Page 36 of Hidden By the Convicts
TEAGEN
A warm handmoved under Teagen’s shirt and caressed her breast. She’d fallen asleep against Bowen. It was hard not to. She felt so safe in his arms.
She realized that entire time making love to Bowen, she’d never removed her shirt. She’d never had sex with her clothing on before, but it had felt safer, freeing to make that choice. . . to be allowed to make any choice about who she would be with and when, how. Perhaps because she’d always been denied the ability to cover herself even after sex when the guards used her.
Bowen spoke of power, but she didn’t feel powerful. Just damn lucky to have men who cared about her.
“Teagen, I have to get up,” Bowen whispered in her ear.
She loved having his body curled around her, warming her, making her feel special. She snuggled closer to him. “Let Harlis cook dinner.”
“He’s gone. Left for third shift hours ago. I have to return to the fields to see if I can get any of those harvesters to work or I’ll never make my quota.”
That got her to open her eyes. “I hate what they did to you. You should be allowed to rest longer.”
He kissed her lips as he slid out of bed and opened the one dresser in the house. His was the bottom drawer. “I’ll survive. I slept really well last night, not like the last time they put me in the cage. No nightmares.”
“Yeah, me too.”
She loved when he smiled, which was rare. The rest of the time, he always looked so damn serious. The way the corners of his mouth kicked up right now made him even more striking. Every muscle on the man spoke of power, but he’d submitted to her this morning, not the other way around, and it was a heady feeling to know she could be in charge, and that a man cared enough about her to let her.
Teagen rubbed her eyes, not quite able to shake the need for more sleep. Between sneaking away from the house in the middle of the night and making love to Bowen after she returned, she was wiped.
Bowen leaned over her and kissed the top of her head.
“A little lower, please.”
“My pleasure, Boss Lady,” he said as he captured her lips once more. “You look tired, but you need to get up. It’s not a good idea to fall asleep with no one else here. You could miss the alarm.”
“Someone kept me busy this morning when I could have been sleeping,” she flirted.
“Yeah, I know. Can’t say I’m sorry, though. Not about keeping you busy. But if you can’t stay awake, you’ll have to sleep in the pit.”
She glanced at the floorboards covering the pit.
He kissed her head again. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you down there any more than you do, and I don’t want you returning to the greenhouse for a while. I don’t think the shredded smock convinced Mozely. I want you where you’re safest.”
“Okay,” she said, stifling a yawn. “I’ll do some cleaning up. And cook. And If I get too tired, I’ll go into the pit.”
He grabbed clothing from the dresser.
“Bowen, why haven’t you asked me why I didn’t mind Harlis watching?”
“I figured you’d tell me if it bothered you.”
“Oh.”
He pulled the t-shirt over his head and returned to the edge of the bed. “My dads all gave me a piece of advice when I was a teen. They said when I find a good woman, I should trust her, and then accept her choice in her other husbands.
“I already know Harlis and Gavin. They’re both good men, though Harlis drives me nuts at times. We have to watch out for one another, Teagen. It’s us against the guards. There’s no room for jealousy or trying to one-up each other. You tell us what you’re comfortable with, and we’ll make it work. I promise. As long as we’re honest about everything, we’ll be okay.”
Her body tensed. “I have something I need to tell you.”
“Unless it’s an emergency, it will have to wait.” He kissed her again and then headed out the door.
Chapter Nine
TEAGEN
