Page 5 of Needing More
The line disconnected.
Sapphire suppressed the urge to cry and turned to look out the window. Only the low sounds of music existed between them as they drove in silence. Just yesterday she and Finn were riding down this very road to go to the beach. Up ahead she could see the turn for the gas station. Her heart began to pound as she imagined what she might see. Would there be boarded-up windows where the glass was shot out or would Booker not have had time to do that yet?
"Hey, look at me," Vic commanded.
Without hesitation, Sapphire turned to the sound of his voice.
Glancing from the road to look at her, he reached out and put a comforting hand on her thigh. "Don't look at it. You'll have plenty of occasions to see it, but just not today. Look at me instead."
Keeping her head turned, Sapphire did as he instructed and felt the gas station pass by them on her right as they drove past. Once they were past she let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.
Covering his hand with hers, Sapphire silently thanked him as she sank tiredly into the soft seat.
Pulling up to the house a few minutes later, Vic stopped the truck a few feet from the porch.
Sapphire reached for the door handle.
"Don't," Vic drawled, the command stilling her outstretched hand in midair. Vic grinned at her obedience as he stepped out of the truck. "And here those two had me thinking you were difficult to handle."
Vic closed the door on the outrage that flamed to life on her face despite the dull pain in her head. With fiery indignation she watched him walk around the front of the truck until he was opening her door. She had half a mind to kick it open and watch it smack him in the face.
"Now, now don't scowl that pretty face at me," Vic chuckled as he grabbed the overnight bag Julie had made up for her and dropped off at the hospital. He set it in her lap. "You know as well as I do you're a little hellcat."
Before Sapphire could say anything to that absurd statement his hands were already slipping underneath her, one under her thighs and one at her back, and with one smooth lift she was up and in his arms.
Sapphire tensed all over. With no choice but to clutch her bag, she leaned against his chest and shoulder bringing her closer to his woodsy, spice scent, the same scent that had lingered on her borrowed bed at the café for months after she appropriated it, a scent so uniquely his.
"I can walk, you know," she informed him as he took the steps up the porch.
"Mmm," he intoned dryly. "You must have forgotten that I was there when you nearly fell when the nurses had you get up from the bed and try to walk. Or that I somehow missed the fact that you practically held your head the entire drive over here. Yeah, I think I'll just carry you. I rather not have to fish you out of the bushes because you toppled over the porch railing."
Sapphire scowled at the side of his face. As if feeling her glare, Vic kept his eyes straight, but let a handsome smile spread across his lips.
"Instead of wishing for my death, why don’t you grab that door knob for me," he asked as he came to a stop at the front door.
Reaching down, Sapphire turned the brass doorknob and pushed the door open for them. The cool, if not a little bit musty, air surrounded them at once.
"You don’t lock it?" she asked, as her eyes roamed curiously around her.
"What for?" he grumbled. "Please, someone come steal this shithole away from me," he begged.
She couldn't help but look at his profile as he carried her. The sharp line of his jaw and his angular, almost model-like, features were mesmerizing. Beneath her, she could feel the strength of his muscles bulging against her as he turned sideways preparing to walk over the threshold.
"I've been wondering," she began, her tone thoughtful. "Is there some sort of requirement to stay in really good shape if you're one of the Three Heathens?"
Vic let out a short laugh. "No, not that I know of. But we do all like to hang out in the gym and don’t tell them I told you, but there is a not-so-secret competition between the three of us when it comes to lifting, muscle mass, etc. Just typical gym rat stuff. Hell, it's just about the only thing I can still do with the guys these days," he added and she could hear the pang of regret in his voice.
Kicking the door shut behind him, the sound echoed around them. Sapphire pulled her attention away from his profile and let her curiosity turn her head as she drank in the details of the house.
It was just as gloomy inside as it was outside.
Vic didn't pause, he just kept walking with her in his arms. "I know, I know. It looks like a horror movie. Trust me, every day the thought of burning this dump to the ground looks more and more intriguing."
"It doesn't look like a horror movie," Sapphire argued as she tried desperately to capture all the details of the place as he walked her through the center hall which was where both the entrance and the stairs were located.
The chipped dark blue paint wasn't just on the outside of the house unfortunately. It was the same color for the interior walls, along with the dark wood of the floors. The terrible color gave the massive farmhouse a very oppressive feel that made her see where he got the idea of a horror movie from.
She caught only a glance of the large and very dated looking kitchen, as Vic made a sharp right into the last open door off the main hall into a spacious bedroom.
