Page 18 of My Knight

I felt the bed shift beneath me and was jostled gently, like someone had plopped down too close. It had to be Pirate.

I blinked my eyes open and expected his rugged face and messy hair. Instead, I found myself nose-to-nose with Dove, who was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said brightly.

“Um… hello?” I croaked, my voice rough like gravel.

“I’m not Pirate,” she added helpfully, as if that wasn’t already screamingly obvious.

A burst of laughter rang out from somewhere else in the room.

“I don’t think she hit her head hard enough to mistake you for Pirate, Dove,” Poppy giggled.

I blinked again and tried to figure out what was going on.

Okay. This… was not what I was expecting to wake up to.

“Do you need to be medicated?” a voice called out—Olive, maybe? I’d been around these girls enough to recognize some voices, but not all of them without faces.

“Why don’t you let the girl move before you offer to medicate her?” Mac’s voice cut through the chatter. That one, I knew instantly.

I rolled over onto my back with a groan and lifted my head to get a better view. Yep. I was surrounded. Mac was near the foot of the bed, with her arms crossed with a smirk on her face. Dove was still next to me. Sloane, Olive, Poppy, Fallon, Dani, and Adalee filled the rest of the room, like a damn biker girl slumber party exploded in here.

“Uh… hello?” I muttered again.

“I know we’re not as exciting to wake up to as Pirate,” Dani said with a wink, “but he had to go to church.”

“So we volunteered to hang out with you until he’s done,” Adalee added, rolling her eyes. “God knows he’s not going to let you out of his sight for any reason other than club stuff.”

I managed to sit up, and my body protested every inch of the way. I pushed my hair out of my face and tried not to cringe too obviously.

“How do you feel?” Fallon asked gently.

I closed my eyes for a second and did a quick body scan. “Better than I thought I would, but I’m still really sore.” I didn’t want to jinx it, but Pirate had warned me the third day would be the worst. So far, I could deal with this. “I think I need to get up and move.”

“Good idea,” Mac called from near the dresser. “The longer you lay around, the longer it’ll take to feel better.”

“Yes, mother,” I said with a tired smile. Mac was only thirteen years older than me, but in my world, she was a solid mother figure—blunt, loyal, fiercely protective, and not afraid to boss me around.

“Shower or food first?” Olive asked.

I squinted and wrinkled my nose. “I need to shower. I feel like I’ve got three inches of dirt stuck to me. I’m sure I reek.”

How Pirate had managed to sleep next to me without passing out from the stench was a mystery.

I scooted to the edge of the bed and prepared to stand. The moment I shifted my weight forward, the girls leaned in like synchronized swimmers anticipating disaster.

I paused and glanced around. “Um… what are you guys doing?”

“We’re making sure you don’t eat floor,” Poppy said.

Dove nodded. “Pirate was more than a little nervous leaving you with us. We’re just making sure the man isn’t proved right.”

“Yeah,” Mac added dryly. “I’m not into proving men right.”

“Okay,” I drawled, amused. I stood slowly. My legs were wobbly but held steady. “I’m sure I can make it to the bathroom.”

“We’ll be close,” Dove assured me.

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