Page 26 of Hunted
My hand glides down his chest towards his boxers, but he grips my wrist, pulling back up. He holds my hand against our chests between us.
“Not this time. This time was just for you. Try to get some sleep now, okay?” He kisses my forehead, and I nod, knowing it’s best not to argue with him.
I snuggle down between the two and am surprised when I instantly feel sleep overtake me.
Chapter eight
Kingsley
“She’s asleep,” Bower whispers before slowly unlatching himself from her and sitting up to face me and Reece. I can barely see them from where I’m seated in the chair, but I can tell Reece is seated on the edge of the hammock, his head dropped down to his hands.
“What the fuck happened out there?” Bower asks, his attention turning to me.
“I… don’t know.” It’s not a lie. I’m not really sure what happened back at the beach. Everything seemed to change so drastically and quickly, my mind couldn’t keep up with what was going on.
What set her off? What had she been doing before she started running around the beach searching for that rock?
I remember her offering me fruit, but I can’t remember anything else happening before she took off on her search.
Fuck! Why wasn’t I paying more attention?
I know why. I had been distracted. I was thinking about how she’d slept with Bower. I wasn’t jealous he’d had sex with her. I was jealous that he and West seemed to be so much closer to her than I was. West is the one who protects and looks out for her best interest. Bower is her light, theone who makes her laugh and can bring her out of the worst mood. And now Reece was here… he’s her strength, her emotional support. They have such an interwoven history that I can’t compete with.
So much so that I couldn’t help but worry that I might get left behind, that she might not have a need for me anymore. That’s why I was so distracted on the beach. I was stuck in my own head, wondering where I fit into the group now.
Perhaps she sensed it? Did she mistake my silence for anger with her?
“What’s the deal with the rock?” Reece asks, breaking me out of my train of thought.
I sigh and turn to him in explanation. “Steve, is her… shall we say, pet rock? She’s had it with her this whole time. And although she’s had Mo-Mo too, he didn’t live with her. He just visits throughout the day, but he never stays long.” I run my hand through my overgrown beard, sitting back in the chair as I continue.
“He’s been the only constant. She sleeps with him every night, she talks to him, he’s like her emotional support pet.”
As he looks at me, even in the darkness, I can see the frown there. “She doesn’t think it’s alive, does she? Is that why she freaked out? She thought I killed it?”
“No.” I shake my head. “She knows it’s just a rock, but it’s special. It means something to her.”
“It’s sentimental,” he says with a nod, finally seeming to grasp the severity of the situation. “And I just threw it away.”
“You didn’t know,” I tell him, not wanting him to feel too bad about it.
“Fuck.” He scrubs his fingers through his scalp in frustration.
“You think that‘s all it was?” Bower asks me.
I shrug. “I’m not sure, to be honest. I kind of felt like something set her off, but I don’t know what it was.”
“Maybe the thought of when she last saw Steve brought back some memories,” West says quietly, not wanting to wake the sleeping angel in his arms.
“What do you mean?” Reece asks, but we all stay silent. “Seriously, you need to tell me.”
“It’s not our story to share,” I tell him apologetically.
“Fine, whatever. I’m going to sleep.” He stands, pulling his shirt and pants off before climbing into the hammock and laying to face the wall.
Bower lies back down, and I strip down to my own boxers and move to join them.
My mind races with everything that’s happened today as I try to collect my thoughts. I’m not sure what caused her panic attack or if I had anything to do with it.
