Page 8 of Reaper Released

“So?” Tank barks back at me.

“Chill, Brother! Keep it down, yeah!” Nodding to my room, I step back, letting them in. They stand frozen for a second, taking in her passed-out body, assessing her before all moving as a unit. Viking and Tank move around to her left, Tank reaching down and running his fingers across her stitches and dried blood on her bicep, while Dice and Blade go to the right side, gently pulling back the covers to see the bullet wound then covering her back up. Dice drops gently on to the bed, grabbing her hand in his. Bringing it to his face, he rubs the back of her hand over his cheek and closes his eyes for a second. He kisses the back of her hand and lowers it to his lap. I mean, that kind of winds me up, but not one of them bats an eyelash that she’s only in her underwear. There’s something going on between them all.

Priest’s at the bottom of the bed next to me. It feels like he’s holding his breath. Touching him on the shoulder, I ask, “Priest? You okay?” Taking in a deep breath, he looks at me with a flash of fear then relief filling his eyes.

He nods. “We thought we lost her.” Taking in all their stricken faces, I feel envy. They know her and I don’t, yet I feel protective of her, yet mostly jealous that they are here, and they are clearly something to each other, but I can’t work out what.

We all just stand there and watch her sleep. After around forty minutes of silence, Tank asks, “Did she say what happened?” I shake my head, sighing as he strokes a stray hair behind her ear. I mean, Tank, the motherfucker who could crush a skull in his bare hands. He's literally as wide as he is tall, yet seeing him so gentle with Ray, I can’t help but wonder what they are to each other. We start chatting quietly amongst ourselves, all asking different questions but then the subject’s her, always her.

“Is she gonna be okay?” Dice asks. I nod, hoping I’m right. She seems okay.

“Do you need us to grab anything for her?” Viking asks.

I shake my head. “She just needs rest!”

“How long do you think she'll sleep for?” Priest turns to meet my gaze.

“A lot longer if you all shut the fuck up!” she barks in a sleepy grumpy voice.

We all shoot to face her as she slowly opens her eyes. “It’s like a motherfucking mothers meeting in here. Can you fuck off and converse elsewhere? I need my beauty sleep!”

Letting out a shaky breath, Tank grabs her hand. “We thought we lost you!”

“Seriously?” She laughs. “What part of me looks like a fucking damsel in distress needing to be rescued? At what point did you forget who the fuck I am?”

Breathing out a solid breath, Tank looks at her face with her light smirk on it. “Sorry, Reaper.” He breathes, smiling back at her.

She winks at him, and all the tension leaves him. He kneels beside the bed and kisses her hand. She reaches for his face and cups his cheek, bringing both hands to hold her hand in place. He lets out a breath and closes his eyes and just stays there for a minute while she strokes his cheek!

“We should let you rest,” I say. They all take turns to lean in and kiss her cheek, whispering things in her ear before leaving.

“Do you need anything before I leave?” I ask her.

“You stay. I should head back to the van so you can have your bed back.” She goes to sit up, but then grabs at her head as if she feels dizzy. I grab her, laying her back down.

“You should stay here. I can sleep on the chair.” I point over to the corner.

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t wanna put you out. I need a shower and clean clothes before I can sleep again, so I can head back there and get settled.”

“Let me help you, okay? You can wear something of mine. You will be more comfortable here!” She gives me a questioning look, but she nods.

I help her back into the shower to remove what’s left of the grime, blood and tequila. I turn my back while she slips out of her underwear and then wrap her in a towel. I lead her back to the bedroom. Giving her my tank, she slides it on. She’s naked underneath, and fuck, she looks good. I can see some side boob and my cock twitches and shit. I really shouldn’t be perving on her, but fuck!

Rubbing a hand down my face, I lead her to the bed. She climbs under the covers and I grab the blanket off the top and start walking over to the chair.

“Steel.” Fuck, my name on her lips does something to me, and I think in that moment I will give her whatever she asks for.

“We can share the bed. I’m sure I can keep my hands to myself.” She grins at me, barking out a laugh.

“Sure? I’m sure you can, Sunshine.” There’s that look again, the pebbling of the skin, a slight flush of her cheeks. But that look. What is that? Is it when I call her Sunshine, or is it just the sound of my voice? Walking around to the bed, I strip down to my boxer shorts and climb in carefully to stay away from the stitches on her arm. We both stare at the ceiling for a while before I hear her breathing steady, and that’s it, she’s asleep.

I listen for a while to the sound of her breathing. She seems so peaceful. After about an hour or so, I start drifting in and out, not quite asleep but not quite awake. She twitches, and my eyes fly open to check on her, but she’s just fidgeting in her sleep. She moves again, sliding closer to me. It feels like she’s chasing my warmth. There's a slight chill to her skin as she brushes against me.

I reach out to touch her forehead, and she feels cool there too, but as she feels my body heat next to hers, she shifts, turning her back into me. and my arm, that has touched her head, she grabs, pulling it around her. I slide my other arm under her neck and pull her into me. Fuck, she feels good against me like this, spooning her. Her fingers intertwine with mine, and she rests our hands under the tank on her stomach. I try to pull away, but she has me in some sort of death grip. I give up and bury my face in her hair. She smells like me… like… mine!

Ray

I don’t think I’m still asleep, but I don’t think I’m awake either, I feel so warm and fuzzy. My head spins a little. I shuffle to get comfy, but there’s something hard in my back. I push back into it, still in the haze of sleep. I gasp as I feel a rough thumb graze my nipple.

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