Page 59 of Oath
I opened my eyes, turning just enough to see Voodoo sitting on the edge of the bed. His eyes met mine—dark, unreadable, but softened by something quiet. Something real. He was tracing my face like it was sacred, like the smallest part of me deserved to be memorized.
“Morning, Grace,” he murmured, voice low and rough with sleep. “You dreaming, or just pretending to ignore me?”
I tried to speak, but the words caught somewhere behind my breath. Maybe it was the way his touch didn’t ask for anything. Or maybe it was Legend still wrapped around me like I was something worth protecting.
Reality caught up to me, Bones was still missing and the guys had been working on O’Rourke’s info when Legend and I slipped away to head up here. Voodoo being here offered me bittersweet comfort. The comfort of waking up between him and Legend—I didn’t know how much I needed to justbewith them—but the bittersweet part came knowing that it meant Bones was still a prisoner somewhere.
As much as I hated the idea of him being a captive, I refused to contemplate the idea that Bones wouldn’t survive.
No, I absolutely refused to accept that idea.
Period.
The man was too damn onery to die.
Voodoo’s fingers trailed down to my jaw, lingering just beneath my chin. His touch was still gentle, but there was a spark behind it now—mischief creeping in behind that quiet calm.
“You gonna keep pretending to sleep,” he said, thumb brushing the corner of my mouth, “or are you gonna get up and shower with me before he realizes we’re missing?”
I huffed a breath, not quite a laugh. “You’re the one waking me up like a dream, and now you want me vertical?”
“Didn’t say anything about staying vertical,” he murmured, voice dipping lower.
My cheeks warmed before the rest of me caught up. His grin widened, lazy and crooked, like he already knew what I was thinking. Like he’d planted the thought there himself.
Legend shifted behind me, letting out a low, content sound as he burrowed closer. His arm tightened around my waist instinctively, and for a second, I hesitated. Legend needing melike he had the night before was something I didn’t want to disrupt. Something rare.
Voodoo must’ve seen it in my eyes because he leaned in, pressing a slow kiss to my temple. “He’ll still be here when we get back. You need a minute for yourself. We both do.”
I let the silence stretch for a beat before nodding. “Alright,” I said, my voice a little rough from sleep, a little too honest. “But if the water’s cold, I’m walking out.”
Voodoo laughed, low and smooth. “You think I’d pull you out of bed just to freeze you? Firecracker, baby—when I convince you to get wet, Imakeit worth it.”
I rolled my eyes, but I was already reaching for the sheet, peeling myself away from Legend’s hold as carefully as I could. He barely stirred, just mumbled something that sounded like my name and let me go. Voodoo helped me slide out, easing the sheet up.
As he rose, he offered his hand and I slid my palm across his. The lightness of his touch belied the inherent strength he housed. They were all so much bigger and stronger and they were all so damn careful with me.
And just like that, I let him lead me—bare feet across cool floors, heart ticking a little faster than it should—as if walking into the shower with him was just another way of waking up.
Another way of letting go.
He wasn’t wrong, I liked showering with Voodoo even more now than our very first time when I’d been such a mess. Then, he’d been all gentleness and sensuality—two things I’d needed so badly. Once in the bathroom, he closed the door then stripped out of his clothes with an economy of motion.
Once he was naked, he turned on the water, his movements unhurried, practiced. He didn’t look at me right away, just stood there with one hand under the stream, waiting for thetemperature to settle. The muscles in his back shifted beneath his tattoos, the ink catching light when he moved.
I watched him—watched the way his jaw tightened like he was holding something in. Something he didn’t trust with words yet.
When he finally looked at me, his expression had softened. “Come here,” he said, and it wasn’t a command—it was a request. Quiet. Needing.
I stepped into his space without hesitation.
His hands came to my hips, slow and warm, and he guided me into the shower with him like he was afraid I’d vanish if he moved too fast. The water hit my skin in a soft cascade, and I let out a slow breath savoring both the warmth of the water sliding over me and the weight of his hands on me.
He didn’t pounce. Didn’t press me against the wall or reach for more than I was ready to give. Voodoo just… held me. One hand at the back of my neck, the other splayed low on my spine, and his forehead resting against mine while the water poured down around us.
“I didn’t pull you in here just to feel you naked,” he murmured after a beat, voice quiet against the sound of the water. “Though, don’t get me wrong—it’s a hell of a bonus.”
I smiled, small but real. “You’re stalling.”
