Page 107 of Rugger: The Huntress

Pew.

She put a bullet in his chest, ending his life instantly. She didn’t wait for me. Instead, she headed for the exit with her head low and her heart on her sleeves. The heights one would go to receive recognition from people who didn’t matter or shouldn’t matter never ceased to disgust me.

Just as she reached for the handle of the black SUV, I pressed against the door. My back collided with the coolness of it as I stiffened. Soundlessly, she glared at me. Darkness surrounded us, but her skin still glistened and her eyes still twinkled.

“Are you okay?” I broke the silence.

Her well-being and comfort were priorities for me.

She nodded in response. I pulled her closer and placed my lips on hers.

“Even if you weren’t, that’ll be okay, too.”

She nodded again, wrapping her arms around me before stepping back shortly after. I opened the door and waited for her to get inside. Once she was, I reached over and strapped her into the seat.

“Safety first.”

I rounded the SUV and got into the driver’s seat. When the engine was prepared, I started for the home I was making with Rugger. I scooted closer to the center console and flattened my hand, exposing my palm.

Like magnets, our bodies connected. I looped my fingers between hers and brought the back of her hand up to my lips.

Once.

Twice.

I kissed her skin, savoring the buttery goodness it coated my lips with.

Rugger didn’t mumble a word as I peeled her clothes off, one piece at a time. I stripped her bare and swooped her up in my arms. The weight of her body rested against me until I lowered her into the jacuzzi.

Warm water surrounded us, taking a liking to our skin. The bubbles stuck to us like glue as we acquainted ourselves with the new temperature. Rugger secretly petitioned for her lonesomeness. I supported her cause and said nothing when she added distance between us.

My head tilted backward and my eyes became fixated on the ceiling. Stillness bathed me with gratitude. For the moment. For life. For health. And for the woman just a few feet away from me.

I sealed my lids and released everything that didn’t serve me at the moment. Steam convinced my pores to open and produce small beads of sweat to relieve my body of the heat from the water.

Everything is well. I summed.

Long limbs locked me in place. Rugger’s weight piled on top of me as she settled on my lap. Her arms rounded my neck and her head rested against my left cheek. Because her chest waspressed into mine, I could feel each breath she took. They were deep and expressive.

“What’s wrong?”

She was uneasy about something and I cared to know what.

“I– I wish I could tell you something was the matter– that something was wrong, but I have nothing.”

“Then why the long, dramatic breathing?”

“I’m trying to steady my heart,” she admitted.

“Steady your heart?”

Gazelle nodded.

“Something’s happening in there. Something beyond my control.”

“You care to control it?”

She shook her head.

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