Page 97 of Where Broken Wings Fly

“Uh-huh.” I summon the energy to respond.

The look on his face as he studies my exhausted state is priceless. I’d imagine it’s the same look a hunter wears when he’s caught his kill. I’ve been well and truly captured.

“I didn’t mean to get so carried away. Did I hurt you?”

“No, I’m okay. Just… need a minute.”

“That good, huh?”

I swat his chest. “Careful. You won’t fit that ego through the door.”

“Hah. I don’t fucking care. I have zero desire to ever leave this bed again.”

Wrapped up in each other, we rest in silence and catch our breath. My eyes drift shut, too heavy to hold open, despite the morning birds singing outside his window. All I want is to stay here, trapped in the safety of his arms forever.

“Willow,” he whispers. “We should get showered before everyone wakes up.”

“Mmmm.”

“Shower. Now.”

“Stop being so bossy. I can’t move yet.”

Barking a laugh, Killian unpeels himself from me and clambers to his feet. “Shake a leg. I’ll even wash your back for you. I’m nothing if not a gentleman.”

“That isn’t a word I’d use to describe you after what we just did.”

“Wow.” He snorts. “You might have a point there.”

Heading into the bathroom, his chuckling is silenced by the shower turning on. I remain curled up on his bed, unable to move a muscle. It’s going to take a while for my brain to catch up on what just happened.

“Killian! You up?”

Shouting echoes from outside the bedroom door. Squeaking in panic, I’m too late to cover my naked body up. The door flies open, revealing a half-awake Zach stumbling in his boxer shorts and an oversized t-shirt.

“Ki—oh, shit. You’re not Killian.”

“Nope,” I exclaim.

Rubbing his eyes, he blinks several times, as if witnessing a mirage. Looking from my bird’s nest hair and naked, still trembling body to the tangle of sheets on Killian’s bed, it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

“My, oh my. What have I walked in to?”

“Zach! Please go away.”

“No can do.” He crouches down and scoops my ripped panties up off Killian’s floor. “I guess you didn’t want this pair anymore, huh?”

“Ground swallow me up. Please.”

Zach props his shoulder against the door frame. “I can practically smell you in the air. I was hoping you’d end up in my bed first, not this caveman’s. I’m a team player, though.”

“Huh?” I stare at him.

“You heard me, babe.”

Flushing bright red, I grab the pillow beneath me and toss it straight at him. Zach easily bats it aside and I throw another, assaulting him with feathers and fabric.

“What the hell is that noise?”

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