Page 49 of Rule the Night
“The books are yours?” I’d only gotten a glimpse of the library — dark walls, floor-to-ceiling wood shelves, velvet sofas over more intricate rugs — but it had been enough to make me itch with anticipation.
I almost hated that the loft was so nice. I had to force myself to remember that I was in enemy territory.
That I shouldn’t get too comfortable, let down my guard.
“Most of them,” he said. “You like to read?”
“I used to.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Used to?”
I shifted, feeling suddenly like I was at a disadvantage in my desk chair with Remy looming over me. Feeling like I was at a disadvantage in a lot of ways I didn’t want to admit.
How did you tell someone the way your life had been turned upside down when someone you loved was murdered abruptly and violently? How to explain the way vengeance could consume you? How it could demolish the person you’d once believed yourself to be?
“I haven’t had a lot of time lately.”
He nodded like he understood when there was no way he could. “Well, it’s there for you if you want to make use of it.”
“Thanks.” Silence settled between us. It took longer than it should have to feel awkward. “Anything else?”
He shook his head and headed for the door, then turned around like he’d just remembered something. “You have my macro count for tomorrow?”
“I’ve got it.” I tried not to sound annoyed but I could already tell Remy’s nutritional fixation was going to be a pain in the ass. I’d created an entirely different set of menus for him than for Poe and Bram, menus that fulfilled the protein, carb, and fat requirements he’d given me in the kitchen that morning.
“And the nutritional?—”
“I’m setting up a calendar with menus and nutritional info,” I said. “I’ll invite you once I have it set up.”
We’d all swapped phone numbers that morning, much to my chagrin. It was like we were really roommates, and even though I was happy not to be chained up in the basement, used and abused by three strange men — yet — I didn’t know what to make of it.
“Cool. Thanks.”
I stared after him as he left the room, closing the door behind him.
I turned back to my computer, debating whether to continue watching the new videos from Ethan Todd’s channel. But honestly? I just couldn’t. A lot had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I just wanted to grab a bottle of water from the kitchen and go to sleep.
I crossed the room to the door, stepped into the hall, and crashed right into a massive wall of damp, muscled flesh.
It was Poe.
And he was as naked as he’d been that morning on the balcony.
29
MAEVE
I made a sound like “oof,”which I guess was better than saying, “Holy mother of god, your dick is huge.”
At first I was relieved to feel his hands come around my upper arms — I’d almost fallen on my ass with the force of the impact with his granite-like body — but then I realized my back was up against the closet at the end of the hall, Poe’s naked body an inch away, like it had been when he and Remy came upon me with the bird men in the tunnel.
Except in the tunnel he’d been wearing pants, and I’d had my jeans, T-shirt, and jacket as armor against the nearness of his bare chest.
Now he was as naked as the day he was born, water droplets beading his tattooed skin, and I was wearing nothing but my flimsy pajama shorts and tank top.
“Whoa there!” he said, like I was a horse he was trying to calm. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?”
“Nowhere. I mean… I was going to the kitchen to get a… a snack.” Why was I having such a hard time getting words out of my mouth?
