Page 42 of Amber Gambler

“Yes.”

He locked himself in place, allowing me to burrow into his chest. I tunneled my arms behind him and let my cheek rest over his heart. His fingers dug into the sheets until his knuckles turned white as bone. The drumming beneath my ear kicked up a notch, and I smiled into the fabric of his shirt, breathing in a faint hint of incense.

“When you hug someone,” I explained, in case he didn’t know, “they usually hug you back.”

Lifting his arms, he rested his hands on my waist, mirroring my hold on him. “Better?”

“Much.” I angled my chin to watch the pinch of uncertainty cloud his features. “You’re a natural.”

“Nothing about me is natural.” He eased up on his clenched jaw. “But I’m willing to learn.”

I was willing to play teacher to his student when it came to human nature. A tiny blip of concern that it was our simpatico natures causing me to form an attachment was valid, but there were worse things to bond over. He was fascinating and kind, if awkward, but I found his uncertainty too adorable for words. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

“You saved me.”

The vulnerability in those words hung between us for so long I got stuck on his phrasing.Me.Notmy life. I was splitting hairs. Probably. I should turn off my brain for the night and enjoy having him back.

“There’s a lot of that going around lately.” I cocked my head at the rumble of approaching footsteps and kissed our moment of peace goodbye. “Mostly it’s people saving me, not the reverse.”

“Then I consider myself fortunate to count myself in that number.”

Several things happened after the door banged open, and I might have unraveled them quicker had I not still been clutching Kierce like a sea-swept heroine on the cover of an old-school romance novel.

Badb burst our little bubble first, dive-bombing Kierce and yanking on his hair while screaming at him.

That answered the question of how he had convinced her to part from him. She hadn’t gone willingly.

Then Josie hit her knees beside the bed and reached for me, attempting to draw me into her arms, but it didn’t go so well since Kierce didn’t release me.

Matty noticed our pose, gawked for two beats, then pivoted to slam the door.

Too late.

Harrow had already seen me tangled up in the sheets with Kierce.

I expected him to rage and gnash his teeth. I braced for finger-pointing and threats. Chest beating. Stomping. Demands for answers.

What he gave us disturbed me far more than any of those things.

A smile. One that did everything it should have to his face but didn’t touch his eyes. And then he left.

“Well,” Josie said what we were all thinking, “that wasn’t weird at all.”

Not thirty seconds later, a text chimed on my phone, and Josie passed it to me from the nightstand.

Yep. It was Harrow. And nope. The check-in didn’t make his departure any less unsettling.

>>I’m glad you’re okay. I would have stayed, but you’ve got a full house. Call me tomorrow?

>Matty and Josie didn’t run you off, did they?

>>Carter has a lead we need to follow up on. I’ll fill you in after you get some rest.

>Okay.

>Thanks for being there for me.

>>You’re more than welcome.

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