Page 79 of Reckless
“What the hell are you—”
His chest meets my back.
I try again. “What the hell—”
“Shh.”
My mouth falls open. “I’m waiting for a better explanation than that.”
“Easy, Gray.” A hand brushes my hip, making me jump against him. “I can’t sleep with you shaking the bed, and you can’t sleep when you’re freezing. This is best for the both of us.”
“Is it really?” I start. “Because I—”
“Plagues,” he chuckles against my ear. “Just pretend. Pretend not to hate each other in these moments, remember?” I open my mouth to object, but the arm he circles around my waist has me snapping it shut. “All this means is that we’re useful to one another.”
I stiffen slightly against him.
Useful to one another.
The sentence stings more than it should. I hate myself for hating how it sounds rolling off his tongue. Becauseusefulis the extent of our relationship. The most we will ever mean to each other.
“Fine,” I say, annoyed at the sound of my voice quivering. “Pretend.”
With that, I allow myself to melt into his warmth when he pulls me closer.
I’m tangled in his arms and wrapped in the chain tethering us together.
I blink in the hazy sunlight streaming through the window, feeling the warmth of it coat my face. His arm is warm against my cheek, fingers peeking from beneath my unraveling hair. I can feel his deep breaths stirring my hair, warming my neck.
He’s comfortable. He’s content.
He’s pretending.
The thought has me untangling myself from him, starting with the arm slung snuggly around my waist. Grabbing his wrist, I toss it behind me, not bothering to be gentle. Then I’m sitting up, pulling strands of my hair from his fingers.
He stirs before quickly sitting up on his elbows. The quilt slips down his bare chest as he watches me with sleepy eyes, tracking each hand as I gather my hair over a shoulder.
“You missed a piece.”
I glance up at the sound of his gruff voice. “Good morning to you, too.” I run a hand over my neck, finding the forgotten strand falling down my back. He watches me while I pretend not to feel his gaze traveling over my face.
“What now?” I ask distractedly. “Time to drag me back out to the desert?”
The thought of returning to Ilya bleeds into an equally bleak one, and my heart aches at the sudden reminder of my selfishness. I’ve been so caught up in the Enforcer who holds my fate in his hands that I have yet to spare a thought for my friends; the Mixes living in squalor.I worry for Lenny, Leena, Finn, and every other soul who was kind enough to help me. Believe me.
Please be safe. Please.
If I knew who or what to pray to, I would have.
“Not quite.” The bed shifts as he stands to his feet, forcing me up as well. He walks over to the washroom, stepping inside to grab his damp shirt from the tub. I’m not sure why I look away when he pulls it over his head, but the action feels far too intimate.
“We are going to cut through Dor,” he says, stepping back into the washroom. “And then cross the Sanctuary of Souls.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “The Sanctuary of Souls? The rocky terrain infested with bandits?” I scoff. “I think I’d prefer the Scorches.”
His voice is slightly muffled by the cracked door. “Father sent me out there plenty of times. We’ll be fine.”
I swallow at the reminder of his torturous training. “Well, were you chained up last time you visited?”
