“I’ll sleep on the floor, don’t worry,” he said to her unspoken question. Without looking at her again or saying anything else he walked to the bathroom, stopping right at the doorway. “I’m going to clean up,” he said over his shoulder. “I’ll be out in five minutes. I’ll leave the door open so that I can hear anything.”
“Okay.” She pulled the covers down and got on the bed, a sigh escaping her for how good it felt.
True to his word, he was out in five minutes, steam emerging from the bathroom and saturating the room. She turned onto her side, watching with female appreciation as he came into the room. He wore another black t-shirt and a clean pair of black military fatigues, his short, dark hair damp.
He grabbed several blankets from the closet, a pillow from the bed, and made a pallet on the ground in front of her bed, between her and the front door, and his gun beside him.
“Try to get some sleep, Neeka.”
She reached out and turned out the light, the room going dark, and only a sliver of moonlight coming through the part in the curtains. Although she felt safe with Gage, every little creak, every little whisper of wind against the window had her on edge, because all she thought about, could see when she closed her eyes, was Rye.
This couldn’t be over, not so easily.
She was so tired, but her heart was racing, and she felt fear take a stranglehold on her. Looking toward Gage on the ground, but not seeing anything but his broad back, she whispered his name. “Gage?”
“Yeah?”
“I feel like I’ll unravel.” She didn’t know why she’d said that, but she had to believe he’d know what she meant, that she was hanging onto a thread, especially as the silence penetrated the darkness, covering her, surrounding her in this suffocating blanket. “Will you lie beside me, just until I fall asleep?”
He didn’t respond right way.
“I just want to feel another warm body beside me. I don’t want to be alone right now.” Silence greeted again for a stretched period of time, and she feared he would refuse.
What did you expect? You’re his charge, nothing more. He doesn’t owe you anything but getting you safely back home.
“That’s probably not the best idea.”
She closed her eyes and breathed out. “I know. I’m sorry for asking.”
But only a few moments later she heard rustling as he rose from the floor and got on the bed beside her. He didn’t get under the covers, but his presence beside her was good enough.
Neeka inhaled his masculine scent, her skin tingling, her heart racing. His body heat seeped through the covers, warming her and wrapping her in a feeling of safety.
“Thank you,” she whispered. They were silent for several heartbeats, and just as she felt herself drift off to sleep Gage’s deep soft voice speared through the darkness, rousing her.
“Tomorrow will you tell me about what happened?”
She bit her lip, her heart starting to race again at the thought of telling him everything. Maybe if she got it out she’d feel better? She took a large, steadying breath, feeling resolve wash through her. Why wait until tomorrow?
“Rye Vincent was our family doctor. I loved him like a father.” She squeezed her eyes shut, emotions boiling inside of her that she didn’t want to surface. She was aware of Gage moving closer to her. Neeka felt safe with him, like nothing in the world could hurt her.
She spilled the rest of it, telling him about Adaym and the other “soldiers” Rye had made using her blood. There wasn’t anything she left out, because what was the point? Tears slipped down her cheeks, and she felt emotions crash to the surface.
“Although I know this isn’t my fault, I can’t help but feel responsible for it all. I’m the reason Adaym is locked up and God knows how many others.”
It was then that Gage wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close to his body. There wasn’t anything sexual about him holding her, because it was all about comfort, and she desperately needed that right now.
It was in his warm embrace that she let herself fall asleep, and let herself push the nightmare of Rye to the back of her mind, at least for the time being.
Chapter
Seventeen
Gage listened to Neeka’s deep and even breaths as she slept. She’d fallen asleep fairly quickly, and although he could have let go of her, he found himself holding onto her tightly. He didn’t want to let her go, didn’t want to stop touching her, giving her comfort, protection.
He hadn’t planned on getting in bed with her, but the sound of her voice, the fact he knew she was emotionally hurting and scared, had him going to her.
I can’t deny her.
He knew he should have just kept on driving, knew that stopping was a bad idea because he wanted her really fucking badly, but he’d seen how exhausted she was. He felt weak with her, like his walls crumbled when she was around.