Page 39 of Harmless
“Like I’m right?”
“Like you’re jealous.”
He barely reacted, but I knew his tells, as subtle as they were. A twitch of his eyebrow. A slight hardening of his mouth. A squeeze of his knife’s handle.
“Whatever.” Devin faced the tree trunk again, preparing for another practice throw.
“Yeah, whatever,” I agreed. “I was gonna suggest we room together, but it doesn’t sound like you’re keen.”
“What, you mean Rori and Torr haven’t made space in their bed for you? Color me shocked.”
I shook my head again, turning back toward the houses. “Get some rest, man. We all need it.”
“Like I can get a wink of sleep in this place,” he muttered before letting his blades fly.
14
RORI
Islept way too long. I knew it immediately from how refreshed I felt when my eyes fluttered open, from how good it felt to stretch and groan.
“Goddamn it, Torr.” I rubbed my eyes and brought my feet to the floor, stretching once more now that I was upright.
I was annoyed that he let me sleep for so long but grateful too, I had to admit. He’d insisted I get the biggest bedroom in the house too, which was a total waste, especially when everyone else had to share rooms. I had been too tired to fight him about it yesterday, but soon I would have the energy.
Through the window, the sun peeked over a distant mountain range. I couldn’t tell if it was rising or about to set. The room felt a little chilly, so I guessed it was early morning.
That meant I slept—damn—around twelve hours? Yep, way too long.
Rummaging through a duffel bag set near the bed, I found a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie that were too big but would be comfy. With one deep inhale of the hoodie, I knew—these were Torr’s clothes.
The smile could not stay off my face as I pulled the clothes on.Look at my guy, being all thoughtful and shit.
I heard a soft murmuring of voices as I came down the stairs and found Carter, LJ, Valorie, Paige, and the Hunter all hanging out in the kitchen.
“Mornin’, sunshine!” LJ called as he saw me come down. “Want coffee?”
“Oh God, please,” I groaned.
“Nice cowlick, Alfalfa.” Valorie grinned at me over the rim of an ancient, chipped mug that said,Save the Tatasnext to a faded pink ribbon. “You slept like the dead, by the looks of it.”
I felt the back of my head and, sure enough, my hair was sticking straight up right at the crown. “Wasn’t by choice, but yeah, I guess so.”
“You deserved it,” Paige told me from where she sat next to the Hunter.
“You sound like Santos,” I grumbled but smiled at her as I took a seat between Carter and the Hunter.
“Who?” asked the ex-gladiator, his brows drawn together in confusion.
“Oh, um, the Butcher.” I raked a hand back through my hair, probably making it stick up some more. “I probably should’ve asked him if it was okay to give out his real name.”
“I saw him going around saying hello and introducing himself by name last night,” Carter piped up. “Seems there isn’t a need for gladiator names anymore, right?”
“I dunno, I do kind of like being the Hunter.” The man in question extended a hand to me. “My given name is Levi, by the way.”
I shook the hand he gave. “Great to meet you. And thank you for taking such good care of my girl, Paige, by the way.”
The two of them blushed as they exchanged glances. Yeah, such a cute couple.
