room, and I heard the shower turn on a moment later. Ice cold, no doubt.
Ever the level-headed one, Dyno pulled our VP and treasurer aside to fill them in on what happened. None of us pressed Kyrie about what was discussed in that basement, and I was ready to go feral myself if anyone did.
She stuck close to me and seemed to forget all about the sheets of paper still folded and tucked into the front of her shirt. I wasn’t upset about that. She probably had enough to think about.
Once Tiff stopped fussing over her and followed Chris and Dyno, I pressed a palm to Kyrie’s cheek until her eyes met mine.
“Shower?”I asked, making the sign for it.“Food? Sleep?”
Kyrie smiled wearily, but it eased the ache in my chest all the same. “Shower sounds good. I have no appetite, but sleeping for a long time sounds good after that.”
I nodded and led her to the spare bedroom where she’d first spent the night. She’d be spending the nights with us from now on—that is, if reading my confession didn’t make her change her mind, but T-Bone would be icing his blood in our shower for at least the next twenty minutes.
I turned the water on for her and grabbed a clean towel, then kissed her forehead and turned to leave, when her hand shot out and grabbed my forearm.
“Stay with me, Grudge,” she whispered, adding, “Please?”
How could I say no? Her eyes were sad and pleading, and she needed me.
I turned back to face her, cupping her shoulders as I leaned down. And like a fucking pussy, I hesitated an inch away from her lips.
Like she hadn’t told me with her own mouth that she wanted me. Like she hadn’t clung to me, already kissed me, or stroked me while T-Bone railed her. The proof was all there, and still I held on to doubt that it was true.
“Grudge.” She said my name with a cute little growl before closing the distance, reaching on her tiptoes to smash her mouth on mine.
Steam from the shower filled the small room as I caught her by the waist, holding her tight against me while those soft lips moved against mine. I’d never kissed a woman before her, and it was like sinking into a soft bed.
Everything she did, I mapped in my head and saved it to remember. She’d been a wild thing earlier on that bike, biting and devouring me. Those were the kinds of kisses I was used to. She was sensual now, all soft presses and sweet sighs. I wanted to savor them like precious sips of water, because this woman made me feel more alive than ever before.
