Page 86 of Their Property
T-Bone released my finger. “You saved Kitty and her friends. And let us take out the rest. That’s no small thing.” He picked up my hand and kissed the finger he had just bitten, his gaze turning thoughtful. “The valkyrie called you ‘daughter’?”
“Yeah. And she did this in a dream I had.” I put my forearms together and rocked them back and forth like a baby.
T-Bone’s eyebrows lifted. “Kyrie, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your mother?”
“She passed away a few weeks after I was born. I was told the pregnancy was rough on her, but that wasn’t what did it. She got an infection while in recovery and her body couldn’t fight it.”
“I’m sorry.” T-Bone’s face fell in sympathy.
“It’s okay. I never got to know her, though I would like to think she would’ve kept my dad off my back.” I pushed my hair back, wondering what she would have thought of me falling for three men. “That’s why he’s so overprotective of me, I think. She was the love of his life, and I’m all he’s got left. It’s also why he pushed so hard for setting up the hospital in Four Corners with the best doctors and medics he could find.”
“Makes sense,” T-Bone mused. “Not an excuse to keep you locked up like a prized show pony though.”
“No, I guess not.” I played with my hair some more, unsure of how to broach the elephant in the room. “So, are you thinking the valkyrie is…?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, for being able to see through a bird, I’m not very knowledgeable about this stuff.” T-Bone rested a hand on my hip. “But I think it’s okay to not know everything. If this valkyrie is helping you, guiding you and not freaking you out, that’s all that really matters, right?” His fingers drummed on me thoughtfully. “Knowing the connection is there, that someone’s looking out for you, is enough.” He leaned in and tickled my neck with his beard before kissing me there. “Or I could just be talking out my ass, as usual.”
“You do not.” I laughed and squirmed against him.
He chuckled, low and throaty as he kissed me some more. I was just getting ready to wedge myself underneath him again when he abruptly got up from bed and headed for the connected bathroom. When he came out he was, sadly, fully dressed in his jeans, T-shirt, and cut.
“You going somewhere?” I asked while he sat at the foot of the bed to put his boots on.
“Just gonna talk to Chris for a bit. Won’t take long, then I’ll grab some breakfast from downstairs.” He leaned over the bed and kissed me again. “Stay with Grudge for me? The doc will come by later to check him out.”
I wished he’d stay, but I also really wanted breakfast, so I said, “Yeah, of course.”
“That’s our girl,” T-Bone said with a soft growl before he kissed me once more, long and lingering. It was near-torture feeling him pull away. Munin flew to his shoulder with a loud caw, nipping at his ear and clearly just as eager for breakfast as me.
I watched T-Bone leave the room, then rolled toward Grudge, who had roused in the last few moments. He stretched long with a groan, making those sexy tattoos expand on his torso, then went to rub his eyes before remembering they were bandaged up.
“Fuhhh meh,” he grumbled, letting his arms fall. One of which inevitably fell on me.
“Hey, Grudge,” I said quietly, so as to not spook him.
He startled anyway, sitting up in bed in a fumbled rush. “Kah?”
“Yeah, it’s me. You’re okay. T-Bone just went down to get food.”
“Mmm.” He calmed slightly, releasing a big breath and signing,“OK.”
“How did you sleep? Do you need anything? Water?”
“Mm-mm.” He shook his head and reached his hand in my direction. I gave him my palm, into which he finger-spelled a brief sentence, letter by letter.“How are you? Ok?”
I smiled, touched both by his thoughtfulness and how fast he’d picked up the letters after a quick practice last night.
“I’m, ah, well…”
No one had asked me that question and genuinely wanted to know the answer in a really long time. How was I supposed to sum up my emotional and mental state in just a few words? Nothing could come close to describing the overwhelm roiling inside me. I loved being closer to the Sons, but everything else tightened my gut with anxiety. Plus, there was still Dyno throwing a wrench into things. I missed him, despite his pushback.
“Kah?” Grudge squeezed my hand, lips thinning as he waited for my answer.
“Sorry, I just started thinking about…everything.” I laughed sheepishly. “I’m doing okay, Grudge. Hanging in and taking it one day at a time. Thank you for asking.” I returned his hand-squeeze, wishing once again that I could kiss him. “Being with you guys makes it easier though.”
“Hmm.” He tilted his head, opening my palm so he could finger-spell to me again.“Here for you.”
Well damn, if that didn’t make me melt like an ice cube on the sidewalk.
