Page 37 of A Soul's Curse
I paused, wondering if I misread the entire situation. Nervously, I tried to correct myself. “Oh. What? No. I’m just … changing. Dirty shirt. You should get some rest. I’ll go crash on the couch.” He caught my arm as I tried to leave.
He didn’t say anything, but there was so much emotion spoken through that one powerful gesture… the loneliness in his gaze and the pain buried just beneath. Breathing a sigh of relief. I sat at the edge of the bed, stripping off my jeans and socks. The boxers were most definitely staying on. With a fierce groan, Ren rolled onto his side and opened the covers for me to slide in.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this. Hands above the belt. No funny business, got it? I may be single now, but I just broke up with my boyfriend and I’m in mourning.”
Ren pulled me closer to him, nuzzling his chin into the crook of my neck. His hands wrapped around my torso just below my navel as if testing the limits of my warning. My magic started tingling like tiny ice crystals as he absorbed it into him. His body was warm against my cold skin, chasing away the chill that had settled in my bones.
“I’m sorry about Sly.” His voice was barely a whisper, but his warm breath tickled my ear. “I know you loved him. What are you going to do now?”
“You know what’s funny?” I laughed softly. “I don’t think I’ve loved him for a long time. The change is scary, especially with everything else going on right now, but it’s for the best. It was a toxic relationship and one I needed to get out of.” I didn’t want to think about it, but the reality was I had to. I had no place to live, and no job to pay for an apartment of my own. I wouldn’t even be able to go back to get my things before Sly chucked everything into the trash tomorrow morning. Heaviness clung to me like thick mud, sucking me down into the depths of the earth. “I’ll probably hang out at Emberheart Place for a while, I guess. Try to find another job somewhere so I can afford a place to live.”
“You could stay here.” His words sent my pulse racing.
“Stay here?” I hated I could never really support myself and relied so heavily on Sly’s income. I wouldn’t let myself do that with Ren. Even if he was offering it, I couldn’t take advantage ofhim like that. “I … don’t know if I can. I leaned on Sly for so long that I think I need to do this for myself. I have to pay for my own place and get a job that actually gives me a paycheck.”
“Wouldn’t you be doing that here?” I winced at his words. Of course, he wanted to get something out of it. I was arrogant to think that Ren would let me crash here for free. “You forget this is my second home and I rarely stay here. There’s enough room for you, Ivy, and the foul-mouthed fairy to stay here together. As for rent, well, I’ll take a cut of your magic spell business. There’s actually a workshop in the basement we can clean up so you have a place to properly work and store your products.”
I chuckled. “I don’t think my sales would even be enough to cover the cost of a lightbulb.” I squeezed my eyes shut, but forced myself to relax. “Why are you doing this? You barely even know me.”
He drew me in closer and sighed. “You’d do the same thing for anyone else if you had the means to do it, wouldn’t you? I’ve said this before, Theo, but I’ve done a lot of terrible things for the Syndicate, and I’m not proud of them. This doesn’t make up for my mistakes, but the Syndicate targeted you because of me. Let me at least help you deal with the situation I put you in.”
“Okay,” I conceded. I didn’t really have much of a choice, but I appreciated he wasn’t pitying me. I’d needed to earn my keep, and he was simply giving me the means to do so.
“Great.” His hair tickled my ear when he nestled into the pillow. “Now stop yapping and go to sleep. It’s been a long day and I’m exhausted.”
He was snoring about thirty seconds later.
15
Therewasnothingromanticabout snuggling with Ren last night—he needed my magic, and I was there to give it—but that didn’t mean it still wasn’t intimate. I couldn’t remember the last time Sly and I had fallen asleep together like that, and the safety of being held in Ren’s arms made me realize how much I missed the simplicity of just feeling close to someone.
That’s why, when I woke up the next morning alone in bed and feeling like I was hungover, that emptiness hit harder than the headache I was currently experiencing. His warmth was gone, and all that was left was the hollow echo of comfort I wanted back.
“Ugh,” I groaned, reaching for my bottle of water on the nightstand. Ren must have completely depleted my magic while we slept. I could barely tilt my head back to take a drink, and the persistent pounding inside my head was like aclang, clang, clangof a hammer nailing together my coffin. And then there was the chatter …
“What the hell is going on?” I slowly pushed myself off the bed, searching for my clothes from last night. I sighed, realizing I’d be stuck with this dirty outfit for a while, since I didn’t have a chance to grab anything from my apartment before I left. Then I remembered the first time I was here, Ren grabbed a shirt and hoodie from the dresser.
I went to investigate, smiling when I saw a few shirts and athletic stretch pants in a size that definitely wasn’t Ren’s. It was like the smug bastard knew I’d be back again and expected that the next time I’d be sticking around.
After changing into a pair of black joggers and a soft pullover shirt, I grabbed the medical kit Dr. Brooks had left behind and went in search of Ren to clean his wounds and re-wrap his bandages. I followed the noise, way too loud for this early in the morning, and found myself in the living room.
“You can put that over there for now.” Ivy directed a broad-shouldered troll carrying two giant boxes that probably weighed more than I did to the corner of the room. “Oh, Theo! You’re up. Were we being too loud? Did we wake you?”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. What’s going on?” I watched as a few more people entered the house carrying various boxes and plants. “Wait, is this all my stuff?”
Ivy's face lit up with a radiant smile, her deep purple eyes shimmering with pride. “I figured you’d want to stay with Ren after what happened last night, so I called up Nick and he found a few people willing to help pack up your stuff and bring it here. I hope you don’t mind. I had to break into your place again, but I wanted to get everything done before Sly came back and I had to head into work.”
“You did this for me?” My throat tightened as I tried to swallow. “Thank you, Ivy. This is … really nice. I thought I had lost everything.” I picked up a game controller from a cardboardbox. “So, uh, how did you know what was mine and what was Sly’s?”
Stella came barreling into the room. “We didn’t. I told them if it looked important, or expensive, they should take it.” The fairy had been beat up pretty badly last night, with a swollen eye and several nasty bruises. While evidence of the attack was still present against her tanned skin, it looked like the healing process had been fast-tracked several weeks. The cuts were already scabbed over, and the bruises shifted from their original dark purple to more of a yellowish-brown. “For what it’s worth, Sly was a dickhead. I know it doesn’t make the situation any better, but I saw a lot of the things he did behind your back. He didn’t appreciate you, and you deserve better.”
I resisted the urge to hug both her and Ivy as appreciation swelled inside my chest. “Yeah, deep down I guess I kinda knew he was an ass. I kept making excuses for his inappropriate behavior, but it was time to face reality for what it was. Oh, but something good did come out of this …”
Stella quirked an eyebrow. “You mean besides finally ditching the demon-hating, cheating ex-boyfriend from the bargain bin of bad decisions?”
I scratched my head and chuckled. “Well, yeah. Besides that. Ren and I were talking last night. Since I’m now out of a home, he offered the suggestion of staying here, and that there was room for the both of you too. I know you’ve been sleeping on Ivy’s couch, but, if you wanted an upgrade, the three of us could stay here and have our own space. The rent is pretty cheap and I heard good things about the landlord.”
Ivy glanced at Stella to gauge her reaction. Surely Stella didn’t want to keep crashing on Ivy’s couch, but if Ivy agreed to move in, Stella would either be forced to come with her or find another place to stay. When Stella offered her approval through a firm nod, Ivy bounced with excitement.
