Page 42 of Harmless
“Another couple of days, I think.” I mirrored his pose, also talking louder now that our private conversation was over. “Let people relax for a bit, and let it all sink in. If they want to leave sooner, they can. Of course, anyone who’s injured should stay as long as they need to recover.” I lowered my voice again. “I’ll talk to Nella tomorrow. Give her another full day to throw tantrums about our hospitality.”
“Sounds good to me. What’re you doing today?”
I polished off my second cup of coffee, placed it in the sink, then headed out of the kitchen in search of a shower.
“Hopefully that question becomes a matter ofwhoI’m doing.”
15
RORI
After a shower and a more substantial breakfast than coffee, I headed over to the second safehouse to check on things there. This was where most of the solo fighters seemed to gather, whereas the female service staff and couples kept to the other house.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped outside was men working out everywhere. It was still early morning, but the cul-de-sac was abuzz with roughly a dozen men doing push-ups, burpees, sparring each other with bare fists or wooden sticks, and squatting full-grown men on their shoulders. The air was thick with sweat and testosterone.
Old habits die hard, I guess. At least they weren’t killing each other.
In fact, they were very polite. Almost everyone nodded or waved hello as I walked past.
Further up the road, it looked like LJ, Gwen, and some of the Chasing Death members were giving riding lessons. A handful of fighters were taking turns on loaner bikes, riding down straight stretches of the gravel road before turning and heading back after a few hundred yards. Paige, the Hunter, and Santos were among them, and so my feet carried me that way.
Santos was just finishing his turn, controlling the motorcycle with a confident ease as he came to a smooth stop. His beaming smile at me was like a hit of sunshine directly into my veins.
Leaving the bike running, he lowered the kickstand and got off as Paige and the Hunter went up to ride next.
“Hey.” Santos jogged over to me, that brilliant smile never fading. “Don’t you look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”
“And you look like a natural on that bike,” I said. “Was that your first time riding?”
“Yeah. I’ve always been into cars, though. It’s not too different when you get the hang of it.”
Oh, I know someone you’d get along very well with. I immediately thought of my dad, Jandro. If he ever got a chance to meet Santos, and not be an embarrassing, overprotective dad, I could see the two of them being like peas in a pod.
“How’s your shoulder feeling?” I decided to ask, instead of creeping him out with suggesting meeting my dad.
“So much better.” He rotated his arm in a big circle. “I couldn’t even do this yesterday. It’s still a little sore, but it seems like it’ll feel good as new in a couple days.”
I stared at him. “That is wild. Like, ridiculously fast healing.”
He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “I’ve always been a pretty fast healer. More so when I met this big guy.”
Tezca bumped his head against Santos’ thigh right then, the jaguar’s crackling purr rumbling in a steady rhythm as he rubbed the full side of his body against Santos’ legs and then mine.
“Hey, handsome.” I ran my hand down Tezca’s back, then up again to scratch his ears. “Have you been taking care of our man? Healing him up, too?”
Tezca let out a chuff and licked my palm with his scratchy tongue.
“I like the sound of that,” Santos murmured.
“What, the noises your cat makes?” I scratched under the jaguar’s chin.
“No.” The warmth of Santos’ breath heated my neck. “Being your man.”
I paused, then turned into him slowly. The heat on my neck had now spread to every part of my body. “You’re sure that’s what you want?”
“If you’ll have me.” Santos’ voice went low, meant only for the two of us. “I have this thing for badass blondes who save my life.”
“And if Torr is mine too?” I met his eyes, keeping my tone serious. “I want you too, Santos, but I need you to understand I’m not built for one partner. I probably never will be.”
